Guest Contributor

Olin Lagon

Olin Lagon is a Native Hawaiian technologist, U.S. Navy and Peace Corps veteran, and cofounder of Hawaiʻi-born companies and organizations that have scaled to serve millions of people worldwide, like ChipIn, the first general purpose crowdfunding service, which directed over $100 million to causes around the globe.

His community work applies large-scale engineering innovation to tough challenges in Kanaka ʻŌiwi communities, health, finance, and clean energy. He currently serves on the boards of Ceeds of Peace, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, ʻŌlelo Community Media, and the Economic Revitalization Commission. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office featured his story as a national innovator in its Journeys of Innovation series.

You can reach him by email at columnists@civilbeat.org. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

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Olin Lagon: The Government Decided This Food Was Dirty (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: The Government Decided This Food Was Dirty

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After a cholera outbreak, it took 100 years to make it legal to sell unregulated and hand-pounded kalo again.

Olin Lagon: No Hog Cheese (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: No Hog Cheese

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Scarcity is supposed to make people hoard. Somebody forgot to tell us. Mostly.

Olin Lagon: State Budget Is Not Hard To Understand. We Just Explain It Badly

Olin Lagon: State Budget Is Not Hard To Understand. We Just Explain It Badly

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Hawaiʻi’s official budget “brief” runs 163 pages. Here is the whole $20.9 billion in two pictures.

Olin Lagon: A Subsidy Is A Statement About Who Matters (Courtesy: Olin Lagon)

Olin Lagon: A Subsidy Is A Statement About Who Matters

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We take a monthly fee from nearly every renter in Hawaiʻi and hand about $5,000 to households that already own a roof.

Olin Lagon: The First Word The World’s Phones Say Is Aloha Courtesy: Olin Lagon

Olin Lagon: The First Word The World’s Phones Say Is Aloha

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When you start asking questions, you might be surprised how many answers trace back to Hawaiʻi.

Olin Lagon: The Bank That Said Yes To What Started As A Sketch On A Napkin Courtesy Olin Lagon

Olin Lagon: The Bank That Said Yes To What Started As A Sketch On A Napkin

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What a late congratulations card, a voyaging canoe and one 30-minute phone call taught me about Hawaiʻi’s future.