2016's Women to Watch

Champions of entrepreneurship and advocates of diversity, sexual equality and work force empowerment, these groundbreaking women are making a big difference in business today. Here are their stories.

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ENTREPRENEURIAL ALOHA

Melialani James

Locals call it the “brain drain”: Homegrown entrepreneurs from Hawaii follow jet stream to the mainland for school and pretty much never return. Melialani James saw it happen for years. So she chose a di­fferent path.

Yes, the 37-year-old Honolulu native went east in her 20s, but in 2012, after starting two successful apps in Silicon Valley, she moved back home to mentor, coach and help fund startup companies—especially those helmed by other Hawaiian locals.

The move was purposeful. It was calculated. “For years Hawaii was seen as the place you leave to go start stuff elsewhere,” she says. “Then one day it hit me: Why can't we make it so people actively come to start stuff­ here?”

Naturally, the easiest way to change the landscape has been from within. In her current role as head of new ventures at Sultan Ventures, a startup catalyst and boutique venture firm, James leads a team tasked with identifying and recruiting potential portfolio companies; provides mentoring and support to make portfolio companies investor-ready; and works with local companies to provide business-development and deal-structuring strategies.

She also runs XLR8UH, a state-university investment program that dabbles in tech transfer and focuses on proof-of-concept and commercialization.

Since 2014 James has served as president of the Hawaiian Venture Capital Association, a professional organisation designed to bring together members from the local entrepreneurial, investor and business communities to interact through educational and networking events.