Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025
25 years of honoring outstanding local startups and innovation.
For a quarter century, the Hawaii Venture Capital Association’s awards programs have highlighted local entrepreneurs and companies that succeed despite challenges.
“It’s really hard to do business here in Hawai‘i. … We are an island chain in the middle of the Pacific,” HVCA President Meli James says. “We have a high, high cost of living. There are a lot of things that naturally make Hawai‘i challenging. That being said, small business has been really at the heart of Hawai‘i and has really been such a huge driver for so much of our community.”
Today, HVCA’s recognition program is called the Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards; it was known as the Hawaii Venture Capital Association Awards back when Hoku Scientific won Deal of the Year in 2004 and Hoana Medical won the same award in 2009.
Hoku Scientific founder Dustin Shindo focused his company on renewable energy and fuel cell components. Shindo, whose early customers included Sanyo, Nissan, and the U.S. Army, sold Hoku in 2009 just before the effects of the Great Recession hit the company. Since then, he’s founded other startups and now consults for HPM Building Supply.
“While there’s always entrepreneurs, it’s nice to see the next group kind of come in, pick up the fight. You know, a lot of the young ones always want to change Hawai‘i and improve it,” Shindo says. “As my generation kind of moves on, the next generation of entrepreneurs, seeing them want to improve Hawai‘i and make a difference is nice.”
Patrick Sullivan, founder and CEO of Oceanit, was presented the Deal of the Year award in 2007 for the Oceanit spinoff Hoana Medical, which developed, manufactured, sold, and serviced what it called the world’s first totally passive medical monitoring system, the LifeBed.
“Hoana ran into trouble after the 2008 collapse of the financial market. We were in the middle of financing and literally had a signed document that evaporated and ended up with the company in a real pickle,” Sullivan says.
Oceanit continues to flourish globally from its base in Hawai‘i, Sullivan says. He says human capital is extremely important and it’s crucial to help keep smart, educated people in Hawai‘i. Sullivan says the next generation of entrepreneurs needs to embrace who they are.
“We live in Hawai‘i, but we work around the world. Don’t make excuses for living in Hawai‘i, always a great place to live and have a family, and we think it’s a great place to do innovation,” Sullivan says.
The Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards bring organizations, entrepreneurs, and investors together to celebrate achievements.
“I’m a big believer in collision and just getting smart people in the room,” James says. “You think about anything people are doing. It’s so hard to get the word out. Everyone has their lives, and there’s just so much going on. It’s really nice to be able to do this storytelling.”
James says she’s excited about the future “and what we’ll be able to celebrate in the next five years, 10 years, next 25 years.”
Table of Contents
Agriculture/Clean Tech Entrepreneur
Consumer Packaged Goods Entrepreneur
Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year
Corporate Intrapreneur of the Year
Student Entrepreneur of the Year
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Entrepreneur of the Year
Awarded to the individual who has gone above expectations with their company, and who serves as a clear example to other entrepreneurs.
Winner: Alexia Akbay, Symbrosia
While digesting grass, cows typically burp or fart out methane that contributes to global warming, so Alexia Akbay set out to tackle the problem. She found a study that demonstrated that limu kohu, or red seaweed, is a kind of “magical” organism that reduces those emissions when fed to cows.
“We just really focused on figuring out how to cultivate it, how to deliver it in a formulation to animals and ensure that it’s working, and then how to kind of put an offering on the table for farmers to allow them to make a profit from using our product,” Akbay says.
Symbrosia has an aquaculture system that grows limu kohu at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua-Kona.
“The fastest-growing industry in Hawai‘i is aquaculture, and it’s really an opportunity to diversify our economy away from the government, defense, and tourism,” she says.
Symbrosia is growing and plans to fill 80 full-time positions in limu aquaculture, agriculture, and research.
“Working to reduce the impact of climate change through natural resources is a privilege,” Akbay says.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Agriculture/Clean Tech Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur and company whose technology supports a greener future or helps farmers with innovative agricultural practices.
