THE STARTUP CATALYST® PODCAST
HAWAII: Startup Success Stories from Paradise
Over the past 5 years, more than 150 startups have gone through Hawaii-based accelerator programs, generating over $250 million in revenue and funding, with numerous successful exits. Yet the majority of startup attention remains focused on the East Coast and San Francisco Bay Area. We hope to change that.
In our pilot season, we shine the spotlight on Hawaii’s extraordinary entrepreneurs, investors, and advocates that are shaping Startup Paradise. Showcasing the amazing talent and innovation in Hawaii and beyond, we’ll hear from guests like Lanai Tabura (Cooking Hawaiian Style) and Peter Rowan (former corporate VP, Coinstar) as they share the ingredients that catalyzed their entrepreneurial and investing success.
Join guest host Luke Tucker as he kicks off insightful and fun interviews broadcast from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Episodes
Season 1
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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Episode 20: Startup Ecosystem Chat with Village Capital’s Jared Marquette
https://soundcloud.com/sultanventures/episode-20-jared-marquette-of-village-capital
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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!...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Mahalo to past, present, and future guests!