From Tsunami Warnings to Demo Days: Our 7-Week Startup Adventure in Hawaii 🌺🌊 — Stacklist Blog

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September 26, 2025· Company Updates

From Tsunami Warnings to Demo Days: Our 7-Week Startup Adventure in Hawaii 🌺🌊

Hey Stacklist Members! We’re back with a splash after an unforgettable two months, and this is the inside scoop you’ve been waiting for.

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📺 / /🎙️Watch & Listen: https://www.buildingstacklist.com/s1e8

🔗 Episode Stack: https://stackl.ist/4nhCOvD

Hey Stacklist Members!

We’re back with a splash after an unforgettable two months, and this is the inside scoop you’ve been waiting for. In our latest episode of Building Stacklist, Martina and Kyle share a wild journey: from blue ocean beaches to blue startups, with a dash of tsunami panic and a big serving of startup hustle.

What’s New? After a summer spent hustling to raise our next round, a single email turned our world upside down (or perhaps, west-ward): " What do you think about Hawaii?" Fast forward to seven weeks living and learning in paradise as part of the Blue Startups Accelerator. Yes, that Hawaii – beaches, palm trees, and, oh yeah, an actual tsunami warning on day two!

Inside the Blue Startups Accelerator The experience was nothing short of transformative. We joined a cohort with 11 other ambitious startups, dove deep into customer interviews, and faced the often-overwhelming challenge of honing our pitch and our product’s storytelling. If you’ve ever tried explaining a B2B2C product that doesn’t fit a typical mold, you’ll know what a feat this is!

Startup Life: The Real Scoop We didn’t just build features and attend workshops (though there were plenty of late-night coding and 2am espresso runs). We found that being thrown together 24/7 allowed a level of focus and creative problem-solving that's impossible back home. Between pitch practice, community-building hikes, and misadventures involving tsunami evacuations and fire alarms, we came out the other end with a much clearer vision for Stacklist – and a much tighter co-founder partnership.

Major Wins & Aha Moments

• Refined Product Story: After countless customer interviews (even with Uber drivers!), we finally landed on our core audience: local experts and businesses who want to share recommendations easily and authentically.
• Fast Company Recognition: We’re finalists for Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards in the Small but Mighty category!
• First Funding Round: We’re close to closing our first round—$500K—and it feels surreal to look back at how far we’ve come.
• Community Power: At Surf Break, our co-living home base, we tested new features with real people in real time, gathering 230+ local gems for newcomers to explore.

What’s Next? We’re off to San Francisco for the next chapter—connecting with VCs, pitching our new story, and starting our formal pre-seed round. But not before taking a breath to appreciate the partnerships, breakthroughs, and friendships this summer brought us.

Tune In! Listen to this episode for the real, unfiltered take on startup accelerators, building a product with purpose, and the unpredictable, exhilarating journey of turning dreams into reality.

Mahalo for being part of our journey, and stay tuned for much more!

With gratitude,

Kyle and Martina

P.S. Got a favorite place to eat, surf, or work in your city? Reply and we’ll add it to Stacklist or tell us your best founder “curveball” story!

Listen to the latest episode: https://www.buildingstacklist.com/the-hawaii-adventure

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