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Guest Speakers

Hawaii Entrepreneurs Share Advice and Lessons with Hogan Students

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Rechung Fujihira
Rechung Fujihira

The Hogan Entrepreneurial Program kicked off its first speaker session for the Fall 2017 semester at The BoxJelly. Students and guests had the privilege to hear from three Hawaii-based entrepreneurs, who all shared valuable advice and lessons.

Our first speaker was Rechung Fujihira, co-founder and CEO of The BoxJelly, Hawaii’s first co-working space. Its mission is to make Hawaii the best place to work and the best place to live. Rechung was a graduate of the Hogan Program and a member of its Advisory Board. He reminded students to be “Aloha first and Aloha always.” He also stressed the importance of disrupting oneself by taking risks because all great things are achieved by leaving one’s comfort zone.

Dan Mangum, Laurie Foster and Marc Gallow
Dan Mangum, Laurie Foster and Marc Gallow

Rechung’s talk was followed by Laurie Foster, Senior Consultant, and Marc Gallow, Associate Consultant of Business Consulting Resources, Inc. Laurie and Marc work with leaders and CEOs on strategic planning and leadership training. Their talk focused on the importance of setting goals and making plans to get to where you want to be in life. We must ask ourselves, “What do we have to do now to get to where we want to be?”

The night was engaging, thought-provoking, and set the tone for the rest of the semester for the Hogan Program.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Dan Magnum
Speaker Session with Rechung Fujihira, Laurie Foster and Marc Gallow 9/6/17

Hogan Students Learn About Overcoming Fear, Soft Skills and Leadership

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It was an honor to hear from Col. Ray L’Heureux, author of Inside Marine One: Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World’s Most Amazing Helicopter and former Commander of Marine One. He opened his presentation with a video that shows the daily life of a marine pilot. He then spoke about the importance of overcoming your fear, having soft skills, leadership, and discipline.

Antonio Bonnetty andith Col. Ray L’Heureux1. Overcome your fear—it is okay to fail. Keep aiming high and eventually, you are going to hit.

2. Practice soft skills—hone your beak-to-beak skills and take advantage of the networking opportunities. Col. L’Heureux added that when applying for a job, do not rely heavily on the electronic piece such as your resume. Instead, focus more on the face to face aspect; the interview. How you present yourself and interact is what will get you hired.

3. Leadership and discipline—a great leader is someone who can get people to do what they do not want to do. Encourage teamwork and have good values. You must be able to figure out how to do things. If you are given a mission, get your requirements and find the re-sources to accomplish the mission.

Col. L’Heureux ended his presentation with a story of his mountain bike adventure with former President Bush. His “never say no” demeanor flourished into something one of a kind—a longtime friendship with the former President.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Antonio Bonnetty
Speaker Session with Col. Ray L’Heureux 9/20/17

Moral Code is Part of Running a Successful Business

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Gary Hogan, Matt Southard, and Tom Bell
Gary Hogan, Matt Southard and Tom Bell

It was a pleasure to hear from Mr. Gary Hogan, CEO and President of Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts and Royal Pacific Air, and Mr. Tom Bell, President of Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts. Both speakers, equipped with a wealth of information and knowledge of how to run a successful company, reflected on their moral code.

Mr. Hogan began the session with a history and overview of their family’s first business—Pleasant Travel Service. He shared photos of their early sales and marketing campaigns. He also spoke about their mission: “give back to society through education and community-minded programs” such as the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program.

Mr. Bell spoke about the branches of Hawaiian Hotels & Resorts—Royal Lahaina, Royal Kona, Kauai Shores, KOI Kaanapali Ocean, and Lahaina Inn. One of the things that stood out to me was Mr. Bell’s commitment to “value.” He said to always aim for positive value. To get this, experience must always exceed expectations. We must apply this to business and in our daily lives as entrepreneurs. According to Warren Buffett, “price is what you pay, and value is what you get.”

At the end of the evening, Mr. Hogan and Mr. Bell left us with four entrepreneurship insights:

1. Have a vision
2. Stay nimble
3. Give back
4. Prepare to fail

Mr. Hogan and Mr. Bell reminded us all that success in business here in Hawaii is possible. The story of the Hogan family is motivating and one you can learn from to make your company run to the best of its abilities.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Matt Southard
Speaker Session with Gary Hogan and Tom Bell 9/13/17

Hogan Students Learn How Culture and Business are Intertwined

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Ramsy Tatum and Elena Farden
Ramsy Taum (President & Founder, Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific) and Elena Farden (Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student)

LAWE I KA MAʻALEA A KUʻONOʻONO.
Acquire skill and make it deep. This ‘Ōlelo No’eau, or wise proverb, outlines the path of success in becoming good at anything, you must immerse yourself in practice and learning until it becomes part of you. Serving as a guide on this deep journey of enlightenment, was our honored guest speaker, Kumu Ramsay Taum.

Ramsay Taum is the President and Founder of L.E.I, Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific that provides sustainability consulting, cultural impact assessments and facilitating community engagement and planning. Taum also leads the MBA Island Business concentration program at Chaminade University. Through his work in teaching students and helping companies understand the value-impact vs. the value add of Hawaiian cultural values in the workplace, he describes himself as a community lei maker.