Winner: Kaiulani Odom, Hawai‘i Good Food Alliance
The Alliance is a partnership of eight organizations focused on improving Hawai‘i’s food system, reducing dependency on imports, and building community resilience.
Its members collaborate and support each other with the goal of strengthening all parts of Hawai‘i’s food system, from production and processing to distribution and consumption.
“It’s all about promoting a healthy food system in Hawai‘i that makes sure that we’re taking care of our land, we’re taking care of our people, we’re taking care of our community,” says Executive Director Kaiulani Odom.
In fact, caring for the ‘āina is one of the group’s pillars. The others are that food should be culturally grounded, act like medicine, be equitably distributed, and be community-based.
Among its many projects, the Alliance worked this year with the state Department of Education on a plan to send 58,000 produce boxes to local residents within five months.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Kerry Kakazu, Metrogrow Hawaii
MetroGrow Hawaii says it operates Hawai‘i’s first indoor vertical farm to grow hydroponic produce for local restaurants and the community. Despite major capital costs at the start and high ongoing energy expenses, the farm has maintained operations for over a decade.
Founder and president Kerry Kakazu says indoor farming is currently more expensive than traditional farming in Hawai‘i but that MetroGrow’s location in the heart of Kaka‘ako puts it closer to its customers. Kakazu says his goal is to make indoor farming economically competitive with traditional farming.
“You use less water, use less land, don’t have to use pesticides – a new, modern way of growing that could be very productive,” he says.
MetroGrow’s greens are sold directly to restaurants or can be purchased at farmers markets on O‘ahu.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Judiah Mcroberts, Kaua‘i Hemp Co.
Kaua‘i Hemp Co. sells products in Hawai‘i and Japan that are infused with locally grown organic hemp – including oil, soap, and sun paste.
President Judiah McRoberts says their products contain none of the toxins found in nonorganic hemp products.
The company, founded in 2019, operates a 10-acre certified organic hemp farm and manufactures CBD products. McRoberts says he hopes the farm will be able to start tours to educate the public about hemp and how it is grown and used.
The mission of the company is to revitalize the hemp industry and spur sustainable agriculture in Hawai‘i. Located in ‘Ōma‘o on Kaua‘i’s South Shore, the farm uses solar panels to help power its operations and is establishing an on-site well to supply its water.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Consumer Packaged Goods Entrepreneur
Presented to the entrepreneur whose CPG company has consistently seen month-over-month growth in revenue and customers.
Winner: Caesar and Gina Ho, Hawaiian Soda Co
During the pandemic, while Caesar Ho and his dad ate prime ribs every weekend, Ho would ask bartenders to mix sparkling water with any fresh fruit juice that was available. A few years later, Caesar and his wife experimented on their own by mixing different juices and sodas.
After working with a food scientist, husband and wife Caesar and Gina Ho founded Hawaiian Soda Co., which produces sodas with Hawai‘i fruit flavors and no added sugar.
“We wanted to just make something that we felt good about giving our kids if they wanted something refreshing to drink,” Gina Ho says.
The soda is now sold by about 20 retailers in Hawai‘i, California, Texas, and the Midwest. Ho says they plan to add more retail and distribution partners in Hawai‘i and on the West Coast.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Sara Smith, Wrappily
You may have felt this guilt and frustration:
After all the presents have been opened at Christmas or at parties, you are disheartened by all the wrapping paper that can’t be recycled.
“These joyous moments were sort of tinged with this kind of feeling of guilt or that pain of like, ‘Oh that sucks,’” says Sara Smith.
So in 2013, she started Wrappily, a company that makes colorful yet eco-friendly and compostable gift wrap.
“We’re asking consumers to give up glitters and glossy foils and all the bling and glitz that traditional wrapping papers offer that make the product unsustainable and nonrecyclable and just bound for the landfill.”
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Karli Rose Wilson, To Be Hawai‘i
When she was a hairstylist, Karli Rose Wilson’s customers would sometimes talk about how fragrances gave them headaches. She suffered from the same problem, so she started making natural candles with no artificial fragrances.
