Feb 16, 2016

admin (HONOLULU, HAWAII—NOVEMBER 25, 2013)—Blue Startups, a Hawaii-based accelerator founded by Henk Rogers of Blue Planet Software (sole agent of Tetris®), is supporting the launch of Startup Paradise in conjunction with its upcoming “Demo Days.” Startup Paradise Demo Days are slated for December 4 in Honolulu and December 11 in Silicon Valley to feature the seven startup companies of the second Blue Startups cohort. Startup Paradise is a collective branding and promotional effort for Hawaii that includes collaboration from major players in Hawaii’s innovation sector. Growing organically out of the use of the term “Startup Paradise” to describe the entrepreneurial scene in Hawaii – it has now been embraced by the industry. Champions include Blue Startups, Energy Excelerator, mBloom (Maui based seed fund/incubator), Nalukai Foundation (Big Island entrepreneurial education program), Entrepreneurs Foundation, Startup Capital Ventures, Box Jelly (co-working space), Sultan Ventures, Hawaii Venture Capital Association, Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, Startup Hawaii, and Hawaii Angels with support from the HI Growth Initiative (Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation), and Hawaii Technology Development Corporation. The upcoming Startup Paradise VC Summit and Demo Day on December 4 in Honolulu is being put on by Hi Growth Initiative (HSDC), Sultan Ventures, Blue Startups, and Energy Excelerator and will include programming regarding the launch of the Startup Paradise initiative. Goals of Startup Paradise include increasing awareness of Hawaii as a place to do innovative startups, improving our collective ability to recruit talent and capital to the State. Blue Startups will be hosting its second Startup Paradise Demo Day in Silicon Valley at 500 Startups (a seed fund and venture accelerator with Silicon Valley roots and a global footprint) on December 11. This event will showcase the best technology startups Hawaii has to offer and gain exposure for these companies on a national stage. Building on the Startup Paradise initiative, Blue Startups will also be hosting a Startup Paradise mixer in San Francisco on December 13 where people with Hawaii ties will gather representing the technology, entrepreneurial and investment sectors. Part of the Startup Paradise initiative is to build this human capital network to provide additional resources to entrepreneurs from Hawaii and provide opportunities for kamaaina to come home to help build Startup Paradise. Blue Startups’ Fall 2013 cohort: eSEE/RESCUE is the e-commerce/consumer distributor of the U.S. Military-approved and Internationally adopted SEE/RESCUE STREAMER emergency signaling technology for persons lost on land, at sea, or in space. seerescuestreamer.com. Gibi Technologies, is developing a pet GPS location service to help people quickly, accurately, and reliably find their missing pets by simply attaching a Gibi device to their pet’s collar and pressing a button on Gibi’s app to see their pet’s exact GPS location on a Google map. gibitechnologies.com. Happy Hour Pal, GPS-based app provides up-to-date happy hour information straight from the businesses. HappyHourPal.com. Ritify, under the direct mentorship of Henk Rogers, is developing an interactive photo viewer allowing users to digitally archive their memoirs. ritify.com. SIFT offers a way to make meetings more efficient, engaging, and enjoyable. Participants can use their own mobile devices for group collaboration and decision-making. LiveSift.com. Workers On Call is an online freelancer marketplace that anyone can start work in 30 minutes or less. It was founded on the Big Island by Graham Silbermann and Ted Coombs. workersoncall.com. XMAP is a treasure hunt application. Players look for a physical card hidden in real life locations (such as a public park) in order to win real money. thexmap.com Blue Startups is a technology accelerator founded by Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Software (sole agent of Tetris®). Blue Startups concentrates on helping scalable-technology companies including Internet, software, mobile, gaming and e-commerce compete on a global scale. A member of the Global Accelerator Network, Blue Startups follows the Techstars mentor-driven accelerator model, reaching networks in Hawaii, Japan and the Silicon Valley. Blue Startups aims to become a nexus of entrepreneurial activity in Hawaii, and between Asia and Continental U.S. For more information, visit: www.bluestartups.com. Media Contact: