Aloha mai!
My name is Michael. I’m the cofounder of OceanBit, where we’re developing ocean thermal energy technologies and power plants to deliver 24/7, clean, and reliable power to the blue economy. Our vision is a global network of power plants e.g. ‘charging stations’ across the oceans, coasts, and shipping lanes. Our success will usher in new era of energy and electrification from providing developing countries with clean and affordable power to making electric shipping and seasteading feasible. If you're passionate about energy, technology, and the blue economy, I'd love to hear from you. We’re backed by angel investors from Google, Hawaii Teleport, and leaders on the edge of frontier technologies.
Having previously served as the President of the Board of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California and growing up in a family dedicated to giving back and serving organizations like the IHS, PAAC, Hawaii Foodbank, Shriners, and KP, I try to stay deeply rooted into the community with my personal focus on tech ecosystems via Aloha Equity. Through it I’ve founded Honolulu Tech Week, co-organize Honolulu BitDevs, and advise Oahu AI.
Raised in Hawaiʻi I was shaped since childhood by hard work, from construction and dishwashing to landscaping and car detailing, including a year stint on a grass-fed cattle farm on the mainland. I started my entrepreneurial career “borrowing” my parent’s church mailing list to market my car detailing business. I attended Hawaii Pacific University studying finance, and spent three semesters abroad at PUC Rio de Janeiro. Post-college, I made my way to the San Francisco Bay Area, starting at Ernst & Young and then co-founding ManyShip, a P2P shipping service for critical electronics and medicine. The first startup failed, and I juggled odd jobs in restaurants, selling suits at Macy’s, and taking community college classes.
Following this phase I started as a Sales Development rep and worked at VC-backed startups Captricity (acq), DayTwo (active), and Squadstack (Auctm BU acquired), eventually working across executive roles at each company. My primary focus has always been building GTM teams, massive pipeline, and helping shape early product/tech. I love to partner with with incredible engineers and technologists, building technology and businesses that help people and experience fast growth. During this time I served on the board then led the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce of Northern California as its President, traveled the world for these companies, and did philanthropic work in Venezuela.
My vision is for humanity to master & steward mother earth while reaching the stars. My mission in life is to market and develop technologies and protocols that measurably improve the quantity (lifespan, time productivity) and quality (healthspan & sovereignty) of life for individuals and our human species. I do this founding companies and investing in the best engineers in the world to help them build businesses and organizations that enable us to execute on the mission and achieve the vision.
Mahalo nui loa,
Michael