From her base on Maui, she later expanded her product line to body butter, lip butter, and other organic skin care products under the brand To Be Hawai‘i (founded as To Be Organics).
“We’re constantly growing and evolving our brand to add and support self-care, to elevate daily rituals, and to really incorporate the essence of the island in the things that we use every day,” Wilson says.
She also says it’s important for everyone to slow down and add self-care to their everyday routines.
Customers can find her products online and at To Be Hawai‘i’s store on Wai‘ale Road in Wailuku.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Social Impact Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur and company that substantially contributes to helping solve some of Hawai‘i’s toughest problems.
Winner: Denise Yamaguchi, Hawai‘i Ag & Culinary Alliance
For 15 years, the Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival has showcased Hawai‘i’s chefs and food products while targeting tourists. The festival is one of the many programs the Hawai‘i Ag & Culinary Alliance supports to highlight the Islands as a culinary travel destination.
The Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation is a separate entity that supports local farmers and collaborates with schools on agricultural education programs for 5,000 students and 150 teachers a year. The organizations have given over $5 million to agricultural and culinary education programs in the last 14 years, says Denise Yamaguchi, CEO of the festival and executive director of the foundation.
“One of the main reasons why we need to support local ag industries is to be, number one, more sustainable, but also to support diversity in our economy,” Yamaguchi says.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Kaina Makua, Davis Price, Kumano I Ke Ala
Based in West Kaua‘i, the nonprofit Kumano I Ke Ala uses Hawaiian knowledge to revitalize local food systems with the goals of reducing imports and preserving traditions.
One project involved 650 volunteers removing silt from the Waimea River so the waterway could flow freely. Kumano I Ke Ala works with local schools and students to teach hands-on agricultural skills and methods year-round.
It also hosts monthly volunteer events that allow community members to work on its farm projects and learn about sustainable practices.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Daniel Richardson, Makali‘i Metrics
Makali‘i Metrics combines modern analytics and traditional Hawaiian practices to measure soil fertility for food production in Hawai‘i.
Founder Daniel Richardson says a goal for the company is to build Hawai‘i’s first soil analysis lab, but for now, samples must be sent to the mainland. The company’s first project started in 2023, and it currently manages soil health-related projects for UH and the state.
Richardson says the company is focused on reviving indigenous crop systems and methods on former plantation lands.
He says Hawai‘i has yet to reach an agricultural turning point in the post-plantation, post-sugar cane era, and because of that, it’s hard to know what the next big thing in agriculture “could be and what people want it to be.”
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Deal of the Year
Recognizes the local company that received the largest financial deal in the past year.
Winner: Brett Jacobson and Naehalani Breeland, Hawaiian Ola Brewing
Brett Jacobson and Naehalani Breeland, co-owners of Hawaiian Ola Brewing, purchased and renovated the historic Hilo Sugar Mill property, now home to their distillery. To finance the project, they raised funds from the community to purchase the land from Ed Olson, one of the largest landowners on Hawai‘i Island, who died in 2024.
The company started as Hawaiian Ola with nonalcoholic noni energy and immunity shots. In 2016, sales plateaued, so Jacobson and Breeland sought to make a bigger impact by founding Hawaiian Ola Brewing.
“We were brainstorming, trying to figure out how we could use all of these great fruits that were being wasted and not being used throughout Hawai‘i,” Breeland says. “That’s when we came up with the idea of making ciders and using all these great fruits – the ones that couldn’t be sold to hotels or restaurants or stores because of their aesthetic.”
The company grew to have over 4,200 shareholders and continues to support local farmers by using local ingredients. She attributes her and Jacobson’s success to their connections to the overall community and the lāhui Hawai‘i, or Hawaiian nation.
“Putting the ‘āina first as a business is possible, and putting lāhui as first in business is possible,” Breeland says.
This year, Breeland and Jacobson plan to launch their version of ‘ōkolehao, a spirit made from the ti plant with a history stretching back two centuries.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Startup Paradise Champion
Someone who consistently contributes to the success of Hawai‘i’s innovation community.
