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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
Hawaii has long been known as a laid-back tourist destination, but that industry peaked years ago. Now the state is trying to reinvent itself as a tech hub. Silicon Beach was already taken, so some in the ecosystem have branded the effort \u201cStartup Paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n
State officials believe they don\u2019t need a whole new industry, just a few big wins. \u201cIf you bring 30 or 50 jobs with a $100 billion company, you create 30 or 50 millionaires\u201d who can fund the next wave of startups, said Zach Hernandez, who returned to Oahu after college to run a talent-development startup, told the Wall Street Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s already happening in small pockets. Engineers at Normal Corp. build energy-efficient HVAC systems out of a converted caf\u00e9 space in Kailua. University of Hawaii students are building hardware bound for the moon. The state is leasing manufacturing space at an industrial park to sublet cheaply to startups that can\u2019t commit to long-term leases.<\/p>\n But not all islanders are hanging loose with the idea. One past effort, a decade of 100% tax credits for tech investors starting in 2001, cost the state nearly $1 billion with little to show for it.<\/p>\n \u201cHawaii needs one unicorn,\u201d said Ashten Akemoto, a former Normal employee now building his own robotics startup. \u201cYou can change a place, you can change perception, you can change everything with one crazy success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Hawaii has long been known as a laid-back tourist destination, but that industry peaked years ago. Now the state is trying to reinvent itself as a tech hub. Silicon Beach was already taken, so some in the ecosystem have branded the effort \u201cStartup Paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n State officials believe they don\u2019t need a whole new industry, just a few big wins. \u201cIf you bring 30 or 50 jobs with a $100 billion company, you create 30 or 50 millionaires\u201d who can fund the next wave of startups, said Zach Hernandez, who returned to Oahu after college to run a talent-development startup, told the Wall Street Journal.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s already happening in small pockets. Engineers at Normal Corp. build energy-efficient HVAC systems out of a converted caf\u00e9 space in Kailua. University of Hawaii students are building hardware bound for the moon. The state is leasing manufacturing space at an industrial park to sublet cheaply to startups that can\u2019t commit to long-term leases.<\/p>\n But not all islanders are hanging loose with the idea. One past effort, a decade of 100% tax credits for tech investors starting in 2001, cost the state nearly $1 billion with little to show for it.<\/p>\n \u201cHawaii needs one unicorn,\u201d said Ashten Akemoto, a former Normal employee now building his own robotics startup. \u201cYou can change a place, you can change perception, you can change everything with one crazy success.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n