An Apple and Tesla exec who quit to build his own startup now has a star-studded list of investors

The accidental to enactment for not conscionable 1 but 2 tech giants was "very rewarding" for Sukemasa Kabayama. 

After a seven-year stint astatine Lego Japan, helium became Apple's manager of acquisition and launched the usage of the iPad successful Japanese schools. 

Then came an accidental Kabayama said helium "couldn't walk up" — to beryllium Tesla's archetypal president successful Japan, wherever helium straight reported to Elon Musk. 

Helming the motorboat of the electrical conveyance maker's Model S was nary tiny feat, but Kabayama was bare for more. 

He wanted to beryllium an entrepreneur.

"[I was] truly successful complaint of income and marketing, versus having precise small effectiveness connected the product," the 51-year-old told CNBC Make It. 

"I was thinking, it would beryllium overmuch much breathtaking to truly physique thing from scratch, from the crushed up."

In 2016, helium moved to Silicon Valley, successful the hopes of gathering "category-defining" products similar Steve Jobs and Musk did. 

Six years on, Kabayama whitethorn beryllium 1 measurement person to that goal. His wellness startup Uplift Labs, which was founded successful 2017, is simply a level powered by artificial quality that tracks and analyzes question successful 3D.

According to the company, it has since been adopted by immoderate MLB teams and the NBA to amended question show of athletes, portion minimizing injuries. 

"A batch of nonrecreational sports teams person these indoor multi-camera labs that let close question capture," said the co-founder and CEO of Uplift. 

"But, [with Uplift Labs] … each you request astatine the infinitesimal is lone 2 iPhones oregon 2 iPads. It's portable and we tin seizure the enactment whether it's connected the field, connected the court, oregon successful the batting cage." 

The startup says it has raised $8.5 million, with a star-studded database of investors including NBA prima Seth Curry, NFL subordinate David DeCastro and Deepcore, a SoftBank subsidiary.

With much than 17 years of acquisition nether his belt, Kabayama has 3 tips for moving a company. CNBC Make It finds retired what they are.

Working for Apple and Tesla has fixed Kabayama an wrong look into what it takes to physique palmy products.

"While the civilization astatine Apple and Tesla was not precisely the same, [there's a] commonality, which is the request to truly recognize your concern astatine a elaborate level," helium said. 

Kabayama cited 1 example: the attraction to item successful the idiosyncratic experience, which is "exceptional and 2nd to none" for some companies.

"For example, if you bargain a caller iPhone, the lid of the container is designed for a 'slow release' to physique the anticipation of the unboxing infinitesimal of your caller phone," helium said.

"The cellophane wrapper is designed to easy usage your digit to region dissimilar galore different products wherever you conflict with scissors oregon your nails. That's conscionable the unboxing."

 For early-stage startups, the cardinal to occurrence is each astir merchandise marketplace fit, said Kabayama. 

That trusty litmus trial is thing that helium falls backmost on: "If you were to abruptly instrumentality your merchandise oregon your solution distant from them, tin they unrecorded without it?"

"Relentless absorption is truthful important … truly recognize which lawsuit conception you're going after, what are their symptom points, and bash you truly person an effectual solution to assistance code that?" 

Kabayama added that portion companies similar Apple and Tesla already person "significant marketplace stock impact," it's having a "big vision" that volition propulsion the envelope.

"They're each precise purpose-driven … oregon amended yet, vision-driven. Just instrumentality Tesla for example, the company's imaginativeness is to accelerate the satellite to much sustainable transport." 

"Being vision-driven truly rallies the troops. All that hard enactment that you bash is going towards a communal greater good." 

Something that Kabayama loves doing for his company? Getting connected arsenic galore lawsuit calls arsenic possible, helium said.  

"What makes my bosom sing is truly proceeding what they emotion astir the product, but besides proceeding what we tin bash better." 

He added, quoting LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman: "There's thing similar pugnacious emotion … you'd alternatively person 10, oregon adjacent 100 passionate users than 100,000 users that are like, 'The product's okay.'"

What keeps Kabayama going is providing "a captious missing piece" successful knowing however athletes astatine each levels determination naturally.