The Startup Catalyst

Joining us today on the Season 2 finale is Lisa Kleissner, co-founder of The Toniic Institute, KL Felicitas Foundation, and Hawaii Investment Ready. She’ll be talking to us today about her pursuits to expand impact investing on both the local and global levels.

From her beginnings in Hawaii and success in Silicon Valley to being a pioneer in the field of impact investing, Lisa has stayed true to her values in the midst of many challenges. Lisa is changing the landscape of financial investment and helping XLR8ALL by showing how impact investing can pay dividends financially and socially. This female investor is tackling the industry's inclusivity problem by investing in and impacting the communities that need help the most. We’ll find out how she defines success in impact investing and how it can be expanded globally. Plus, we’ll hear her take on how the financial industry can bridge the gap and promote inclusivity through transparency.

Today’s guest is Olin Lagon, Founder of Shifted Energy.
From growing up in one of Hawaii's most notorious low income housing developments to founding a sustainable energy storage startup, Olin has always triumphed despite the odds and managed to stay ahead of the curve. When he’s not founding companies and spearheading innovation, Olin gives back to the community by providing technical educational programs for underrepresented youth in Hawaii. Tune in to find out Olin’s favorite surf spot, and why he’s passionate about Hawaii’s future.

On today’s podcast, we’ll hear from Donavan Kealoha, a Director at Startup Capital Ventures and Founder of Purple Mai'a.

Find out how Donavan, proud local boy and Native Hawaiian, translated his humble beginnings on the island of Lānaʻi into a successful career in the venture capital industry, while providing technical education to disadvantaged children in Hawaii. He’ll give us his take on the importance of inclusivity within the tech and venture capital industries, and discuss some of the challenges (and blessings) he has faced as a Native Hawaiian in these fields. We’ll also hear two critical pieces of advice for individuals to promote inclusivity in the business realm and most importantly, the need to focus on positive strength rather than negative obstacles to achieve success in a competitive world.

Today, we’ll hear from Aaron Walker, Founder and CEO of Camelback Ventures.
Focused on increasing diversity in the startup ecosystem by addressing the many inequities of entrepreneurship and education, Camelback Ventures is shifting the landscape and helping underrepresented founders get their shot. We’ll find out what led Aaron down his path to become a visionary CEO, from his days as a public school teacher in West Philadelphia, to selecting his fourth group of fellows in 2018. Aaron shares with us his vision as a CEO, built upon the lessons he's learned along the way that have allowed him to overcome the odds and make a positive change in the industry. Plus, we’ll find out the number one thing he says every aspiring entrepreneur should learn in order to be successful.

In today’s episode, we’ll hear from Brittney Riley, the former VP of U.S. ventures for Village Capital.

Brittney Riley doesn’t fit your typical venture capitalist stereotype of an older man in a suit. One of the youngest members of the Village Capital team, Brittney used her grit and newfound passion for startups and business development to break the VC glass ceiling after a successful career as a serial entrepreneur.

In today’s episode, we find out what catalyzed her entrepreneurial success while at the University of Washington, and how opening a restaurant with her brother showed her the changemaking ability of starting a business. After successfully exiting two tech startups, Brittney moved across the world to India for her next game changing adventure in venture capital. Tune in to find out how Brittney stays cool under pressure, and why she’s taking a break from investing

The Startup Catalyst® Podcast is back! Sultan Ventures is launching Season 2 with an important and timely theme: inclusivity in the startup and venture capital community. We're kicking things off with one of the most influential women in entrepreneurship and tech: Kathryn Finney, founder of digitalundivided.

Kathryn has been a changemaker in the industry for nearly two decades via her roles as a tech entrepreneur, social media innovator, and investor.

In today's episode, we'll hear how she got her start in entrepreneurship at a young age, from her lucrative friendship bracelet business in elementary school, to cornering the hair-braiding market at Yale, and her pioneering fashion blog in the early days of the internet. Kathryn risked her career and personal finances to create digitalundivided (DID), an incubator focused on accelerating entrepreneurship for black and latinx founders. Tune-in to find out why she’s so passionate about the power of women owning their work.

