Business building tips and insights from Startup NZ subject experts.
Drip Waterproof Socks
In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and change-makers working on innovative startups, social enterprises and SME’s around Aotearoa New Zealand. At a glance Founder: Paul McKernan Business: Drip Waterproof Socks Founded: 2023 HQ: Auckland Can you tell us a bit about your business? We have designed a waterproof sock for outdoor enthusiasts and sports lovers, […]
Knowledge Base
Business building tips and insights from Startup NZ subject experts.
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RECENTly ON NZ ENTREPRENEUR
Māori and Pasifika young entrepreneurs navigate 36-hour Business Challenge
Forty-five exceptional rangatahi Māori and Pasifika young minds from high schools across Aotearoa were united in Tamaki Makaurau Auckland last week to attend the entrepreneurial education programme, ‘Young Navigators,’ by Young Enterprise Trust. The initiative, sponsored by One NZ, alongside Pacific Business Trust, and New Zealand Māori Tourism, is designed to immerse Māori and Pasifika […]
Squarespace website and ecommerce builder platform
Squarespace is a popular website building and hosting service that allows individuals and businesses to create professional-looking websites and e-commerce stores without needing extensive technical expertise. It provides a user-friendly interface with an intuitive “drag and drop” editor, and a variety of professionally designed templates that users can customise to create their own unique websites. […]
We’re Hiring! Could you be our new Media Lead?
Come Grow With Us! About Us Since 2012 NZ Entrepreneur has been inspiring, educating and informing thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners throughout New Zealand, every month. We are passionate about empowering entrepreneurs to make a positive impact in the world, and sharing their stories. We are looking for a new team member to support […]
Knowledge Base: Angel funding insights with Bridget Unsworth, Angel Association New Zealand
Watch now: (20 mins) In this edition of Knowledge Base, Richard Liew talks with Bridget Unsworth, Executive Director of Angel Association New Zealand (AANZ). If you are building an innovative startup and need funding, tune into this informative discussion where Bridget provides an overview of angel investment funding in New Zealand and plenty of tips […]
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OTHER RECENT NEWS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES
BIZ WIRE
New coworking space set to attract collaborating business professionals to Hāwera
A building that was once a radio station, a clothing shop, a paint store, a drapery, and a bakery now houses the first coworking space in South Taranaki. Te W’anake, The Foundry is in a recently renovated venue in Hāwera, featuring original interior bricks and salvaged rimu. The building has been on High Street in […]
Customer-centred office challenges WFH trend
An award winning financial advisor and broker is taking his customer service strategy to the next level, spending 10 months transforming a former hair salon in Auckland’s Victoria Park, into a luxury work space for use by his loyal customers. At a time when many businesses are pursuing work from home (WFH) strategies, Alex Wang […]
Founder Q&A: Nick Lissette, Blackpearl Group
Who: Blackpearl Group Founders: Nick Lissette HQ: Wellington Nick, can you tell us a bit about yourself? I’m a born and bred Wellingtonian. I went to school here – Saint Patrick’s College Silverstream and Victoria University. Like any good Kiwi, I’ve always been into sports and have had the privilege of representing Wellington in rugby […]
Founder Q&A: Amy Stevens, Slice
WHO: Slice Founder: Amy Stevens HQ: Auckland What products, services, solutions or technology have you developed? Slice is an innovative, end-to-end tech platform built to reduce barriers to home ownership through education, step-by-step guidance and automated software. The automated software enables customers to: WHAT KEY CUSTOMER PROBLEMS OR CUSTOMER “WANTS” DOES YOUR SOLUTION SOLVE? By […]
Interview: Saba Samiei, MACSO
Richard Liew talks with Saba Samiei, founder of AI startup MACSO. Hear how Saba and her team are pairing artificial intelligence with sensor technology to provide predictive data modelling and detection services with potential applications such as livestock respiratory disease detection, to detecting students’ vaping in school bathrooms. And if you’re an aspiring deep tech […]
Key difference between wireless and fibre when it comes performance
There’s a world of choice when it comes to getting a business broadband package that meets the specific connectivity needs of your company. And with over a hundred service providers offering a range of speed, data and package options, it can all get a little overwhelming. A good place to start is to identify the […]
Kōkiri celebrates the success of its ten selected startups for 2023
Now in its 5th iteration, the Kōkiri business accelerator program is proud to announce the ten startups, mostly in Tech selected for its latest cohort. These startups have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants and will receive the support and resources they need to take their businesses to the next level. The selected […]
Technology won’t save you if it’s all you’ve got
Don’t let excitement about new tech blind you to what really powers your business. More than 25 years ago, a UK supermarket chain spotted an interesting trend in its customer data: men who bought nappies also bought six-packs of beer. The marketing team drew the conclusion – new dads could no longer justify time off […]
Why our small businesses are a BIG deal
In the entrepreneur world we hear a lot of talk about entrepreneurs and businesses needing to be “global from day one”. Investors and business commentators lament our lack of large global businesses and say the “three-B” (bach, ‘Beemer’ and boat) mentality of Kiwi business owners is holding us back. In this regard small businesses are often […]
Interview: Natalie Jones, Seasick Sunscreen Co.
