Allan Ikawa launched Big Island Candies in 1977 after working with a Swiss pastry chef and has grown the company into an internationally renowned brand.

Steve Haumschild moved to Hawaiʻi in 2001 to become a researcher at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The pandemic made hand sanitizer a necessity in March 2020 and Lanikai Bath and Body continued to have a supply when many other stores on Oʻahu ran out, says Brook Gramann, co-owner of Lanikai Bath and Body.

Pacxa was formed in 2010 when several local tech businesses united into a single company offering a range of IT services, including support, outsourcing and consulting.

A listing for a Hawaiʻi coffee farm caught the eyes of two Oregon natives as they surfed through Craigslist in 2010 during the aftermath of the Great Recession.

In the early days of the pandemic, Ko‘olau Distillery pivoted from making whiskey to creating hand sanitizer, which it donated to first responders, hospitals and others in need.

S&G Labs of Hawaii began COVID-19 PCR testing earlier than other labs at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, says owner Lynn Welch.

Inter-Island Solar Supply started 46 years ago as a supplier of solar hot water equipment but has since expanded to also sell solar PV panels, residential gas water heaters, water filtration systems and other equipment to Hawaiʻi contractors and builders.

"I describe Nalu as the power of friendship, how four friends made it happen against all odds,” says Tomas Kloosterboer, co-owner of Nalu Health Bar.