U&I

What U&I does

U&I株式会社 (U&I Co., Ltd.) is a privately held professional services firm headquartered in Okinawa City, Japan, founded on April 3, 2017 by Yoshikazu Uema (Representative Director) and Shunsuke Ishimine. The company targets small and medium business owners, successor managers, and executives in Okinawa and other Japanese metropolitan markets with three integrated service lines: management consulting (経営コンサルティングサービス), IT system consulting and custom development (システムコンサルティングサービス), and a portfolio of paid recurring seminar programs. The firm operates two offices in Okinawa (Okinawa City headquarters and Naha) and conducts seminars and training cohorts in Okinawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and Tomakomai.

The firm's productized offerings include the FastPick mobile platform (launched March 2020), a restaurant takeout ordering application distributed via iOS App Store and Google Play that handles pre-ordering, advance payment, pickup scheduling, and basic CRM features for partner restaurants. Seminars comprise three structured programs: the 12-month 経営者養成講座 (Management Training Course) priced at ¥1.1M–¥1.45M per company per year, co-developed with PMC Corporation (Nakano Yoshio as lead instructor); the 5-session 財務会計スクール (Financial Accounting School) priced at ¥165K–¥275K per person, offered across five cities; and the 6-month 幹部社員育成講座 (Management Candidate Training) priced at ¥275K per person. The firm also hosts the annual U&I MANAGEMENT SUMMIT and U&I COMMUNITY MEETING series as flagship community events held in Naha.

U&I's commercial model blends subscription/professional-services revenue (consulting contracts and seminar tuitions) with transaction-based commission revenue from the FastPick platform. Distribution is primarily direct sales via Google Forms-based inquiry pages, a shared phone line (098-923-2822), and in-person events; FastPick restaurants onboard at zero upfront cost and pay commission only on completed sales. No public listings, institutional investors, or external funding have been disclosed, and the company is controlled by its founders. The differentiated proposition rests on the founders' direct turnaround experience — CEO Uema rebuilt his family's bento business from approximately ¥200M in debt to over ¥600M in annual revenue within roughly a decade — and an in-region community of 500+ business-owner alumni built through annual seminar cohorts.

Name

U&I

Legal name

U&I株式会社

Website

https://u-and-i.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

U&I is an Okinawa-based professional services firm founded in 2017 offering management consulting, custom IT system development, and paid executive seminars targeting SME owners and successor managers across Japan, alongside its FastPick restaurant takeaway platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Consulting and IT Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Omnichannel Commerce & Click-and-Collect Platforms (BPAMAGAL)

Keywords

• Management consulting services
• IT system consulting
• Restaurant takeout platform
• Executive training programs
• SME business advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Okinawa

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management Consulting Services: One-on-one and team consulting engagements for business strategy, financial planning, IT systems, and operational improvement targeting SME owners in Okinawa and broader Japan.
2. Seminars and Training Programs: Revenue from paid seminar programs including the 経営者養成講座 (1-year, ¥1.1M–¥1.45M per company), 財務会計スクール (5-session, ¥165K–¥275K per person), and 幹部社員育成講座 (6-month, ¥275K per person). Programs are held in Okinawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and Tomakomai with weekday and weekend cohorts.
3. FastPick Platform Commission: FastPick takeaway platform charges restaurant partners a commission (成果報酬型) on sales completed through the platform. Initial listing and basic platform access are free for restaurants.
4. System Development Services: Custom IT system development including ERP optimization proposals, system consulting, second opinions, and commissioned development for enterprise and SME clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

U&I is a small Okinawa-based professional services and product firm that delivers management consulting, IT system consulting and custom development, and a portfolio of paid multi-session business training seminars for SME owners and successor managers. Its proprietary technology product, FastPick, is a restaurant takeaway mobile platform enabling consumers to pre-order, pay in advance, and pick up orders at participating food and beverage businesses in Okinawa. The company combines founder-led consulting expertise with a vendor marketplace operated via a consumer mobile app.

Product overview

U&I is a small professional services firm based in Okinawa, founded in 2017, offering a combination of consulting and system development services. Its core product offering consists of (1) FastPick — a restaurant takeout/takeaway platform distributed as a consumer mobile app on iOS and Android, enabling pre-ordering, advance payment, and pickup management for dine-in and takeout establishments; and (2) a portfolio of business seminars and training programs including the year-long 経営者養成講座 (Management Training Course), the 5-session 財務会計スクール (Financial Accounting School) held in multiple cities, and the 6-month 幹部社員育成講座 (Management Candidate Training). The company also delivers business and IT consulting engagements and annual events such as the U&I MANAGEMENT SUMMIT. FastPick is the company's sole named technology product; all other offerings are service-based programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FastPick: A restaurant takeout platform that allows customers to pre-order and pre-pay via mobile app, enabling seamless food pickup without waiting time.

