Mana Up

Co-founders Melia Foster and Brittany Heyd jointly run the firm as Managing Partners and make the final call on accelerator cohort selection and follow-on investments. The accelerator program includes a network of mentors and corporate partners — including Hawaiian Airlines and Kamehameha Schools — who provide advisory input but do not hold investment committee authority (per the firm's public program materials).

Mana Up operates an annual six-month accelerator program for roughly 10 Hawaii-based product companies per cohort. Each company receives a $25,000 grant at acceptance and can qualify for larger equity investment upon graduation. Unlike a traditional venture firm raising blind-pool funds, Mana Up has layered a public-facing retail store, wholesale distribution network, and economic development grant support on top of its equity portfolio, creating a vertically integrated platform for island consumer brands.

Mana Up focuses exclusively on consumer packaged goods — food and beverage, beauty, apparel, home goods — and does not invest in enterprise software, deep tech, or SaaS. The firm's geographic mandate also excludes companies headquartered outside Hawaii, regardless of sector alignment.

Virtually all of Mana Up's deal flow comes through its open application process for each accelerator cohort, amplified by deep ties to Hawaii's small-business ecosystem, local chambers of commerce, and University of Hawaii entrepreneurship programs. The firm's retail store and wholesale relationships create visibility that generates inbound founder interest without the need for mainland-style scouting networks.

The firm structures its engagement as a staged pipeline: the accelerator provides grant capital and curriculum, while Mana Up reserves the right to make equity investments in graduating companies. While it publicly reports over 85 alumni, it does not disclose how many of those received follow-on equity. The model is closer to an incubator with an embedded venture function than a multi-stage fund.