Winner: Ian Kitajima, PICHTR
For almost 40 years, the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research has been the “incubator of incubators” in Hawai‘i, President Ian Kitajima says. PICHTR has helped hundreds of startups and existing companies in Hawai‘i to start projects or to transition into dual-use incubators that sell products and services to civilian and military markets.
“Our whole focus is partnering,” Kitajima says.
While he just started his role as president two years ago, Kitajima had collaborated with PICHTR for over 20 years. In his previous job at Oceanit, he was able to use funding from PICHTR to create new divisions to focus on material science and renewable energy. Similar programs now help support the Japanese and U.S. government’s departments of defense.
He says he has a different perspective from the proverb that states, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The way he sees it, entrepreneurs and companies need to go fast and far, “and the way to do that is by partnering.”
The nonprofit has partnered with many different organizations and has a goal to find the partners needed to complete tasks that no organization can do on its own.
PICHTR helped scale a renewable energy project, Elemental Impact, that started in Hawai‘i and is now a global player, while keeping the headquarters in Hawai‘i after it was sold.
Some recent projects that PICHTR collaborated on:
- An engineering team at Mānoa received a $750,000 award from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help develop an advanced artificial intelligence system that uses multiple types of sensors to detect and prevent potential crashes at intersections.
- PICHTR and WAI: Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations will receive a $1 million federal grant to address the health and environmental impacts of wastewater pollution in Hawai‘i. The money will help fund a program to train local workers in cesspool conversion.
- PICHTR received a $14 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant to place microgrids and develop agriculture technology to help homeless people in Wai‘anae.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Corporate Intrapreneur of the Year
Someone who works in a large organization but advocates for innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.
Winner: Billy Pieper, American Savings Bank
Billy Pieper brings an infectious passion and an entrepreneur’s instinct for finding new solutions to unsolved problems to his role as VP of strategic partnerships at American Savings Bank.
As head of the bank’s “affordable housing hui,” he helped roll out innovative mortgage programs and turned ASB into the state’s largest mortgage lender “for the first time in probably decades,” he says.
One new initiative is “This is Home,” which was inspired by VA home loans, a program with the best terms on the market. ASB’s program reduces monthly costs for middle-income homebuyers with a 3% down-payment option and a heavily discounted mortgage-insurance rate.
“One in every four mortgages we did last year was to a first-time homebuyer using this program,” says Pieper. While the bank earns less profit on mortgages, he says, volume is up substantially, which makes up for the loss.
Another unique program helps Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries access funds to build on vacant leased land. The bank provided capital for construction loans to its partner Hawai‘i Community Lending, which helps people who don’t qualify for traditional loans.
Both homeownership programs are urgently needed given the past eight years of outmigration and population loss, which Pieper sees as a crisis: “Who’s going to take care of us in the hospitals, who’s going to teach our kids?”
The bank’s housing hui meets regularly “to make sure that our strategy is measurable and leads to the desired outcome of providing hope for folks that they can stay in Hawai‘i and thrive,” he says. And he uses the specter of a shrinking working class to overcome resistance to change at the bank.
“We’re going to have a business problem because that’s our client base and our workforce,” says Pieper. “We cannot do things the same and expect a different result. We have to think creatively, or else Hawai‘i may be unrecognizable in 10 years.”
ASB executives are committed to affordable housing, he says, “and we’re happy to lead. We’ll be very prudent in our approach – we’re still a bank, we’re regulated – but we will do things that push the boundaries in order to create impact.”
– Cynthia Wessendorf
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Investor of the Year
An individual or entity that has invested substantially in the Hawai‘i startup ecosystem.
Winner: Johnny Chankhamany, Builders VC
Johnny Chankhamany serves as Hawai‘i program director for Builders VC. “We invest in early-stage software startups,” which, in investment terms, are in “the seed or series A level,” says Chankhamany.
