Why do business in Hawaii - and who to talk to - TechHui2024-03-29T11:27:46Zhttp://www.techhui.com/forum/topics/1702911:Topic:16123?commentId=1702911%3AComment%3A16251&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI owe you a wrap up and it's…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-07-29:1702911:Comment:181972008-07-29T16:32:01.852ZKen Berkunhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/KenBerkun
I owe you a wrap up and it's early and I'm still on west coast time and avoiding work, so...<br />
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We did bring our CEO to Hawaii. He had a very good visit. We visit the UH Angels, Kolohala Fund, Enterprise Honolulu, Archinoetics and had a realtor show him houses. He came away with the belief that, yes, it is possible to run a high tech company in Hawaii. Whether we stay here depends on how much money we raise locally, and right now that is looking very positive.<br />
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Thank you all for your ideas and…
I owe you a wrap up and it's early and I'm still on west coast time and avoiding work, so...<br />
<br />
We did bring our CEO to Hawaii. He had a very good visit. We visit the UH Angels, Kolohala Fund, Enterprise Honolulu, Archinoetics and had a realtor show him houses. He came away with the belief that, yes, it is possible to run a high tech company in Hawaii. Whether we stay here depends on how much money we raise locally, and right now that is looking very positive.<br />
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Thank you all for your ideas and comments.<br />
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Ken Try speaking to a few recruit…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-07-01:1702911:Comment:163642008-07-01T00:36:43.461ZRussel Cheng ラッセル チェンhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/RusselCheng
Try speaking to a few recruiters in addition to your list of orgs to meet ((already in touch with Enterprise Honolulu, HVCA, HTDC, HiBeam, Hawaii Angels and Kolohala Venture.) Attracting, mentoring and retaining top flight people in your team is probably top of mind for you in any case.
Try speaking to a few recruiters in addition to your list of orgs to meet ((already in touch with Enterprise Honolulu, HVCA, HTDC, HiBeam, Hawaii Angels and Kolohala Venture.) Attracting, mentoring and retaining top flight people in your team is probably top of mind for you in any case. Patrick Sullivan, founder, ch…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-28:1702911:Comment:162612008-06-28T05:07:59.437ZTruman Leunghttp://www.techhui.com/profile/TrumanLeung
Patrick Sullivan, founder, chairman and CEO of Oceanit, tells a great story of how he utilized military funding to pay for development of technology which he subsequently is marketing beyond DoD:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ipmoney.ycm.com/podcasts/20080417class.mp3">http://www.ipmoney.ycm.com/podcasts/20080417class.mp3</a><br />
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He retains ownership of the IP while the DoD gets to use the technology for their own purposes. The best example of this was in their development of their Star Trek sick bay…
Patrick Sullivan, founder, chairman and CEO of Oceanit, tells a great story of how he utilized military funding to pay for development of technology which he subsequently is marketing beyond DoD:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ipmoney.ycm.com/podcasts/20080417class.mp3">http://www.ipmoney.ycm.com/podcasts/20080417class.mp3</a><br />
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He retains ownership of the IP while the DoD gets to use the technology for their own purposes. The best example of this was in their development of their Star Trek sick bay medical bed marketed by their Hoana Medical spinoff company.<br />
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Probably this strategy of utilizing military funds to develop technology is better suited to certain type of technology rather than others, as John has alluded to. For Web 2.0 software entrepreneurs such as myself, I can't see how I could make this strategy work for my company. But depending on your industry maybe it can work for you. I just saw this article:
Stud…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-28:1702911:Comment:162592008-06-28T01:55:14.518ZKen Berkunhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/KenBerkun
I just saw this article:<br />
Study: Bay Area Leads Nation in High-Tech Employment<br />
Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 27, 2008 - 9:19am.<br />
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Santa Clara, Calif. - The Bay Area, combining the three metro areas of San Francisco, San Jose/Silicon Valley and Oakland, had 386,200 high-tech industry workers in 2006, the most of any metro area in the nation, according to AeA's newly released Cybercities 2008 report.<br />
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San Jose held the majority of the tech industry jobs (225,300), and also had the highest…
I just saw this article:<br />
Study: Bay Area Leads Nation in High-Tech Employment<br />
Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 27, 2008 - 9:19am.<br />
<br />
Santa Clara, Calif. - The Bay Area, combining the three metro areas of San Francisco, San Jose/Silicon Valley and Oakland, had 386,200 high-tech industry workers in 2006, the most of any metro area in the nation, according to AeA's newly released Cybercities 2008 report.<br />
