Blue Startups

10/07/2026

It was great seeing so many friends at our Cohort 18 Showcase & ʻOhana Mixer in San Francisco last night.

Check our Blue Startups company gallery to learn more about Cohort 18: https://lnkd.in/gRxpFWRe

Mahalo to Gigi Dawn and Zack Hernandez of ThriveHI for co-hosting.

Mahalo to MidFirst Bank for hosting us in your San Francisco office.

Thank you everyone for showing up and bringing the energy last night!

Cohort 18:
NatureMe - Lama Masri and Evan Rapoport
Nice Industries - Jessica Greenwalt
Trajectory - Justin Bailey, Ben Brostoff, and Reece Denzel
The Travel Nanny - Beverly Yip
Paws Abroad - Marisa Hoskins and Adrian Hoskins
CivicNexus - Seiichi Nagai and Pierce Young
Pacific Hybreed - Melissa DellaTorre
Lu'uLive - Matthew Feeley
Manai - Frank Schmidt
LessCAD (Matter Manifest) - Bryan Wan
Wander - Vincenzo Mazzoni and Kayla Scheffler

Blue Startups team: Chenoa Farnsworth, David Holt, Alexi Drouin, and Rustin Katsura.

10/06/2026

We’re sold out!

Today Cohort 18 is in San Francisco for SF Tech Week! We’re bringing our companies together for Blue Startups Showcase & ʻOhana Mixer.

Meet NatureMe, Nice Industries, Trajectory, The Travel Nanny, Paws Abroad, CivicNexus, Pacific Hybreed, Lu'uLive, Manai, LessCAD (Matter Manifest), and Wander.

We’re joining forces with ThriveHI to organize a Pau Hana. Chenoa Farnsworth, David Holt, Alexi Drouin, Gigi Dawn and Zack Hernandez will host the ʻOhana Mixer for our Bay Area family.

Blue Startups Showcase & ʻOhana Mixer
📅 Tuesday, October 6, 5:00 to 8:00 PM PT
📍 San Francisco, CA

Join Waitlist on Partiful:
https://partiful.com/e/0ANfpyfbVruyDl6vMDjc

10/03/2026

Aloha is crossing the Pacific. On October 6, during SF Tech Week, Blue Startups and ThriveHI are throwing a mixer for the Hawaiʻi ʻohana in the Bay Area.

From Island time to Pacific Time, Blue Startups Cohort 18 paddles out to San Francisco, 12 startups straight from Honolulu. E komo mai, California!

NatureMe. Nice Industries. Trajectory. The Travel Nanny. Paws Abroad. CivicNexus. Pacific Hybreed. Lu'uLive. Manai. LessCAD (Matter Manifest). Wander. LaunchDetect.

Zack Hernandez and Gigi Dawn of ThriveHI are hosting this Pau Hana with drinks and pupus! Mahalo to MidFirst Bank for sponsoring this event in the Bay.

Blue Startups Showcase & ʻOhana Mixer
📅 Tuesday, October 6 - 5:00 to 8:00 PM PT
📍 San Francisco, CA
🔗 RSVP → https://lnkd.in/gVUaaYbq

Tag someone from Hawai’i who lives in the Bay Area.

Imua, Cohort 18! Chee hoo! 🤙

09/28/2026

Now boarding: HNL ✈️ SFO

Blue Startups is bringing Hawaiʻi's newest companies to San Francisco. Meet Cohort 18 what they're building before they scale.

Next Stop → SF Tech Week

Passenger manifest:

NatureMe - Lama Masri and Evan Rapoport
Nice Industries - Jessica Greenwalt
Trajectory - Justin Bailey, Ben Brostoff, and Reece Denzel
The Travel Nanny - Beverly Yip
Paws Abroad - Marisa Hoskins and Adrian Hoskins
CivicNexus - Seiichi Nagai and Pierce Young
Pacific Hybreed - Melissa DellaTorre
Lu'uLive - Matthew Feeley
Manai - Frank Schmidt
LessCAD (Matter Manifest) - Bryan Wan
Wander - Vincenzo Mazzoni and Kayla Scheffler
LaunchDetect - Noah Thompson and Justin Kellum

Our Pau Hana is with ThriveHI. Gigi Dawn and Zack Hernandez are hosting the ʻOhana Mixer for everyone from home who already lives in Silicone Valley.

Blue Startups Showcase & ʻOhana Mixer
📅 Tuesday, October 6 - 5:00 to 8:00 PM PT
📍 San Francisco, CA
🔗 https://lnkd.in/gVUaaYbq

09/04/2026

Surf's up! 🏄‍♀️ Cohort 18 paddles out today...

12 companies pitch at Blue Startups Demo Day, the capstone of Hawaii Tech Week. Startups in travel, gaming, AI, ocean tech, sustainability, and more.

The lineup is ready to take off and ride the wave. 🌊

Paws Abroad - Marisa Hoskins and Adrian Hoskins
Nice Industries - Jessica Greenwalt
Trajectory - Justin Bailey, Ben Brostoff, and Reece Denzel
NatureMe - Lama Masri and Evan Rapoport
CivicNexus - Seiichi Nagai and Pierce Young
Pacific Hybreed - Melissa DellaTorre
The Travel Nanny - Beverly Yip
Lu'uLive - Matthew Feeley
Manai - Frank Schmidt
LessCAD (Matter Manifest) - Bryan Wan
Wander - Vincenzo Mazzoni and Kayla Scheffler
LaunchDetect - Noah Thompson and Justin Kellum

Demo Day capacity and registration is waitlist only.