He oversees Builders VC’s partnerships with Hawai‘i-based entrepreneurs who are often transforming existing industries – such as agriculture, industrial, real estate, and health care – with innovative technologies and operational excellence. His firm provides capital, and its partners can leverage their decades of expertise in those industries to support their companies and their investments, he says.
Although Chankhamany has achieved success in his career, he admittedly had a rocky start. He didn’t discover his passion for finance until his final semester at UH Mānoa, so he missed out on earlier internships. After graduating, nearly all of his job applications to firms on the mainland went unanswered because he trailed his like-minded peers.
“By the time I realized finance was my calling, it was too late. The pathway to Wall Street is very rigid,” he says. His struggles turned into a desire to help the next generation have a better shot at being hired. “I want to help other people in Hawai‘i avoid the heartache that I went through,” he says.
Chankhamany volunteers with the Akamai Foundation. Its finance academy supports students by helping them secure internships, reviewing resumes, conducting mock interviews, and offering networking opportunities with finance professionals.
“We train, develop, and help Hawai‘i students get jobs on Wall Street,” he says.
– Ryann Noelani Coules
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Island Innovator of the Year
Celebrating innovations that help Hawaiʻi solve a major problem in the community, the ocean or the ʻāina.
Winner: Joey and Christine Valenti, Bizia
To help reduce waste in Hawai‘i, the founders of Bizia are focusing on albizia trees. The tree, one of the fastest growing in the world, is an invasive species in Hawai‘i and prevalent on the islands of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i.
After removing the invasive trees, Bizia plants native species in their place. It uses the wood to make handcrafted surfboards, furniture, and cutting boards, which can be found at the company’s Bizia Surf and Coffee Bar in Wahiawa and its online store.
Joey Valenti was working toward his doctorate in architecture when he set out to build a house out of albizia. He and skilled woodworker Eric Bello built the house and began collaborating on Hawai‘i-grown wood surfboards.
Albizia is similar to balsa, another wood used for surfboards. Compared to boards made with styrofoam and plastic that can break every season, wooden ones are stronger and can last a lifetime.
By creating high-quality wood surfboards, Bizia is curating a greener surf industry in Hawai‘i, Christine Valenti says. She wants to bring the community together through Bizia by creating pop-up events at the beach, such as “demo days” where people can try the albizia surfboards.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Tech Entrepreneur of the Year
An entrepreneur who has created technology and innovation to make our lives better.
Winner: Jason Sharp, Umi
The language-learning app Umi launched in February 2023 and has already reached nearly 200,000 downloads.
The app springs from co-founder and CEO Jason Sharp’s years in the freewheeling Beijing of the 2000s and 2010s, where he did a university study abroad stint and founded two companies. He says watching TV shows helped him master Mandarin.
Umi lessons use TV clips to help users distinguish words in spoken speech and build vocabulary in context. The most popular language is French, followed by Japanese, Spanish, and Korean.
“Our brains are really good at pattern recognition, so if you give them a lot of exposure to native speakers, they start to recognize that,” says Sharp. Without listening comprehension, foreign-language students “can go through four years of college, then travel to a country and not understand anything.”
The goal of Umi is to help people become truly fluent, says Sharp, because “language is connection, and connection opens up opportunities.”
– Cynthia Wessendorf
Finalist: Romesh Jayawickrama, Inttent
Romesh Jayawickrama left a successful career in investment banking to found a startup, Aurigin, which helps connect medium-sized companies with compatible investors.
After Aurigin took off, he pivoted to his second startup, Inttent, a platform that transforms traditional data-heavy documents into more engaging, multimodal presentations.
For example, one aspect of finalizing a deal is called the Confidential Information Memorandum. “It’s basically a prospectus for a listed company – so like a 100- to 150-page document. It takes months to put together and it’s not being read,” says Jayawickrama.
Inttent reduces the time needed to write CIMs and other documents and to effectively relay their key information.
With Inttent, “all you have to do is upload all of your source files, and our model analyzes, identifies the relevant parts, generates the text and charts, all in one seamless flow.” Instead of taking 400 hours, it can take three or four, he says.