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San Jose held the majority of the tech industry jobs (225,300), and also had the highest concentration of tech workers in the nation, with more than one in four private sector workers employed by the tech industry.<br />
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"AeA's Cybercities report places the Bay Area as the epicenter of the tech industry," said Ed Keible, the CEO of Endwave.<br />
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"Combining Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, we are the largest technology cluster in the nation."<br />
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<a href="http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/prjj_cc2008_bay_area.asp">http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/prjj_cc2008_bay_area.asp</a><br />
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And it is true that Hawaii is currently very good for military work and it is true that there is military potential in our product, but I am not interested in pursuing it, being and old fashioned peacenik.<br />
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Of course when Daniel Inouye dies it may become a whole different story.<br />
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Ken My major concern is that mili…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-28:1702911:Comment:162572008-06-28T00:56:42.330ZJohnhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/John
My major concern is that military customers <i>often</i> want you to focus on building products that mainstream commercial customers do not want. As such, military customers can be a hindrance in actually building a commercially viable product.<br />
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I have worked with the military both here locally and in DC (once building appliances, once developing software). In both cases the military was an excellent customer, paid well and good to work with.<br />
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The main problem was the functionalities the…
My major concern is that military customers <i>often</i> want you to focus on building products that mainstream commercial customers do not want. As such, military customers can be a hindrance in actually building a commercially viable product.<br />
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I have worked with the military both here locally and in DC (once building appliances, once developing software). In both cases the military was an excellent customer, paid well and good to work with.<br />
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The main problem was the functionalities the military needed were so specific and sophisticated that commercial customers found little value in them. As such, every project for the military created a tension between building products for our commercial customers and our military client.<br />
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While the US military is large, missing out on the worldwide commercial market makes it very difficult to grow a successful company. Being military focused, you may generate nice revenue and sell for a modest premium to a defense contractor but you are generally capping your upside.<br />
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Now, of course, it depends. Some startups will not get caught in this trap. Nevertheless, this issue is a common risk for many military focused startups.<br />
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My point then is that the military sector can have significant downsides to young tech companies and entrepreneurs should carefully weigh such risks. The question I have is how va…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-28:1702911:Comment:162552008-06-28T00:08:10.714ZDaniel Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/dleuck
<i>The question I have is how valuable are military contacts for startups.</i><br />
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It really depends on the startup. My first company in Hawaii (Tollan) was basically built on a military contract. Tollan did early work on intranet software and also did professional services. Many local tech startups target the military or dual use areas. <a href="http://www.hitdv.com/">HTDV</a> is specifically setup to help small tech businesses work with the DoD. Ian's…
<i>The question I have is how valuable are military contacts for startups.</i><br />
<br />
It really depends on the startup. My first company in Hawaii (Tollan) was basically built on a military contract. Tollan did early work on intranet software and also did professional services. Many local tech startups target the military or dual use areas. <a href="http://www.hitdv.com/">HTDV</a> is specifically setup to help small tech businesses work with the DoD. Ian's <a href="http://dualuse.ning.com">DualUseHawaii</a> is another good place to find information. "How valuable are military co…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-28:1702911:Comment:162532008-06-28T00:01:59.826ZShawn Drosthttp://www.techhui.com/profile/ShawnDrost
"How valuable are military contacts for startups" -- definitely a key consideration. From what I know, I wouldn't be interested in using a military contract as the basis for a web company; they're the diametric opposite of "release early and often".
