#Japan #Tokyo #Recustomer #Shugo Manabe #CTO Award

Shugo Manabe's Achievement at Startup CTO of the Year 2025

In an exciting event held on October 29, 2025, Shugo Manabe, the CTO of Recustomer, was honored with the Audience Award at the "Startup CTO of the Year 2025 powered by Amazon Web Services." The event serves as a platform recognizing outstanding Chief Technology Officers leading in the startup ecosystem, and the Audience Award is determined through votes from participating CTOs.

Overview of the Award

During his presentation, Manabe shared insights from his significant journey over the past year since joining Recustomer in May 2024. Faced with numerous challenging issues within the development organization, he discussed the transformation achieved under his leadership. Highlights included improving deployment frequency by 25 times, reducing AWS costs by 71%, and the realization of obtaining patents.

These impressive results caught the judges' attention for their astonishing speed of change and the strength of his CTO philosophy. As noted during the award ceremony, Manabe's commitment to enhancing operational efficiency has led Recustomer's growth significantly.

Recustomer's Mission and Manabe's Challenges

Recustomer is dedicated to solving dissatisfaction experienced in post-purchase scenarios faced by many e-commerce sites. This includes streamlining and automating the complex processes of returns, exchanges, and order cancellations through its innovative SaaS solutions. When Manabe joined as CTO, he recognized the dire straits the development team was in, reminiscent of phrases he used in his pitch, such as "burning money" and "prayer-like deployments with a 50% failure rate."

Despite lacking prior infrastructure experience, he undertook a complete rearchitecture of the AWS infrastructure in just three months—a crucial move that led to stabilizing the system. This strategic pivot resulted in an upgrade of deployment frequency from once a week to five times a day and brought down AWS costs by an impressive 71%.

Moreover, within one year, Manabe facilitated the successful release of 12 products and features. As a strategic next step, he engaged in legal proceedings to secure domestic patents, ensuring proper protection for products ready for market expansion.

His philosophy—"abstracting business operations in e-commerce and logistics as computer processes"—underscores the core ethos driving Recustomer's engineering team.

Manabe's Reflective Comments

Expressing gratitude at the award ceremony, Manabe stated his happiness at being selected for the Audience Award among many passionate CTOs. He reflected on sharing his unique perspective on CTO philosophy and the recognition it received, which he found both uplifting and motivating.

He highlighted the complexities and unique frustrations tied to e-commerce—issues such as incorrect sizes and material mismatches that retail stores don't face. Manabe concluded with insights on the transformative impact he's had in the industry over just one year and expressed his enthusiasm for Recustomer's future endeavors.

Upcoming Engagements

Recustomer is currently open to casual meetings, where interested candidates can engage with Manabe directly. The engineering organization is also on a progressive path, aiming to enhance development productivity as highlighted in their entrance book.

For more information, visit: Recustomer Casual Meetings

Event Details

The "Startup CTO of the Year 2025" recognized leading technology officers for their strategic visions and innovations fostering Japan's startup growth. The event demonstrates the commitment from AWS and NewsPicks to blend management and technology, creating a collaborative environment aimed at driving future advancements.

Date

• - October 28-30, 2025

Venue

• - Chūnichi Hall & Conference

For further details, check the event page: Startup CTO of the Year 2025

About Recustomer

Founded in March 2017 and based in Chuo, Tokyo, Recustomer specializes in enhancing post-purchase experiences through their platform. Products include systems for tracking orders, automating returns and cancellations, and facilitating trial purchases—all designed to improve customer satisfaction and boost sales for e-commerce businesses.

For comprehensive details on Recustomer, visit: Recustomer Official Site

With Shugo Manabe at the helm, Recustomer continues to carve a pathway for innovation in the e-commerce sector, promising significant contributions as it grows.