Greater Good Radio - Connect, Learn, Heal, and Grow

Josh Feldman - President/CEO of Tori Richard Ltd

Nicholas sold his company InterVU to Akamai Technologies for $3 BILLION in 2000. He also co-founded nine companies in the last 12 years that have achieved a successful IPO or acquistion. He is on the Board of Hawaii Biotech and Chairman of the Board for Nayna International. I met Nicholas a few months ago at a friend’s wedding. After finding out he was involved with Hawaii Biotech I struck up a conversation and was entranced with his knowledge and success. Nicholas shared with me an inside view of the life of an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist and I was absolutely intrigued. I told him about the idea I had for Greater Good Radio (before it was created) and he agreed to come on the show. That was before we even had a list of potential interviewees. I’ve been hounding him for the past three months to schedule with us. In that time we changed from a conference room at a friend’s office to recording in the Cox Radio Studio with an onsite board engineer. After three months of not being able to hook up Nick emailed me two days ago saying he could do the interview today. I scrambled to make the studio available but with our engineer going on vacation, it was too short notice. Since Nicholas travels weekly internationally I knew we had to do this at all costs. We ended up recording today in my attorney’s conference room. I have to admit that I was not prepared with my normal list of questions because it was such short notice and I didn’t have too much to go on. We did the interview anyway and I’m absolutely pleased with the content we’ve captured and I know you will be too. Nicholas goes in depth into what makes a great entrepreneur and what mistakes to avoid. He gives a detailed tutorial on how venture capitalists and institutional investors think and this show is an absolute must hear for all entrepreneurs. BIO: Nicholas Mitsakos Chairman, Nayna International, Inc. and board member of Hawaii Biotech, Inc. Nicholas Mitsakos is an investor and entrepreneur focusing on communications and bioscience. He is a member of the board of directors to Meru Networks; Matisse Networks; NetContinuum Corporation; BridgeWave Communications and MiraPoint Communications. He is a co-founder or founding investor in Meru Networks, Matisse Networks, Nayna International and NetContinuum. Mr. Mitsakos is an active advisor to SiNett Corp, Colo Wireless, Inc., Firewave, Inc. and PS Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Mitsakos has co-founded several other companies, including InterVu (IPO December 1997, sold to Akamai for $3 Billion in March 2000), Capri Systems (sold to Time-Warner in June 1996), and General Computer Corporation (sold to Warner Communications in January 1984). He was the lead investor in Maverick Networks (sold to Broadcom in May, 1999); Berkeley Networks (sold to FORE Systems in October 1998); Wireless Home (sold to Proxim, in April, 2001); ConvergeNet (sold to Dell in July 1999), and Magma Design Automation (IPO November 2001). Mr. Mitsakos began his career as a founder and CEO of General Computer Corporation, a graphics-based software company grown from three employees to over 50 when it was sold two years later. He then consulted to other technology-based start-ups while at the Boston Consulting Group. After business school, he worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs and Drexel Burnham raising private and public equity and debt, and advising on mergers and acquisitions, before starting his own investment company in 1989. Mr. Mitsakos has provided capital for, or acquired, over 25 companies in the US, Europe and Asia, including China. He served as a director or advisor to each company, and was the founding CEO of three companies. He has been an instructor at UCLA’s Anderson Business School for the last six years, creating two courses focused on developing successful business plans for commercial enterprises using technology,

Nicholas Mitsakos - Founder of MKS Ventures, LLC, Board of Hawaii Biotech, COB Nayna International

