Entrepreneurs Olin Lagon, Dustin Shindo and Meli James ’96 shared stories of success and failure with Academy students, as part of the Case Accelerator for Student Entrepreneurship (CASE), a Punahou program founded and funded by Trustee Steve Case ’76. The May 6 panel was moderated by Academy student Tom Nitao ’21 and organized by newly appointed CASE director Mark Loughridge. The entrepreneurs also took part in workshops with students, offering guidance on overcoming common business challenges, including having ideas stolen, lacking funding and encountering partner differences. The partnership between entrepreneurs and Punahou students was certainly fruitful. In fact, one of the student attendees Noelle Nakaoka ’20 will be doing a summer internship with Mana Up, the company founded by Meli James.
