Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper and two guest judges weighed in on entrepreneurs with ties to the Islands as part of the live taping of an episode of Season 10 of “Meet the Drapers,” on Wednesday, April 8, at Ko’olau Ballrooms & Conference Center in Kāneʻohe.
The guest judges were Marc Benioff, CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, and Chenoa Farnsworth, managing partner of Blue Startups, a business accelerator in Hawaiʻi focused on helping tech companies compete globally. The upcoming season of “Meet the Drapers” is a tour across America, which includes a stop on Oʻahu.
One of the contestants, Ioana Cuzmata of G-Space, was selected to advance via the crystal ball. Cuzmata previously participated in Blue Startups. She will advance to the semifinals to compete against about 10 winners from other cities.
From the semifinals, three startups will advance to the final, along with three additional startups chosen by global viewer voting. In the final episode of the season, the first-place winner takes home at least a $1 million investment, the second-place winner gets at least a $500,000 investment and the third-place winner gets at least a $250,000 investment. The show reaches millions of viewers annually around the world via television and digital platforms.
The live taping of the episode was part of East Meets West, a tech conference presented by Blue Startups that connects entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders through events on Oʻahu.
The contestants for the episode of “Meet the Drapers” filmed in Kāneʻohe included Miki Hardisty of ʻŌlelo Intelligence, who is based in Waimānalo; Kevin Davies of Energy Quotient, who is based in Honolulu; Bernard Mendez of Black Sand, who is based on Maui; and Cuzmata, who is based in Sunnyvale, California.
“These four are quite extraordinary,” Tim Draper told Aloha State Daily from the stage where the episode was filmed.
“Meet the Drapers” gets about a thousand applicants for every four entrepreneurs on the show, he said.
The episode was filmed with views of the Ko’olau Mountains behind the contestants. Even the crystal ball — used to pick who advances to the next round — was honored with a lei during the ceremony.
Hardisty, CEO and co-founder of ʻŌlelo Intelligence, was the first contestant to pitch her startup. She grew up in Kailua and sees Hawaiʻi as a growing ecosystem for Artificial Intelligence.
“We really want to make sure that Hawaiʻi — this little island in the middle of the Pacific — has the exposure that we can be a technical capital,” she told Aloha State Daily after pitching her company to the judges. “We've got a strong following of folks that are really taking that next step on being technical entrepreneurs, and the community is building, so I'm excited to be able to represent on the stage today.”
During the episode, hospitality was mentioned as one of the largest economic engines in the state. But Hardisty highlighted that small and medium sized businesses are important to help the economy grow.
"You can't just have defense and large enterprise and tourism here," she told ASD. "We need more diversity in the types of businesses that we have. And Hawaiʻi was built on small business.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Hardisty, who had been living on the Mainland for 30 years, watched Hawaiʻi businesses shut down. She decided to return and help local businesses.
“Building a business is hard,” she said. “It is not for the faint of heart. However, find a support network. There is a support network here in Hawaiʻi. There is Mana Up. There is Blue Startups. Find that network that can help you grow and improve your pitch, your go-to-market strategies. There’s a ton of mentors out there wanting to help other Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs, so you don't have to do it alone. But again, it's not for the faint of heart. Really be passionate that this is what you want to do.”
Watch “Meet the Drapers” on DraperTV as well asYouTube DraperTV.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
