BILL RICHARDSON

What this episode covers

Bill Richardson is an integral entity in one of the leading venture capital funds in the state. He is an active investor and mentor in Hoku Scientific, Digital Island and Hoana Medical. To add to his career portfolio, Richardson manages to get involved in a number of non-profit and charitable organizations including Hospice Hawaii, Kidney Foundation, HiBeam, and University of Hawaii Foundation. Richardson started off his career as a lawyer, practicing his trade for three years, but always had business in mind. Through starting his own business he thought he could help the Hawaii economy grow and prosper. His background and extensive connections pave the way for him to engage in venture capitalism. “When I first started, what I brought to the party was a little bit of legal experience, some finance experience from my previous working and a lot of connections in Hawaii.” Evan and Kari talk to Richardson about the skills required of a venture capitalist. “You certainly have to be a very supportive person and be willing to take a background position. You don’t want to ever sort of stand in front of the entrepreneur. You really want the entrepreneur to build his business. But you have to be there to support him in any way can,” he said. Find out more about Bill Richardson and his ventures in and outside the business world. BIO: William K. Richardson has been a general partner of HMS Hawaii Management, the General Partner of the leading venture capital funds in Hawaii, since 1994. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and Duke University School of Law, and a former national caliber volleyball player. Prior to founding HMS Hawaii Management, Richardson was a Hawaii attorney specializing in commercial law and finance. He also worked nine years in various sales and marketing capacities for Wang Laboratories. He is currently the chairman of the board for Pacific DirectConnect, a WiFi integration company; Kona Bay Marine Resources, a marine biotech company; and Hawaii Biotech, a bio-therapeutic company. He was formerly on the boards of Wireless (now interWAVE Communications International) and HealthScape (now VirtualSeller.com), and a board visitor to Digital Island (now Cable & Wireless). He is an active investor/mentor in Hoku Scientific, a fuel cell company; Firetide, a WiFi equipment builder; and Hoana Medical, a medical device company. Richardson was the founding co-chair of University Connections, and a founder and current President of HiBEAM. His community connections include six years as a trustee of the University of Hawaii Foundation, five years on the Board of the National Kidney Foundation and current board member of the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship and E-Business and the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawaii. Links: HMS Hawaii Management Partners Hoku Scientific HIBEAM Hawaii Venture Capital Organization Listen on Youtube: