PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII Jill Hamasaki and Len Higashi of Zoji Golf received the first place $25,000 cash prize at the 2002 Hawaii Business Plan Competition sponsored by the University of Hawaii College of Business Administration's Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship and E-Business.

Golf company scores win
at business plan contest

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By Star-Bulletin Staff

A Honolulu company that designed a child-oriented golf club -- one that physically grows along with the player -- took the $25,000 first prize in a business plan competition by the University of Hawaii.

The winner, Zoji Golf, is led by UH students Jill Hamasaki and Len Higashi, who are studying for a master's in business administration. The start-up company uses interchangeable shafts to create a club that can change lengths as a young golfer grows.

The $15,000 second prize in the competition went to Surgical Devices of Hawaii Inc., which markets a catheter designed to protect the brain from stroke during heart surgery. Third prize, $10,000, was awarded to PerfectSights, which produces high-tech systems that can monitor natural habitats as a way of saving endangered species.

The contest, which began in February with 46 teams, was organized by the UH College of Business Administration's Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship and E-Business. Five finalists presented their business plans before a panel of judges Saturday morning at the Stan Sheriff Center.