Become a Founder

Nalukai Academy Summer Startup Camp is a tuition-free, 10-day intensive boarding program for Hawai’i high school students to explore business and entrepreneurship strategies driven by cultural values and social impact. Nalukai students are called Founders because we believe you aren’t “becoming” an entrepreneur––you already are one.

The 2024 Nalukai Academy Summer Startup Camp was held from July 5th-14th, 2024 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus on Hawaiʻi Island.

Our Summer 2025 camp will be announced in early 2025.

Business Education & Ethical Entrepreneurship

Learn ethical entrepreneurship and business development skills through direct engagement with Lean Startup and Design Thinking practices including problem validation, solution ideation, prototyping and experimental product design and iteration through retrospectives guided by models such as the Triple Bottom Line and cultural values.

Community & Career Development

Our kaiāulu (community) is growing! Over 230+ alumni create a network of future industry leaders and add to our worldwide community of mentors. Both during and after camp, Founders receive world-class mentorship from industry professionals, cultural practitioners, and educators.

Culturally-informed entrepreneurship at Nalukai

Nalukai believes that entrepreneurship in Hawaiʻi must be rooted in the values of the ʻāina (land) and kanaka (people) of Hawaiʻi. Our programs incorporate cultural practice and reflection to guide Founders to create socially and culturally informed ventures. Fostering a healthy relationship between culture and business in Hawaiʻi is key to building a better world for future generations.

HINA EA: fund accessible reproductive healthcare in Hawaiʻi

At Nalukai Summer Startup Camp, Founders learn the key components of an impactful pitch presentation. Logic, emotion, and credibility—combined with innovative thinking—persuade investors to support solutions for problems that Founders care about solving.

Team Hina Ea—consisting of 2023 Nalukai Founders Kayuga, Sherry, Molly, and Taarini—chose to explore a problem that was especially meaningful to them as young women: access to affordable reproductive health care.

During the problem identification and validation cycle, Team Hina Ea learned that communities outside of Oʻahu have limited access to vital care networks. In their research, Hina Ea found that over 118,000 young girls and women in rural Hawaiʻi do not have access to reproductive healthcare. Their solution connects women in these communities to funding that provides access to necessary care.

PUAʻA: CONNECTING COMMUNITY TO moderate feral pig population and save native species

Before even thinking of solutions, it is important to be clear on the problem you’re trying to solve, why it matters, and who it affects.

2023 Summer Cohort Team Puaʻa— who wanted to find a way to combat decreasing native species populations— the true problem was unexpected.

Through research and problem validation, Founders Jada, Kaimana, Nauhi, and Ronson found a link between the divots created by feral pigs that promote the spread of avian malaria and other deadly diseases that decimate native bird populations.

To solve this issue, Team Pua’a created an app to connect local hunters with communities to reduce feral pig populations in rural Hawai’i and minimize their harm to native birds.