Products and services

• FastPick (ファストピック) A restaurant takeout platform enabling consumers to browse nearby restaurants, place orders, and pay in advance via a mobile app, with pickup scheduling at physical store locations. Order-to-payment flow is managed within the platform, allowing restaurant staff to focus on order handoff.
• Management Consulting Service (経営コンサルティングサービス) Business consulting covering management seminars, advisory services, and hands-on consulting to identify and resolve enterprise management challenges, leveraging the founders' firsthand business turnaround and growth strategy experience.
• System Consulting Service (システムコンサルティングサービス) IT strategy consulting aligned with business strategy, including system development feasibility review, requirements definition, cost analysis, second opinions, and commissioned development of core enterprise systems and B2C websites/applications.
• Management Training Course (経営者養成講座) A 12-month intensive executive program covering business principles, leadership, financial management, sales strategy, and mid-term business planning. Delivered through live lectures, workshops, and peer discussion in Okinawa via partnership with PMC Corporation, with monthly sessions.
• Financial Accounting School (財務会計スクール) A 5-session course covering financial statement analysis (P/L, B/S, cash flow), managerial accounting, financial analysis, fundraising, and business planning. Offered across Okinawa, Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, and Tomakomai for business owners, executives, and aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Management Candidate Training (幹部社員育成講座) A 6-month practical program developing next-generation leaders through courses on mindset, productivity, accounting thinking, customer perspective, recruitment and management, and presentation skills. Targets mid-career employees being groomed for management responsibility.
• U&I MANAGEMENT SUMMIT Annual management summit hosting guest speakers and panel discussions on business strategy, technology trends (e.g., AI-era management), and leadership, held in Naha, Okinawa, with past themes including 'Management and Input' (2024) and 'AI-Era SME Management' (2025).
• U&I COMMUNITY MEETING Conference event focused on organizational strategy and decision-making, featuring guest speakers and academic scholars; the 2026 edition covered 'Why Organizations Fail', referencing the book 'The Essence of Failure.'

Quantifiable outcome

• Family business grew from ¥100M revenue with ¥200M debt to ¥600M+ with 80–100+ staff within 9 years under Uema's leadership
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• 沖縄テレビ放送株式会社 (Okinawa Television Broadcasting)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 May 2023U&I co-organized the '経営の打ち手CONFERENCE' with Okinawa Television Broadcasting in May 2023. The conference focused on tourism, regional revitalization, business succession/M&A, and overseas expansion support for Okinawa businesses. U&I's CEO Uema delivered a keynote speech on 'New Tourism Era' and Okinawa business strategy.
• Restaurant Partners on FastPick PlatformcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2020FastPick partners with individual restaurants and food service businesses in Okinawa as platform vendors. Restaurants list their takeaway menus on the FastPick app, receive orders and pre-payments through the platform, and pay a commission on completed sales. No upfront listing fee.
• PMC株式会社 (PMC Corporation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018PMC Corporation, led by Nakano Yoshio, is the lead instructor and strategic co-developer of the 経営者養成講座 (Executive Training Program). U&I partners with PMC to deliver the year-long management training program, with PMC's founder serving as primary lecturer. The program has been held in Okinawa since 2018 (after launching in Hokkaido in 2014).
• Code Base OkinawaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCode Base Okinawa (宜野湾市大山7-10-14) serves as a recurring venue partner for 財務会計スクール and 幹部社員育成講座 seminars held in the Naha area. The venue is identified as the physical location for multiple U&I training programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• M&A Capital Partners: Japanese M&A advisory firm focused on SME succession transactions. Comparable to U&I's succession consulting arm, though M&A Capital specializes in transaction execution rather than the operational training and IT integration U&I bundles.
• GLOBIS Corporation: Japan's largest business education provider offering management training, executive seminars, and MBA programs. Directly comparable to U&I's seminar portfolio and SME-focused executive education model, though serving larger enterprise audiences and broader geographies.
• menu Inc. Japanese restaurant digital ordering platform providing mobile menus, ordering, and payment solutions for F&B operators. Direct competitor to FastPick in the takeaway/click-and-collect space, though menu Inc. operates nationally with broader restaurant coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Nihon M&A Center Holdings: Japan's largest SME M&A and succession advisory firm addressing the same succession pain point U&I targets. Operates at significantly larger scale across Japan with a broader service portfolio spanning M&A brokerage, advisory, and matching platforms.
• foodpanda Japan: Major Asian food delivery platform operating across multiple Japanese cities. Competes with FastPick for restaurant takeaway ordering, though at much larger scale with national marketing budgets and broader logistics infrastructure.
• Demae-can (Showcase Inc.): One of Japan's largest food delivery and ordering platforms with an extensive restaurant network. Direct competitor in restaurant ordering/dine-in space but operates at national scale with established consumer brand versus FastPick's regional Okinawa focus.
• Japan Management Association: Established Japanese management training and consulting organization providing executive education and corporate training programs. Comparable to U&I's seminar portfolio but with broader industry coverage, longer operating history, and institutional credibility.
• Sansan: Japanese digital business card and contract management platform serving SMEs and enterprises. Adjacent in serving Japanese SME digital transformation needs, though not a direct competitor to U&I's consulting/seminar/FastPick stack.

Others

• freee K.K. Japanese cloud accounting and SaaS provider for SMEs, addressing financial management pain points that overlap with U&I's Financial Accounting School curriculum. Enabling ecosystem player rather than direct competitor, but reduces demand for some advisory services.

Emerging players

• Smartcamp: Japanese SaaS platform company providing SME business tools (Boxil, BALES) that complement rather than directly compete with U&I's consulting and IT services. Comparable as an emerging SME-focused Japanese platform business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about U&I