Steve Sue

About

BIO & PICS

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Steve Sue, Chief Lemon Head Lemonade Alley, Big Buzz at BizzyB.com, Chairman Bizgenics Foundation

SHORT BIO:

Steve Sue is a Hawaiʻi filmmaker, social entrepreneur and technologist. He is the producer and director of an Aloha Spirit series of films led by the award-winning SHAKA, A Story of Aloha (2024), the soon to be released THE 100TH, Seeds of Aloha (2027) and ʻONO, Foods of Aloha (est. 2028).

He wrote the 2024 law making the Shaka the Official State Gesture of Hawaiʻi and is the creator of the Hawaiʻi DMV Shaka License Plate. What began as Project Shaka has since grown into Global Aloha Movement, a movement sharing aloha through films, education and action programs. Steve serves as Chair of ID8, the Hawaiʻi 501(c)(3) behind the movement.

As a technologist, Steve is the creator of SumoSum.com, an AI-powered business decision platform that turns ideas into visual strategy, and owns the business automation firm O-WOW, Inc.

Steve holds a BA in Design from UCLA and a JD from UC Berkeley.

THE DEEP DIVE…

Filmmaker & Global Aloha

Steve is the producer and director of an Aloha Spirit series of films exploring the concepts of aloha and how it can inspire the world. The series began with the award-winning SHAKA, A Story of Aloha, followed by the recently completed THE 100TH, Seeds of Aloha, exploring the legendary 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team and their enduring legacy of aloha, and ʻONO, Foods of Aloha, now in production, explores Hawaiʻi’s multicultural story through food.

SHAKA grew beyond film festivals and on demand streaming (see it at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Fandango, Kanopy and other leading platforms) to Steve’s writing the 2024 law making the Shaka the Official State Gesture of Hawaiʻi and the creation of the Hawaiʻi DMV Shaka License Plate. Those programs, known as Project Shaka has since evolved into Global Aloha, a movement by Hawaiʻi nonprofit ID8 that puts aloha into action through films, education and community programs.

Social Entrepreneur

Steve serves as Chair of ID8, the Hawaiʻi 501(c)(3) he founded in 2012. ID8 has created entrepreneurship, project-based learning and media initiatives including Lemonade Alley and ID8 Studios, a digital media soundstage built and operated for the State of Hawaiʻi.

Today, ID8 produces Global Aloha and other programs designed to help people, ideas, organizations and communities flourish.

Technologist & Conceptualist

Steve is the creator of SumoSum.com, an AI-powered business decision platform built around the idea of Strategy Made Visible. SumoSum helps entrepreneurs, nonprofits, students and organizations turn ideas into stronger concepts by helping them research, vet and defend their strategies through AI, visual modeling and financial forecasting.

He also owns O-WOW, Inc., a business automation firm specializing in custom software, apps and website automation.

Before focusing on film and social ventures, Steve spent more than 25 years as a conceptualist and storyteller across entertainment, hospitality, restaurants, retail, technology and resort casinos.

Steve holds a BA in Design from UCLA and a JD from UC Berkeley.

Just take your time. Let the others go… then catch the big one.”

~ Duke Kahanamoku, Legendary Surfer

MENTOR MATH

We are the sum of others…

Life Basics

[strong]Love:[/strong] My mom, [em][strong]Darlene Sue[/strong][/em] taught me how to love, live and give. Since my dad was a super-hard worker, she was the one to teach me sports and how to be a boy. She taught me how to compete (we played doubles tennis tourneys). And how to be a good sport.…Read More

Art, Design & Film

[h4]Design Thinkers[/h4] [ul] [li][strong]Color Theory:[/strong] Celebrated color theorist [strong][em]Vasa Mihich[/em][/strong] pulled me from the muck of econ majors at UCLA. I took Vasa’s class on a whim and he took me under his wing. Vasa told me I had to be a designer. He asserted that I had talent. I knew he was…Read More

Performance

[h4]I’ll Always Love a Good Show[/h4] [ul] [li][strong]Events: [/strong]Oakland homee [em][strong]John Murray[/strong][/em] runs a slammin’ production house. We’ve done countless shows together from fashion, to galas, to music, to parades, to ice shows, to pageants. With John, I learned the art of the live show and that live production never goes…Read More

Business

[h4]Innovation Mentors[/h4] [ul] [li][strong]The Law:[/strong] My entry point to business was the study of law at UC Berkeley. The frank truth is that I sucked at the law. But two guys at the law school kept me in the game. [em][strong]Sandy Kadish[/strong],[/em] renowned criminal law professor taught me that the law is…Read More

Technology

[h4]Geek Speak[/h4] [ul] [li][strong]Macs: [/strong]For years, I’d been back and forth between PCs and Macs ~ until I met [strong][em]John Finn[/em][/strong]. John is a motion graphics guy best known for creating fancy TV show animation intros. He’s also a wickedly talented photographer. John got me into Macs once and for…Read More

Philosophy

[h4]The Meaning of Life[/h4] [ul] [li][strong]Benevolence:[/strong] In Hawai’i, people that are close as blood but not biologically related, are called [em]hanai[/em] family. I’m lucky to have several [em]hanai[/em], including [em][strong]Po Chi Wu [/strong][/em]and family. Po Chi is an academic and venture capitalist. He’s also pedigreed (his father was known in China as…Read More