Twenty years ago, Hawai‘i’s startup community was a barren sector with few resources to lift budding entrepreneurs with plans for innovative, fast-growth companies. That community is now filled with events, coworking spaces and programs that help these people build their nascent businesses and connect with investors, mentors and other partners.

With partners and clients from around the nation and the world, Oceanit employs out-of-the-box thinking, finding solutions to some of the world’s most difficult problems by combining science, technology, engineering and creative thinking. Oceanit founder, CEO and President Patrick Sullivan speaks about his approach in bringing together curious minds with very different skillsets and why he feels Hawai‘i’s diversity and isolation help cultivate a culture of innovation.

Pat is the Founder and CEO of Oceanit, one of Hawaii’s successful tech companies. Check out Pat’s new book: Intellectual Anarchy.

On nights with a full moon, scientists and engineers from Oceanit gather at Duke’s statue on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, colorful glow sticks fastened around their necks. Toting surfboards, they head for the water’s edge and plunge into the silvery shore break. “With a full moon, it’s magical,” says Patrick Sullivan, founder and CEO of Oceanit, who often joins the crowd. “Everyone wears a glow stick necklace so we don’t ‘drop in’ on anyone. Three-quarters of the company surfs. It’s hard to find a golfer.”

Patrick K. Sullivan, the founder and CEO of Oceanit, says the local high-tech company has developed a potential therapy for COVID-19 using an artificial intelligence technology the company created for an existing project with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Since founding Oceanit in Honolulu in 1985, Dr.Patrick K. Sullivan has championed technology, research and development, and engineering across the state of Hawaii. Under his leadership, Oceanit has brought innovative technology, developed from fundamental science, to market in various industries including energy, aerospace, health care, and information technology and has generated more than $450 million in grant and project funding.

Focused on the personalities behind the organizations, industries, and agencies that keep Oʻahu moving, that’s Island Focus. We get to highlight the passion and influence of both the people and places that inspire, inform and impact our everyday lives. This program was recorded at the ʻŌlelo Community Media Māpunapuna Studio and features - Oceanit President & CEO Patrick Sullivan

The Art of Disruptive Innovation. Pat Sullivan, CEO of Oceanit, tells us about his new book, Intellectual Anarchy, the Art of Disruptive Innovation, Breaking the Bonds of Normal to Solve the Impossible. What made him write it and the message he wanted to convey. The host for this episode is Jay Fidell. The guest for this episode is Patrick Sullivan.