From Nothing to Legend: Hawaii’s First Commercial Website is Conceived

Getting thrown a pitch in the most unlikely place - and knocking it out of this world

I’m Holding a Hammer and Everything is a Nail

Peter Kay here, your feral entrepreneur, telling you the story of how in 1994 Hawaii’s first commercial website got its start. Back then, I just got back home, fresh off a two-year honeymoon road trip across the mainland with my wife of two years. I sold my stake in XenTec Software Engineering in ’92, and now I’m teaching Unix system admin courses at Honolulu Community College—a small gig, not full-time, barely keeping us afloat. In a fluorescent-lit classroom with huge metal desks, eight feet wide, four or six feet deep, cables everywhere, I’m guiding the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts IT crew through Sun Unix drills, projecting my screen on the wall. I’d just seen the World Wide Web for the first time, and man, it’s freaking wild—game-changing tech. It’s a hammer in my hands, everything’s a nail and Iʻm looking to pound.

It Started With Teaching A Unix Admin Course

It’s the last night of the course and I’m in that mid-90s community college classroom, two Sun workstations per desk, two students each, all eyes on my projected exercises—command-line basics, sysadmin stuff. Joe, Outrigger’s Chief Technology Officer, sharp and in charge, leads his IT team, including Jerry, his right-hand man, both soaking up the material. They’re my clients, tech guys like me, and the room’s got this steady hum—fluorescent lights, big desks, the works. I’m lit up inside, still buzzing from the web’s potential, knowing it’s going to flip the world, but I’m keeping it cool, guiding them through the night’s work.

A Mind-Blowing Technology Is Demonstrated

Class wraps early, leaving time to geek out. In that classroom, with Joe and Jerry watching, I say, “Let me show you the next big thing—the World Wide Web.” I fire up the very first web browser - NCSA Mosaic, just launched in April 1994. This is as new as it gets, pre-Yahoo, way pre-Google, and I start pulling sites from across the globe. I hit the Web Louvre, showing France’s famous museum, then university pages, and Honolulu Community College’s own cutting-edge site. Their jaws drop—it’s 1994, no smartphones, just clunky, pricey cell phone bricks (for those old enough to remember). Pulling images from a French server? Mind-blowing, pure freaking magic. The classroom’s alive, desks cluttered with workstations, as Joe and Jerry lean in, hooked on this wild tech I’m unleashing.

That Fateful Search for Hotels

Then Joe, eyes twinkling, says, “Search for hotels.” I type “hotel” into a primitive search engine—and get nothing, zero results. In that fluorescent-lit room, it’s a magic moment. Joe declares, “We want to be the first hotel online.” Outrigger, a small Pacific player, wants to lead the web charge—nuts! Jerry’s fired up, saying, “Let’s do it.” Joe turns to me, “Peter, can you do it?” Before he finishes, I’m all in—“Hell yeah, I can do it!” Truth? I’ve got no clue how, but I see the shot, and itʻs time to sell mood rings to Vulcans. In that classroom, with big desks and buzzing screens, outrigger.com is conceived—Hawaii’s first commercial website, a feral entrepreneur moment that’ll change everything.

Guts Feel Fire

Inside, it’s a rush—every damn thing I’ve learned is slamming together to push me forward. Six years running XenTec, selling, coding, Unix admin—it’s all clicking. The web, built on Unix systems like those Sun workstations in the classroom, is my turf. I’d seen its glow weeks earlier, knew it was massive, but wasn’t sure how to dive in. Now, in that room with Joe’s challenge ringing, it’s right in my hands—my big break. I’m teaching night classes, scraping by with my wife, no company, no capital, no office, no crew—just me, a hammer, and this nail. I’m not letting it slip, not in that buzzing classroom.

Itʻs Either a Moonshot or Keep Scraping By

The stakes are huge—Joe sees the web’s future like I do, and if I don’t grab this, he’ll find someone else. In that classroom, with Jerry nodding and workstations humming, it’s now or never. I’m just a night-course instructor, barely making ends meet, no CyberCom yet. Say yes, like the salesman I am, and build it from nothing—even if I don’t know how—or stay stuck teaching, scraping by with my wife. Outrigger’s larger-than-life reputation in Hawaii means this could rocket me to the moon, or I’m left with nothing, just big desks and fading dreams. That’s the fight, right there under those fluorescent lights.

History Gets Made

That “yes” sparks history—outrigger.com will launch in the fall of 1994, Hawaii’s first commercial site and second only to Hyatt worldwide in terms of hotels (though our site was superior - thatʻs another story). In that classroom moment, with Joe and Jerry’s eyes on me, CyberCom was conceived, supercharged by Outrigger’s reputation. It’s preparation meeting opportunity—two previous failed companies, one XenTec win, ten years of grind, sales guts, tech chops—all crashing into this magic, feral moment. In 2025, looking back, it’s clear: that night, under those lights, changed my life and Hawaii forever, a milestone no one could have ever predicted.

Looking Back Makes it All Clear Now

This life-changing event would have never happened had I fought for my rightful position in XenTec. I’d still be back there, struggling to make things work. I would have never been one of the first in the world to get exposed to the World Wide Web, would have never taught those night-time Unix classes, and Outrigger would have never gotten on the web with such a huge lead that they subsequently enjoyed. To reflect back on that makes me think that it was one of those “It’s a Wonderful Life” moments where a seemingly simple decision has dramatic life-changing consequences that not only affect you, but countless people around you. Sense your divine path, have the courage to stay on it, and things will turn out better than you can possibly imagine.

Never Let a Feral Opportunity Pass You By

The lesson? When luck meets preparation, that's your hammer—never, never, never hesitate the chance to take the swing and slam that nail. That classroom, with its clunky workstations and eager techies, was my launchpad—a moment of pure, unvarnished feral entrepreneurship. It’s about seeing the shot, saying “hell yeah,” and figuring it out, like I did with XenTec. Joe, Jerry, that room—they’re part of a destiny I didn’t see coming, but I grabbed it, and it’s why CyberCom soared. Stay ready, stay feral, and when the web—or whatever’s next—lands in your hands, do not hesitate to swing as hard as you can. Aloha!