SmallBiz Editor's Choice Awards 2015
Profiles of five great local companies that you should know about.
All Stories
What's the Big Idea?
For many years, Vassilis Syrmos didn’t spend much time thinking about business. An electrical engineer with a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and a new career in academia, he was happy to focus on pure research. “When you’re a young assistant…
Sustainable Schools Earn An A
Private and public schools discover many benefits to their sustainability programs, including financial, educational, motivational and recruiting returns. For companies, the path to sustainability often starts with a volunteer task force (a “green team”) and some small initiatives with quick financial…
Kakaako's Affordable Housing Rarely Is
After all the hullabaloo, the hearings, legislation, planning, permits and protests, the concept of an urban, gentrified Kakaako is now an urban reality in progress. Cranes fill the skyline from one end of Kakaako to the other, with at least…
Instrument of Aloha
Since the ukulele arrived in the Islands late in the 19th century, it has been a symbol of Hawaii and the aloha spirit. That aloha is shared widely and generously by ukulele makers, performers and teachers, both locally and around…
Natural Energy Lab Fosters its Own Startup Paradise
I believe the Hawaiian people have been given a tremendous gift from Pele and that gift is this access to deep ocean water,” says Rich Bailey, owner of Dewpoint Systems. The gift of deep ocean water may be Pele’s, but…
More Efficient Power
In the hospitality world, it’s not just hotel guests who win points and rewards. The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on Kauai’s North Shore earned a bonus when it installed a system that delivers electricity more efficiently and comes with…
Inevitable Change
Soon – maybe even by the time you read this article – the state’s largest company, Hawaiian Electric Industries, will begin a radical transformation from the stodgy monopoly we’ve known for 124 years, into a much more nimble and competitive…
Little Fire Ant Could Take Big Bite Out of Hawaii Island Economy
As far as invasive species go, the little fire ant is considered one of the world’s worst. Its burning sting causes a painful, long-lasting and itchy rash in humans; can interfere with nesting and endanger the young of native species;…
Private Chef Makes At-Home Meals Special
A luxurious meal at home prepared by a professional chef is not just a privilege of the rich and famous, but available to anyone willing to spend a few hundred dollars on…
Helping Plan Hawaii Opera Future
“If you find the right organization – someone whose work you admire – (volunteering) does not feel like a lot of work,” says Leighton Yuen. For attorney Yuen and banker Cori Weston, that organization is the Hawaii Opera Theatre, and…
Parting Shot: Eyeing the Needle
Wednesday, 10:35 A.m. Working Class Tattoo, Kaimuki Photo by Olivier Koning Owner Steven Lam meticulously inspects a sterilized needle through a magnifying loupe to ensure it is straight and sharp before it punctures flesh. Lam says that during the manufacturing…