The “Tech View” column by Sara Lin in today’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser wrote about how the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hawaii is helping local tech firms:
Vincent Kimura, CEO of Smart Yields, an agricultural technology startup that provides data analytics, artificial intelligence and automation to small- and medium-size farmers growing high-value crops, says running a tech startup, compared with a traditional business, took some getting used to.
“I’ve built brick-and-mortar companies, and building a software company is very different because you’re building an idea,” Kimura says. “You’re building off of the potential future versus working with your profits.”
Smart Yields is progressing well and recently raised a seed round of $420,000. The company participated in local accelerators including Blue Startups and XLR8UH. Smart Yields was just accepted into the Elemental Excelerator’s go-to-market track in February. The company has grown from a founding team of three to eight employees.
Read the full article online (subscription required):
Entrepreneurial ecosystem helps boost isle tech firms