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 best known as a champion of the Shaka gesture having produced the documentary, “Shaka, A Story of Aloha,” the first in a trilogy of Aloha Spirit films that includes “The 100th, Seeds of Aloha” and “ʻONO, Foods of Aloha.” He also founded Project Shaka a non-profit movement that includes the Aloha Film Trilogy, wrote the 2024 bill that made the Shaka the Official Gesture of Hawai’i and created the Hawai’i DMV Shaka License Plate. He serves as Chairperson at ID8 (ide•ate), the Hawai’i 501C3 nonprofit behind Project Shaka.

He owns O-WOW, Inc., a digital automation firm that specializes in custom software, app and website automations, and SumoSum.com, a free visually-oriented financial forecasting application.

His career spans 25 years as a story expert, conceptualist and social venturer in entertainment, hospitality, food service, retail, product and software. Steve holds a BA in design from UCLA and a JD in law from UC Berkeley.

THE DEEP DIVE…

Conceptualist: Steve’s education in design and law resulted in a career as a conceptualist and “story guy” of theme parks, live entertainment productions, corporate theater, retail environments, restaurants, product brands and resort casinos.

Software Developer: In his mid-career, Autodesk provided a turning point by licensing his signature hand-drawing style for use within AutoCAD products. While helping create algorithms that mimic his hand drawing style, he learned how to develop software. Soon after, he began developing software products of his own.

Social Venturer: In 2009, Steve married his dream girl and settled in Hawai’i. Since then, Steve has created ventures from Hawai’i, including SumoSum.com, a visually-based financial forecasting application. He also has executed local projects including the creation of ChefZone for Y. Hata & Company, the rebranding of Waikiki Trolley, and built a food bank app for The Pantry.

Mentor: Through ID8 501C3, Steve is known as a pioneer of project-based learning, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship models having created Lemonade Alley (a culinary entrepreneurship challenge), Project Lemon Tree (a school tree planting program), BizzyB.com (a project-based learning application) and a number of PBL curriculum models for entrepreneurship, app development and search engine optimization (“SEO”) writing. He also founded ID8 Studios (a digital media soundstage operated by ID8 for the State of Hawai‘i).

Boards & Advisory: Steve has served on several local boards and advisory groups including Feeding Hawai’i Together, Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawai’i, Scouting BSA (Steve is an Eagle Scout), Blue Startups, Hawai’iloa EcosySTEM Cabinet, A’o Aloha Social Emotional Learning Collaborative, Hawai’i State Workforce Development Council and the James Campbell High School Academy Advisory Board.

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…

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 [em]The Father of Physics[/em]). But what’s most impressive about Po Chi are his philosophical powers. Whenever we’re together we talk. A lot. More than imaginable. The rest of the family knows to clear out. Yet while he has great intellectual powers and deep perspective, the best part of Po Chi is that he is wise and full of love. I think of him as the [em]Benevolent Venture Capitalist[/em] ~ kind of like a vegetarian shark. Po Chi: Thank you for sharing so much of your life force, encouraging words and most of all the love of your entire family.[/li] [li][strong]Perspective:[/strong] I talk frequently with my brother [em][strong]Alan (AJ) Sue[/strong][/em]. It’s said that asking the right question is 90% of problem solving and Alan is the [em]King of the Question[/em]. Alan and I share a love for nerding on biz. And we’re both at the stage where we’re trying to figure out the “Why?” of life. Despite Alan being my younger brother, I consider him to be one of my mentors. Alan: I’m proud of the rock star you’ve turned out to be. On the point of siblings, It would be stupid of me not to recognize my sister [em][strong]Linda Sue[/strong][/em] for always supporting my antics and being so caring, and my brother [em][strong]Larry Sue[/strong][/em] who despite hogging all the brains in the gene pool, never threw it back in our faces. All of the kids in our family are highly unique. All have different perspectives. Yet we are one. I love all you guys.[/li] [li][strong]Love & Light:[/strong] I thought I was well balanced until I met [strong][em]Karen Asato[/em][/strong]. As a swashbuckling concept guy, I thought I was pretty good on the right-brain side. But Karen pushes my hippy-dippy every day. She helps me shed shackles I don’t even know are there. More importantly, she is the very essence of unconditional love. She lets me be me. That’s important and deserve an encore: she lets Me Be Me. No matter how whacky my ideas might seem at the time, she lets me be me. And she stands by me through thick and thin. Together, we hold hands, spit into the wind and laugh. Karen and I both work from home. We’re together 24/7. And we’re entirely copacetic: no strife, no strain, all love. Karen: you are the love of my life. That may sound trite but I’ve never felt truly at home with anyone else. You are good through and through. I love you and everything about you. Also on the home-front, there was [em][strong]Mia the Dog[/strong][/em] 2007-2025. Yeah, you’re thinking, “Really… the dog was his mentor?” Yep. Mia kept it real. She was a wise old spirit. I’m caught in a life as a workaholic like my Dad. I can’t do enough in a day. But Mia knew priorities. Eat. Play. Snuggle. Poo. She was very powerful. She only has to look at me and I’m on the floor with her rolling around like a canine on crack. Trigger words to us were, “snackies” “walk” and “bath” ~ I would spring the last one on [em]her[/em] just to keep it real… Ha! Take that you little mutt! Mia kept it real… and was a bright light in our lives.[/li] [/ul]