The job is made harder by the realization that Hawai'i's banks and financial institutions are similarly reluctant. Most of their investments in local ventures such as these are small. But that's how you have to start. Still, HMS has financed five companies that have done marginally well and has withdrawn funds from only two companies. From nothing six years ago, he now receives 300 business plans a year from prospective entrepreneurs.
Land is what most bank portfolio managers know.
All he asks of potential investors, he says, is that they open their minds to other possibilities in Hawai'i. On the other hand, there is a small number of people who can make money in intellectual property investment. But their returns can be spectacular. This is because, unlike real estate, technology is an inefficient market. There are jewels out there that people haven't recognized.