Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship

Name

Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship

Legal name

Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship

Website

https://pace.shidler.hawaii.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Education

NAICS

Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Entrepreneurship education
• Student startup programs
• Venture mentorship
• Startup competitions
• Innovation community

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. University Funding: PACE receives institutional funding from the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business and UH Foundation.
2. Private Donations and Grants: The center operates a $10 million fundraising campaign and receives donations from corporate partners and foundations to fund programs, scholarships, and the RISE Center.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PACE operates an entrepreneurship center within the University of Hawai'i Shidler College of Business that delivers educational programs, mentorship, startup competitions, early-stage funding, and live/work co-working facilities for student and community entrepreneurs. It combines a student-run venture accelerator, venture capital immersion, and an innovation community space to support Hawaii-based founders from idea through launch.

Product overview

The Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawai'i Shidler College of Business is an educational support platform offering a comprehensive suite of programs, facilities, and resources for student entrepreneurs. Rather than a unified software product, PACE functions as an entrepreneurship center providing multiple interconnected programs including the Summer Startup Launchpad, UH Venture Competition, PACE Entrepreneurs accelerator, various mentorship programs (Professional-in-Residence, Virtual PIR, Liftoff Advisors), skills workshops (Level Up), educational events (Entrepreneurship Live, Mixers, Collab), and funding opportunities (Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund, Kalo Grants). The center operates the Walter Dods, Jr. RISE Center—a 140,000-square-foot live-learn-work innovation facility with maker spaces, co-working areas, and prototyping labs. Additional offerings include the PACE Leaders leadership program, Faculty Fellows initiative, Founders and Friends alumni network, and The Next Wave Podcast content platform. PACE also organizes competitions including UH Venture Competition, Innovate 808, and PACE Kick Off.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Student-Run Venture Accelerator

Quantifiable outcome

• 374 student beds at RISE Center for student entrepreneurs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CTAHR, Exec Hawaii, FDM ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2026Partnership for UH Retail Business Plan Competition, bringing together academic departments and industry professionals to support student retail business ventures
• Builders VC, CIO Council of Hawaii, Hawaii Tech Days, ThriveHI, UH SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 March 2026Talk Story With Tech Professionals events connecting UH students with over 45 tech professionals from companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Microsoft
• Very50, Meijo UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026PACE x Very50 Social Entrepreneurship Program connecting UH students with Japanese students for international entrepreneurship education
• Hawaii Leadership Forum, Student Sustainability Council at UHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Collaboration for Sustainability Series featuring hands-on workshops, speaker panels, and funding opportunities focused on environmental impact and innovation
• UH Department of Information and Computer SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2025PACE x ICS collaborative series on Exploring AI in Business featuring speakers from IBM, Servco, State of Hawai'i, and international organizations
• College of Engineering, ThriveHI, CIO Council of HawaiicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2025Events featuring Guy Kawasaki including 'How to Be a Remarkable Leader' and 'Navigating Life After College' with chief evangelist of Canva
• East-West CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 July 2024Changing Faces Women's Leadership Seminar bringing together women's leadership development and entrepreneurship
• Student Sustainability Council at UHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2024Mahina Honua collaboration showcasing UH-affiliated sustainable businesses including Bitter Root Brewery, Keep it Simple, Āina Quest, and others
• Elemental ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024Sustainability programming and Kalo Grants supporting environmentally-focused student ventures
• UH College of Engineering, UH EsportsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2023Esports Panel Discussion With Activision Blizzard connecting students with gaming industry professionals

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Blue Startups: Blue Startups is a Hawaii-based accelerator founded by Henk Rogers providing mentorship and seed funding to local startups — a regional counterpart serving overlapping founders in the same ecosystem PACE cultivates.
• Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC): HTDC is the state of Hawaii's economic development agency supporting the local tech and startup ecosystem through incubation, funding, and programs — a regional peer to PACE serving the same Hawaii founders and partnering on initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the dominant global startup accelerator offering mentorship, demo days, and funding at scale; not university-anchored but the benchmark against which PACE Entrepreneurs and the UH Venture Competition are measured by student founders.
• Techstars: Techstars runs a global network of accelerators with mentorship-driven programs; comparable to PACE's accelerator and mentorship programs but operates independently of any single university.

Direct peers

• Rice University Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Liu Idea Lab is a university-wide entrepreneurship hub within Rice delivering funding, mentorship, prototyping space, and a student-run venture fund — closely mirroring PACE's integrated program and facility model.
• Babson College Lewis Institute for Social Innovation: Babson's Lewis Institute drives entrepreneurship and social innovation through student programs, faculty fellows, and funding — a similar business-school-anchored model with strong emphasis on student founders.
• Georgia Tech CREATE-X: CREATE-X is a Georgia Tech initiative offering student startup support, maker facilities, capstone commercialization, and seed funding — comparable to PACE's multi-program structure and RISE Center prototyping labs.
• Stanford StartX: Stanford's university-affiliated startup accelerator provides student and alumni founders with mentorship, workspace, and investor access, paralleling PACE Entrepreneurs, the Calvin Shindo Student Venture Fund, and the RISE Center accelerator offerings.
• MIT Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship: The MIT Martin Trust Center is a business-school-affiliated entrepreneurship center offering mentoring, funding competitions, maker facilities, and venture creation support to MIT students — structurally the closest analog to PACE within UH Shidler College of Business.
• University of Chicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Polsky operates from Chicago Booth with entrepreneurship education, mentorship, competitions, accelerators, and an in-house venture fund, paralleling PACE's scope across the UH Shidler College of Business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC8yvouZvFoN2cbxp2ULrgVA
• Instagraminstagram.com/pacehawaii
• Xx.com/pacehawaii
• Facebookfacebook.com/PACEhawaii

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship