ZOMBIE

Overnight fresh-grocery delivery survived 7 yr · ZOMBIE

Sasaki Himari, 56 · 7 yr

“Lesson learned: Surviving is the whole strategy. Nobody tells you that.”

The company is alive. So why am I still doing this?

The company is alive. Growth has stopped. Revenue barely keeps up with costs, and there is no next step in sight. Cash ¥9,640,273, debt ¥0, 0 employees, 39 customers. You go to the office every day, but you are not sure why. The reason you cannot close and the reason you keep going feel like the same thing.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openSasaki Himari, 50. You have decided to try starting a company in Osaka. No idea, no product yet. Savings ¥6,364,180, no job.
2. 6/2026: what now?Start a business: «Overnight fresh-grocery delivery» — You are going with «Overnight fresh-grocery delivery». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
3. 2026 · year 1 beginsUS Rates Rose Again
4. 7/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 7 of 20 said they would pay. 8 only said it would be "nice to have".
5. 7/12 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
6. 8/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
7. 9/2026: what now?Build it with no-code tools — You picked a template. By lunch there was a login screen.
8. 9/16 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
9. 10/2026: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
10. 10/19 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
11. 11/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
12. 11/7 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.46%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
13. 12/2026: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
14. 1/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
15. 1/3 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe USD/JPY rate rose to 161. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
16. 2/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 154 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
17. 2/25 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
18. Financing declinedThe Bank working-capital loan application was declined.
19. You are short of moneyBank credit line — You walked into the bank with documents and proof of income. They said your trading history is short. Now you wait for underwriting. But underwriting declined it. Credit and cash flow need another look.
20. 3/27 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
21. 3/30 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
22. 4/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 17 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
23. 4/25 · Oil reached the cost baseBrent rose to $128 a barrel. Quotes for packaging and freight are not what they were last month. You redid the cost sheet.
24. 4/29 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
25. 5/2027: what now?Take a job and run it on the side — You rewrote your CV. The interviewer found the startup story interesting.
26. 5/26 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.46%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
27. The “¥2,000,000 a month or your money back” courseBlock the ad — You block it and another account posts the same ad. The money is still in your account.
28. US Rates Rose AgainSignals of Fed tightening strengthened the dollar, and this country's funding rates followed. When the USD/JPY rate jumped, costing got complicated again for anyone buying imported ingredients or parts.
29. Year 1 closeRevenue ¥4,130,469, loss ¥214,628. Cash ¥1,457,385.
30. 2027 · year 2 beginsThe Supply Chain Broke
31. 6/7 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
32. 6/21 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
33. 7/12 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
34. 7/29 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
35. 8/18 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
36. AI redrew the marketIgnore it — You did not buy the tools. Six months later, a competitor offered the same service at half the price.
37. 9/16 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
38. 9/23 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
39. 9/30 · A parent collapsedThe call came: your mother had collapsed. In the hospital corridor you rewrote the week.
40. Who will care for your mother?Care for them yourself — Medicine at dawn, then off to work.
41. 10/13 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 1.9%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
42. 10/26 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
43. 11/17 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
44. 11/28 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
45. Do you pivot?Push through — You did not pivot. You believed the market was wrong. Six months later, the market still had not answered.
46. 12/19 · Service outageRight after the deploy, login broke. Restored in forty minutes, but customer messages flooded in.
47. 1/11 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.21%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
48. 1/18 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
49. Your payment processor froze payoutsSwitch processors — The new checkout went live. One renewal in ten failed.
50. 3/20 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
51. 3/24 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
52. Sasaki Yusuke asks you to co-signRefuse — “Sorry.” The calls thinned out after that.
53. 4/8 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
54. 4/23 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
55. 5/14 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
56. Keep going like this?Hold on with what you have — You decided not to change. Instead you went over what you do, line by line.
57. The Supply Chain BrokeDeliveries of what you ordered slipped by two months, and the alternative supplier quoted 20% more. Not holding inventory became a weakness this time.
58. Year 2 closeRevenue ¥8,632,133, operating profit ¥1,987,765. Cash ¥2,700,272.
59. 2028 · year 3 beginsLabor-shortage bankruptcies kept piling up
60. 6/18 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
61. AI redrew the marketAI tools changed the industry’s cost and speed. Companies that adopted them move cheap and fast; the rest pay twice for the same customer.
62. 7/23 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
63. 8/8 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
64. The competitor made it freePropose a partnership — You partnered with the competitor. They used your feature, and you got their customers. Dependence is convenient and dangerous.
65. 9/26 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
66. 9/27 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
67. 10/13 · FamilyYour family packed you lunch. The note said, “Eat properly.”
68. 10/14 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
69. 11/7 · Down sickYou came down with something. You took medicine and pushed through, but could not concentrate.
70. How to split equity with a cofounder40% to a technical cofounder — He took 40% and joined. The product moved faster in his hands, and you ran the company with the other 60%. The numbers were clear. The feelings were not.
71. 12/3 · The rush before the long holidayOrders rose ahead of the long holiday. Delivery and stock both became tight at once.
72. 12/16 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
73. 1/27 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
74. 2/9 · Clash with the cofounderYou argued hard with your cofounder about the product direction. Neither of you backed down.
75. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You spent on ads and sales. Inquiries went up. The close rate was lower than you expected.
76. 3/8 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
77. 4/11 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
78. 4/26 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
79. 5/17 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
80. Labor-shortage bankruptcies kept piling upAn old diner on the same street closed, leaving a single line on the door: "No successor and no staff." Hourly wages in job ads have climbed visibly over the past year.
81. Year 3 closeRevenue ¥7,887,177, operating profit ¥1,934,417. Cash ¥5,050,142.
82. 2029 · year 4 beginsInvestor Meeting
83. 6/4 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
84. 6/8 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
85. 7/6 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
86. 8/19 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
87. 8/30 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
88. An acquisition offer came inSell only part of the equity — You sold 10% of the equity. The company stayed the same, and the account got a little thicker. You put the money into the product.
89. 9/13 · Overseas orders came backGlobal growth rose to 4.0%. An overseas partner was the first to ask about next quarter’s volume.
90. 9/24 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
91. 10/30 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
92. 11/12 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
93. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You got back in touch with past customers one by one. A few more customers came, though not as many as the money spent.
94. 12/4 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
95. 12/12 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
96. 1/21 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
97. 1/29 · Clash with the cofounderYou argued hard with your cofounder about the product direction. Neither of you backed down.
98. 2/19 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
99. 2/22 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
100. 3/3 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
101. 4/10 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
102. 5/3 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
103. 5/13 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.43%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
104. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You raised the search-ad budget. Clicks went up; only some of them bought.
105. Investor MeetingAn investor who said they were interested booked a meeting. The questions were sharp. "Why this market, why now?" You gave the answer you had prepared for 30 minutes, and the investor nodded.
106. Year 4 closeRevenue ¥6,999,632, operating profit ¥1,497,479. Cash ¥8,723,760.
107. 2030 · year 5 beginsThe Tech Investment Cycle Came Back
108. 6/18 · Server bill spikeA test server you forgot to switch off had been running all month.
109. 6/19 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
110. 6/5 · A parent collapsedThe call came: your father had collapsed. In the hospital corridor you rewrote the week.
111. Who will care for your father?Care for them yourself — Medicine at dawn, then off to work.
112. 7/13 · The rush before the long holidayOrders rose ahead of the long holiday. Delivery and stock both became tight at once.
113. 8/16 · Overseas orders came backGlobal growth rose to 4.6%. An overseas partner was the first to ask about next quarter’s volume.
114. 9/12 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
115. 9/23 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
116. 10/10 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
117. 10/17 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
118. 11/28 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
119. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You spent on ads and sales. Inquiries went up. The close rate was lower than you expected.
120. 12/23 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
121. 1/5 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
122. 1/25 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
