Normally it takes months of due diligence to develop relationships between companies and investors. Mentoring begins as soon as a candidate is accepted for the conference and continues through the presentation and beyond. It flows like pure water. Contacts between presenting companies and investors at the conference usually prove to be pretty beneficial. Five mainland startups will join their Hawaii counterparts tomorrow, which has attracted Japanese as well as mainland investors to the conference.
Sponsors hope to add Asian firms to the mix in the near future.
You never know when a deal will be struck.