I’ve been tossing around an idea in my head for a while to create something that will help inspire and guide a new generation of entrepreneurs, artists, and movement leaders. Inspired by the work done by Andrew Warner at Mixergy.com and Jason Calacanis at This Week in Startups, I want to start interviewing entrepreneurs who’s ventures were built on passion. I hope to accomplish a few things by doing these interviews: I want to champion [...]

So many people like to talk about how to use social media for business and I just wanted to give an example of an exchange I had today with site5, a hosting company that I have worked with a lot throughout the past year. Here’s some background information. On May 1st, the main server for Ukulele Underground which is hosted by Godaddy (we signed up prior to learning about site5) was hacked and a malware [...]

This is an excerpt from a web series called This Week in Startups or TWiST hosted by Jason Calacanis (episode 47 if you want to check out the full program). I love this video. I love it because it is 100% true. My generation has grown up in one of the most prosperous times this country has ever experienced. Everything was great in the 90s. This has lead my generation to become soft. We’ve been [...]

I’ve been fortunate to meet and study many successful entrepreneurs in this world. What I find fascinating is that nearly all of them share a few unique characteristics. Most things that you would not think would lead to success, yet some how the combination of these traits do just that. When I first started noticing it in the first few people I met, I thought, well maybe its just coincidence. Person after person, the same [...]

The internet as we know it has still not totally evolved yet. Consumer web is 16 years old and will continue to destroy existing business models We are officially out of the industrial age, unfortunately the educational system in America is still set up to create employees for this system Although I think some of Obama’s ideas are good, I think he is trying to tackle too many things at once. Health Care reform is [...]

I had briefly mentioned it in the past, but I haven’t really talked publicly about my struggles with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS or Spastic Colon). It’s a weird condition that no one is really sure what causes it but for those who suffer from it, they know it’s anything but pleasant. Symptoms of IBS include Abdominal pain or cramping A bloated feeling Gas (flatulence) Diarrhea or constipation — sometimes alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea [...]

With all the so called “Social Media Experts” pushing content around the web these days, it’s nice to find something that actually turned viral organically. Earlier this year, The HPD (Honolulu Police Department) began publishing weekly photos of those arrested for drunk driving. The webpage is a simple HTML coded website, employs no social media marketing yet has become the most viral site out of Hawaii since icanhascheezburger.com. Each week, for a span of 24 [...]

Our friend Jake Shimabukuro just performed at TED and received a standing ovation. TED is an exclusive idea conference where the worlds brightest minds come together to present their ideas, research, creations, talents etc. Everyone who is in the audience is a scheduled presenter. You can say that it is a small conference of geniuses (in their respected fields). Why does this change everything for the ukulele? Many of the people there are influencers to [...]

I can honestly say that my one of my strongest passions in life is business. More specifically the early stages of business. The genesis, and creation of something tangible from basically nothing. Although I am not anywhere near what I would consider a success yet, I feel I’ve accumulated a ton of knowledge and experience from my many failures and few successes throughout my professional life. I think many of my friends realize this as [...]

In my first post of the new year, instead of talking more about myself, I’d like to point out a few people who I think should be watched in 2010. I fancy myself as someone who can identify the “it factor”. There are a few I stumbled across in 2009 who were just getting their personal brands going and I think can really kill it in 2010 and create legitimate businesses around their content. Although [...]