Nov 14, 2018 | Innovation
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) recently held an informal public event, Maui TechOhana@Cohana, featuring Dr. David Ai, Director, Office of Innovation and Commercialization and Chief Innovation Officer of the University of Hawaii (UH) System. Maui TechOhana meetings provide an informal networking opportunity open to anyone interested in Maui’s technology industry.
“The TechOhana meetings are a great opportunity to share views and thoughts in an open forum,” said Gerry Smith, MEDB Director of Business Development. “The reason MEDB has these events is to offer presentations on relevant topics in business and technology, followed by the opportunity to talk with others with similar professional interests.”
Dr. Ai detailed how the University of Hawaii plans to work with local constituents to promote innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the state. An international expert in management and business administration, Ai has more than 20 years of experience in various positions with large corporations and venture companies. In his UH position, he is responsible for the protection of intellectual property and UH-developed technology transfers and assets.
“I am thrilled to join the University of Hawaii System, and to help drive the innovation agenda with colleagues on 10 campuses– placing the research institutes under one umbrella,” said Ai. “Hawaii has a long and proud history of diversity, which is the most important ingredient of innovation.”
Pamela Norris, an entrepreneur and TechOhana participant, commented on the presentation which outlined Dr. Ai’s vision for his newly formed Departments within the UH system. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and broad practical experience to his position,” Norris said. “Ai’s vision is to upgrade the University’s ability to commercialize research results by students and faculty, in collaboration with community businesses. Businesses can apply for government grants jointly with a university faculty member who may be interested in the endeavor. Moreover, leaders in the community can offer opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real life business challenges where they partake in community solutions.”
Maui TechOhana meetings will resume in the new year. Learn about these events by signing up for news and updates at medb.org
I am thankful for Maui TechOhana which is presented by MEDB, the County of Maui, Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, and the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation. The meetings create opportunities for people to come together, learn, find inspiration, and make new friends.
Dr. David Ai, Director of the Office of Innovation and Commercialization and Chief Innovation Officer of the University of Hawaii System
Nov 7, 2018 | Innovation
Startup Weekend Maui is on November 16-18. Learn how to launch a startup in just 54 hours while receiving invaluable insights and advice from this year’s coaches and judges.
Coaches
- Gary Albitz, FocalPoint Business Coach and Lecturer UH Maui College
- Runno Allikivi, Head of Scandinavia at Funderbeam
- Debasis Battacharya, Assistant Professor, UH Maui College
- David Dal, BDC Director, MEO, Inc.
- Rebecca Filipovic, Attorney, McKeon Sheldon Mehling
- Bobby Jackson, Business Coach, RedRidge Consultants
- Jules Kremer, Technical Project Manager at Google
- Fred Mabie, Faculty member – UH Maui College, ABIT
- Luana Mahi, Owner, Principal Broker, Kismet Brokerage; President of Maui Food Technology Center
- Keri Mehling, Attorney & Partner, McKeon Sheldon Mehling
- Doug Nelson, President, Kinection
- Chris Speere, Site Coordinator,UH Maui College’s Maui Food Innovation Center
- Wayne Wong, Director, Hawaii Small Business Development Center – Maui Center
Judges
- Virendra Nath, President HDEP International
- Michael Powells, Founder Splash Inc.
- Teena Rasmussen, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (OED)
Get ready!
Prepare for Startup Weekend Maui with Pitch Bootcamp, Tuesday November 13. Get tips to craft a strong 60-second pitch for your startup idea!
For more information and to register, please go to www.startupweekendmaui.com
Oct 31, 2018 | Innovation
The 17th Annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies (AMOS) Conference was held on September 20-23 at the Wailea Marriott Resort and Spa with a record-breaking attendance of over 670 participants from 18 countries. A program of the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), AMOS is the premier technological conference in the nation devoted to Space Situational Awareness (SSA), knowledge of objects in orbit around the Earth. Over 100 technical papers were presented along with featured speakers, poster sessions, exhibits and short courses in the fields of telescope optics, adaptive imaging, and astrodynamics.