Blue Startups Cohort 18 Honolulu Demo Day
📅 Friday, September 4, 3:00 to 6:00 PM
📍 Entrepreneurs Sandbox, 643 Ilalo St, Honolulu
🔗 https://luma.com/r4pzlr4z - (Waitlist)

09/02/2026

All signs point to Blue Startups Demo Day! 👈

Cohort 18 is pitching this Friday as the capstone of Hawaii Tech Week. These founders are building startups in travel, gaming, AI, software, ocean, sustainability, and health.

NatureMe. Nice Industries. Trajectory. The Travel Nanny. Paws Abroad. CivicNexus. Pacific Hybreed. Lu'uLive. Manai. LessCAD (Matter Manifest). Wander. LaunchDetect.

BLUE STARTUPS COHORT 18 DEMO DAY
📅 Friday, September 4 @ 3:00 to 6:00 PM
📍 Entrepreneurs Sandbox, 643 Ilalo St, Honolulu

Sign Up to Waitlist Today → https://luma.com/r4pzlr4z

08/28/2026

Blue Startups Cohort 18 pitches one week from today. 12 companies take the stage at the Entrepreneurs Sandbox on Friday, September 4, the capstone event of Hawaii Tech Week.

NatureMe - Lama Masri and Evan Rapoport
Nice Industries - Jessica Greenwalt
Trajectory - Justin Bailey, Ben Brostoff, and Reece Denzel
The Travel Nanny - Beverly Yip
Paws Abroad - Marisa Hoskins and Adrian Hoskins
CivicNexus - Seiichi Nagai and Pierce Young
Pacific Hybreed - Melissa DellaTorre
Lu'uLive - Matthew Feeley
Manai - Frank Schmidt
LessCAD (Matter Manifest) - Bryan Wan
Wander - Vincenzo Mazzoni and Kayla Scheffler
LaunchDetect - Noah Thompson and Justin Kellum

Blue Startups Cohort 18 Honolulu Demo Day
📅 Friday, September 4, 3:00 to 6:00 PM
📍 Entrepreneurs Sandbox, 643 Ilalo St, Honolulu
🔗 https://luma.com/r4pzlr4z - Free (Waitlist)

08/11/2026

Blue Startups is Hawaiʻi's Premier Startup Accelerator. Founded in 2012. Women-led. 12 weeks in HI + SF. Up to $250K in funding. 150 companies. 250+ mentors. 400+ investors. $1B follow-on capital. Top 20 US by TechCrunch.

Sector: Tech, Travel, Gaming, Sustainability, AI, Space, and Ocean
Honolulu Demo Day - September 4, 2026 @ Hawaii Tech Week
San Francisco Mixer - October 6, 2026 @ SF Tech Week

Cohort 18 - Startups and Founders

NatureMe - Lama Masri, Evan Rapoport
Nice Industries - Jessica Greenwalt
Trajectory - Justin Bailey, Ben Brostoff, Reece Denzel
The Travel Nanny - Beverly Yip
Paws Abroad - Marisa Hoskins, Adrian Hoskins
CivicNexus - Seiichi Nagai, Pierce Young
Pacific Hybreed - Melissa DellaTorre
Lu'uLive - Matthew Feeley
Manai - Frank Schmidt
LessCAD (Matter Manifest) - Bryan Wan
Wander - Vincenzo Mazzoni, Kayla Scheffler
LaunchDetect - Noah Thompson, Justin Kellum

Co-founders: Chenoa Farnsworth, Maya Rogers, Henk Rogers
Interns: Banks Vadeboncoeur, Akira Iwata, Nathan Li
Team: David Holt, Alexi Drouin

Mahalo! 💙

08/09/2026

08/09/2026

Happy Birthday, Chenoa! Here is what we believe...
Hawaiʻi would not have a tech industry without her.

Chenoa Farnsworth cofounded Hawaii Angels in 2002 with Rob Robinson, and Blue Startups in 2012 with Maya Rogers and Henk Rogers. For 24 years she has been building the tech industry here in Hawai’i. Her personal mission is to put female founders on the stage, here in Hawaiʻi and around the world.

This past year alone:

- East Meets West 2026 was the biggest event yet. 500+ attendees, 150+ founders, 70+ investors, 50+ speakers.
- Chenoa took the Meet the Drapers stage with Tim Draper and Marc Benioff, and the room gave her a roaring ovation.
- She hosted the women's breakfast at EMW with Ashley Lukens, with over 100 women leaders from all over the world.
- Her episode on The HumanizeHer Podcast with Erica Lockheimer went viral with almost 500,000 views on YouTube.
- And she just launched Cohort 18, 12 companies out of +800 applications, to pitch at Demo Day at Hawaii Tech Week.
- Most importantly, she was awarded the world famous Hawaii Angels Cup for her lifetime of contributions :)

Mahalo from the team, David Holt and Alexi Drouin, and from the entire Blue ʻOhana, all the founders, mentors, and investors building alongside her.

Have an amazing day, Chenoa. Mahalo! 💙