Preview: Hawaii Angels Turns 22

The leading investment network for seed-level private equity investors in Hawaii starts a new chapter in 2024.

The first meeting of Hawaii Angels of 2024, where the managing director torch was passed from Chenoa Farmsworth to Joey Katzen.

Chenoa Farnsworth was part of the very first days of Hawaii Angels, which was formed in 2002 under the auspices of the University of Hawaii. As the group spunoff into an independent non-profit, Farnsworth meanwhile played key roles in a number of other innovation ecosystem initiatives—including Blue Startups and Kolohala Ventures. She became the managing director in 2009, and led the private equity investors’ group for nearly 15 years.

I spoke with Chenoa about the many ups and downs the Hawaii startup scene has seen, from financial crises to COVID. She also shares why things are looking up, and what she’ll be doing next with all the non-existent free volunteer time she’d been donating to Hawaii Angels all this time.

Supporters of Hawaii Bulletin can watch our conversation early below! The video will go public along with the article in the next week.