IKNOW inc.

Born in 1994.

In high school, through an entrepreneurship program co-hosted by Waseda Business School, he learned that “business is not an end, but a means of solving problems.” Selected as the youngest venturer at the time by the social-entrepreneurship organization ASHOKA, he interned and then joined the Davos-affiliated Global Shapers as its youngest participant. He felt a sense of urgency that every guest and fellow participant could speak English.

In 2013, he graduated from Toin Gakuen High School and, from a hensachi of 30, was admitted to Keio University, Faculty of Law, Department of Law as a current-year applicant. The following year, 2014, he went on a language study stay and to a program at NYU Stern School of Business to learn English and business. After returning to Japan, he took a leave of absence from Keio.

Classes in the United States were built around case studies—not armchair theory, but continuous with society. After returning, he felt the gap with Japanese university classes sharply. What he wanted to know sat on the side of business, not textbooks, so he left school to learn through practice.

In 2016, he became CEO of TripBox, Inc., which he had founded while still enrolled. He launched Tastime, a gourmet app for finding restaurants through visual information, and was selected as a finalist—the youngest at the time—in TokyoStartupGateway, a business contest hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. He then raised capital from multiple entrepreneurs, including Shinji Kimura, Representative Director, Chairman and Group CEO of Gunosy, and Yusuke Sato, President of STORES, Inc. Downloads exceeded 300,000, ranking No. 1 in monthly downloads at the time, ahead of Tabelog, Gurunavi, and others, before the business was wound up.

He then served as Head of New Business at Tabelog (Kakaku.com, Inc.), a Prime-listed company (2019–2021)—the youngest person in that role. He followed this with North America business development at MIXI, Inc. (2021–2024), where he was the youngest at the equivalent grade and the only person in his twenties. After leaving, he based himself overseas as a freelancer, supporting 14 companies including listed firms, primarily in D2C brand launches, Web3, and web / app. He currently operates Wanspot, an AI app for dog-friendly outings that he planned and built himself.