Hawaii Angels

What Hawaii Angels does

Hawaiʻi Angels is an angel investment network headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, founded in 2002 by Robert Robinson (former Harvard Business School professor and nationally recognized angel investing expert) and Chenoa Farnsworth (cofounder of the Blue Startups accelerator). The organization operates as a membership-based monthly forum in which experienced angel investors, exited founders, and venture firms evaluate pre-screened early-stage startups for venture-style investment. Since inception, Hawaiʻi Angels and its partners have invested over $70 million in hundreds of scalable early-stage companies based in and out of Hawaii.

The group's core operating model is deal screening and investment facilitation rather than technology development. The Screening Committee triages 500+ inbound pitch decks annually — sourced via members, the extended network, and the Gust application portal — down to 4-6 deals per month and ultimately 2 startups that pitch at each monthly meeting at a private club in Downtown Honolulu, attended by approximately 65 public and private investors, founders, and ecosystem professionals. A designated Deal Honcho leads due diligence on companies that generate member interest; Individual Investor members are required to commit to a biannual $25,000 investment in presented deals (against preferred stock, SAFEs, or convertible debt), while Corporate/Venture Firm memberships carry no investment commitment. Investment focus spans post-revenue SaaS and app products, tech hardware, consumer packaged goods, and scalable retail and service businesses targeting $25,000+ committed annual revenue and a $10M+ revenue trajectory within five years.

Hawaiʻi Angels does not generate revenue in the traditional sense; member investment commitments are deployed as equity into portfolio companies, with returns accruing to individual members rather than the organization. The network is run by a lean permanent team — Managing Director Joey Katzen, Assistant Director Alexi Drouin, and Directors Rob Robinson, Chenoa Farnsworth, and Clif Purkiser — and depends on a broad partner ecosystem including Blue Startups, Builders VC, Alpaca VC, OM/VC, ThriveHI, and annual sponsors (QA Source, Hawaii Tax, HTDC, PACE Shidler). Recent notable capital deployments include leading a $1 million angel round for Olelo Intelligence (Honolulu-based AI sales coaching platform for automotive repair shops, January 2026, with $500,000 contributed by Hawaiʻi Angels) and participating in a $1 million round for Pacific Hybreed (Big Island aquaculture biotechnology, May 2026).

Name

Hawaii Angels

Legal name

Hawaiʻi Angels

Website

https://hawaiiangels.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hawaiʻi Angels is a Honolulu-based angel investment network founded in 2002 that runs monthly forums screening early-stage Hawaii and North American startups, with members having deployed over $70 million across hundreds of portfolio companies through preferred stock, SAFEs, and convertible debt.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Angel Investing Network

NAICS

Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Micro-VC & Angel Funds (FSANAAAI)

Keywords

• Angel investing network
• Startup funding
• Venture investment
• Early-stage capital
• Equity investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Angel Investment Returns: Hawaii Angels generates returns through equity investments in early-stage startups via preferred stock, SAFEs, or convertible debt instruments. Members make individual investment decisions after due diligence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hawaii Angels is a member-based angel investment network that screens and funds early-stage startups in Hawaii and beyond. It convenes monthly pitch meetings in Downtown Honolulu where two pre-screened companies present to the membership, and members make individual investment decisions via preferred stock, SAFEs, or convertible debt. The group also provides coaching on the venture fundraising process, mentorship, and access to a cross-section of ~65 angel investors, exited founders, and VCs.

Product overview

Hawaii Angels is an angel investing organization, not a technology product company. It does not offer products or services in the traditional SaaS/technology sense. The organization provides investment opportunities, startup screening services, and deal flow management for its members. Hawaii Angels connects early-stage startup founders with angel investors through monthly meetings, screening committees, and due diligence processes. They utilize Gust.com as their dealflow management platform and membership portal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Investor Membership Membership tier for individual investors that requires a biannual $25,000 investment commitment in deals presented to the Hawaii Angels network. Members gain access to monthly pitch meetings, the screening committee process, and the broader investor/founder community.
• Corporate/Venture Firm Membership Membership tier for corporate and venture capital firms that has no required investment commitment. Members gain access to Hawaii Angels deal flow, monthly meetings, and co-investment opportunities.
• Monthly Pitch Forum Monthly in-person meeting held at a private club in Downtown Honolulu (typically the second Friday of each month) where two pre-screened startups pitch to ~65 members and guests, followed by member Q&A and individual investment decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• $70 million+ invested since 2002 in hundreds of scalable early-stage companies
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Blue StartupscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Startups is Hawaii's premier startup accelerator. Hawaii Angels extends invitations to the best startups from Blue Startups and other state accelerator programs. Chenoa Farnsworth, cofounder of Blue Startups, is also a Director and Founder of Hawaii Angels.
• ThriveHIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a friend of Hawaii Angels - community events and networking organization for the founder community. Hawaii Angels directs founders to their calendar of community events.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tech Coast Angels: One of the largest and most active angel networks in the US, screening monthly deals from a large member base for early-stage startup investments. Highly comparable operating model to Hawaii Angels in terms of monthly meeting cadence, screening committees, and individual member investment decisions.
• Keiretsu Forum: Global network of angel investor chapters with a similar chapter-based, monthly-meeting structure for screening and investing in early-stage companies. Operates with comparable deal-by-deal member investment model and structured due diligence committees.
• Golden Seeds: Angel network focused on early-stage investments with a structured chapter-based screening process and member-driven due diligence. Highly comparable as a regional/national angel group with rigorous deal selection and education programs for members.
• Alliance of Angels: Seattle-based angel investor group running monthly screening meetings and member-led due diligence for early-stage deals. Directly comparable in operating model to Hawaii Angels and similar in scale to a regional chapter-based network.
• Band of Angels: Silicon Valley-based angel group composed largely of tech executives and founders making early-stage investments through a structured monthly screening process. Comparable as a high-caliber founder/exec angel network with rigorous due diligence committees.
• New York Angels: One of the largest US angel networks with monthly meetings, screening committees, and member-driven deal selection. Directly comparable in process and deal-stage focus to Hawaii Angels.
• Central Texas Angel Network: Regional angel network in Texas with comparable monthly meeting cadence, member screening, and early-stage investment focus. Comparable as a regional US angel network serving a defined geographic founder community.
• Sacramento Angels: Regional angel investor group with monthly meetings and structured deal screening for early-stage companies. Comparable as a smaller regional angel network operating with similar member-driven process to Hawaii Angels.

Broad incumbents

• AngelList (AngelList Venture): National online platform for angel investing and rolling funds, providing digital deal syndication and back-office services. Comparable as a channel for early-stage capital deployment but operates at much larger scale and via a different (online) delivery model than Hawaii Angels' in-person meetings.

Emerging players

• Builders VC: Early-stage VC firm listed as a core financial partner of Hawaii Angels, focused on tech-enabled startups. Comparable as a co-investment partner in the same ecosystem but operates as a fund rather than an angel network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hawaiiangels
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chenoafarnsworth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments13 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Angels