Episode 01: Tarik Sultan, Founder of Sultan Ventures and Managing Partner at XLR8UH
EPISODE 01: TARIK SULTAN, FOUNDER / MANAGING PARTNER AT SULTAN VENTURES AND XLR8UH Tarik talks about financial models, his personal journey and the future of Sultan Ventures SV Partner and Founder chats financials, startups and investing. Tarik Co-founded Sultan Ventures and XLR8UH and along with his brother Omar is the recipient of the 2014 Hawaii…Read More
Episode 02: Meli James, President of HVCA
EPISODE 02: MELI JAMES, PRESIDENT OF HVCA Meli discusses her experiences going from Cornell to startups in San Francisco and her work in Hawaii’s Startup Paradise. Hawaii native and Silicon Valley veteran, Meli James, discusses her experiences going from Cornell to startups in San Francisco and her work in Hawaii’s Startup Paradise. Meli is the president…Read More
Episode 03: Steve Haumschild, Angel Investor and Founder and CEO of Lanikai Brewing Company
EPISODE 03 STEVE HAUMSCHILD, CEO LANIKAI BREWING Steve is a successful entrepreneur and investor, in our show he shares a little about his exciting journey Adventureman, investor, and master brewer; Steve shares his experiences in life and business. From living in a tent in the woods to working on a volcano in Hawaii, to launching…Read More
Episode 04: Rechung Fujihira, CEO Box Jelly
EPISODE 04: RECHUNG FUJIHIRA How he started Box Jelly: Hawaii’s first co-working space, tips on building community, and why he gives back Rechung Fujihira is Co-Founder and CEO of Box Jelly, Hawaii’s first co-working space. He was also Co-Founder of Blue Startups, Hawaii’s first venture-accelerator and has helped to build various pillars of the startup…Read More
Episode 05: Susan Yamada, Executive Director Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship
EPISODE 05: SUSAN YAMADA Investing in student entrepreneurs, running startups, and golf handicaps Ms. Yamada has been the Executive Director of PACE since June 2008. Located within the University of Hawaii’s Shidler College of Business, the Entrepreneurship Center hosts a comprehensive set of programs, utilizing both experiential and mentoring approaches to teaching students and faculty…Read More
Episode 06: Peter Rowan, Angel Investor & Angel in Residence at Sultan Ventures and XLR8UH
EPISODE 06 PETER ROWAN Peter discusses ad agencies in New York, learning Russian, Investing in Redbox, and negotiating tactics Veteran Angel investor Peter Rowan sits down to discuss all of his experiences on his journey from Russian History major to Corporate Vice President at Coinstar. Peter is currently an Angel in Residence for Sultan Ventures…Read More
BONUS Episode – HVCA State of the Startup Investment Industry in Hawaii Luncheon
Each year, Hawaii Venture Capital Association has a “State of the Startup Investment Industry” talk with panel discussion and investor presentations reviewing and forecasting developments both locally and nationally. This year we were fortunate to attend and record the proceedings! We’ve included the audio from the event in a bonus episode of The Startup Catalyst Podcast….Read More
Episode 07: Sean Ho`okano – Briel, CEO and Co-Founder at Comprendio
EPISODE 07: SEAN HO`OKANO-BRIEL Sean discusses his time in Hawaii, teaching experiences, and the start of his company Comprend.io Sean Ho`okano-Briel is an educator and lifelong learner committed to fostering transformational learning environments from the classroom to the workforce. He is the co-founder of the ed-tech platform Comprendio, 2015 HVCA Tech Entrepreneur of the Year,…Read More
Episode 08: Chenoa Farnsworth, Managing Director of Blue Startups and Hawaii Angels
EPISODE 08: CHENOA FARNSWORTH Chenoa discusses startup culture, Hawaii’s global startup paradise brand and what she looks for in an investment Chenoa Farnsworth is the managing director of Blue Startups, a top 20 U.S. Accelerator, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. She also manages the Hawaii Angels investment network, which has invested over $40 million in startup…Read More
Episode 09: Mark Quezada, CTO and Co-Founder at Hobnob
