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Humans of the Hub

Event Spotlight: Startup Grind with Jules Sukhabut

Today we’re sharing a Member spotlight featuring Jules Sukhabut of TeraVault. He’s going to be speaking at the Startup Grind event on Thursday, July 18. This is a great opportunity to learn from a serial entrepreneur, and to network with other startups and founders.

You can register for the event here: Members get a $5 discount with code: impacthubmember

Andrea Bertoli (AB): What is your background and history – tell us the founding story of TeraVault.

Jules Sukhabut (JS): TeraVault is a boutique software development firm. In September 2018, we partnered with Hi Tech Hui, a cyber security company in Honolulu to help some of their clients with software projects, and we’ve been growing ever since. Currently we have team members in both Honolulu and LA, and we are growing our offshore team in Philippines who service clients on the mainland and Canada.

Before starting this company, I started and sold three others: WebWorks, Bagna Networks, and OrderDynamics. I have had successful exits from all of these companies.

AB: What advice can you share for entrepreneurs as they grow and scale their company?

JS: Sell through channel partners- In my experience, I found it easier to sell through channel partners. In the early days of a startup I sold through other companies that I knew and that had similar target clients. This strategy has allowed our company to quickly grow our SaaS or IaaS sales and client base, and allowed us to test and develop our sales processes, onboarding, and ongoing support.

This is not an original idea, it’s basically why some software companies sell through retailers, independent software vendors (ISV), value added resellers (VAR), and/or systems integrators (SI).

Another piece of advice is to attend trade shows and conferences: I’m always looking for trade shows and conferences in the market location that I’m targeting for sales. These are usually in the same industry as our company’s product / services is in (e.g. e-commerce), or in an industry that my target client is in (e.g. clothing retailers and brands). Once I identify these events, I start creating a workback schedule to exhibit and demo our product/services there.

AB: What are some of the key lessons that you’ve learned along the way?

JS: Don’t take on investors early in your company- In all the companies that I’ve co-founded, we didn’t take any outside investment from investors. We did take on debt/loans to help our business grow, but this didn’t dilute our shares and ownership. This helped us maintain control and direction of our company while allowing the founders realize the capital gains of our shares in the company when we sold. I do, however, agree with taking on investors (private or corporate) at later stages in the business, but only if the investment capital is used to significantly grow company sales or solidify a strategic partnership or product development.

AB: What can people expect from the coming Startup Grind event?

JS: At the coming Startup Grind event, I will share my personal experiences of starting a technology company, growing it nationally and internationally, and exiting the business through an acquisition and management earn out.

Thanks, Jules, for sharing your thoughts! 

You can register for the event here You can register for the event here; click to learn more about Startup Grind Honolulu Chapter.

Host Spotlight: Ruby Menon of BrainSmart HR

Today we’re sharing a Host spotlight featuring Ruby Menon. You have likely seen her smiling face at our evening events and coworking during the day, or hosting her own events focused on building better habits – a key foundation for a life and business. In addition to leading events here, Ruby has a full-time day job and runs another very cool project – so I’m grateful she had the time to share her story with us.

What is your background and history – how did you get into your current role?

I am what you call a polymath – I am very curious and love learning new things. When I lived in San Francisco, I went to art school, was a musician, and worked in the health food industry as a cashier, bookkeeper, and a buyer. When I moved to Hawaii I branched out as a trainer, event planner, project manager, and worked in HR management in the non-profit, healthcare, and technology industries. I recently made a career transition from HR and am now working in the startup technology world as a software development product/project manager. I also have my own business, BrainSmart Behavior Design, to teach people how to achieve their goals by building better habits.

I have several side interests in human behavior, social justice, workforce development, art, and technology that have led me to many interesting projects. I used my workforce development background to co-design a vocational profile for people who were transitioning from prison to the community. I hired a developer to transition the profile from a pen and paper format to its current online version. To handle my learning curve, I took a deep dive into software development and product design. That’s when I realized I really enjoyed the process of taking an idea and bringing it to life through software development. I took classes in coding, UX design, design thinking, agile and lean methodology. Through trial by fire, I learned how to work with developers to get the product to market. That experience brought me to my current role as a product/project manager for an early stage startup.

