UH Mānoa students got a chance to learn about the latest tech innovations at a demo night hosted by Hawaii-based accelerator Blue Startups at the Walter Dods, Jr. RISE Center on September 23.
Blue Startups focuses on supporting companies with “scalable technology” and “ambitions to take technology to global markets.” That’s what program manager David Holt said when introducing the owners of CleverFi and six other companies who pitched their businesses to a student audience.
“I would like to become an entrepreneur and I think that this event is a good opportunity for me to learn from other successful entrepreneurs,” said Quang Loc Lam, an Information Technology Management PhD Student at UH Mānoa.
CleverFi CEO Mario Soave was once an aspiring entrepreneur like Lam. A cyber attack on his Airbnb spurred him to create a way to protect wifi with unique automatic connections to prevent hacking and alleviate the hassle of typing passwords.
“From a good market standpoint, we’re very early; like we’re just going to market right now. From a technology standpoint, we’ve built a technology and that is already working and people are already using our product,” said Soave.
Students asked a wide range of questions from “How does your product work?” to “How do aspiring entrepreneurs get started?”
The entrepreneurs shared insightful business tips and explained how they plan to support future generations. CleverFi’s owner says he especially wants to support women entering the business world.
“We want to provide more funding for female entrepreneurs, and I believe in it, obviously not just because I have two daughters but because I think equalizing would be very good,” said Soave.
This is Blue Startups’ 16th cohort, which will take part in a series of events in Hawaii and the continental U.S. To learn more, visit the Blue Startups website.
Josslyn Rose is a second-year journalism major at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa who loves to focus on local stories, cultural events, and politics.