Real role models do what’s right and Darrick Branch is a good example. Coming from football stardom in Texas, Hawaii and the NFL, this entrepreneur wanted to give back to the community he now calls home. He founded Hawaii Team Sports with some friends to teach Hawaii’s youth to stay out of trouble, drugs and alcohol. Hawaii Sports Network runs many events including a football combine, basketball tournaments, charitable giving and in-school speaking engagements. Hear how his mother formed the backbone of his ethics and how his faith led him to this cause. Some questions asked: Darrick, welcome to our show. You were blessed to experience playing football professionally, many guys’ goal and dream. Can you tell us what that experience was like? What does it take to be a professional athlete? What made you stand out from the rest? Do you think attitude helped you through life to help you adapt to different places and people? What made you choose Hawaii to play ball? What are your thoughts on education and athletes? How do you feel your sports career helped your business drive? What’s the story behind Hawaii Team Sports? What’s the impace you’ve experienced from Hawaii Team Sports? Hawaii Team Sports does an event called School Jam, could you tell us more about this? How were you inspired to do an activity like School Jam? During Thanksgiving you will be doing an event called Gobble Giveaway with Fast Kine Tanning. What is the gobble giveaway? Could you share with us any success stories of your promotional events and how it had impacted children’s lives? You’ve played for many good and great coaches. What made the great coaches stand out? Do you have any motivational stories or quotes that inspired you when your team was falling behind and needed to pick up the pace? Could you tell us about your training and clinics that you offer for children? Any last advice for business people? What can we look forward to in the future? Are there plans for an extension of your company in Texas? What message would you like our listeners to receive from this discussion? BIO: Born February 10, 1972 in Dallas, Tx. Three sport high school All-American (football, basketball, track) Member of the 1988 Texas State Football Champion Carter Cowboys featured in the movie Friday Night Lights. State Champion in the 110m high hurdles. Held state record for 3 years with a time of 13.42 seconds. Set the state record for most three pointers in a Texas high school basketball game(12). Received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Hawaii in 1989. Proudest moment was as the co-captain delivering the first ever WAC Championship to the University of Hawaii football program in 1992 and winning the Holiday Bowl against the University of Illinois. Scored winning touchdown in the Holiday Bowl (56yard reception from Michael Carter) Selected twice as a member of the All WAC team as a wide receiver and kick returner. Finished his senior campaign at the University of Hawaii ranked fifth in the nation in kickoff returns and 2nd all time in school history in average yard per reception and kick returns. Drafted in the 7th round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 1994 played for the Buffalo Bills. In 1995 was signed by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Lead the team in receptions, TD’s, and kick returns breaking several team records including longest kick off return in team history. After 8 games was signed by the defending Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers. Played with the 49ers during 1995 & 1996 seasons. 1997 traded to the Denver Broncos. Member of the 1997 & 1998 Denver Broncos Super Bowl Champion Teams 1998 played in NFL Europe for World Bowl runner up Frankfurt Galaxy...

Darrick Branch - Founder of Hawaii Team Sports and retired NFL player

Gina Mangieri - Owner of The Cole Academy and KHON2 News Anchor

Gina has achieved success at a very young age. When she decided to open The Cole Academy, Gina wrote the business plan in one weekend and in the next week she obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in financing. Before the doors were even opened for business, Gina had filled between 70 to 80% of the student openings. Eight months from writing her business plan, she opened her doors and a year later is expanding. Between both locations and her business owned with her husband, Gina will employ over 60 people and is a major employer in Hawaii. The Cole Academy will serve over 200 students between both locations. As a community minded individual, Gina helped raise over $20,000 in two days for UNICEF with the total nearing $50,000 in a very short amount of time. She tells how this came from her heart and soon had a great positive impact on her business. If you are looking to become both financially successful and a community leader, you don’t want to miss this interview. Some of the questions asked: What is The Cole Academy and what makes it different from other preschools? Why did you decide to locate in downtown Honolulu and why do you think there aren’t more preschools in the downtown area? You didn’t wait very long to open a second location, was that in your original plan? How did you decide on opening in Kapolei? How did this come about, what is the story behind the Cole Academy? When you knew you wanted to start the Cole Academy what was the first thing you did? How long did it take to write your business plan? What were the major milestones achieved to get TCA up and running? What was the most difficult challenge to getting started and running your business? How did you obtain financing? What community organizations or non profits are you involved with? Can you tell us more about how you launched the South Asia Keiki Aloha fund drive and what prompted you to do it? How did you integrate the SAKA fund drive w/ the Cole Academy? How has that helped your business? Do you find it harder to do business because you’re a woman? Any advice for today’s young business person? What are the 3 biggest mistakes people make when starting their own business and what do you suggest for them to overcome these mistakes? How did you develop your business skills and entrepreneurial abilities? What other businesses do you run? What important things about running a business that you know now but didn’t know before opening The Cole Academy? What’s the biggest obstacle in running your business? What are the most important metrics in running your business? What is your greatest strength in running your business? BIO: Gina Mangieri is the founder of The Cole Academy and is also a broadcast reporter on KHON2 News. The Cole Academy started as a downtown infant, toddler and preschool center educating 100 children — including her toddler, Cole. Next year, it is planning a major expansion into West Oahu, where a new center will educate another 120 children. The concept for the school came about when Gina — at the time the editor of Pacific Business News — came back from maternity leave and was in need of good childcare. Other island centers had long waiting lists, and none met exactly what she envisioned in care and education. If she was going to wait months for entry into anything less than the “perfect school,” she figured, why not just make one herself? As she gathered experts from the field to help bring her vision to life, Gina became more enthralled with the business and philosophy of early childhood education. And as demand for enrollment doubled, tripled, even quadrupled compared to her initial concept, Gina found it was time for a transition so she could focus on the demands of building ...

