Piece to Peace

What Piece to Peace does

Piece to Peace Co., Ltd. (株式会社Piece to Peace) operates "Carry Me," a B2B professional talent matching platform launched in June 2016 that connects Japanese enterprises with mid-career freelance professionals (termed "pro talent") under business outsourcing agreements ("pro contracts" / 業務委託契約). The platform addresses a structural mismatch in the Japanese labor market: enterprises struggling to hire senior marketing, PR, sales, and digital transformation (DX) talent, while skilled professionals seek flexible, autonomous working arrangements. The registered talent pool exceeded 16,000 professionals as of October 2025, and the company has served more than 2,500 corporate clients including 50+ listed Japanese companies.

The business runs on custom engagement-based pricing with multi-year contract cadences and no proprietary technology platform; the core IP is the matching methodology and the company's hybrid organizational model combining regular employees with contracted pro talent. Revenue streams consist of pro-talent matching fees and ancillary consulting services. Distribution is anchored by direct enterprise field sales, supplemented by strategic channel partnerships—PERSOL Temp Staff for a "master-apprentice" (師弟採用) staffing product, KOKU Co., Ltd. for a joint "デジタッグ" (Digital Tag) marketing service, and a 53-company coalition promoting pro contracts in Japanese enterprise. Professional footballer Keisuke Honda is both an investor (via HONDA ESTILO) and brand ambassador, providing differentiated marketing reach.

Carry Me has raised approximately ¥567 million (cumulative ~$3.5–4M USD equivalent) across a ¥130M Series A in August 2019 (led by PERSOL INNOVATION FUND) and a ¥350M Series B in May 2022 (led by NVCC Fund 9, with Property Agent and individual investors). The company has reported 40x revenue growth between 2016 and 2020 and reached profitability within two years of launch operating with zero regular employees. The September 2025 appointment of former Daiwa Securities Senior Managing Director Koichi Maruo as management advisor signals preparation for an eventual public listing.

Name

Piece to Peace

Legal name

株式会社Piece to Peace

Website

https://piecetopeace.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Piece to Peace operates "Carry Me," a Japanese B2B marketplace matching 16,000+ senior freelance marketing, PR, and DX professionals with 2,500+ enterprise clients under flexible "pro contracts," supported by PERSOL and KOKU channel partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Staffing & Talent Matching

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Temporary Help Services (56132)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)

Keywords

• Professional talent matching
• Freelance marketing talent
• Pro contract staffing
• Hybrid organization consulting
• Business process outsourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pro Talent Matching Fee: Fee-based matching service connecting enterprises needing professional talent (particularly in marketing, PR, sales, and DX) with registered pro talent professionals. Companies engage talent for specific projects or ongoing assignments under 'pro contracts' (業務委託契約). Revenue is generated through placement/matching fees or service fees tied to the engagement.
2. Consulting and Support Services: Advisory and consulting services for enterprise clients seeking to optimize their use of pro talent. Includes organizational design, talent assignment strategy, and hybrid organization consulting. Revenue from service fees for marketing strategy and implementation support through services like 'デジタッグ' (jointly with KOKU).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Piece to Peace operates "Carry Me" (キャリーミー), a professional talent matching service launched in June 2016 that connects Japanese enterprises with experienced freelance marketing, PR, sales, and digital transformation professionals under business outsourcing contracts (pro contracts / 業務委託契約). The platform matches 16,000+ registered pro-talent professionals with 2,500+ corporate clients including 50+ listed companies, typically engaging talent 1-4 days per week on-site or remote. Complementary services include 'Shitei Saiyou' (master-apprentice recruitment with PERSOL Temp Staff) and 'Digital Tag' (digital marketing team service with KOKU).

Product overview

Piece to Peaceは「キャリーミー」を中核サービスとするプロ人材マッチングプラットフォームを運営。主力サービス「キャリーミー」は2016年6月にローンチしたビジネス界における「プロ契約」のマッチング事業で、マーケティング・広報PR・法人営業等领域の優秀プロ人材を業務委託契約で企業へ紹介。15,000名以上のプロ人材登録者、累計2,500社以上の取引先、上場会社50社以上の取引先を擁する。法人向けサイト「キャリーミー 法人様向けサイト」とメディア「キャリーミーマガジン」でサービスエコシステムを構築。コクー株式会社との協業による「デジタッグ」（マーケティング伴走支援サービス）やパーソルテンプスタッフとの「師弟採用」（プロとアシスタント人材のセット活用）などخصصしたサービスも展開している。

