— About YKBridge
Building bridges, one company at a time.
YKBridge is an Embedded Country Manager as a Service firm helping foreign B2B startups open and scale revenue in Japan. Founded in 2024, headquartered between Tokyo and Amsterdam.
— Our story
YKBridge was founded on a simple observation: foreign B2B startups consistently underestimate what it takes to win in Japan — and overpay for the wrong help.
The traditional options are broken. Hiring a full-time country manager costs $400k+ per year and locks in risk before the market is validated. Consultants hand over decks and walk away. Translation agencies cannot negotiate. Friends of friends cannot close enterprise deals.
We built YKBridge to be the first employee your company has in Japan — without you needing to hire one. Embedded. Accountable. Flexible. With the network and operating experience to actually open doors, and the humility to walk away if the fit is not right.
— Our values
How we show up.
[ 01 ]
Embedded, not advisory.
We join your team — your email domain, your title, your roadmap. We are not consultants writing reports. We are operators closing deals.
[ 02 ]
Honest about fit.
If Japan is not your next market, we will say so. We turn down more engagements than we accept. The wrong client costs both sides.
[ 03 ]
Built for the long arc.
Japan rewards patience. We design engagements for 12-24 months of compounding relationships, not 90-day sprints.
[ 04 ]
Across borders, always.
Tokyo, Amsterdam, and wherever your business needs us. We chose this geography because challenges — and opportunities — do not stop at borders.
— Founder
Our mission is to cross borders with challengers and cultivate the next generation of global leaders. Challenges don't stop at borders — and neither do we.
Yuki Kishi
Founder & CEO · Tokyo & Amsterdam
Career
- 2008–16Deutsche Bank
- 2018–21Plug and Play Japan — Director
- 2022–24Sustainable Lab — CFO
- 2024–YKBridge — Founder · several CM roles
- 2019–Fintech Association of Japan — Managing Director · concurrent
Education
- MBAUniv. of Cambridge
- BScUniv. of London, Queen Mary College
— Ready when you are
Japan can be your next chapter.
Start with a 20-minute fit call. We'll listen to your Japan ambitions and tell you, honestly, whether we're the right partner — or not.
Available within 48 hours · Tokyo & Amsterdam time zones