Innovator Unbound: Charles Yuki's Quest to Redefine the Future

My entrepreneurial journey began during my junior year in college. With just a small apartment and one cent of capital, I founded a sales agency for an internet cable company. This was my first taste of business, knocking on hundreds of doors daily to sell services. Over time, I gradually expanded my company by hiring interns. After about half a year, the total capital of the company grew to $60,000.

Yuki and his team in 2015 - started from a small apartment

Using this initial success, I ventured into other businesses, including “Ad-brella”, a service offering free umbrellas with advertisements, and “Re-lieal”, a coupon site for the healthcare industry. Eventually, I rebranded the coupon site to “Rejob”, which grew significantly, achieving $10 million in sales, $4 million in benefits, and employing 200 people within five years. With the company's rapid growth, I transitioned management responsibilities and moved to Silicon Valley to seek new business opportunities and pursue my goal of “Changing the World Drastically”. This move was crucial in my search for ventures with global impact, akin to giants like Google or Facebook.

December 7, 2016 “The 25 Most Prominent Serial Entrepreneurs of Japan”, Fastgrow

When I returned to Japan from the U.S., I faced three options for my company's future: going public, finding a successor, or selling it. After carefully considering each path, I decided that selling the company was the best choice, ensuring stability and aligning with my long-term goals.

After the sale, I traveled extensively, engaging with scholars and exploring fields like robotics and renewable energy to inspire my next steps.

After exploring more than 30 countries, Yuki discovered his own bold vision: “Change the World Drastically.”

I'm currently focused on the dating app industry in Japan. Just like the internet, dating apps are overwhelmed with information, where users are often matched with dozens, even hundreds, of potential partners instantly. Choosing the best match in such a scenario is incredibly challenging. To address this, I've launched a new AI-driven dating app that optimizes the process, making it easier for users to find their ideal partner with greater efficiency.

AI-driven dating app “Bachelor Date” (Currently available in Japan)

Throughout my career, I've launched various businesses, and in a broad sense, each of them has been about “Connecting people”—providing some form of matchmaking. I believe that meeting the right people can significantly improve one's life. With this understanding, I wanted to create a platform that offers the most impactful connections possible, which led me to develop a dating app. Now, knowing that our service has helped millions of people meet, date, marry, and start families, I truly feel that this is an incredibly rewarding industry.

Rapid Growth of Bachelordate in the Japanese dating app market since 2020.

Operating a consumer-facing service was a new experience for me, and the dating app market in Japan is quite competitive—a true red ocean. Marketing was particularly challenging, but we gradually established our position through a combination of web advertising, influencer marketing, and exposure in TV, newspapers, and magazines. Four years after launching, we now generate over $15 million in annual revenue and have over 500,000 users, surpassing the scale of my previous company, Rejob. Today, we're one of the top five players in Japan's crowded dating app market, and I take great pride in facilitating so many meaningful connections for our users.

Featured in over 500 media outlets, including TV, magazines, web articles, newspapers, and radio as the “Innovative AI dating app”.

In the Japanese market, we've gained significant presence thanks to the support of many individuals and companies. Now, we're ready to take the next big step—expanding globally to bring our AI-powered matchmaking to a broader audience. I'm eager to collaborate with the top players in various countries to further elevate the dating app industry itself.

Yuki filled with confidence that he would rewrite the history of this industry on a global scale.