Greg Kim - Owner of Vantage Counsel, LLC and Dragon Bridge Capital

Greg has worked with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and venture funded companies for over twenty years. This gives him an expertise in the do’s and don’ts of starting companies and raising capital. He shares that in this interview. Greg Kim is a cross between a social entrepreneur, corporate attorney and business builder. He is the founder of and a partner in Vantage Counsel, LLC which is next generation law firm. Vantage Counsel concentrates on the overall business success and adds value through consultation, networking and an innovative billing system that saves the client money while increasing Vantage Counsel’s profits. Vantage Counsel is a network of attorneys, soon to be worldwide, working together for the needs of the client. Another aspect of Greg’s business is the strong commitment to social entrepreneurship. He focuses on companies that have a dual bottom line whether it’s curing cancer or solving the world’s energy crisis. He founded the Entrepreneurs Foundation with former Silicon Valley Bank CEO, John Dean. The Foundation helps venture funded startups set aside equity for future charitable causes. Closer to home, he helped his son, River raise over $25,000 for charity this year. His son, River is a high school Junior at Punahou School. Other student projects have grown out of this and Skyrocket Foundation was born. Greg is fully committed to the community and this thing we call social entrepreneurship. The model is working as Greg has more free time, income and fulfillment. This interview really touched our producer, Michael in a special way. Michael told me that he almost cried with the story about River and the commitment that Greg has to live a life of meaning. Yes, I realize that Michael is a bit sensitive but that doesn’t dilute the message that Greg has for us all. Some Questions asked: In a nutshell, what is Vantage Counsel and how is it different than other law firms? What made you want to start such a radically different law firm? How did you cut costs in Vantage Counsel? Reinvention of your business and innovation… What is the difference between your business building concept and the normal legal business model? Please explain your idea on ‘convergence of disciplines’. Are you finding it’s harder on your own? Do you consider yourself more an attorney or entrepreneur? How did you get your entrepreneurial start? Can you tell us about your involvement in Dragon Bridge? Can you tell us about Malama Jam, how it began and why it’s important? What is the Skyrocket Foundation about? What are your plans for social entrepreneurship? What non profits or community based organizations are you involved with? How has that affected your business success? What does the future have in store for Greg Kim? What are the biggest and most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make when starting a new venture? What are the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when approaching VC’s and angels? What are the most important things that an entrepreneur needs to do or have to raise funds from investors? How does convergence of disciplines work to increase revenues and profits? BIO: Gregory R. Kim Partner and Founder, Vantage Counsel LLC Gregory Kim is a partner and the founder of Vantage Counsel LLC, a Hawaii based law company focusing on emerging companies, with a primary focus on company building. Mr. Kim received a BS in engineering and applied sciences from Yale University in 1979 and a JD/MBA (emphasis in finance) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983, where he was articles editor of the California Law Review. Mr. Kim started his legal career at Pillsbury Winthrop, San Francisco, in 1984,