Aloha podcast world, this is the Startup Catalyst Podcast, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures.

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 small businesses and startups with a career ranging from commercial banking, mobile app development, as well as marketing and operations.

We’ll hear all about his work ranging from his journey from HPU to Central Pacific Bank and how he made the leap from the corporate world to entrepreneurship where Luke and I first met. Since then, Luke has gone on to Found companies including Ritify, a Blue Startups portfolio company mentored by Henk Rogers of Tetris fame and Aloha Squared, a boutique fashion outlet creating made in Hawaii pocket squares.

Hello there! This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures hosted by Luke Tucker.

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 hear some things not available anywhere else as Ross goes through some awesome stories. Including, a dinner party in Rome with some famous actors. Stick around for that, you don’t want to miss that story!

A few nuggets in the show: the maximum 3-digit Fibonacci sequence number (bet you can’t guess the number right now), the thesis of leveraging the collective knowledge, what are “2 pocket thinkers”, and what’s next for Vilcap!

So much good stuff.

So guys, enjoy your commute to the office or quick gym session while you listen, but make sure you remember to take some notes fr

What’s everybody! This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures. I’m your host, Luke Tucker.

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 Brazil.

Emilia is a maven of content, and we get into some super specific content tips including the 5 elements of a content strategy.

So whip out that note pad, take some notes and enjoy my conversation with Emilia Chagas.

Hello there! This is The Startup Catalyst Podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures hosted by Luke Tucker.

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 passion to pursue greatness, and his heart to apply himself and give back is just awesome.

In the show you’ll learn about Pedro’s crazy journey including making the leap from a high flying ed tech startup to connections in NYC, to Boulder, and jumping on board the rocket ship startup that is Sendgrid and finally where he’s at now as a VC with FundersClub.

So much you can learn from Pedro’s story - pay close attention to his genuine heart to serve others, and the attitude he has to roll up his sleeves and work harder, doing things no-one maybe even thought of. I’v

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. Enjoy!

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 completed.

He’s a world-traveller, and a world-class dude!

In my short convo with George we talk about balancing a heart for travel and adventure to investing in your local community and giving back, we chat startup education and even the future of the Proto HUB here in Honolulu.

So please enjoy my conversation with George Yarbrough.

Today’s episode is a special one as we welcome Jared from Village Capital and Tarik Sultan to chat about startup ecosystems

VilCap is unique in that they have a peer driven investment model... Sultan ventures is excited to spearhead the Hawaii community as a member of their inaugural communities program.

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 important universities are, and Jared's take on the Hawaii startup ecosystem: how we compare to other cities, how we can improve, and what his experience has been like here.

We have a blast chatting, lots of good stuff so please enjoy my conversation with Jared Marquette and Tarik Sultan on startup ecosystems.

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 into the various entrepreneurial activities he’s enjoyed over the years and really chat through the highs and the lows.

My top lessons: love the hustle, embrace bartering. When you meet someone, seek to build a relationship. Be giving and embrace aloha.

A few favorite parts: getting started in radio at 17, how he went from the top of the radio industry in hawaii to filing for bankruptcy, the story of the great food truck race, and the fantastic story of Rudy, his Filipino driver which is near the end of the show when we talk about traveling tips. This episode we really take you on a journey, so stick around for the whole thing. I personally have listened to the recording multiple times.

This is one day gang, where if you're stuck in rush hour traffic, you’ll be thankful because you’ll get to finish t

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures.

Today’s guest: is Lauren Primiano, Managing Member at Reef.VC

Lauren has had a diverse career to date, working with various companies and agencies. She’s been an early startup employee in several medical and early stage companies, helped on the investor and community side with roles at HSDC and now mbloom / Reef vc.