"How valuable are military contacts for startups" -- definitely a key consideration. From what I know, I wouldn't be interested in using a military contract as the basis for a web company; they're the diametric opposite of "release early and often". I agree that Hawaii is a grea…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-27:1702911:Comment:162512008-06-27T23:52:38.654ZJohnhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/John
I agree that Hawaii is a great place for military contacts. I have benefited from Hawaii military projects in the past myself.<br />
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The question I have is how valuable are military contacts for startups. In many areas, military oriented projects wind up being limited to military use. This is nice if you want to build a company that services the military but if you want to build a product company that sells to the commercial segment, I wonder how helpful this is.<br />
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Specifically, I am thinking here of…
I agree that Hawaii is a great place for military contacts. I have benefited from Hawaii military projects in the past myself.<br />
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The question I have is how valuable are military contacts for startups. In many areas, military oriented projects wind up being limited to military use. This is nice if you want to build a company that services the military but if you want to build a product company that sells to the commercial segment, I wonder how helpful this is.<br />
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Specifically, I am thinking here of software development companies (especially web 2.0 companies). For most software applications, I do not see Hawaii's military being of much use.<br />
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Similarly, my understanding is that Ken's products are more oriented towards the consumer/commercial market. As such, I am not sure how he or others like him could benefit from military contacts.<br />
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That being said, I think it's great to leverage military contacts and I think companies can make a nice living off of it - I just wonder how broadly the military can be used by Hawaii's entrepreneurs. Hey Ken,
This point has been…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-27:1702911:Comment:162482008-06-27T23:35:36.908ZShawn Drosthttp://www.techhui.com/profile/ShawnDrost
Hey Ken,<br />
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This point has been mentioned but not emphasized: Hawaii is a great place to get military contracts. I don't know a lot of people in the area, but I'd recommend you talk with a guy named Rick Hess. He's a very helpful guy who also writes checks for CEROS (ceros.org); if his organization isn't a match for your company, he might be able to help you identify other potential grantmakers.<br />
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-Shawn
Hey Ken,<br />
<br />
This point has been mentioned but not emphasized: Hawaii is a great place to get military contracts. I don't know a lot of people in the area, but I'd recommend you talk with a guy named Rick Hess. He's a very helpful guy who also writes checks for CEROS (ceros.org); if his organization isn't a match for your company, he might be able to help you identify other potential grantmakers.<br />
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-Shawn Hey Ken & John,
I guess…tag:www.techhui.com,2008-06-25:1702911:Comment:161602008-06-25T07:14:28.993ZDaniel Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/dleuck
Hey Ken & John,<br />
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I guess this is what I get for quickly posting random thoughts to a public board :-) I wasn't suggesting Honolulu has more engineers than the Seattle area. That would obviously be a ridiculous assertion. I lived and worked in the Bay Area and have done business in Seattle. I'm well aware of how they compare. My point is that Hawaii does have an increasingly vibrant technology community, some advantages due to the location, and that building a technology company here is not…
Hey Ken & John,<br />
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I guess this is what I get for quickly posting random thoughts to a public board :-) I wasn't suggesting Honolulu has more engineers than the Seattle area. That would obviously be a ridiculous assertion. I lived and worked in the Bay Area and have done business in Seattle. I'm well aware of how they compare. My point is that Hawaii does have an increasingly vibrant technology community, some advantages due to the location, and that building a technology company here is not as crazy an idea as some folks from the mainland would have you think for the reasons I enumerated.<br />
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You are right. My first example was a poor choice because its playing on the size of Seattle (the city) versus the Seattle area and doesn't account for the more important factors of concentration of engineers and the amount of money sloshing around. Feel free to replace #1 with "$5 billion in military spending, including numerous sizable R&D projects that utilize local technology firms."