BJ Kobayashi - CEO of The Kobayashi Group and The Gift Foundation of Hawaii

BJ Kobayashi is the President and CEO of the Kobayashi Group, a boutique real estate development firm. Current developments include 375 home Kukio Golf and Beach Club, 248 unit Hokua high rise and 205 unit St Regis at Wailea. BJ is the co founder of the Gift Foundation of Hawaii, Trustee of the Nature Conversancy and board member of Ahahui Koa Anuinui. BJ also founded the Gift Foundation of Hawaii which raises funds for worthy non profit organizations. They throw a huge fundraiser every year and the proceeds go to the non profit benficiary. Some questions asked: BJ, you have a law degree from Georgetown, how did you get started in real estate? Did you practice law? What made you decide to leave practicing law? Can you tell us about your first venture into entrepreneurship? What was the hardest thing about getting started and how did you overcome it? How did you prove yourself when entering your family business? What are the most important things (top 3) you’ve learned from working w/ your father? How do you determine incentives for employees? How does your father voice his opinion? The Kobayashi Group is truly a family run business. How is it working w/ your father, brother and sister? How do you guys continue to get along? What’s your average day like? How do you manage risk? What’s involved with developing large properties like Kukio and Hokua? What are the most important skills to develop to be successful in real estate? What’s your view on the growth of the Hawaii real estate market? The Kobayashi Group’s team has been through good and bad real estate markets. What’s the secret in your opinion to making it in both times? What’s story behind the Gift Foundation? What makes the Gift Foundation special? Can you give some success stories from the organizations that the Gift Foundation has supported? When is the event and how can people buy tickets? Aftershow questions: What are the biggest and most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs or business owners make when starting a new venture? What are the most important laws to becoming successful? What is the most important thing to teach your children? What was your biggest business challenge and how did you overcome it? What are the biggest mistakes people make in real estate? What’s the right way to get into real estate? Can you talk about your involvement in the Nature Conservancy? What are you doing to teach Bert III to carry on the Kobayashi business legacy? How do you split up roles between your brother and sister? What’s entailed in deal sourcing? What makes Kukio different from Hokulia? Any last advice for business people? BIO: BJ Kobayashi serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kobayashi Group (“KG”). BJ has 10 years of real estate development and investment experience that ranges from large office building development to luxury Resort Residential developments. Currently, notable KG projects include the following: Kukio Golf and Beach Club (Beach Club, 2 Tom Fazio designed golf courses, 375 homes), Hokua at 1288 Ala Moana (248 unit luxury high rise anchored by a two story, 40,000 square foot retail/office center), the St. Regis at Wailea (204 unit luxury bungalow development and 40,000 square feet of retail/restaurant developments), and Capitol Place (396 unit luxury high-rise development in Downtown Honolulu). In his capacity as CEO, BJ originated each of the aforementioned projects and serves as managing partner for KG in the management of each. In this capacity BJ leads project real estate underwriting, acquisition and financing. BJ is married to his wife Nicole and they have a four year old son,

Jeff Arce and his partners run businesses ranging from large commercial real estate developments to retail operations Starbucks, Jamba Juice and PF Chang’s. Working with one of Hawaii’s most dynamic and successful entrepreneurs, Jeff got his entrepreneurial start with Blockbuster Video. Some of the better Known MacNaughton Group projects include Costco, Waikele Center, Maui Marketplace, Hokua and Capital Place and some of the retail tenants that the MacNaughton Group has brought to the islands include Costco, Kmart, Borders Books & Music, Pier One, The Sports Authority and Office Max. Jeff shares with us what it’s like to come from the mainland and how to fit in with Hawaii locals. His insight into business, family and community are priceless. Some questions asked: Welcome Jeff, can you tell us about the MacNaughton Group and what they do? Does The MacNaughton Group have a stated business strategy or a “mission statement”? What is your role in the company? You are originally from California. How did you end up in Hawaii? Was the transition from California to Hawaii difficult? What was the biggest surprise about Hawaii? Could you share with us a story about your transition and how it was being a “haole.” What made you decide to leave the comforts of a large accounting firm, and join a start up business like Blockbuster Video? What was the transition like moving from Arthur Andersen to Blockbuster? When did you start working with Duncan? What were some of your first thoughts when you met Duncan? What has he been like to work with? Accountants are not generally thought of being risk takers or entrepreneurs. Do you now consider yourself an entrepreneur? How do you define an entrepreneur and what do you think makes one successful? What are your thoughts about running a successful business and supporting the community? We keep hearing about the GIFT Foundation on this program. Tell us a bit more about it and how you fit in? What have been some of the early struggles for the GIFT Foundation? What are some of the successes? What else do you do to support the community? How about your family life? I understand you have 3 young girls. How do you manage to balance your business life with your home life? What are some of the fun projects you are working on now? How did you choose PF Chang’s? How are the projects/partnerships arranged between the different companies? What do you look for when you consider a project or new business? How do you manage and mitigate the risk of a project? What’s your opinion on Hawaii real estate? Are we in a bubble? What makes an entrepreneur and what makes them successful? What are the biggest and most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs or business owners make when starting a new venture? Any last advice for business people? What are the biggest challenges business or personal? BIO: Jeff is a partner in The MacNaughton Group, a Hawaii-based diversified real estate oriented development company. The MacNaughton Group has developed a number of retail shopping centers in the Islands, including Maui Marketplace, a 300,000 square foot retail center in Kahului, Maui; Stadium Marketplace, a 200,000 square foot retail center adjacent Aloha Stadium; and Kukui Marketplace, a 160,000 square foot retail center in Lihue, Kauai. The MacNaughton Group also co-developed the Waikele Center and Waikele Factory Outlets with Dick Gushman. The MacNaughton Group is currently developing three projects: a small 8,500 square foot retail center in Kailua Kona called Henry Street Shops; a 22,000 square foot retail and office center in Kapolei called Kapolei Parkway Shops; and the redevelopment and expansion of an existing retail center called Moanalua Shopping Center,