In the interview, we talk about how her wrestling focus has impacted her career (yes she wrestled in high school and yes she’s pretty competitive), We get into some of the exciting companies and projects she’s worked on, her tips on how to approach economic stimulus (so if you're in a small tech community looking to replicate some of the models, she’s got your playbook) and we also get into the story of mbloom and where that story is at today from her perspective.

Lauren i

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures. I’m your host, Luke Tucker.

Today’s episode is part tres of our special trifecta of episodes that are the sport focused olympic series, where this week we welcome Brett McDonald, CEO and Founder at Vantage Sports

Vantage Sports is a premiere sports analytics platform that provides key insights to players, teams, and media. Recently shifting its focus into the eSports industry, Vantage League provides aspiring gamers with data-driven coaching services and unique access to professional teams.

Investors in his company include Carmelo Anthony, Vernon Davis, and they’re a portfolio company of Blue Startups, 500 Startups and MBloom.

In today’s show, you’ll learn about his mistakes with his first company, how he’s fought through the tough times, how he decided to pivot his current company to a

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures. I’m your host, Luke Tucker.
Today’s episode is part 2 of our special 3-part sport focused olympic series, where this week we welcome Troy Ruediger, Founder at Starters.Co.
Starters is a collaborative community of #sportstech innovators and influencers who are shaping the future of sports. Check out #wearestarters on the twitter (their twitter handle is @startersHQ).
So a little bit about Troy: Shaping the future of sports w/ @StartersHQ and he leads Product/Growth @vibby

Now Troy has been an early startup employee, repeat founder, straight up hustler, and he’s one awesome dude.

Just to get an idea of some of his hustle status: in his first company he worked at Rukkus, he did everything from Flying drones, selling tickets, doing customer service - Troy did it all

In this episode, you’

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures. I’m your host, Luke Tucker.

Today’s episode kicks off our special 3-part sport focused olympic series, leading off with Hunter Swensson, Founder and COO at paranoid fan

Paranoid Fan is a social mapping app that helps fans navigate through their game-day experience, and Hunter has a super interesting journey, being a professional sports athlete where his corporate sponsors included Toyota, and he also worked for ESPN in Texas.

In the interview, we get into a lot, from the ups and downs of founding a company, getting customers at Paranoid Fan, building their company in Dallas... and you’ll find out about “old man makowski”.

One Key lesson I'd like to highlight: take what you learn from your successes and apply it to your future endeavors (in hunter’s case, his halo esports dominance help

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures.

Today’s guest: is The man himself: Omar Sultan, Partner at Sultan Ventures

Omar has been a tireless worker for entrepreneurs, technology, and innovation in Hawaii for nearly a decade.

In the interview, Omar gets into how he and his family launched Sultan Ventures, learn about his healthcare and technology background, things he looks for in an entrepreneurs pitch, the importance of education in our startup ecosystem and much more. A quick teaser, you will find out how many different black belts Omar has, as well as his time in New Orleans at Tulane and he even gives his top list of things to do when visiting New Orleans.

We have a great time, and my friends I know you will enjoy my conversation with the man himself, Omar Sultan.

Please share this episode, subscribe, rate and review on

Michael came up with the idea for Lua technologies (secure, mobile-first messaging for the enterprise) in college and achieved product-market fit through initial testing on a film set!

The company has since gone on to go through Techstars NYC (Spring 2012), raise $10M in Venture Capital and boasts clients such as Hyatt Hotels, United Airlines, Spotify, the US Government and many of the top companies in the Healthcare industry.

As Founder, CEO at Lua, Michael Keoni has led the company to its industry-leading position and immense traction in the Healthcare space having achieved the stringent HIPAA compliance status.

Michael Keoni is also a contributor to both Fortune and Forbes, speaks Mandarin and Japanese, and is also a trained chanter (oli) having studied under renowned scholar, author, and kumu hula Dr. Pualani Kanaka’ole Kanahele.

