HCCNC

Mana Up is a statewide initiative that supports entrepreneurs in Hawaiʻi, providing them with resources and tools to scale globally. Many of the makers and artisans who participate in its program have been recognized internationally for their products and find their success in connection to home, through incorporating locally sourced ingredients to Hawaiʻi culture into their products. As these entrepreneurs continue to grow, they also help to sustain the local community through economic diversification, local job creation, givebacks, investment, and a regenerative culture of entrepreneurship.  

Mana Up’s vision is to help these businesses through an accelerator program, online and in-store marketplaces, and a venture capital fund. 

Its goal is to create Hawaiʻi’s next 100 product companies earning over $10 million in annual revenue, and based here in Hawaiʻi. 

In 2017, Mana Up launched its small-business accelerator and has helped 74 companies to date. 

In 2021, Mana Up launched its first venture capital fund with $6.3 million to offer much-needed funding for Hawaiʻi product companies to get to the next level. 

The House of Mana Up is an online store and operates four brick-and-mortar shops across O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island that feature products from entrepreneurs who participated in the Mana Up accelerator program. 

Mana Up is led by its two co-founders, Meli James and Brittany Heyd. 

Prior to Mana Up, Meli cofounded her first company, Nirvino, a #1 ranked wine app, an Apple Platform Top 100 App, and Top Ten Lifestyles App in 2007. Meli moved back home and brought her Silicon Valley startup experience to Hawaiʻi accelerators Blue Startups and the University of Hawaiʻi’s Venture Accelerator. Meli has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of five Women to Watch and as one of eight Women Leaders Who Are Disrupting Entrepreneurship. Meli is a graduate of and entrepreneur in residence at Cornell University. She is also the President of the Hawaiʻi Venture Capital Association.

Brittany was co-founder and managing director at 1776 where she grew the organization from idea to global business including a $12.5 million venture fund, five locations, events in 75 cities across the world, and a software platform called Union. In 2020, she was recognized by Hawaiʻi Business Magazine on its 20 for the Next 20 list and in 2021, she was named by Pacific Business News as an honoree of its annual Women Who Mean Business Awards. Heyd holds a Juris Doctor / Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelors of Arts from the University of San Diego.