KILAUEA — Misha Laney, owner of Aloha Aina Juice Cafe, wasn’t going to enter the Catch A Wave Business Competition.
Her mom, however, insisted.
“She had all the qualities they were looking for,” said Mina Morita. “A locally owned business that supports agriculture, that works with local farmers, and the next stage is not only financial security for the business, but for the employees. I think that’s what we’re trying to nurture here.”
As for Misha, she listened to mom.
“When she tells me to do something, I do it,” she said with a smile.
Good thing.
Laney and Aloha Aina Juice Cafe, which opened at a new location in March at Hokulei Village in Puhi, won the Catch A Wave Business Competition put on by the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay and sponsored by many businesses Saturday night at the Anaina Hou Porter Pavilion.
With first place comes $7,500 to spend on her business, a free one-year lease at the Kilauea Lighthouse Village Shopping Center, 20 hours of mentorship from experts in the community valued at more than $4,000, a free one-year membership in the Kauai Chamber of Commerce and an honorary first-year membership in a Rotary Club on the island.
A nervous Laney was stunned when her name was called as the winner before about 200 people, who cheered and applauded. On her walk to the stage, she gave hugs to the five judges and several others.
It was a turnaround from when she arrived that night.
“I wanted to run away when I got here,” she said. “Thank you so much. This is unbelievable. Every business was so amazing. I’m honored and speechless.”
In the second year of the competition modeled after the popular TV show, “Shark Tank”, eight business owners — trimmed from 44 applicants — gave short presentations about what they did, products and services, progress they’ve made and future plans.
Second went to Christina Zimmerman of Homeschool Now, while third went to Shannon Hiramoto of Machinemachine.
They each also received packages of mentorships, chamber and rotary memberships, while Zimmerman will receive $1,500 to spend on her nonprofit.
Others in the competition were Mia Somera of Lilikoi Luxe; Ryan Forster of Bee Team; Debbie Williamson of Wild Kauai Chocolate; Chanterelle Chantara of Chanterelle Couture and Chris Manley of Yard Tech Hawaii, LLC.
Judge Kristal Muhich, owner of Kauai Juice Co. and Bone to be Wild, said it was difficult to select a winner.
Some of the categories they considered were innovation, execution, revenue model, creation of local, high-paying jobs and positive community impact.
“Everybody had really good, viable businesses,” she said. “They’re all very well deserving.”
What gave Aloha Aina Juice Cafe the edge, Muhich said, was growth and planning.
“It was her foresight and intuition and really looking at everything at a broader scale and keeping the business going,” she said.
Another judge, Monica Belz, president and CEO of Kauai Government Employees Federal Credit Union, said selecting a winner “was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Intangibles factored in.
“Misha is an inspiring leader. She’s innovative, incredibly resilient, a critical thinker, solution-based, creative. She figures things out and takes risks that pay off in the end,” Belz said.
Ben Gillikin, president of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, said he was delighted with the quality of businesses in the competition.
“It is encouraging to see the talent we have on this island of 72,000 people,” he said. “To see this, it gives you hope for what we have ahead of us.”
Despite insisting her daughter enter Catch A Wave, Mina Morita was surprised she won.
“All the presenters were so good,” she said.
What she believed gave her daughter an edge was how passionate she is about Aloha Aina Juice Cafe.
“I think it was the major reason she won,” said Morita, who has helped with the business from day one.
Her daughter loves Kauai and loves the ‘aina, hence the name Aloha Aina Juice Cafe.
“It’s such a high bar to have that important value as part of your name and living up to it,” Morita said.
When she opened Aloha Aina Juice Cafe a few years ago, Laney said she had $500 to her name, one blender and one employee. It quickly grew from 10 acai bowls a day to 80. Soon, she hired three more part-time employees and the business relocated to the Puhi Plaza Village.
People thought she was crazy to move there, she said, and she still had little money.
“I needed to take that risk and listen to my gut,” Laney said.
“I wanted to provide healthy, fresh and fast food for our working community.”
As her customer base increased, she had to revamp her business plan.
They were making more than 100 acai bowls a day with “four loud blenders” in limited space, and having trouble meeting demand.
“The noise levels were taking a toll on myself and employees,” she said.
In March, she relocated to Hokulei Village, with more space and yet, where she could still maintain her high standards of quality and service, while adding new equipment and recipes, and increasing her workforce to about 15.
Aloha Aina offers a self-service salad bar, locally grown products, bentos, wraps and other items on the juice bar menu, including acai bowls, on a grab-and-go basis. There is also a free filtered water station.
“I think we should stop selling plastic bottled water,” she said.
Laney, a 1997 Kapaa High School graduate, had high praise for her competition Saturday.
“I couldn’t even believe I was in this room with this caliber of people,” she said.
Being in Catch A Wave, “was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I have three kids and that was harder than child birth,” she said afterward, laughing.
Winning, she added, solidifies her business and creates opportunities.
“I don’t like being the center of attention,” she said. “Even if I don’t win, I already won because I got up on that stage and did it.”
Laney was born and raised on Kauai and didn’t go to college.
“I am driven by hard-work ethic,” she said. “I still look at myself as a worker rather than a business owner.”
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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.