What is the focus on your side project Inmate Art CARE Project and what was your most recent big win?

The Correctional Arts ReEntry (CARE) Project is an inmate art social enterprise program designed by WorkNet, a non-profit that provides reentry services for inmates transitioning to the community. The CARE project markets and sells the artwork of incarcerated artists so they can earn money for their reentry to the community.

In January 2016, we launched the CARE Project at the Women’s prison in Kailua (WCCC). The program is still active today and has become very popular with the WCCC women because they can earn money and have a therapeutic outlet. When their art sells, proceeds are split between the inmate artist and WorkNet to help us continue the program. We also developed a partnership with the Nā Mea Gallery at Ward Center that sells original cards designed by one of our community artists on consignment.

Most recently we were accepted in the Purple Prize accelerator and received a $1000 grant from the Awesome Foundation.

How does this work speak to you/how did you get involved with this?

I became interested in inmate art because my husband is WorkNet’s Executive Director, the non-profit that is sponsoring the CARE project. WorkNet provides inmates community reentry services such as helping them find a job, getting their identification documents, getting a driver’s license, and finding housing.

In his prison work, he discovered that there are many talented artists that are incarcerated. One day at the kitchen table, we hatched an idea to help these artists market and sell their art so they can earn money for their transition to the community. We came up with a name for the program and secured seed funding so that I could prototype the program. With that funding, I was able to launch the pilot project at the women’s prison, WCCC. That program is still active today. Although I am not involved in the daily operations, I still work on partnerships, grant writing, and marketing the project.

What we found with the CARE project is that inmate art is a vehicle that can help to break down biases and stereotypes about people in prison. People who buy the artwork see an artist instead of an inmate locked up in prison. We enhance this experience by having each artist write a short bio about themselves and their artwork so that their stories of resilience, redemption, and hope can be heard. The ultimate goal is to create an understanding and awareness that those in prison are worthy of our compassion and should not be discarded by society. Doing so is a waste of human potential and talent as these artists fully demonstrate.

You’ve facilitated multiple events here focused on Tiny Habits, a habit-building structure that you’ve been specifically trained to do. Why does this habit-building work for you and how can it benefit other members?

I love studying human behavior. This interest has led me to delve into the fields of behavioral science, behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology. Last year, I started studying with Stanford professor, Dr. BJ Fogg, a behavior scientist and founder of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford. I became certified in his Tiny Habits® methodology. BJ also lives 6 months out of the year in Maui so he and I started collaborating on ways he could become a resource for our innovation community in Hawaii. Fast forward to today, I became the community manager for our online Tiny Habits coaching community and absolutely love supporting all our awesome coaches. BJ just finished writing his book on Tiny Habits® which will be released in early 2020.

I don’t think people realize how habits form such a critical part of our daily lives. The first book I read called the “Power of Habits” by Charles Duhigg inspired me to learn more about the topic. What I found lacking in the literature was practical “how” steps to changing habits. My AHA moment came when I discovered BJ’s work with Tiny Habits. After I learned his method, I saw tremendous results in my productivity and ability to accomplish my goals. Now I have been teaching the method in my Habit design classes at the Hub for the general public and our members.

My next master class will be on June 11 at 6:30 pm. I will be teaching the Tiny Habits method, which teaches you a 3-step process that you will be able to implement right away to build new habits and make progress in any area of your life.

Member Spotlight: Meghdad Abbaszadegan of Startup Grind

Today we’re sharing a Member spotlight featuring Meghdad Abbaszadegan. He’s the local Director for Startup Grind sponsored by Google for Startups. He’s coordinating an event next week featuring Jiwon Moon from Wefunder (the company we chose for our campaign). We chatted with Meghdad about his work with Startup Grind, his entrepreneurial background and about the coming event.

Click here to register for the event: Impact Hub HNL Members get a $5 discount with code: impacthubmember

What is your background and history – how did you get into your current role as a director for Startup Grind?

Back in 2014 I built a company in Phoenix, Arizona with a mission to create connected, collaborative communities; the project failed due to co-founder conflict, however, I got in contact with amazing organizations such as Startup Grind Phoenix. The local chapter helped us feel like we were part of a family. I was able to meet like minded people who are still to this day some of my closest friends. When I moved to Honolulu, I was surprised that there was no active Startup Grind chapter. So I decided to start one and give back to a community that gave so much to me.

Tell us more about Startup Grind: this organization promotes itself as ‘We are the community for the world’s entrepreneurs.’ – What does that mean for you as the director, for the Honolulu chapter, and for the global movement?

Startup Grind is the largest independent startup community with over 500 chapters across the world. We have hosted amazing speakers like Clayton Christensen (Innovators Dilemma), Scott Cook (Intuit), Jessica Livingston (Y Combinator), Ben Horowitz (Andreessen Horowitz) and more.

We believe our values have brought us this far. Relying on these values, I want to create a community where new ideas are generated and people are inspired to build meaningful projects together.

Tell us more about the events you’ve hosted here in Honolulu and the coming event with Jiwon. What are the goals and ideas we’re focused on and what can people expect from this event?

This chapter was inactive for two years, so this will be our first event. We want to document the process of entrepreneurship and highlight those who are active in the community. We love good stories that will inspire positive action in others. Our goal is to educate people on what it takes to build successful companies; ultimately spreading the entrepreneurship bug around leading to more inspiring stories.

We couldn’t have asked for a better speaker than Jiwon Moon for our first event. She is the Head of Community at Wefunder, running Workaway here in Hawaii! She has has hosted fireside chat with likes Nate Blecharczyk (Airbnb), Holly Liu (Kabam), Siri Srinivas (Draper Associates) and more via her accelerator XX.

We will be hosting Jules Sukhabut on July 18th. Jules Sukhabut is the Founder & Management Consultant of TeraVault, a boutique software development firm operating in Honolulu and Cebu. He has had multiple successful technology exits. He was a co-founder of OrderDynamics, an e-commerce SaaS platform and order management system. On May 2013 the company was acquired by eCommera, and acquired a second time in 2018 for $13.4 million by Tecsys.

Thanks, Meghdad, for sharing your thoughts! We’re looking forward to these coming events! 

Death or Taxes?! How You can Plan for a Successful 2019 Tax Season

You’re probably familiar with the saying, attributed to Benjamin Franklin in 1789, that ‘nothing can be certain besides death and taxes.’

We are in the shadow of 2018’s tax season now, and based on conversations with friends and members, it certainly seems like most people still seem to treat taxes akin to death: something to be avoided and even ignored!

Yet, of course, paying our Federal, State, and for small business owners and freelancers, GET taxes in Hawaii, is something that we simply must do – even if many of us take to the task at the last minute, kicking and screaming.

Lucky for us, we have a tax expert at Impact Hub HNL that can help individuals, freelancers, and small businesses make sense of taxes and – gasp – even make it enjoyable (yes, really)!

Milton Drageset, who has been a guest speaker twice previously at Impact Hub HNL events, is coming back as the guest expert for our May Freelancer’s Network meeting. At this event, held Wednesday, May 22 from 12pm-1:30pm, Milton will offer a tax season roundup, a discussion about how to make your 2019 taxes more organized, and help you create better and more effective financial management strategies.

What else will Milton talk about during this Freelancer’s Meeting?

  • 2018 tax code changes: How did the 2018 changes affect both individuals and businesses?
  • How to plan ahead for 2019: How can you better strategize and organize your expenses. Tips to help you pay estimated taxes on time, organize your Hawaii GET filings, and better manage money so that you’re ahead of the game next tax season.
  • How many extensions he filed this year – and why. How late is too late to do your taxes? Many people wait until the very last minute to file – what is the psychology behind this type of procrastination, and what habits can you build to be more timely?
  • What’s behind money behaviors: Why are taxes are so scary, why we avoid them, and how you can cultivate a better relationship with money generally.

Miton has been working in the financial services industry for almost three decades. He currently works with self-employed individuals and small business owners for the preparation of their income taxes, and offers tax and business strategy services during the year to help individuals and businesses reduce their tax liability; he also offers financial coaching services to those looking to dig deeper into their money story.

A Message from our Cofounder, Nam Vu, about our Wefunder Campaign

Those who know me closely know that I have a deep seated desire to help people that came out of my search for the meaning in life during my contemplative days in high school. I’ve always looked for ways to leave this world better than I found it and have been involved in various service activities. After a while, adulthood set in and service took a back seat to creating a comfortable life with the goal of one day having enough comfort to be able to dedicate service as a full time endeavor.

