Hawaii's Capital Ecosystem: Insights from Investors and Innovators

This engaging panel discussion will dive into the diverse funding opportunities across the state, covering venture capital, accelerators, and impact investing. Join us to gain valuable insights into Hawaii's dynamic capital ecosystem and explore how various funding resources are driving innovation and growth in Hawaii.

Speakers:

• Brittany Heyd, General Partner, Mana Up Capital
• Keoni Lee, CEO, Hawaii Investment Ready
• Dawn Lippert, Founder & CEO, Elemental Excelerator
• Tuan La, HI-CAP Manager, Hawaiʻi Technology Development Corporation (HTDC)
• Johnny Chankhamany, Program Director, Builders VC

Breakfast & coffee will be provided to all attendees. Tickets are required.
Please email [email protected] if you have any dietary restrictions other than vegetarian/vegan.

Program

• 8:00am | Doors Open; Breakfast, Coffee, Mingling
• 8:30am | Panel Begins
• 10:00am | Event Ends

Location

Ka Waiwai, 1110 University Ave, Honolulu, HI
Parking: Parking is on site. Come inside Ka Waiwai and scan the QR code for a 2-hour free code for parking.

Speaker Bios:

• Johnny Chankhamany is a Program Director at Builders VC, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco investing in Series A startups focused on the digital transformation of legacy industries. He focuses on advancing Hawaii's tech and startup ecosystems by allocating Builders resources to up-level Hawaii founders and startups, increasing the quality and quantity of tech talent in Hawaii, and strategic partnerships and business development. He is a graduate of Lahainaluna High School and UH Manoa, is a co-founder of the non-profit ThriveHI, and serves as President of the AKAMAI Foundation.
• Brittany Heyd is cofounder of Mana Up. Before Mana Up, Brittany was cofounder and managing director at 1776 where she grew the organization from idea to global business including a $12.5 million venture fund, five locations, events in 75 cities across the world, and a software platform called Union. Brittany also held positions at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Latham & Watkins, and Mark IV Capital. In 2020, she was recognized by Hawaii Business Magazine on its 20 for the Next 20 list and in 2021, she was named by Pacific Business News as an honoree of its annual Women Who Mean Business Awards. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund (University of Hawaii) and the Hawaii Pacific Export Council. Heyd holds a Juris Doctor / Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelor's of Arts from the University of San Diego.
• Tuan La is a seasoned investment expert and attorney with over 13 years of experience driving growth and innovation in private equity, venture capital, and startups. Currently, he is the HI-CAP program manager at HTDC. Prior to HTDC, he was a portfolio manager at Patamar Beacon Fund, a director at IFB holdings, and a lawyer at Baker McKenzie. Tuan also holds a JD/MBA from the University of Hawaii and is admitted to the Hawaii Bar Association.
• Keoni Lee is the Chief Executive Officer of Hawaii Investment Ready (HIR), a nonprofit intermediary organization whose core purpose is field-building to change the way that money moves in service of its mission for a more just, equitable, and abundant economic future for all of Hawaiʻi’s people and places. HIR is pioneering a systems change investing framework of integrated programs and services that targets high potential purpose-driven enterprises for investment and facilitates the coordination and collaboration of capital across philanthropy, government, and the private sector.
• Dawn Lippert is Founder & CEO of Elemental Excelerator, a global climate technology investor and nonprofit impact organization. Under Dawn’s leadership, Elemental has invested in more than 150 startups in the energy, mobility, water, industry, nature-based solutions and agriculture sectors, and those companies have gone on to raise over $8 billion in follow-on funding. Elemental has pioneered a new model for equitable climate solutions that centers social equity in companies’ cultures, products and technology deployments. Dawn serves as Founding Partner of Earthshot Ventures, a venture capital fund spun out of Elemental in 2021.

Host or Publisher Funder Hui