123. 2/8 · Overseas orders came backGlobal growth rose to 4.6%. An overseas partner was the first to ask about next quarter’s volume.
124. 2/22 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
125. 3/19 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
126. 4/17 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
127. 4/22 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
128. 5/13 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 6.41%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
129. 5/24 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
130. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You got back in touch with past customers one by one. A few more customers came, though not as many as the money spent.
131. The Tech Investment Cycle Came BackSpending on AI infrastructure and software increased, and chip and IT export figures improved. Even with recession talk everywhere, only technology budgets were moving in another direction.
132. Year 5 closeRevenue ¥5,259,562, operating profit ¥543,320. Cash ¥9,858,910.
133. 2031 · year 6 beginsRates Rose
134. 6/10 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe USD/JPY rate rose to 159. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
135. 6/27 · A death in the familyYour father passed away. You set an auto-reply: away for a few days for family reasons.
136. Your father’s funeralA full funeral — Three days of mourners. Faces you had not seen in years.
137. 7/12 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
138. 8/4 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
139. 8/29 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
140. 9/3 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
141. 9/9 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
142. 10/18 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
143. 11/12 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
144. 11/26 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
145. A capital-alliance offer arrivedAccept the alliance — On signing day, an executive of the other company offered his business card with both hands. The money hit the account, and approval forms piled up on your desk.
146. 12/24 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
147. 1/25 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
148. 2/12 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 6.64%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
149. 2/24 · Server bill spikeTraffic grew, and the server bill came in far above what you expected.
150. Priorities for the next three monthsGrow revenue — You raised the search-ad budget. Clicks went up; only some of them bought.
151. 3/7 · Selected for a grant programSelected for a government support program. The grant arrives next month; the reporting starts this week.
152. 3/9 · Clash with the cofounderYou argued hard with your cofounder about the product direction. Neither of you backed down.
153. 4/12 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe USD/JPY rate rose to 159. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
154. 5/8 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
155. 5/28 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
156. Your co-founder wants outLet them keep the shares — At the next meeting an investor asked: “Who’s actually working for this 30%?”
157. Rates RoseMarket rates rose. Variable-rate loans cost more, and so does any new borrowing. More people stood at bank counters tapping calculators.
158. Year 6 closeRevenue ¥4,753,605, operating profit ¥66,357. Cash ¥9,607,032.
159. 2032 · year 7 beginsGlobal Energy Prices Surged
160. 6/9 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
161. 6/13 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
162. 7/3 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
163. 7/7 · Demo dayYou presented at demo day. The questions were sharp, but the applause sounded genuine.
164. 8/6 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
165. 8/12 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 6.03%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
166. BurnoutKeep going — You kept going. The product moved forward and your body moved back. Nobody wrote that cost on the income statement.
167. 9/21 · Patent warning letterA certified letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
168. 9/29 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
169. 10/3 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
170. 11/27 · A signal from your bodyYour chest felt tight, so you went to the emergency room. The result was “overwork.”
171. This time you sell the courseWalk away — The agency probably sent the same pitch to another owner the next day. You opened the books again.
172. 12/16 · An investor showed interestAn investor asked for a meeting next week. “I want a closer look at who is building this,” they said.
173. 1/16 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
174. 1/19 · The exchange rate pushed up import billsThe USD/JPY rate rose to 160. Servers and subscriptions billed in dollars cost more.
175. 2/9 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 6.03%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
176. “We just need your name on it”Send them away — They left a card: “Call if you change your mind.” There was no company name on it.
177. 3/18 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
178. 3/26 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
179. 4/5 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
180. 4/14 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
181. 5/26 · Personal data requestA customer asked for disclosure and deletion of their personal data. You checked the procedure again.
182. Year seven: what now?Focus on profitability — You stopped hiring and cut costs. Growth slowed, and the company began to breathe on its own.

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