Interested in Investing in Piʻikū?
Investing in Piʻikū Co. is investing in the future of Hawaiʻi - our talent, our businesses, and our opportunities.
THe Big Picture
The Opportunity
Technology offers a huge opportunity to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy. But breaking into the tech industry can be a frustrating chicken/egg problem. Employers want to see experience, but new talent can’t get that experience without getting hired. As a result, Hawaiʻi struggles to build a tech sector that represents us and our needs.
Our Solution
At Pi’iku, we are bridging that gap. Our programs create opportunities for new, local talent to enter the technology sector, build their skills, and connect with experienced talent and each other, while receiving support in their job search. Meanwhile, our projects also benefit local organizations who receive high-impact deliverables that propel their work forward.
Our 5 year plan
Expand our program
Our original flagship internship served exclusively UX/UI designers. This year, weʻre adding engineering and product programming. In the future, we plan to offer software sales and customer success programming and run more cohorts each year.
Offer Training
We currently work with aspiring technologists who already have training in the fundamentals. We plan to open our programming to even more participants by also providing fundamentals training to folks who don’t have it yet.
Hiring for impact
We’re excited about the talent who come through our internship program and we plan to more actively connect them to work through recruiter partnerships, employer matchmaking, and building our own studio.
Our Sponsors
Sponsors help us run our internship programs and pay our interns for their work
Our Partners
Partners provide financial and in-kind support, opportunities for our participants, and more!
Program Success
We’re making sure our participants get the experience they need to get hired in the technology sector and the data speaks for itself.
75%
Alumni secured paid work within 3 months
$44/hr
Average hourly rate after program completion
Driving Impact:
How Our Interns Boosted Local Business Success
Since March 2023, we’ve worked with 32 interns to launch their careers in tech, connecting them with dedicated mentors, exciting local companies, and high-impact projects. Your investment can help us expand this success and shape the future of Hawaiʻi’s tech economy
Featured products
UMI
Gage & Michelle helped Umi, a language learning redesign the lessons page to help users focus more on learning.
10,000+ active paid subscribers
Gage & Michelle, Cohort #3 Interns
Farmlink
Nic and Lauren improved the shopping experience for SNAP - EBT customers, achieving 90% customer satisfaction rate with their new designs.
Nic & Lauren, Cohort #2 Interns
Shaka Guide
Christina redesigned the tour detail screens. She addressed poor user experience based on user drop-off data.
#1 Rated Travel App in Hawai’i
Christina, Cohort #1 Intern
Your Support Fuels Hawaiʻi’s Tech Future
Our partnership with Blue Startups
Our sponsor Zippy’s
UXHI x Piʻikū’s events
Our interns <3
ways you can support Piʻikū’s work!
Financial Donations
By donating you will help us pay interns and staff while keeping costs low for local organizations
In-kind Contributions
In-kind contributions like memberships, subscriptions, or event tickets allow us to provide even more to the community to help them grow their careers
Sponsorship
Help fund kickoffs, lunches, or flying in interns from neighbor islands
Fully Tax-deductible
As a 501(c)(3), your donations are fully tax- deductible.