Mike Foley | University Advancement | 2 December 2003
A young man from the Micronesian island of Yap, who first got his hands on a computer when he attended the University of Hawaii-Hilo, has since built a successful business in Honolulu around his graphic and computer skills.
In fact, Lubuw Falanruw, president and CEO of Digital Mediums, Inc. has done so well over the past three-plus years with his website development and software engineering firm that the Small Business Administration presented its Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award to him in April 2003.
Falanruw told BYU–Hawaii business students on December 2 that Digital Mediums uses "a lot of Flash [animation] and other scripting to do zoom-in functions, and starting early next year, we'll feature 3-D interactive sites." He added they have a "good blend" of designers and software coders to create the sites.
For example, Digital Mediums recently signed a website contract for the Hawaii Convention Center, and also does web development for the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, HawaiiActivities.com — an extensive booking service, and Toyota Matrix, which won an award earlier this year for its creativity.
Falanruw explained the Matrix site "targets the younger generation with pop music and a lot of interactivity, but at the same time we keep focused on functionality."
He added that this focus on functionality has led about 60 travel-related clients to use his firm's reservations software, including Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, Atlantis Adventures, Roberts Hawaii, Sunshine Helicopters and American Express Travel Services. "Right now we're the dominant software vendor in the state of Hawaii, which is a great place to be," Falanruw said.
Asked how he got his unlikely start, Falanruw explained that his parents sent him to high school in Guam, where he first experienced culture shock; but it also prepared him for Hawaii. After graduating from University of Hawaii Hilo his computer graphics experience led him to a job with a high-tech company, which evolved into software engineering here and on the mainland.
Managing people takes a whole other level of skills," said Falanruw, who now has 11 employees.
"When I first started, I was pretty much by myself, and then I had one colleague. In the beginning, it was pretty much colleagues I knew. I didn't really go through an actual interviewing process. I kind of had a good feel for a person and knew I could trust him. Most of the people on staff are the same ones from the beginning." Falanruw added that it's also important this his employees can "learn a technology today, and apply it tomorrow. I always look for the ability to adapt and learn."
Asked how much he charges, Falanruw said jobs can "range from $500 to $200,000 and beyond, depending on the complexity. There's really no set answer."
Asked how he stays ahead of the competition, Falanruw stressed that his business takes a lot of talent and hard work. "You can't get lazy. If you do, you might as well throw in the towel. You've got to have a lot of energy, and there are a lot of new things coming up. There's definitely an ongoing challenge."
Asked how he finds new clients, Falanruw pointed out that "word-of-mouth works well in Hawaii, but it can also work against you if you do something wrong."
Asked to describe how he started Digital Mediums, Falanruw explained he saved up $15,000 doing freelance work and decided he had little to lose while he was young. "I figured I could always go back to fishing and climbing coconut trees in Yap," he said. "The sooner you start, the better."