The Best of Startup Paradise 2019
28 profiles of entrepreneurs, startups and organizations that were nominated or won awards from the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. HVCA…
Entrepreneurship
Summer Camp for Student Entrepreneurs
The Nalukai Summer Startup Camp is unique. During the intensive 10-day program, Hawaii high school students stay in a student dormitory and learn how to create and launch businesses and products while being mentored by experienced entrepreneurs, Hawaiian practitioners and…
The Next Generation of Hawaiian Designers
A new generation of Hawaiian creative consultants is challenging our expectations for indigenous design. The phrase “Hawaiian design” calls to mind familiar visual tropes: kapa patterns, hula dancers, maybe even (cringe) tiki kitsch. But a new generation of native Hawaiian…
Entrepreneurs & Investors Convene at Annual East Meets West Conference
The fifth annual East Meets West event, organized by Blue Startups, is a two-day conference where entrepreneurs and investors convene – indoors and outdoors Chenoa Farnsworth attends 10 to 15 business and tech conferences across the U.S. and Asia each…
Spotlight on Small Business:
Preparing Your Business for 2019
If you want history to repeat itself, then do nothing and maybe it will. But if you want 2019 to be better for your business than 2018, identify what worked well in the past year and what did not: Consider…
Hawaiʻi's Local Youtube Stars
Young celebrities (and some older ones) understand the path to successful careers in show business, fashion or music looks a lot different than it did a generation ago. They start with video and social media, then branch out in all directions.
Student Invention That Aims to Prevent Stillborn Births Wins Entrepreneur Competition
Nathan Neeley is still a student at Brigham Young University Hawaii but he’s already developed a device that can alert a pregnant woman if something is wrong with her baby. He won first place pitching his company, Rubi, Nov. 8th…
Mana Up Names 2nd Cohort of Hawaii Companies Aiming for Worldwide Growth
The startup accelerator aims to feed the global demand for Island brands. Startup accelerator Mana Up today announced its second cohort of 11 local companies, whose products include coffee, clothing, jewelry and stationery – made with Hawaii themes and inspiration.…
High Seas Entrepreneur
Local sailor charts a unique course in sailing’s toughest challenge – a dangerous round-the-world race. Mark Towill gripped the helm of the 65-foot Volvo Ocean Racing boat in the inky blackness of an Antarctic Ocean night, pushing the boat to…
Big Island Hui Offers Big Prize for Entrepreneurs
The HIplan business plan competition provides a $25,000 grand prize while helping to build an islandwide entrepreneurial network. It was a morning in the fall of 2017, and Dr. Shallon Craddock was catching a few precious minutes of sleep in…
18th Annual HVCA Awards Gala
The 18th Annual Hawaii Venture Capital Association (HVCA) Awards Gala celebrated the best and brightest of Startup Paradise as well as the 30th anniversary of the organization at the Waialae Country Club on March 1. A little over 300 people…
Immigrants Get The Job Done In Hawaii
Here’s who they are and what they contribute to the local economy. Immigrants have an outsized place in Hawaii’s history. In the 19th and early 20th centuries they came from Japan, China, Puerto Rico and the Portuguese Azores and sustained…
Proving Ground for Young Talent
Students compete to demonstrate their entrepreneurial chops Rose Wong’s first job was at 14 working as a cashier and sushi roller for Kozo Sushi. Three years and seven jobs later, tired of minimum wage, she launched Kolohe Ocean Gems while…
The Best of Startup Paradise 2018
Meet the 27 winners and finalists of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association awards. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and flourishing in Hawaii, aka Startup Paradise. A total of 27 companies and individuals were honored at the Hawaii Venture Capital Association’s annual…
East Meets West Second Day Delivers Info Packed Panel Talks
Day two of the East Meets West Conference was held appropriately at the East-West Center in Manoa, Friday,…
The Aina Acknowledges East Meets West 2018 Summit Day
Hawaiians believe that when it rains on an event day that is the aina (that which feeds us) acknowledging your presence, and the land made attendees of the East West Conference 2018 Summit feel recognized. Venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, techies and…
Student Entrepreneurs Compete In State Qualifiers: Kolohe Ocean Gems Owner Advances to Nationals
Rose Wong started her jewelry business while a junior at Kaiser High and now that she’s in college, she’s launching a line of fine jewelry that she hopes will become “the next Cartier.” Wong won the Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards…
Entrepreneurs and Investors to Converge in Honolulu
East Meets West Conference: Interview with Blue Startups Managing Partner Chenoa Farnsworth The annual East Meets West Conference brings together tech industry entrepreneurs and investors from markets in Asia, the U.S. Mainland and Hawaii. The event will take place on…
Mana Up Aims to Turn Small Local Companies into Global Brands
The Hawaii brand is beloved around the world and there are mom and pop enterprises that want to give that love back but don’t know how. Enter Mana Up, a new accelerator aimed at promoting homegrown Hawaii products and transforming…
Restoring Memories
The JamBio for JamBios goes a little like this: An entrepreneur with successful ventures sees ideas everywhere. As she walks down the street, Beth N. Carvin pulls ideas from her surroundings, her daydreams, and the people and things in her…
Ask the Expert: How to Get Into an Accelerator
THIS MONTH’S EXPERT: Omar Sultan Co-founder and managing partner, Sultan Ventures and XLR8UH sultanventures.com xlr8uh.com Q: I'm an independent entrepreneur with a great business plan. How do I get into an incubator? A: First determine whether an accelerator is the…
Survivors
It’s Sunday morning and the aisles of Kauai’s Kukuiula Market are empty, save for a middle-age man scoping out the beer selection and a teen devouring a giant acai bowl. As a six-pack and a Spam musubi land on the…
His Formula for Success: Fail, Fail, Fail, Prevail
Kalin Uluave didn’t let business failures stop him. Good thing, because the fourth succeeded, and the fifth and sixth are on track, too, with a seventh on the way. Uluave, a business-management major at BYU-Hawaii, topped three other contestants to…
The Best of Startup Paradise 2017
Startup Paradise Is Good for All of Us. Everyone in Hawaii can and should be an advocate and champion for Startup Paradise, because we all benefit from…