������Ƶ

Hawaii is unique.

It sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, halfway between the U.S. mainland and Asia.  Our proximity to Asia is not just a geographic one, however, it is cultural as well.  Hawaii is a melting pot of Asian, Caucasian and Pacific Island cultures.

We have talked for a long time about how to turn these unique attributes of Hawaii to our advantage.  Attempts have been made, progress has been made, but we still have a long way to go until we are globally recognized as the U.S. “bridge to Asia.” The upcoming East Meets West conference, which is bringing together stakeholders from Asia and the U.S. Mainland, is our opportunity to make that theory a bit more of a reality.

Flickr.com/Clive Dara

Since its inception, Blue Startups has worked to cultivate partnerships with the investment and startup worlds in both Asia Pacific and in Silicon Valley. With East Meets West, we now look forward to bringing the brightest minds from both continents right here in Hawaii, the world’s startup paradise.

There is a lot of interest from Asia in how to access U.S.-style venture capital and startup culture.  There is a lot of interest from US startups in the rising consumer marketplace in Asia. We feel the world of startups and innovation is uniquely suited for us to play a role in bringing these two sides together.

The recent Alibaba IPO is a prime example of the confluence of East and West in business today.  Alibaba is the largest IPO in U.S. history, and it is a Chinese e-commerce company serving primarily the Chinese consumer market.

But Alibaba went public on the U.S. market because, when it comes to capital and investing, the U.S. is still No. 1 in the world.  Would it make sense for future Asian tech startups to headquarter their operations here in Hawaii?  We think so.

That is the reason Blue Startups is putting together its first East Meets West conference to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, Nov. 6-7.  The event will bring together top investors, accelerators and entrepreneurs from Asia and the United States to Hawaii for two days of deal making, networking, learning and pitching.

We hope that it will put Hawaii on the map, more than ever before, as a place to bring these two worlds together.  Not just culturally, but in business as well.

More than a dozen international speakers from Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul will be sharing their perspectives on the newest investment trends, risks and startup best practices from both sides of the Pacific. These include thought leaders from GoPro, 500 Startups, Wilson Sonsini, Docomo Capital, StartupsHK and the Hong Kong Business Angel Network. A full list of speakers can be found here in the .

Conference participants will discuss the challenges of entering foreign markets, cross-border investing and staying competitive in an increasingly interconnected global landscape.

The conference will also feature a pitch competition where vetted startups based in the U.S. and Asia will pitch investors. Participants will include Asian-based startups looking to enter the U.S. markets and U.S. based startups looking to enter the Asian markets.

This conference is organized in partnership with the State of Hawaii, Hi Growth Initiative, and has received significant support from the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Venture Capital Association, Hawaii Angels, Black Sand Capital, American Savings Bank, KISA (Korea), TAB the Momentum (Korea) and Ward Village.

is a technology accelerator founded by Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Software. Blue Startups concentrates on helping scalable-technology companies access global markets.