– Ryann Noelani Coules
Finalist: Randy Marsden, Lyv Technologies (dba Skidattl)
Randy Marsden was in college when a friend broke his neck and became paralyzed. “I did a student project to help him, and that turned into a company” that developed assistive technology to help disabled people, he says.
Marsden later founded and successfully exited four businesses while working for companies like Nike and Apple. Now he is focused on Skidattl, his fifth startup.
“We are all getting sucked into our screens too much and forgetting about the real world. Skidattl … uses technology to pull you back into the real world by creating experiences that you can see through augmented reality on your phone,” he says.
Skidattl’s app launched in February, but you can also access it via QR codes without downloading it.
– Ryann Noelani Coules
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Dennis Teranishi, PICHTR
Dennis Teranishi’s life has been focused on two passions: agriculture and improving U.S.-Japan relations. He started as a soil chemist at Amfac, one of the Big Five companies that dominated Hawai‘i’s plantation economy, and 19 years later had worked his way up to company president.
Teranishi, 80, is now the longtime CEO and chairman of PICHTR – the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research – a nonprofit that focuses on climate change adaptation, renewable energy, technology, disaster preparedness, health care, and resource conservation.
“Most of my friends are retired, but I don’t want to retire,” he says. “I don’t consider it work, because I enjoy it so much, and I have such good people working with me that they make it so pleasant. I just can’t wait to get to the office in the morning.”
He values building a good team above other goals.
“We get so tempted to try to make more money or build a business, and we forget that the most,” he says. “There’s so much stress, even when things are going well. So if you work with bad people, or you have bad partners, or if you hire bad people, life is so much more difficult.”
He says he also serves as an advisor to other companies, specifically those that allow him to travel to Tokyo and New York.
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: Student Entrepreneur of the Year
Honoring a younger member of the innovation community who has a passion for learning and the tenacious spirit of an entrepreneur.
Winner: Candide Krieger, Edukits Hawai‘i
As a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School, Candide Krieger noticed that there was a lack of resources and funding for teachers to incorporate local values and lessons into their curriculums. While studying for her master’s degree at UH Mānoa’s College of Education, Krieger entered a venture competition sponsored by the Shidler College of Business. From there, in August 2024, she launched Edukits Hawai‘i.
The nonprofit creates kits that help schools teach STEAM within the Hawai‘i Department of Education’s Nā Hopena A‘o framework.
Krieger graduated from Kaimuki High School and teaches at Jefferson, and both are Title I schools, which means they receive federal funds to support students from low-income families. Her nonprofit donates the kits to Title I schools across the Islands, with funding from UH and donations.
So far, 30 schools have been involved and 1,400 kits distributed.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Jazlen Lucas, Pūhano Hawai‘i
Jazlen Lucas’ business mission is to connect people with the feeling of home in Hawai‘i.
With Pūhano Hawai‘i, she creates stickers, air fresheners, and tumblers with local designs for her friends, family, and former classmates studying at colleges on the mainland and those who have moved away.
Lucas, who’s studying business entrepreneurship at Honolulu Community College, plans to add clothing to her product line and sell more often at local markets.
“It gives me a lot of joy and happiness to see that I can connect and form that sense of community with them through my products,” Lucas says.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Timothy Kim, Gochi
If you are not part of Gen Z, you may not understand this business. But if you are an innovator of any age, you’ll probably admire Timothy Kim’s creativity and chutzpah.
Kim is the owner of a Korean BBQ restaurant called Gochi that is currently open only on the internet. He started Gochi in Roblox, an online platform that allows people to create their own games.
“I have combined cultural authenticity with dynamic entertainment to deliver a uniquely immersive experience,” he says.
Gochi has 13 employees, over 11,000 members, and raised $20,000 for student entrepreneur scholarships.
Kim’s goal is to one day run a digital experience alongside an actual restaurant chain. But for now, Kim says, his team is putting “full attention on actually getting all those resources into the game, having a finished product and a finished brand to release first.”