This is the Startup Catalyst Podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, I am your host Luke Tucker signing off, tune in next Thursday for our episo

Today’s guest: is Warren Doi, Go To Market Lead at Energy Excelerator

Warren is a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded Greencar Hawaii, a company that built a clean energy transportation network with zero-emission vehicles among several other companies and has successfully raised over $10 million in investment capital over the years.

In the interview, Warren talks about successes and failures with Green Car, his time working for exciting startups in the Valley, and the awesome work he’s doing with EEX. Warren is also very active in mentorship and giving back, working on various islands providing guidance and support so we get into his views on entrepreneurship and the startup scene here in Hawaii.

This is the Startup catalyst podcast brought to you by Sultan Ventures, the the show where we interview entrepreneurs and investors on the stories and catalysts of their startup successes and failures hosted by Luke Tucker.

Today’s guest: is Gabe Mott, CEO and Co-founder of Huedoku

Gabe is an artist and startup veteran beginning his career as an associate at Silicon Graphics during the dot com boom and growing in his passion for art and color theory.

He gets into some fascinating topics on color theory, such as 2 ways to create luminosity, we talk about launching the app in Holland, and what his favorite color is.

Gabe’s a rad dude, so grab a coloring book and a cup of coffee and enjoy the interview with Gabe Mott.

Peter is an active angel investor, he was Corporate Vice President, New Ventures at Coinstar where he helped grew the company from $150 million to $1.3 billion in revenue including investing in the Redbox platform. So next time you rent that DVD at Safeway you can thank Peter. Peter is a teacher in entrepreneurship and new venture strategy and is active in the entrepreneurial community as an advisor, mentor and investor.

We really get into some nitty gritty in this interview, with fascinating stories beginning to end. We talk about ad agencies in New York, his Russian studies at Cornell, of course Coinstar and Redbox, as well as Hawaii startups.

Susan has had an amazing career spanning California and Hawaii, impacting startup companies and young entrepreneurs in incredible ways. We chat about her experience turning around a publishing company in the late 90s (and then getting fired), the huge win of TRUSTe, and her work with UH entrepreneurs at the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship. Also, learn what her favorite golf course in Hawaii is and even her golf handicap.

Rechung is a staple in the startup and tech ecosystem in Hawaii's "Startup Paradise". He is an accomplished entrepreneur, incredible builder of communities, and a straight up genuine and generous dude. Learn about how Rechung started Box Jelly, how he builds communities, and why he gives back.

Adventureman, investor, and master brewer; Steve Haumschild shares his experiences in life and business. From living in a tent in the woods to working on a volcano in Hawaii, to launching a successful brewery; we cover it all! This is a fun episode where we enjoy some Moku imperial IPA (listen to learn what its original name was going to be), and chat startups, adventures, and life journeys.

Hawaii native and Silicon Valley veteran, Meli James, discusses her experiences going from Cornell to startups in San Francisco and her work in Hawaii's Startup Paradise. Meli is the President of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association. Born and raised in Honolulu, Meli lived in Silicon Valley for over 10 years. In 2015 she was recognized by Hawaii Business Magazine as one of its 20 to Watch for the Next 20. She has recently been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of 5 Women to Watch in 2016.

SV Partner and Founder chats financials, startups and investing. Tarik Co-founded Sultan Ventures and XLR8UH and along with his brother Omar is the recipient of the 2014 Hawaii Venture Capital Association’s (HVCA) Investors of the Year. Tarik serves as the Chair of Startup Hawaii, the regional chapter of Up Global (formerly Startup America) as a Board Member and Treasurer of the HVCA, a non-profit which seeks to foster entrepreneurial development through networking, education, and access to venture capital; and has been federally appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce as a Member of the Hawaii Pacific Export Council, a non-profit organization of local leaders and experienced international business professionals who provide assistance to local businesses expanding in international markets. Tarik has worked with, advised, and led several startups, most recently as Interim CFO of Ibis Networks, a venture backed cleantech startup focused on reducing energy consumption. Tarik holds a B