Jeff Arce - Partner in the MacNaughton Group, BOD the Gift Foundation of Hawaii

Gary Maunakea-Forth is making a huge difference in the lives of Waianae youth. Placing 5th in the Yale University and 1st in the Chaminade University Business Plan Competition, the Ma’o Organic Farm is an innovative community program to increase opportunities with agriculture. Gary shares his unique view on working with companies and government to bring their mission to life. Many of the youth that go through the Ma’o program end up giving back to their community in a hands on approach. Listen to how Gary is improving Hawaii one person at a time. BIO: Gary Maunakea-Forth was born and raised in the farming community of Levin in Aotearoa-New Zealand, coming to Hawai`i 1989 to be a player-coach for the Hawai`i Harlequins Rugby team. Kukui Maunakea-Forth was born on Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead and raised at the knee of her Kupuna wahine (grandmother) Katherine K. Maunakea, a noted Hawaiian language teacher, musician, educator, and community cultural resource. Both are graduates of the University of Hawai’i, Gary with a BA in environmental studies and political science and a MA in political Science and Kukui with a BA in Hawaiian Studies. In 2001, Gary and Kukui co-founded the MA`O Community Food Security Initiative which operates a 5-acre USDA-certified organic farm, a youth training program, and the Aloha `Aina Café in Wai`anae. Gary currently works for Leeward Community College as an Education Specialist and Organic Farmer, developing the Wai’anae Organic Agriculture Center to be located at the current site of MA’O Organic Farms. Kukui currently serves as Executive Director of the non-profit umbrella of the MA’O Initiative, the Wai’anae Community Re-Development Corporation (WCRC). As long-time community advocates, the MA’O Initiative was a natural step for Kukui and Gary since they had been involved in community development work both in the non-profit and public sector. Gary had previously worked as Business Development Specialist for the Wai’anae Business Center organizing an annual Wai’anae Festival called Ua Mau Na Po’e ‘O Wai’anae that showcased local artists, businesses, and products. Gary has also worked as a Job Development Specialist for O’ahu Work Links One-Stop Employment Center in Wai’anae where he became familiar with many of the issues facing the unemployed. Prior to his current position with MA’O, Gary worked for the Hawai`i Community Loan Fund, as a Business Development Specialist/Loan Officer, working with small business start-ups and expansions, as well as non-profit community based organizations, providing technical assistance and loans. Following the footsteps of her grandmother, Kukui has worked as a community activist for most of her life- volunteering in many community non-profits and grassroots organizations. Kukui has been active in many organizations that primarily serve youth because education is very important in helping Wai’anae keiki to succeed. Some of these organizations include the Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center-Nanakuli, the Nanakuli Ahupua’a Council, Ka Lahui Hawai’i, Westside Hawaiian Lifeguard ‘Ohana, Wai’anae Coast Coalition, and two-family organizations called Aha Haku Mele ‘O Maunakea and the Katherine K. Maunakea Foundation. Besides working for these community-based organizations, Kukui has also worked in the public school system for eight (8) years as a Hawaiian Studies Teacher at Lehua Elementary, Honowai Elementary, and Ma’ili Elementary. Gary and Kukui has found a great sense of pride in their work by serving Wai’anae youth (and their families), sharing in their successes and achievements. Grateful for the opportunities that were given them, they hope to grow the MA’O Community Food Security Initiative to be a source of inspiration for future youth leaders. Gary and Kukui live in Wai`anae with their four children, Hiwa, Malu, Kauhi, and Kealohi; recently becoming

Gary Maunakea Forth - Founder of Ma'o Organic Farm and Aloha Aina Cafe