Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2024
Profiles of 27 winners and finalists who are making a difference in startup paradise.
Author: Catherine Cruz-George
Return to Your Roots
Each month, about 100 people volunteer to wade knee-deep into muddy water to pull weeds and use traditional farming methods to maintain a series of Kaneohe taro patches. The nonprofit Papahana Kuaola hosts these Waipao Hana Days on the fourth…
Aulani Timeshare
When you buy a stake in Aulani, the Disney resort at Ko Olina, you can enjoy your week there every year or use your points to stay at one of Disney’s other resorts.…
Much More than a Lemonade Stand
This summer, hundreds of children in Honolulu and seven mainland cities will compete to create the best lemonade stand. But don’t expect watered-down concoctions and makeshift tables: These kids mean business. The contest, Lemonade Alley, requires participants from kindergarten through…
Pau Hana with Jeff Shonka
On weekends, Jeffrey Shonka likes to rip along the south shore of Oahu in his 20-foot Seaswirl speedboat. “Fifty-six [mph] is the fastest I’ve had it up to,” says Shonka, CFO of First Insurance Co. “At that point, my wife,…
Pau Hana With Dfuan Rivers
While leading friends down 18,500-foot Mount Elbrus in Russia several years ago, Djuan Rivers slipped from a snowy ledge and plunged 300 feet down a steep embankment. He stopped his fall by stabbing his ice axe into the snow, avoiding…
Traveling Babies Are Their Clients
Before boarding a flight in January for a six-week vacation on Oahu, Leilani and Stefen Reid of British Columbia rented online a crib, a high chair, a booster seat, adult bicycles and trailers for their 2-year-old son, Jackson, and daughter,…
No More Candies, But a Real Gift
If you think your assistant looks forward to flowers and chocolate on Administrative Professionals Day, April 21, you’re wrong. What he or she really wants is to attend a workshop — paid for by the company. It’s a smart investment…
Hiring Veterans
Raymond Jefferson has already given a lot for his country and for his comrades. During Special Forces training in 1995, Capt. Raymond Jefferson lost all five left-hand fingers as he shielded teammates from a grenade that exploded prematurely. He spent…
Snake Stowaways Could Cost Us $2 Billion a Year
If brown tree snakes sneak aboard the increasing number of flights from Guam to Hawaii and establish themselves here, the damage on Oahu alone could top $2 billion a year, according to a new study. The report in January’s Pacific…
New Home for Catholic Charities
One of Hawaii’s largest charity groups has just opened its new urban Honolulu headquarters — a one-stop shop for social services and home to 170 employees who oversee more than 30 programs statewide. Catholic Charities Hawaii says it paid $15.4…
‘Green’ Lights Can Save Plenty of Cash
Incandescents CFLs LEDs Average lifespan in hours 1,000 10,000 to 20,000 but frequent on-offs cut lifespan 50,000 Initial cost From $2 to $10 each 3X as much as incandescents 10X as much as incandescents Light per watt of electricity 40…
5 steps to Build Trust In the Workplace
The key to a peaceful work environment is trust, says Kalei Inn, principal consultant of Kalei Inn, Ph.D. and Associates. “Where there is trust, there will be a lower incidence of conflict in the workplace,” says Inn, whose firm specializes in…
Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work 2024: 78 Companies That Made the Cut
Find out who led the way in 14 categories, and how two organizations attract and keep employees despite serious challenges.
Handmade on Moloka‘i
Each of the garments made at Kealopiko’s screen-printing workshop are one-of-a-kind and tell a story.
