Every builder knows this moment — when one chapter closes and the next one is already pulling you forward. But before I look ahead, this post is for the people who trusted me with years of their careers and believed in what we were building.
After 7.5 years building Digital Will Inc., I've made the difficult decision to wind down the company.
What started as a simple digital marketing and consulting company based in Japan (what I would call the Digital Will Inc. years) blossomed into something bigger -
Wortal.AI.
It stood for being an equalizer in gaming and apps - to bring the power of international and multi-/cross-channel gaming into the hands of everyone across the world. This wasn't a problem you could throw an LLM at and call it done — it required deep platform integrations, real partnerships, and years of domain knowledge.
We built this lean, mostly bootstrapped and self-funded — and I'm immensely proud of what the team accomplished under those constraints. Everyone evolved to learn new things, adapt, and remain flexible as we remained in a time and environment of constant aggressive change.
I'm thankful for everyone who believed in us - even a little bit: employees, contractors, partners, and most importantly - our families. What Wortal set out to do was not an evolution but a revolution, and I think it inspired those who were smart enough to see what we were doing and the direction we were headed.
The technology and IP we built - including Wortal's platform and our game portfolio - represent real value, and I want to make sure they find the right home. If you or anyone in your network might be interested, I'd be happy to connect you with the team handling the process from here.
I've learned a lot from the experience and grown immensely, both professionally and personally.
And if you'll indulge a Blade Runner moment: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. [...]" -- Roy Batty from Blade Runner
Except these things won't be forgotten, and only make me stronger, just as I know it has for my colleagues. The experiences were made to be built upon.
One thing I've learned, and learned deeply, is that leadership comes from within - our execution, our discipline, the respect we show others.
Everything was built from 0 → 1. And so here we go again. Sleeves rolled up, and ready to jump in and make way for the future, whether it be 0 → 1 or 1 → 5,000,000, or anywhere in-between and beyond. My value set remains unchanged - I'm here to get things done and help others.