Pacific Business News: Mindful Work takes top prize at Chamber of Commerce Hawaii 'Shark Tank' event
March 28, 2025
By Janis Magin
Mindful Work, a Hawaii business founded by mindfulness coach Noah Pomeroy that provides mindfulness training programs for organizations, won the Impact Business of the Year award at the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s SmallBiz Impact Accelerator Showcase.
Pomeroy was among 14 Hawaii small business owners to present their companies in a “Shark Tank-style” competition Thursday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. The award honored the best business overall, best pitch, best business plan and opportunity for growth and success.
The event, sponsored by the Hawaii Technology Development Corp. and ProService Hawaii, capped a five-month program of professional development training courses on the pillars of running a successful business, along with one-on-one mentorship volunteer mentors.
The judges — state Rep. Greggor Ilagan; Tuan La, HICAP invest manager, HTDC; Bryan Luke, president and CEO, Hawaii National Bank; Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and CEO, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; Lei Pedro, president and publisher, Pacific Business News; Kyle Shelly, vice president, American Savings Bank; and Denise Yamaguchi, executive director of the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation — also awarded three other small businesses following the presentations:
- Trang Ly, owner of Studio Elegance Hawaii, won the Next Horizon Award for the company with the largest greatest potential for scaling and long-term growth success.
- Taylor Yuen, owner of Makia, won the Innovator of the Year Award for the company that has demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation in their product, service or business model.
- And Jamie Jo Zapata, owner of Baker and the Beast won the People’s Choice award
Here are the other 10 businesses that participated in the program:
- Chun Cordasco & Associates
- Haleakala Supah Shots
- Hawaiian Isles Restoration
- HI Frequency Imaging
- Kauai Growth
- Leihoohie
- Noha Immigration
- Pacific Geospatial Services
- Top Level Notary LLC
- Yelloe
