Yoichiro Hirano’s New Book “Plant Your Flag First, Then Figure Out How to Climb” Launches September 1
Practical Startup Growth Insights from a TSE Prime-Listed Founder
Announcement
August 24, 2026
Asteria Corporation (Japan)
Asteria Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; CEO HIRANO (Pina) Yoichiro; Tokyo Stock Exchange listed, Security Code: 3853, hereinafter “Asteria”) is pleased to announce CEO Yoichiro Hirano’s new book, “Plant Your Flag First, Then Figure Out How to Climb,” set for release in Japanese on September 1, 2026. Published by Nihon Jitsugyo Publishing Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; President: Junichi Sugimoto), the book will be available at major bookstores and online retailers across Japan for ¥2,200.
Know-How and Practical Insights to Change the Future and Transform Society
“Plant Your Flag First, Then Figure Out How to Climb” offers practical, firsthand insights into building and running a startup, drawn from the real-world experience of Yoichiro Hirano – founder and CEO of a TSE Prime-listed company, Specially Appointed Professor at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Management, and Head Judge for Japan at the Startup World Cup.
This book provides a comprehensive guide to the “compass” and “combat” techniques needed to overcome the many challenges faced by those involved in building and growing a startup.
Key Highlights
1. Startups Shaping the Future
The founder and CEO of a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market shares his unfiltered account of the realities of entrepreneurship. Written for ambitious entrepreneurs and startups determined to change society and the world, this book explores the challenges he faced, and the strategies and solutions he used to overcome them – from the company’s founding, through entrepreneurship and going public, to running a business after an IPO.
2. Key Elements and Practical Strategies
Shaping the future requires founders to navigate a wide range of issues. From information gathering, product development, team building and fundraising to pivots, IPOs (initial public offerings) and M&A, the book covers these essential areas in detail and offers practical insights, including why exit strategies should be considered from an early stage.
3. Written by an Experienced Leader and Educator
Yoichiro Hirano is the founder and CEO of Asteria Corporation, a TSE Prime-listed technology company providing cutting-edge technologies including no-code, blockchain, and generative AI. For many years, he has served as a Specially Appointed Professor for entrepreneurship courses at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Management, and as Head Judge for Japan in the Startup World Cup, one of the world’s largest startup competitions. Through these long-standing roles, Hirano brings his knowledge of startups in Japan and abroad to the book.
View Details / Purchase (Amazon) https://amzn.asia/d/04avmBJ2
About Asteria Corporation (https://en.asteria.com/)
Asteria is a software development company that provides products and services that “connect” systems, people, things and intentions based on the concept of “Connecting the World with Software”. Its flagship product, “ASTERIA Warp” is a data integration tool that connects different systems and cloud services without coding and has been adopted by over 10,000 companies. Other products include digital content platform “Handbook X”, field-oriented business app platform “Platio” and no-code AI/IoT platform expanding into physical AI, “Gravio”. Through solutions that enable greater autonomy, decentralization and coordination – such as AI-native business platform “Bakusoku.AI”, stablecoin transaction management service “JPYC Gateway” and continuous simulation platform for robot applications “Artefacts” – Asteria drives digital transformation (DX) and operational efficiency.
Contacts
Press inquiries: Asteria PR and IR Department / TEL: +81-3-5718-1297 / E-mail: press@asteria.com
Asteria, Gravio, Platio and Handbook are registered trademarks of Asteria Corporation. Other names of companies, products, services and logos are registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective owners.