Off The Grid
Henk Rogers, Hawaii Business' CEO of the year, does not follow conventions - he ignores or breaks them. Henk Rogers is an unusual choice for Hawaii Business magazine’s CEO of the Year. Past CEOs of the Year have led some…
Innovation
Inside the Mind of an Entrepreneur
In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success.” That’s how HBO describes its buzzy TV show, “Silicon Valley,” but is this characterization true? Ryan Louie shed…
Ocean-Friendly Bioplastics Made from Industrial Waste
Final bioplastic product: The Miss Sissi lamp. More info: tinyur.com/hnei-bioplastic UH researcher got help from microorganisms to invent green product The Creator Jian Yu didn’t set out to find a way to re-use organic waste. When he first moved to…
O‘ahu is in a Geological Sweet Spot for Fresh Water. Here’s Why
We looked into the story of the island’s freshwater, including where it comes from, how good it is and whether we’re taking care of it.
Got a Complex Problem? Map It Before Trying to Solve It
Overlaid on this picture is part of the Early Childhood Action Strategy systems map. TO TRANSFORM A system as complex as energy in Hawaii, dynamic thinking is needed, Dawn Lippert says. Systems maps and systems thinking help guide that dynamic thinking.…
Much More Than The Local Toyota Dealer
SERVCO PACIFIC HAS been growing for nearly a century and its holdings today cover cars, tires, insurance, appliances and a private equity firm, and they stretch from Australia to the U.S. mainland. Plus Servco now controls Fender, the company that makes…
8 Ways to Get More Women Into S.T.E.M.
Phuong-Thao Nguyen’s work at Hawaiian Telcom will affect everyone in the state. It’s important to maintain the passion that first drew you to STEM, says Phuong-Thao Nguyen of Hawaiian Telcom. “Passion is your sense of curiosity,…
Who Should Own Hawaiian Electric?
There must be blood in the water. Until last year, when Hawaiian Electric Industries announced its intent to merge with Florida energy giant NextEra, the company seemed like a permanent fixture of the local economy. Only a few zealous renewable-energy…
5 Steps to Accepting Risk
AS LEADERS, it’s the risks we don’t take that we regret the most, says professional coach Mary Kuentz. She suggests you can begin to get more comfortable with risk by changing how you think about it. 1. Question your relationship…
WATG Dazzles the World for 70 Years
A lot of collaboration takes place around the main work table at WATG’s Honolulu office. From left are Craig Takahata, VP and managing director for Honolulu; Tiffany Lee, associate operations manager; and Brittany Meyers, administrative assistant. Photo:…
Parting Shot: Solar Dry Dock
Friday 9:54 AM University of Hawaii Hangar, Kalaeloa Airport Photo by Odeelo Dayondon The Solar Impulse airplane will spend the winter in Hawaii, after completing the longest and most challenging leg of its…
Innovation: Good FIT for Chinese Students
Creator and His Product Richard Xie came to Hawaii for an MBA at Hawaii Pacific University and never returned to his native China. After graduation and a few stints in marketing for local wholesale businesses, he set out on his…
Catchafire
N onprofits always need specialized help at an affordable price. Meanwhile, skilled professionals want meaningful volunteer opportunities that go beyond stuffing envelopes. Rachael Chong says Catchafire solves both issues with a database that connects businesspeople’s skills with nonprofits’ needs. Catchafire’s…
Multimedia Innovator
Jay Fidell didn’t set out to be a journalist. The founder of the ThinkTech Hawaii arrived here from New York in 1965 as a Coast Guard lawyer and military judge. “It was the time of Vietnam, and war was in…
What’s Next for Solar
If you ever use a waste-burning toilet, don’t be surprised if you find out a solar-power company installed it. That’s one of the technologies being investigated by RevoluSun, a Honolulu-based solar company that has expanded its “Smart Home” division, offering…
Nutrition in a Dessert
Creators: Arnie Koss describes himself and his twin brother, Ron, as entrepreneurs. Before creating Brio, they founded Earth’s Best Baby Foods. The brothers conceived the idea of an ice cream that was both nutritional and delicious from their mother’s craving…
Talk Story: Omar and Tarik Sultan
The Sultan brothers are a major new force in Hawaii’s venture capital and startup communities. Their two platforms are Sultan Ventures, a Hawaii-based venture capital firm, and XLR8UH. Last year, the two of you and UH launched XLR8UH, a public-private…
Hawaiian Telecom Bringing More Bandwith To The Islands
“When we log onto our computers to check email, buy something from Amazon or watch a movie on Netflix, it seems almost magical. We don’t see the inner workings that make this happen. What enables all of these things we…
These Canoes Virtually Connect UH Campuses
At UH, you can walk into a classroom on the West Oahu campus to take a course on video game development with students who are 20 miles away in Manoa. Forget what you thought you knew about distance learning. These…
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…
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…
Getting a Tow, Uber-style
Founder: Tow Choice founder Dave Kozuki is surprised to be a towing entrepreneur, as his background is in tech sales and marketing in Silicon Valley. But he was sold after seeing the demo product use a smartphone to arrange a…
Managing the Flood
In a world in which too much information can be as dangerous as not enough, Contix offers a solution. The app sifts through millions of social-media posts about events – such as when a celebrity promotes a company or brand…
Audacious Beginnings for Hawaii Business
It was 1955. The FDA approved the Salk polio vaccine and Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. The Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series for the first time and Disneyland opened. Jimmy Stewart and…