EPISODE 09: MARK QUEZADA Mark discusses his experiences in the tech industry and his transition to successful entrepreneur and CTO at Hobnob Mark is the CTO and Co-Founder at Hobnob. Mark is one of the most talented full stack developers and startup minds in Hawaii. He’s founded multiple companies, has built apps and websites visited…Read More
Episode 10: Gabe Mott, CEO and Co-Founder at Huedoku
EPISODE 10: GABE MOTT Gabe discusses all of his experiences from working in Silicon Valley to becoming an artist and eventually developing his app Huedoku Gabe began his career at Silicon Graphics, working through the hay day of the dot com boom. Through various roles in tech, he ended up pursuing a passion in the…Read More
Episode 11: Warren Doi, Go To Market Lead at Energy Excelerator
EPISODE 11: WARREN DOI Startup veteran, Warren Doi, shares stories from his career includng GreenCar Hawaii and Energy Excelerator Warren has a diverse background from beginning his career in management consulting for Ernst & Young in London, England, to various startups taking him from Silicon Valley to Hawaii. He co-founded GreenCar Hawaii, a company that…Read More
BONUS – Week of Blue Startups Cohort 7 Demo Day – UNUM Co-Founder Dillon Morgan Chats about his Startup and answers Q&A
This is the first installment of our 3-part series of special programming for the week of Blue Startups Demo Day for Cohort 7 wrapping up with their Honolulu Demo Day last Friday, and leading up to their Silicon Valley Demo Day this weekend. We will be interviewing several startup CEO’s from the Blue Batch #7. This…Read More
BONUS #2 – Week of Blue Startups Cohort 7 Demo Day – Activiter CEO and Co-Founder Rob Lafontaine joins us to chat about his Startup and answers Q&A
Part 2 of our 3-part series of special programming for the week of Blue Startups Demo Day for Cohort 7 wrapping up with their Honolulu Demo Day last Friday, and leading up to their Silicon Valley Demo Day this weekend. Today we chat with Rob Lafontaine, CEO and Co-Founder at Activiter. This episode includes the Activiter elevator pitch,…Read More
BONUS #3 – Week of Blue Startups Cohort 7 Demo Day – Safe Chats CEO and Co-Founder Nikita Osipov
Hey everybody! This is the final show of our bonus series of special programming for the week of Blue Startups Cohort 7 wrapping up with their Honolulu Demo Day last Friday, and leading up to their Silicon Valley Demo Day this weekend. We interviewed several startup founders from the Blue Cohort 7 including Dillon from…Read More
Episode 12: Michael Keoni DeFranco, CEO & Founder at Lua Technologies
EPISODE 12: MICHAEL KEONI DEFRANCO Michael Keoni sits down to talk about starting Lua, sales strategies, having advisors, and even the Hoku’lea Michael came up with the idea for Lua technologies (secure, mobile-first messaging for the enterprise) in college and achieved product-market fit through initial testing on a film set! The company has since gone…Read More
Episode 13: Omar Sultan, Founder and Managing Partner at Sultan Ventures & XLR8UH
EPISODE 13: OMAR SULTAN From New Orleans to Abu Dhabi and Hawaii – Omar shares gems on his journey including his interest in the medical field, computers, and venture capital Omar has been a tireless worker for entrepreneurs, technology, and innovation in Hawaii for nearly a decade. In the interview, Omar gets into how he…Read More
Episode 14: Evan Leong, Entrepreneur & Investor
EPISODE 14: EVAN LEONG Evan stops by to provide insight into starting multiple companies while still balancing his family life Serial Entrepreneur, Evan Leong shares his experiences about being an entrepreneur from a young age, the power of networking, figuring out work-arounds to succeed, what OPI, OPE, and OPM are. The importance of having clarity…Read More
Episode 15: Hunter Swensson, COO and Co-Founder at Paranoid Fan
EPISODE 15: HUNTER SWENSSON Hunter discusses his all of his experiences from competing as a professional eSports player to starting his company Paranoid Fan Today’s episode kicks off our special 3-part sports-tech series, just in time for the Olympics. Leading off is Hunter Swensson, Founder and COO at Paranoid Fan. Paranoid Fan is a social mapping…Read More
Episode 16: Troy Ruediger, Founder at Starters.Co.