– Shelby Mattos
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025: People’s Choice Award
Chosen by our local community via an online poll conducted by Hawaii Business Magazine.
Winner: Roselani Aiwohi, Waiwaolani
Roselani Aiwohi was inspired while visiting Waikamoi Preserve, a Maui forest that’s home to 63 species of rare plants and 12 species of birds, seven of them endangered.
Today, she says she uses her slow fashion clothing brand, Waiwaolani, to bring more attention to Hawaiian culture, conservation, watersheds, and plants. That focus on the environment informs how she makes her clothes.
“I’m not going to be another clothing business that just adds more textile waste to the landfill,” Aiwohi says. Among her goals is finding a way to upcycle and recycle clothing to further reduce waste.
This year, she plans to add to her lineup by launching dresses, swimwear, and other apparel for the Merrie Monarch Festival. She says the mission of the business is to support nonprofits and other organizations that protect the water and plants of Hawai‘i.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Neale Asato, Asato Family Shop
Asato Family Shop offers its “local kine” sherbert – sort of guri guri-esque – in flavors reminiscent of childhoods spent in Hawai‘i. The menu, which changes every week, may include conventional flavors like strawberry and pineapple, and others like pickled mango, li hing float and cold noodles.
Co-owner Neale Asato even created a spam, eggs and rice sherbert that was sold during the Spam Festival. Asato says the family-run business’s mission is to support the community and make treats for the next generation. You can often find him alongside his parents at the Pali Highway store near Downtown Honolulu; it’s only open for a few hours a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Asato says the shop has enjoyed exponential growth since he started making the sherbert in 2017 in his home kitchen. Now he creates thousands of pints each week for sale in the family store.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Nile and Hana Dreiling, Holey Grail Donuts
All of the doughnuts at Holey Grail Donuts are created with taro, cooked in coconut oil when you order and served hot, bringing a unique twist to the beloved dessert.
The brand was launched by sibling co-owners Nile and Hana Dreiling in 2018 in a humble red trailer in Hanalei. They soon gained a cult following of people eager for new flavors that have included passion-orange-guava, miso honey and whiskey smores.
Meanwhile, the owners say they focus on sustainability and work directly with local farmers and other food producers.
They now have a store in Kaka‘ako, two food trucks on Kaua‘i and three locations in Los Angeles, and plan to continue supporting local in 2025.
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Alex and Sarah Kawakami, Alikaleo Park
Alikaleo Park combines vintage patterns and sun-protection to create activewear for keiki that encourages outdoor play in a world filled with distracting devices. Co-owners Alex and Sarah Kawakami use SPF 40 fabric to create hats, shirts, shorts and pants that protect children’s skin against the sun.
“Just being able to have that extra layer of sun protection gives you the motive to be outside and play and let kids have that childhood that is colorful and fun,” Sarah Kawakami says.
Alex comes from the same family that ran ‘Iolani Sportswear, a Hawai‘i apparel business that started over 70 years ago. The couple started overseeing that company in 2016 but paused during the pandemic to focus on the birth of their second son.
Alikaleo Park launched in 2023, inspired by the designs and legacy of Alex’s parents and grandparents.
“We’re a very family-oriented company,” Sarah Kawakami says. “We just want to make the generations before proud.”
– Shelby Mattos
Finalist: Kea Peters, Kākou Collective
One day while hiking, Kea Peters grew curious about the plants along the trail. When she got home, she searched for their names and characteristics and eventually drew them.
She later created workshops to teach others how to draw the plants and sold stationery with her Hawai‘i-inspired designs. During the pandemic, she hosted live sessions on Instagram, where each week she taught people how to draw a different plant connected to Hawai‘i.
Peters is the founder and owner of Kākou Collective, whose online and in-store lineup now includes greeting cards, stickers, tote bags, apparel and more. As the business grew to include a store in Downtown Honolulu’s Harbor Court, the events and workshops halted, but she plans to create more opportunities.
“I’m not just selling a sticker, I’m reconnecting you to your grandma or your auntie who’s no longer here,” she says.
– Shelby Mattos
