Shunji Sugaya, a 43-year-old Japanese who is the CEO and founder of software company Optim, is widely speculated to be a billionaire.
Wiki/Biography
Sugaya was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1977. He was fascinated by computers and programming since he was a child. During his school days, he would write game programs and sell them to his classmates. To realize his dream, he graduated from Saga University in Japan in 2000, where he learned more about computer programming.
At the age of 23, he received an offer to sell his business idea to Softbank for $2.8 million, but he turned it down. Instead, he focused on his idea and founded Optim, a software company in 2000. At the age of 43, his determination bore fruit. Amazingly, Optim’s stock price rose by 79% in 2020 after rising by 7.9% on June 10, 2020. Since then, Sugaya’s net worth has continued to climb as he owns 64% of Optim’s shares. Nearly two decades ago, Softbank founder Masayoshi Son approached Sugaya to buy his idea after the latter won a prize in a business competition that he judged. In addition to this, Sugaya was offered a high-paying job at Softbank. However, he remained unmoved.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 5″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
Family and Race
He was born into a Japanese family.
family
There is little information available about his parents and siblings.
relation
There is no record of his marital status and relationship status online.
Shunji and Optim Co., Ltd.
Optim Corp is the company that made him famous. Founded in 2000 and led by Sugaya, the company provides a business management platform consisting of AI and IoT technologies. Currently, the company is headquartered in Japan and has 208 employees. In addition, Optim has also acquired expertise in remote operations. After occupying the Japanese market, Optim also intends to expand in North America and Europe. Currently, its market value is about $1.6 billion.
Awards/Achievements
- In 2000, Shunji Sugaya won a prize in a business competition judged by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son.
- Ranked first in the survey on “Patent Asset Size of Japan’s Information and Communication Industry from 1993 to 2015”.
net worth
His wealth is estimated to be around $990 million (2020).
Facts/Trivia
- He was known to be very generous.
- He cares more about innovation than money. “I really don’t care” about money – he said in an interview with Bloomberg.
- Shunji is also the co-founder of Newelse Inc, which also created Wishfeed, a smartphone app that allows users to find and buy clothes.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education