EPISODE 16: TROY RUEDIGER Troy discusses his entrepreneurial background, building community, and product development Troy Ruediger has been an early startup employee, repeat founder, and straight up hustler. In his first company he worked at Rukkus, he did everything from Flying drones, selling tickets, doing customer service. Troy is the Founder at Starters.Co. and leads Product/Growth at vibby. Troy…Read More
Episode 17: Brett McDonald, CEO and Founder at Vantage Sports
EPISODE 17 BRETT MCDONALD, CEO AND FOUNDER AT VANTAGE SPORTS Brett talks about founding Vantage Sports, a premier sports analytics platform, and moving into the eSports industry. Today’s episode is part tres of our special trifecta of episodes that are the sport focused olympic series, where this week we welcome Brett McDonald, CEO and Founder…Read More
Episode 18: Lauren Primiano, Managing Member at Reef.VC
EPISODE 18: LAUREN PRIMIANO, MANAGING MEMBER AT REEF.VC Lauren discusses her startup and investing journey, being a competitive wrestler and Hawaii’s startup community Lauren has had a diverse career to date, working with various companies and agencies. She’s been an early startup employee in several medical and early stage companies, helped on the investor and…Read More
Episode 19: Lanai Tabura, Entertainer & Entrepreneur
EPISODE 19 – LANAI TABURA, ENTERTAINER & ENTREPRENEUR Today’s guest is Lanai Tabura, Entertainer, Entrepreneur and Producer / TV Show Host In the interview, we cover a wide range of topics and Lanai tells LOTS of stories. We dig deep into the various entrepreneurial activities he’s enjoyed over the years and really chat through the…Read More
Episode 20: Startup Ecosystem Chat with Village Capital’s Jared Marquette
EPISODE 20 – STARTUP ECOSYSTEM CHAT WITH VILLAGE CAPITAL’S JARED MARQUETTE In today’s show, you’ll learn about Vilcap’s investment model, what the VilCap communities look like and how they were selected, what government’s role should be in ecosystem conversations, how important universities are, and Jared’s take on the Hawaii startup ecosystem: how we compare to…Read More
Episode 21: Proto HUB, REV, and Investing in Community with George Yarbrough
EPISODE 21: GEORGE YARBROUGH Co-founder and Director of Operations at Proto HUB Honolulu Today’s episode we welcome co-founder of the Proto HUB Honolulu, George Yarbrough. He is also the co-creator and facilitator of the Raising Entrepreneurial Ventures Program that just completed. He’s a world-traveler, and a world-class dude! In this short conversation with George, we…Read More
BONUS show with XLR8UH startups: Algorithmhub, Cropsticks, and MorphOptic
We talk with several XLR8UH cohort companies, including catching up with MorphOptic’ CEO and Founder Jeff Kuhn from Cohort 1 and 2 and we also chat with Cohort 4 company founders John Bay from Algorithmhub and Mylen Yamamoto from Cropsticks. Enjoy!
Episode 23: Pedro Sorrentino, Venture Associate at FundersClub
EPISODE 23 – PEDRO SORRENTINO Today’s episode we welcome Pedro Sorrentino from FundersClub. You are in for a treat as you get to hear Pedro’s story. Growing up in Sao Paolo, Pedro has been a hustler since his youth. His passion to pursue greatness, and his heart to apply himself and give back is just…Read More
Episode 24: Emilia Chagas, CEO and Co-Founder at Contentools
EPISODE 24 – EMILIA CHAGAS Today’s episode we welcome Emilia Chagas from Contentools. In the show you’ll learn a little of Emilia’s background being a content expert, launching her business, going through 500 startups, and what it’s like working in Brazil. Emilia is a maven of content, and we get into some super specific content…Read More
Episode 25: Ross Baird, Founder and CEO at Village Capital
EPISODE 25: ROSS BAIRD Founder and CEO at Village Capital Today’s episode we welcome Ross Baird, Founder and CEO at Village Capital. One of the most amazing stories, I think, in venture these days is the Vilcap Story. You’re going to hear some things not available anywhere else as Ross goes through some awesome stories. Including,…Read More
Episode 26: Luke Tucker, Director at HackerOne
EPISODE 26: LUKE TUCKER Director at HackerOne Today we’ll be flipping the script and guest host Tarik Sultan will be interviewing Luke in our Season 1 Finale of The Startup Catalyst Podcast. Luke has a decade of experience working with small businesses and startups with a career ranging from commercial banking, mobile app development, as…Read More