About
I’m Niko McGrath — a bilingual founder and operator, pivoting into business analysis and consulting from either side of the Pacific. The throughline across everything I’ve done: understand how a system really works, then make it work better for the people who use it.
The short version
I co-founded SalmonCat Studios, a mechanical-keyboard company, with one partner and no outside capital. We designed and shipped the Aozora Kit — a June 2021 launch that raised $231,849 in 30 days, 4.6× our goal. I owned the commercial side end to end: supplier negotiation (I cut our unit cost from $350 to $138 across a five-round redesign with the factory), Shopify operations, community, and fulfillment, while my co-founder led firmware.
For three years I was Director of Photography on a documentary YouTube channel that grew past 600,000 subscribers — roughly 240 productions, owned from the camera to the platform. That’s where I learned how a creator-side business actually grows: reading platform mechanics, executing sponsor briefs, and standing up revenue streams that weren’t there before.
Today I work bilingually inside a Japanese prefectural high school — leading curriculum and coaching in a Japanese-primary workplace, the kind of daily cross-cultural operation that’s hard to fake. I’m aiming at work that needs someone who can move between the US and Japan, and between framing a problem and building the answer.
What I’m doing now
Assistant Language Teacher · Bilingual curriculum lead
Interac — Warabi Saitama Prefectural High School- Teach 18 classes a week to ~400 students at a prefectural school with a dedicated international-language track — including 12 weekly periods of CEFR C1-level debate and discussion.
- Lead the 2nd-year speech curriculum: co-developing the course material and building every slide with my Japanese co-teacher.
- Trusted with 3rd-year university entrance-exam speaking coaching and TOEIC guidance; lead the English Debate Club and co-led the Drama Club to a prefectural first prize.
- Operate in a Japanese-primary workplace — daily staff communication, department and all-staff meetings, and coordination with the head of the English department and the vice principal, in Japanese.
Education
BS, Business Administration — International Business
Cal Poly Pomona- Dean's List in the final year. Coursework in international business strategy, agreements & negotiation, and strategic management.
- Co-founded the Japanese Language Learners Club and served as Vice President — the start of a long-running Japanese-language commitment that the JLPT N2 trajectory continues.
Languages
Get in touch
Best way to reach me is email: nikojmcgrath@gmail.com.