Civil Geeks: Tales from The Other Side
My last “Civil Geeks” column is a continuation of the previous piece addressing the practical and positive reasons why Hawaii startups often make the leap to the West Coast. In part two, I talk...
Category: Startups
Civil Geeks: Startups Leave Hawaii and That’s Okay
My latest (and penultimate) column for Civil Beat addresses comments I’ve constantly heard throughout the growth of Hawaii’s nascent innovation economy. When a local startup announces that it’s relocating to Silicon Valley, there are...
Civil Geeks: XLR8UH Accelerates University Entrepreneurs
My latest “Civil Geeks” column for Civil Beat provides an update on the XLR8UH accelerator program, a partnership between the University of Hawaii and local early-stage startup investment firm Sultan Ventures. Now 18 months in, and...
HVCA Announces 2016 ‘Deal of the Year’ Awards
The 16th Annual Hawaii Venture Capital Association Deal of the Year Awards were presented last night at the Waialae Country Club. I was there to support my friend and Smart Yields cofounder Vincent Kimura,...
KeyReply Team Builds Free Chat Widget
The team behind KeyReply, a keyboard for iOS that allows teams to easily customize and send pre-written messages, isn’t satisfied with building and launching a single product. Earlier this month, they released KeyReply for OSX, expanding...
Hawaii Kids Rank High in Global Startup Battle
When a team of pre-teens won first place in the latest Startup Weekend Honolulu last month, it was a remarkable accomplishment and milestone for the popular entrepreneurial showcase (which was won by a 16-year-old...
Big Island Startups Group Launched
A new group for current and would-be startup founders on Hawaii Island has formed, with an inaugural pau hana meetup set for Friday. The Big Island Startups was launched only four days ago, and has already drawn...
Gallery: Double-Threat Pitch-Off
It was a standing-room crowd last night at the YWCA of ‘Oahu for the “double-threat pitch-off,” a joint event organized by Sultan Ventures and Blue Startups. The former brought the Small Business Administration’s “InnovateHER” competition to...
Two Pitch Competitions Converge on Tuesday
Local teams vying for two different business innovation competitions, one national and the other international, will come together on the same stage on Tuesday for a “double-threat pitch off.” The winning teams from each will...
New Accelerator to Focus on Hardware Startups
Given the exponential growth we’ve seen in mobile app development, it makes sense that most people associate venture accelerator programs with software startups. But plenty of new ideas require hardware — whether it’s the smartphone needed...
Geek Beat: Grumbling, Replying, Traveling Apps
Want to complain? Send repetitive messages faster? Expand your travel plans? There are apps for that being built right here in Honolulu. This morning’s “Geek Beat” segment on the Sunrise morning news show on...
Kids Take Top Honors at Startup Weekend Honolulu
The eighth Startup Weekend Honolulu wrapped tonight at Kakaako Agora, with seven finalists pitching and presenting their work after a 54-hour marathon of designing, building, and preparing. And if you thought it was remarkable...
UH Accelerator Announces Third Cohort Finalists
The University of Hawaii venture accelerator, XLR8UH, is now in its second year, and this week announced the finalists for its third cohort of startup companies. The diverse group is building solutions ranging from athletic...
Startup Weekend Honolulu Returns Friday
The eighth Startup Weekend Honolulu is this weekend, coinciding with the sixth annual Global Startup Battle, which this year spans over 250 cities around the globe. A mix of developers, designers, entrepreneurs and marketers...
Workshops Set the Stage for Next Startup Weekend
The next Startup Weekend Honolulu is three weeks away, coinciding with the 6th annual Global Startup Battle. And preparations are already underway. Starting this past Thursday, there are three weekly workshops leading up to the main...
Rallying to Raise Young Entrepreneurs
The Hawaii Venture Capital Association sees a lot of young people who want to change the world. But its luncheon on Thursday will focus on an even younger cross section of the next generation....
SBA Lauds Three Local Accelerator Programs
Three Hawaii accelerator programs were among 80 such programs across the country recognized by the Small Business Administration for supporting entrepreneurs in their efforts to build successful companies and growing their local business community. XLR8UH, the Maui...
Energy Excelerator Assesses Its Success
The Energy Excelerator, born out of a pivot from a grant-based operation to a dual-track accelerator program, released its first impact report today, illustrating its evolution and reporting on how well it’s doing with its more than $30...
Blue Startups Announces Sixth Cohort
Blue Startups, Hawaii’s first and longest-running technology venture accelerator, is hosting an Open House event at its downtown Honolulu headquarters tomorrow to introduce the members of its latest and largest cohort of early stage startups…...
Dev League Adds Coding Prep Course for Beginners
DevLeague, Hawaii’s first and only coding bootcamp, is launching an introductory offering to help would-be students ensure that they have the basic skills needed to enter and succeed in the program. DevLeague was founded in...
