Rikyu Labs / transformation studio
Create space.Compose systems.Transform what matters.
A pile of bills becomes an Excel file, for accounting teams drowning in daily paperwork. That is one of the things we do. Rikyu Labs is a transformation studio helping SMEs find where money and work get stuck, then pick the simplest fix, from stopping unnecessary work to building a new system.
hello@productize.life
Problem
Transformation does not start with technology.
We start by asking about the work:
- What is the real problem?
- What should we keep?
- What should we simplify?
- What should we redesign?
- What should we automate?
- Where could AI or an agent help?
- What should become an internal product or system?
- What should we stop doing?
Good transformation does not come from adding tools. We create space to see the existing system clearly, then reconnect its parts around the outcomes that matter.
Approach
Five steps
We look at the real work, find where money and work get stuck, and fix that first.
- 01
Talk it through
You get: a direction and 3 suspected root causes
- 02
Check with real numbers
You get: a one-page summary, the top 5 risks, and quick fixes you can make now
- 03
Pick the simplest fix
You get: a plan for what to do first, and whether to buy software, connect what you have, or build new
If the answer is to buy software, see the buy-and-connect lane in service 06.
- 04
Act on one thing at a time
Start at the bottleneck
Finish one thing before starting the next
Every task has an owner
- 05
Track results, then hand over
Weekly: are the numbers moving?
Monthly: what should we stop doing?
By round 3, your team leads the tracking and we step back
Once the bottleneck is fixed, it moves somewhere else (often to sales). We go back to step 2 and check the new spot with numbers.
Decision framework within step 03
Decide the intervention.
These are choices, not steps. For each piece of work, pick the simplest one.
Keep
This work is already doing its job well. Leave it as it is.
Choose when: The numbers show this is not the bottleneck.
Example: A shop checks stock by hand each morning. It takes ten minutes and never goes wrong. Keep it.
Remove
Nobody uses the output of this work any more. Stop doing it.
Choose when: Nobody can explain why it is being done.
Example: A sales report sent every day that nobody opens.
Simplify
The work is still needed, but it has too many steps. Shorten it.
Choose when: Several approvals are required, or the same data is entered in several places.
Example: A purchase request below five thousand baht that needs three signatures.
Automate
The work repeats and the rules are clear. Let a system do it.
Choose when: It works the same way every time and needs no judgement call.
Example: Send a payment reminder automatically when an invoice is overdue.
Agentize (letting an AI agent do part of the work)
Use an AI agent to help read, interpret or reply, with a person reviewing the result.
Choose when: Information arrives in different formats and the rules cannot cover every case.
Example: AI reads a customer chat and prepares a reply for a member of staff to send.
Build
No existing tool meets the need. Build one.
Choose when: Simpler options have been tried and are still insufficient.
Example: An approval system tied to rules specific to the company.
Services
Six services
Transformation for SMEs
- Claude Cowork training for accounting and finance teams (using AI to work through documents and numbers with the team day to day)
- Product requirements advisory for vibe coding (Vibe coding: building software by talking to AI)
- On-premise AI bill reading
- Internal tools built with AI
- Standing up an agent fleet
- Acting as your head of technology for a stretch
Philosophy
MA × SYSTEMS
Create space before creating solutions.
Ma (間) is the space between things. It gives the things around it meaning.
See the whole. Connect the parts. Change what matters.
An organisation is a system of people, process, technology, policy, incentive, data, structure, customer experience and business model.