Then came Impact Hub Honolulu. Being a part of Impact Hub Honolulu has provided me with the opportunity to be of service and at the same time build a sustainable and thriving business. It is that dream that I think many of us have but didn’t think could be possible. At Impact Hub we can do well while doing good. It is possible.

We want to spread this message far and wide and help everyone do well while doing good. We recognize that it is much more difficult to think about and act on your intentions to do good in the world when you are struggling with rent and bills. Our approach is to help everyone to do well so that we can all do good and change the world.

By providing a place where our members can focus on their work and leaving the facilities needs to us, by providing mentorship and learning opportunities to grow their practice, by providing opportunities to join us in doing good, we hope to enable our members to make their own social impact; to democratize the work of social impact and put in in the hands of everyone to do their small share.

To help us spread this message, our plan is to build a network of 11 Impact Hubs across Hawaii to create a network of social entrepreneurs in Hawaii who join the over 15,000 social entrepreneurs that are already in the Impact Hub network, the largest network of social entrepreneurs in the world.

Today we publicly launch our Wefunder campaign to raise funds for our expansion plans. This is an investment NOT a donation. You will receive your money back through a revenue share plus a return. There is an early bird special for the first $125,000 invested.

We chose Wefunder because it aligns with our community building focus and enables our community to invest in our success was well as benefit from our success.

Please take a look and share widely. Together we can make change.

 

Meet the Team: Prerna Kalra, our Marketing Intern

In this spotlight, we’re chatting with Impact Hub HNL intern, Prerna Kalra. Prerna has been interning with us since October 2018, and it’s been so valuable having her marketing expertise, design skills, and event planning experience on our team.

In addition to helping the team with our social media and events, she’s hosting a big event to bring Indian dance, music, and food to Honolulu! On May 18, our space will be transformed into an Indian dance party: Jai Ho! Bollywood Dance Night will happen on Saturday, May 18, at 6:30pm: everyone is welcome to listen to great music, enjoy Bollywood dance performance, and eat yummy Indian food.

Andrea Bertoli (AB): Tell me a little bit more about you – how did you find yourself in Honolulu?

Prerna Kalra (PK): When I met my husband in 2017, the last thing on my mind was to leave my job and family and move to a new country… But I told myself that not everyone gets the privilege of living the island life, so just after my wedding in 2018, I moved to Hawaii to create a bag full of new experiences, learnings, and memories – My Hawaii Diaries is what I call it. I moved here for six months, but the charisma of Hawaii held me back, and I am still here living the Aloha life.

AB: Can you tell me a little bit more about your background? 

PK: I am a marketing and sales professional with more than five years of experience across telecom and insurance industries, with a key focus on customer success, client management, business development, and revenue assurance. I hold a Master’s degree holder with a specialization in Marketing. Marketing is something that helps me open my creative mind, while my sales experience has enhanced my focus on the importance of relationship building and the hunger to achieve targets. When I move back to India, I want to explore more creative pursuits.

AB: What inspired you to host this coming event, and what can people expect from this type of dance party?

PK: I had a customer-facing role while I was working in India, however, event planning has always made me happy. Beginning from my school to my Master’s work, I worked with various clubs to host college festivals and events. Impact Hub HNL has given me an opportunity to explore these pursuits even more. I’ve been about learning various ways of hosting events and really digging deeper into my areas of interest in marketing and event planning. As I am originally from India, a common thread of conversation with people here in Hawaii has been about the craze for Bollywood music and Indian food, so that has been my inspiration behind organizing this event. I really want people to put on their dancing shoes and enjoy a festive evening celebrating Indian culture.

AB: What lights you up and brings your joy?

PK: The perfect idea of living life for me is to travel, explore, and network with people. I also have a strong pull towards theatre: I have five years of experience in the theatre, which has always brought me so much joy.  And my time in Hawaii has introduced me to my love for healthy cooking and teaching Bollywood dance to kids.

Register for the coming Bollywood event on May 18 here. Active Impact Hub HNL members get a discount using code MEMBER.

Thanks, Prerna, for taking the time to chat with us!