Meli James is a cofounder at Mana Up, a Hawai'i-based initiative designed to build the state’s next generation of CEOs in the retail and food product industry. Mana Up hosts a 12-week accelerator program, offered biannually, to enable Hawai'i product entrepreneurs to scale their businesses.

Previously, James was the program director of XLR8UH, the University of Hawai'i’s (UH’s) nationally recognized venture accelerator focused on mentoring and investing in UH-affiliated innovations.

Born and raised in Honolulu, James lived in Silicon Valley for more than 10 years, where she co-founded and contributed to numerous start-ups in the Bay Area and Honolulu, including Nirvino, which was a #1 ranked wine app, an Apple Platform Top 100 App, & Top Ten Lifestyles App during its time.

James is a founding member of the Startup Paradise initiative helping to build a thriving entrepreneurial community that nurtures collaboration and innovation in Hawai'i. She is committed to establishing resources to grow local talent and opportunity.

In 2016, she was recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of five Women to Watch. In 2017, she was recognized again by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of eight Women Leaders Who Are Disrupting Entrepreneurship.

James is a graduate of and Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) at Cornell University.

 

 

Donavan is a Director at Startup Capital Ventures and serves on the board of portfolio company AreaMetrics, Hobnob, and board observer at Breinify.

Prior to joining Startup Capital, Donavan co-founded Adama Materials, a venture-capital backed materials science company and Asio Corporation, a software development consulting firm.

Donavan is also co-founder of the Purple Maiʻa Foundation, a 501(c)(3) focused on empowering high opportunity youth in underserved Hawaiʻi communities that possess rich cultural heritages by providing indigenized technology education.  Donavan is a licensed attorney and holds a BA, and JD/MBA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

 

     

  

Bill led the Hawaii Venture Capital Association from 1999 – 2013 and is a co-founder of the aquaculture venture, Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc.  

 

 

Chenoa has more than 15 years experience in business strategy and private equity investing. Farnsworth is the managing director of Blue Startups and the Hawaii Angels, Hawaii’s only angel capital investment network. In 2006, she co-founded Kolohala Ventures, a Hawai’i-based venture capital firm that has invested $50 million into Hawai’i-based technology start-ups. 

 

 

Founder of Hawaii’s angel investor network, the Hawaii Angels. Co-author of Angel Investing: Matching Startup Funds with Startup Companies. Award-winning author on business negotiation and conflict management, has over 20 years of experience in coaching companies in valuation and other negotiations.

 

HVCA Team 

   

 

Sandy Shiraki has been working with the Hawai’i Venture Capital Association (HVCA) as the Business Administrator since February 2015. Over the past 26 years, Ms. Shiraki has worked in the private and public sector with startups and well established corporations, delivering administrative managerial, paralegal, accounting and banking services with such firms as Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawai’i, Masaki School of Music, ClearFuels Technology, Inc., Sennet Capital LLC, CACI International Inc., Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher, The Pacific Law Group, The New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel and American Savings Bank.