N onprofits always need specialized help at an affordable price. Meanwhile, skilled professionals want meaningful volunteer opportunities that go beyond stuffing envelopes. Rachael Chong says Catchafire solves both issues with a database that connects businesspeople’s skills with nonprofits’ needs. Catchafire’s…
Question: I have a great idea for a company, but I can’t come up with a name. How do I get started? Answer: Naming a business requires careful thought. Here are pointers to get you started: Define your brand…
W Hen Iolani Palace’s monthly power bill doubled to more than $41,000 last fall, even drastic steps like cutting off the air conditioning in the adjacent barracks couldn’t bring costs back to where they had been just a few months…
Jay Fidell didn’t set out to be a journalist. The founder of the ThinkTech Hawaii arrived here from New York in 1965 as a Coast Guard lawyer and military judge. “It was the time of Vietnam, and war was in…
"For one thing,” he says, “we’re not over budget at all, at this point. We’re estimating that, because construction costs are escalating so quickly in the current year, that next year, when we’re signing the remaining construction contracts, we’re going…
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE ELEMENTS OF THE 19TH, 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES? Start with the U.S. government’s oldest scientific agency, with roots stretching back to the early 1800s; add historic Ford Island aircraft hangars that survived the…
If you ever use a waste-burning toilet, don’t be surprised if you find out a solar-power company installed it. That’s one of the technologies being investigated by RevoluSun, a Honolulu-based solar company that has expanded its “Smart Home” division, offering…
MOLOKAI IS OFTEN characterized as the Island with Hawaii's highest unemployment rate. That's unfortunate, because most of the residents work hard to earn a living. So we asked photographer PF Bentley, who lives on the Friendly Isle, to showcase his…
WHEN CHEF ED KENNY envisioned his new Kaimuki restaurant, Mud Hen Water, he aspired to totally integrate sustainability.…
Count the cranes popping up along or near Ala Moana Boulevard…
Creators: Arnie Koss describes himself and his twin brother, Ron, as entrepreneurs. Before creating Brio, they founded Earth’s Best Baby Foods. The brothers conceived the idea of an ice cream that was both nutritional and delicious from their mother’s craving…
The Rev. Samuel Cox doesn’t talk like a preacher when he speaks about the odds of a woman starting a new life after prison. He calls it like a gambler: “The dice are loaded,” and not in the woman’s favor.…
The Sultan brothers are a major new force in Hawaii’s venture capital and startup communities. Their two platforms are Sultan Ventures, a Hawaii-based venture capital firm, and XLR8UH. Last year, the two of you and UH launched XLR8UH, a public-private…
A reliable cell phone signal is still hard to find in the sleepy town of Kaunakakai, but the robots have arrived. Kim Svetin’s family owns Molokai Drugs, the island’s only drugstore. Behind the counter, it’s Svetin’s Uncle Jon, her…
During her orientation at the Hawaiian Humane Society, Shelley Pang listened carefully to all the roles she could play as a volunteer. “Everyone wanted to walk the dogs; I was like, ‘Let me see what no one else wants to…
“When we log onto our computers to check email, buy something from Amazon or watch a movie on Netflix, it seems almost magical. We don’t see the inner workings that make this happen. What enables all of these things we…
“ABOUT $1.1 BILLION A YEAR IS PAID OUT IN PENSION BENEFITS NOW (TO STATE AND COUNTY WORKERS). IN THE NEXT 10 TO 20 YEARS, THAT’S PROJECTED TO GROW TO ABOUT $2 BILLION A YEAR.” –WESLEY MACHIDA Director, State Department of…
At UH, you can walk into a classroom on the West Oahu campus to take a course on video game development with students who are 20 miles away in Manoa. Forget what you thought you knew about distance learning. These…
A group of architects and their supporters have a plan to transform unused buses into shelters and hygiene facilities for homeless people, and are now looking for funding and a nonprofit partner. This illustration shows how…
There was a time when the term “mindfulness” evoked visions of a man in a loincloth, sitting serenely atop a mountain. But the corporate world is changing and, today, mindfulness can mean a Reyn Spooner-clad manager serenely sitting atop ……
Hawaii Business magazine is pleased to announce the Top 100 Realtors for 2015 – the gold standard in identifying the state’s top performers. This list is the only objective ranking of real estate agents in Hawaii for the ninth consecutive…
WHAT IS THE BOSS? BOSS stands for the Business Outlook and Sentiment Survey and it’s conducted twice a year for Hawaii Business by QMark Research. It provides a revealing picture of Hawaii’s economy by asking about 400 business leaders twice…
I believe the Hawaiian people have been given a tremendous gift from Pele and that gift is this access to deep ocean water,” says Rich Bailey, owner of Dewpoint Systems. The gift of deep ocean water may be Pele’s, but…
In the hospitality world, it’s not just hotel guests who win points and rewards. The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on Kauai’s North Shore earned a bonus when it installed a system that delivers electricity more efficiently and comes with…