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carry Me (キャリーミー) Pro-talent matching service that connects Japanese enterprises with pre-vetted freelance marketing, PR, advertising, sales, and DX professionals under business outsourcing contracts. Talent typically works 1-4 days per week (on-site + remote). Service targets Japanese companies that need senior marketing/business expertise without full-time hiring commitment.
• Shitei Saiyou (師弟採用 / Master-Apprentice Recruitment) Combined staffing service developed with PERSOL Temp Staff that pairs Carry Me's senior pro-talent with assistant-level temporary staff. Enables companies to reduce HR costs while providing internal upskilling and mentoring through knowledge transfer from senior pro-talent.
• Digital Tag (デジタッグ) Joint digital marketing service with KOKU Co., Ltd. where Carry Me's pro-talent serves as PM/strategist and KOKU's digital marketing staff ('Dejima Onna') provides on-site execution. Creates a full-service marketing team to address resource and expertise shortages at client companies.
• Carry Me Magazine (キャリーミーマガジン) Editorial/media platform that publishes content for pro-talent professionals, side-job/parallel-career practitioners, and those pursuing new ways of working. Covers talent stories, industry events, and information about pro-contract work styles.
• Carry Me for Corporations (キャリーミー 法人様向けサイト) Corporate-facing landing site for the Carry Me service targeted at Japanese enterprises, providing case studies, fee schedules, service overviews, webinar information, and hiring success stories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Achieved 40x revenue growth over 4 years after launch using a team of pro talent with minimal regular employees
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered key advisory, core, minor and flagship.

• 丸尾浩一 / Major7th Inc.key advisoryOthers · 29 October 2025Former Senior Managing Director of Daiwa Securities (38 years at Daiwa, 12 years as director) and IPO specialist Koichi Maruo joined as a management advisor. He led IPOs for Mercari, Rakusul, Japan Airlines restructuring, and other major companies. His advisory role focuses on business model strategy and organizational strengthening as the company pursues its goal of becoming Japan's top pro-talent problem-solving company.
• KOKU Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 July 2024Business partnership to jointly launch 'デジタッグ' (Digital Tag), a combined digital marketing service. Carry Me's pro talent acts as PM/strategist while KOKU's digital marketing staff ('デジマ女子') provides hands-on execution support. This creates a full-service marketing team combining strategy and implementation, addressing both resource and expertise shortages at client companies.
• Maenomery Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2022Maenomery supports athlete career transitions (second careers for athletes). This partnership enables retired athletes to access Carry Me's pro talent opportunities, helping sports professionals transition into business careers. Keisuke Honda's involvement connects both entities.
• Freelance Association (フリーランス協会)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 April 2022Certified as a matching operator on the Freelance Association's '求人ステーション' free concierge service for freelance/interim talent. This certification provides credibility and a referral channel for companies seeking legitimate freelance talent intermediation services.
• 53 partner companies (日本の企業にプロ契約を project)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 January 2021Joint project '日本の企業にプロ契約を' (Pro Contracts for Japanese Companies) launched with 53 partner companies including PERSOL, PARCO, U-CAN, and SOLTILO. Partners collectively posted pro talent job openings and committed to promoting the pro contract work style. The project included a 'Safety Net Initiative' to help professionals take on freelance work with greater security.
• PERSOL Temp Staff Co., Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2020Strategic collaboration to offer '師弟採用' (master-apprentice recruitment), combining Carry Me's pro talent with PERSOL Temp Staff's assistant-level staffing. PERSOL supplies the assistant/administrative talent while Carry Me provides the senior professional expertise. This service helps companies reduce HR costs while enabling internal upskilling through mentoring by pro talent.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lancers: Japan's largest freelance matching platform, operating a marketplace for individual professionals across marketing, business, and creative categories. Direct competitor to Carry Me in Japanese freelance talent matching with overlapping buyer/seller profiles.
• CrowdWorks: Major Japanese crowdsourcing/freelance marketplace serving enterprises with on-demand professional talent. Competes with Carry Me for the same pool of Japanese businesses seeking flexible project-based expertise.
• BizReach: High-end Japanese professional placement platform focused on mid-to-senior career talent. Direct peer in the 'pro talent for enterprises' segment, particularly in marketing and management roles.
• Wantedly: Japanese professional networking and matching platform serving both job seekers and employers with a focus on mission-driven companies. Comparable in serving Japanese enterprises with professional talent needs.

Emerging players

• Forkwell: Japanese tech-focused professional platform for engineers and technical talent. Partial overlap with Carry Me in the senior-professional matching category, though specializing in technical rather than marketing roles.
• Midworks: Japanese freelance platform targeting mid-career IT engineers with full-time-equivalent compensation models. Adjacent peer in the high-end Japanese freelance talent marketplace category.

Broad incumbents

• PERSOL Holdings: Japan's largest staffing and HR services conglomerate and a direct strategic partner/investor in Carry Me. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the same HR/staffing industry with overlapping enterprise customers and competing offerings in flexible talent.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest HR services and information services group (Indeed, LinkedIn stake). Comparable as a broad incumbent operating across recruitment, staffing, and HR tech with significant overlap in enterprise talent acquisition.

Regional players

• Upwork: Global freelance matching platform serving enterprises with on-demand professional talent. Comparable as a business model parallel (online marketplace for pro contractors), but operating primarily outside Japan.
• Toptal: Global curated marketplace for top-tier freelance professionals. Comparable as a model peer in curating and vetting senior freelance talent for enterprise engagements, but operating outside Japan.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/carryme_tw
• Facebookja-jp.facebook.com/carryme.jp
• Instagraminstagram.com/carry_me_is
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/piece-to-peace

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Piece to Peace