University of Hawaii student-run seed investment group, the Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund, announced Thursday that it is investing a total of $20,000 in startups Hohonu and Reeler, marking their first-ever strategic investments.
The Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund consists of a committee of 12 students at the Shidler College of Business. Launched in 2021, the venture fund provides real-world learning opportunities about the venture capital process, according to the University of Hawaii.
The first startup, Hohonu, monitors water levels for coastlines, rivers and streams not monitored by NOAA and USGS. Utilizing technology developed by UH Manoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Associate Professor Brian Glazer, it helps coastal communities respond to flooding and climate change, according to the University of Hawaii.
“Investing in UH-affiliated startups is a good model to have because there’s world class researchers at UH inventing really cool technology,” Nate Bek, advisor and former chair of The Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund told Pacific Business News in an interview.
“Setting up this venture fund to invest in that is really important for Hawaii’s economy and building up the startup ecosystem there.”
Reeler, developed by two UH Manoa alums Lauren Pierce and Spencer VanDerKamp allows users to purchase fresh fish by being notified when fishers in the area have posted their catch on the app.
“In the case of Reeler, our investment will help them with their marketing and boost their growth a bit, and so that was more of a targeted investment with a little more impact.” Bek said. “In that case, it serves not only to help them but it's also kind of a signal that if you go to UH, and you create a startup, that you can actually get money for it– and I think that’s going to be great going forward.”
The fund is currently taking applications for the next round of investments until Oct. 7.