Lei ‘imi na’au’ao (lei of seeking knowledge; enlightenment)
And like an expert lei maker, Taum selects each piece and explains its value to the lei, starting with culture.
“Culture is important,” explains Taum. With culture in place, this moves the conversation from a values-conflict space to prioritizing what’s truly important as a business leader. To successfully navigate this we must understand that we all come with a “supply-side thought”, or preconceived notions, experiences and biases. In business management, when everyone does this they can take weight of their collective principles, values and practices towards shaping things together for deeper impact in business and the community. As Hogan Entrepreneurs, this sentiment resonates with our motto of doing business that makes social sense, and social impact that makes business sense.

Lei haliʻa aloha (Lei of fond remembrance; often said of someone cherished, such as a beloved elder)
As graduate of Kamehameha Schools, US Air Force Academy and University of Southern California, this knowledge Taum shared with the Hogan program wasn’t just given to him, it was gathered and earned. Throughout his life, key mentors such as Papa Lyman, former Bishop Estate Trustee, and Pīlahi Paki, beloved kupuna and cultural expert, pushed Taum to deepen his worldview and identity as a Hawaiian.
Today, Taum is a kumu and mentor himself. He teaches the values he has learned to help local businesses align a place-based approach of people, place, and prosperity in the context and content of how they do business in Hawai’i.

Lei pilina (Lei of closeness; a woven relationship or association)
Above all, the culture that shapes us and the values that help define us are all driven by relationships. Taum explains that culture is the lens that gives us new eyes – new eyes to see and new eyes to see how success is measured. To that he closed the evening with a simple question to measure if you are successful as a leader and business: did you eat.
If you can feed your family, if your workers can feed their families, if your community has access to food and the means to feed others less fortunate in the neighborhood, then you are successful.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Elena Farden
Speaker Session with Ramsay Taum 4/19/17

Alum Shares His Journey from Employee to Business Owner

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Brittain Komoda and Grelyn Rosario
Brittain Komoda (Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student) and Grelyn Rosario (B.A. Business ’94, McDonald’s Franchise Owner)

It was a privilege to hear from Chaminade alumnus, Mr. Grelyn Rosario, owner and operator of Maui McDonald’s of Dairy Road, Kahana, Kahului, Lahaina, Pukalani, and Wal-Mart of Kahului.

Mr. Rosario is a second generation owner of McDonald’s franchises. In 1969, his mother moved to Oahu from the Philippines and started working at McDonald’s. Mr. Rosario also worked at McDonald’s at the age of 16. After graduating from Aiea High School, Mr. Rosario’s mother moved to Maui to open her own franchise. Mr. Rosario stayed back in Oahu to attend Chaminade University. He continued to work at McDonald’s throughout his undergraduate and graduate career and was able to learn more about the ins and outs of the company. After receiving his MBA degree, Mr. Rosario moved to Maui and attended Hamburger University. With timing, luck, and preparation, he opened his first franchise in Wal-Mart on Maui. Today, he owns and operates six McDonald’s on Maui.

Mr. Rosario shared with us McDonald’s “three-legged stool.” McDonald’s foundation is based upon three “legs”: franchise, corporation and its suppliers. The balance and relationship between the three legs is vital to McDonald’s journey to success. Mr. Rosario also emphasized the importance of serving the community. He has served the community through supporting educational projects, feeding needy children and providing the necessary materials to upkeep church in Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Serving the community provides the opportunity to positively impact the society, especially the community around you.

Lastly, he ended his talk with a very memorable phrase: “fire in your belly!” This means finding your motivation, your muse, and your inspiration. Mr. Rosario’s “fire in his belly” was his mother. She motivated and inspired him to be the success that he is today. He also told us that it is okay to fail because that’s how you learn and succeed. It doesn’t matter what you want to do in life, just be the best at it.

“Failure is success in progress,” – Albert Einstein

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Brittain Komoda
Speaker Session with Grelyn Rosario 4/12/17

Hogan Students Learn About the Art of Invention from Rob Yonover

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Dr. Rob Yonover and Lee Fujino
Dr. Rob Yonover (Founder & CEO of SEE/Rescue Corp.) and Lee Fujino (Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student)

It was a privilege to hear from Dr. Rob Yonover, founder and CEO of SEE/Rescue Corporation. He is a scientist and inventor of survival technologies used by the U.S. and foreign military. He is also a member of our Hogan Advisory Board and author of Hardcore Inventing: Invent, Protect, Promote, and Profit From Your Inventions and Brainstorm Islands: Invent to Survive.

Seeing the need for survival, Dr. Yonover came up with multiple inventions which include the RescueStreamer, LIFE/FLOAT technology, Emergency Supplemental Flotation System or PocketFloat, and the Emergency Pocket Water Desalinator. One of his upcoming inventions includes a water bicycle.

Dr. Yonover invents on simplicity, necessity, and survival. “The simpler the idea, the broader the patent.” His inventions will not only save lives but will also be protected by other companies that would try and copy his ideas. His main clienteles are the U.S. and foreign military, and one of his goals is to expand his inventions to civilians as Honecessary survival gears. The secret behind his success is his passion, and confidence in his products and brands.

Dr. Yonover also taught us to not be afraid to fail. As we embark on a journey and new ventures, we must keep in mind that great success comes with struggles and hardships.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Lee Fujino
Speaker Session with Robert Yonover 3/15/17