Graduate and undergraduate students Andrew Guagliardo and Ryan Theriot from the University of Hawaii Manoa Laboratory for Advanced Visualization and Applications (LAVA) developed
new ways to visualize big data for satellite technology. “We exhibited our program called SatWatch, a virtual reality exploration of satellite orbits around Earth,” Guagliardo explained. “By pulling publicly available data from the Celestrak website, SatWatch is able to create a predictive model of orbits for a wide variety of satellites. SatWatch is an example of a complex dataset represented in an intuitive way, allowing users to easily understand satellite orbits in an interactive visualization environment.”
Maui middle school students participated in hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activities during the Space Exploration Student Session at AMOS. They were introduced to space technologies via exhibits and science projects tailored especially for them.
“I enjoyed learning and talking to the experts at the AMOS Conference,” said Czerena Martinne Boyle, Maui Waena Intermediate School 8th grader. “My favorite booth was SatWatch, a virtual reality exploration of satellite orbits around the Earth. Through the virtual reality headset, I got to explore SSA data of numerous satellite orbits. These satellites make a big impact on the community and in the world for national security, internet, banking, telephones, television, navigation, scientific exploration and more.”
Seeing satellites orbit the earth through a virtual reality headset was an amazing experience!
Czerena Martinne Boyle, Maui Waena Intermediate School, 8th grade
Oct 24, 2018 | Community
The 5th Annual Made in Maui County Festival (MIMCF), set for November 2-3, 2018 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, is considered Maui County’s largest product show. This major event, featuring hundreds of Made in Maui County products, helps to grow the islands’ small businesses.
The MIMCF will be the first major, as well as the returning show, for many businesses that Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Innovation Series has fostered. “It is incredibly rewarding for us at MEDB to see all the workshops, boot camps, and Startup Weekends actually paying off,” said Gerry Smith, MEDB Director of Business Development. “MEDB regularly collaborates with local organizations focused on economic development. We all have the same goal in mind: the success and growth of small businesses on Maui.”
This year, Leanne Ohta and Ana Magarin, owners of Maui Sugar Mamas LLC, will join over 140 product vendors offering a wide variety of foods, produce, art, crafts, jewelry, fashions, furniture, gifts, collectibles, and more. Raised on Maui, Ohta, and Magarin have been best friends for more than 25 years and are both dental professionals — with a passion for baking.
“We create a variety of crispy cookies packed with flavor which are bite-size and melt-in-your-mouth,” Ohta and Magarin explained. “The flavors are unique. Our cookies are hand-scooped, baked, and sealed for freshness. Our year round selections include our Signature Chocoholic Chip, Coffee Lava, and Passion 8 Bliss. We offer specialty and seasonal cookies, and we create custom gift baskets, as well as party favors for different events and occasions.”
Smith added, “Ohta and Magarin, the Sugar Mamas, are amazing! They have a really good product and work hard. The Sugar Mamas utilized MEDB’s free one-on-one business consultations to work out their cost to manufacture their products, cash flow, the best price to charge, and their manufacturing capacity. The Mamas are an example of a Maui-based food entrepreneur doing it right. I encourage all entrepreneurs to explore MEDB’s free business assistance services and their workshops, and to attend the 3rd annual Hawaii Small Business Conference in 2019.”
Maui is fortunate to have MEDB providing amazing services supporting entrepreneurs, allowing us to see the bigger picture, be more business minded, and see that our dreams can become a reality. Come see us at the MIMCF!
Leanne Ohta and Ana Magarin, Maui Sugar Mamas
Oct 17, 2018 | Small Business
In just one weekend, you will experience the highs, lows, fun, and pressure that make up life at a startup. Surrounded by smart, passionate people and with the best tools and strategies at your disposal, you’ll take giant leaps in learning skills to create a business, build a team, and connect with the right people and resources.
The Startup Weekend Maui Series includes three (3) warm-up events to give you valuable tools for your business: Pinching Your Pennies; Lean Startup Canvas; and Pitch Bootcamp.
For more information and to register, please go to www.startupweekendmaui.com
