Hawaii’s startup community is both stronger and more visible than it has ever been, still small but still scrappy, and continuing to foster hope for a more diversified, knowledge-based economy in Hawaii.

The Aloha State is blessed with place- and culture-based talents and resources that can create unique solutions, and there’s no shortage of innovative ideas and quit-your-day-job ambitions. But getting from the indie app, friends-and-family funding stage to a scalable business remains the biggest challenge.

Big thinking and big investments are needed to take things to the next level, and the East Meets West conference on Jan. 30 is focused on exploring how to bridge that gap.

Now in its sixth year, East Meets West has emerged as the largest showcase for Hawaii startups, but more important, a mixed plate of key ingredients for the innovation economy: business leaders, venture capitalists, industry experts, policymakers, hackers and hustlers. It’s organized by Hawaii’s largest and longest-running venture accelerator, Blue Startups.

(In the interest of full disclosure, a startup I co-founded is a graduate of Blue Startups, but they will affirm that I was a terrible cohort member who primarily generated press releases.)

The growth of the conference itself is illustrative.

“The event has doubled in size since it started, and we also have much more support from partners, both on-shore and off,” Blue Startups Managing Director Chenoa Farnsworth said. “We depended upon state government support in the beginning, and the event is now entirely supported by the private sector.”

While the participation from outside Hawaii is impressive — ranging from JP Morgan to Y Combinator, and Silicon Valley standouts like Twilio — the conference notably has local backing from firms like American Savings Bank, Hawaiian Telcom and Servco.

Yet the heart and soul of the gathering remains new and growing startups, and the founders behind them.

“We have tons of content for true startups as well as ‘wantrepreneurs’ — people who want to become entrepreneurs,” Farnsworth said. And the program includes a six-session Entrepreneurs Bootcamp designed to provide tactical advice for every stage of business development.

“This event is a great opportunity to cross traditional boundaries between big and small business in Hawaii,” Farnsworth said. “It is critical to our mutual futures to be more connected.”

Farnsworth, who has traveled extensively to connect tech sectors around the world with Hawaii, knows firsthand that convincing the world that we have more to offer than mai tais at sunset is a long-term undertaking.

“The goal of East Meets West is to highlight Hawaii as a place where the East meets the West for business, changing perceptions of Hawaii from a tourist destination to a regional business destination,” she said. “There is increasingly more business between U.S. and Asian economies, and Hawaii can and should play a role in facilitating and headquartering these endeavors.”

Each year, the slate of featured speakers and panelists provides a cross section of the biggest trends and opportunities in the global tech sector. For 2020, East Meets West includes a keynote focused on investing in female founders, and a panel of experts discussing how developments in Hong Kong will affect the entire region — including Hawaii.

Attendees also will hear from 11-year-old Aina Haina entrepreneur Cassidy Crowley, sharing her experience on the TV show “Shark Tank”; Kun Gao, founder of anime hub Crunchyroll; and Patrick Lee, co-founder of movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

And for those seeking an alternative to the typical conference format, there is a East Meets West summit the day before offering small roundtable discussions, one-on-one time with speakers and outdoor activities. The summit typically includes a “board meeting” held offshore on surfboards.

Whether you’re a business person curious about the startup scene, or an inventor with a wild idea to change the world, the East Meets West conference is worth your time. For more information, visit eastmeetswest.co.

Ryan Ozawa is communications director for local tech company Hawaii Information Service, and recently launched HawaiiTech.com to cover local tech news. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @hawaii.