Got an idea for a product you would love to make but not sure how to get started? In this interview Richard Liew talks to Natalie Jones, founder of Seasick Sunscreen Co about her journey from idea, to formulating and testing her product from home, to being stocked in retailers New Zealand-wide. WATCH NOW: Supporter […]
Why you shouldn’t wait for media to discover your business (and write about you)
Whether it’s a lack of confidence in our products or business ideas, a fear of ‘seeking the limelight’ or talking about ourselves, a lack of know-how, or just general busy-ness that relegates PR to the bottom of our to-do list, there is no end of reasons why founders put off sharing their stories with the […]
Creative HQ
WHO: Creative HQ WHAT: Startup Incubator; Accelerator; Mentoring; Seed and angel investment; Coworking/shared workspace HQ: Wellington ESTABLISHED: 2003 INTRODUCTION At Creative HQ, we help ideas take flight. We support startups and scale-ups through our Incubator, Accelerator programmes and founder workshops. Our programmes bring discipline to startup life. We help you to reimagine and invent your […]
HOW-TO’S, TIPS, Insights AND ADVICE
Insights
The PowerUp Podcast is back
Tune in to another insightful season of entrepreneur insights with the release of the first episodes of a six-part series. Regional Development Agency, Venture Taranaki, is powering-up the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Taranaki so that ideas, entrepreneurship, and innovation can continue to thrive. Off the back of a successful first season launched in 2021, Venture Taranaki […]
“It takes a whole country to raise a startup,” angel investors
“Following last month’s annual Angel Association Summit, we asked Angel Association Chair Suse Reynolds to give us a run down of the event and what the key takeaways were for NZ founders who may be contemplating angel investment this year.” NZ Entrepreneur: For founders who haven’t heard of AANZ, who are you and what are […]
Virtual unconference to coalesce NZ startup community
Mentors, founders and startup and innovation enthusiasts from around New Zealand will meet, learn and brainstorm via a series of online workshops, talks and virtual meetings being held this month. The hui, dubbed an “unconference” due to the topics and agenda being set by participants, is organised and hosted by GEN NZ, a collaboration of […]
New app helps entrepreneurs achieve more by staying focused
Southern Software, a venture agency based in Queenstown-Lakes, wants to help entrepreneurs achieve more with the newest addition to their portfolio – an attention management SaaS (software as a service) platform named Focus. As the founder of Southern Software, Duncan Faulkner knows intimately the unique challenges presented to entrepreneurs every day. Not only are they […]
Taking care of busy-ness: productivity battles for SMEs in lead up to tax time
Nearly three quarters (72%) of SMEs complete admin tasks outside of work hours Half of New Zealand’s SMEs expect tax time preparation to take five hours or more Just over a quarter of SMEs still using excel spreadsheets to track income and expenses New Zealand’s small businesses are known for their hard work and all-in […]
Build a business that sells for more
One day you’ll want out! You’ve come a long way and it’s your baby – you have nurtured and put your all into this business. Letting go and selling your business is never easy. But the time will come when other pastures and missions call, when the passion starts to wane, or a life event […]
Editorial: We owe a duty of care to founder mental health and it requires a collaborative solution
I didn’t know Jake Millar, save for a few emails swapped with our editor when he was just getting started with Unfiltered. As for so many others though, the news of his death by suicide last year still came as a shock and with a deep sense of sadness. Sadness for the loss of a […]
Editor’s Picks – Innovation Nation 2021
2021 is drawing to a close and once again we saw a range of stories showing that despite a second year of challenging times for businesses nationwide, entrepreneurship and innovation is alive and well in Aotearoa. Below we present our Editor’s Picks for 2021 – a selection of ten stories from our annual innovation series […]
Teens solving a teenage problem crowned YES Company of the Year 2021
Bayfield High School students have been awarded The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Company of the Year for their business Abalro Health. The company was awarded $3000, as well as a $5000 scholarship for each company member to the Massey University Business School. On Wednesday night, hundreds of people joined the online event from […]
Taranaki entrepreneurship and innovation powers on with PowerUp
The mission to power-up the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Taranaki continues in 2022, with the introduction of PowerUp for Impact Enterprises, the latest addition to PowerUp, and the return of the newly named ideas competition to win $10,000, PowerUp Kickstart. The Taranaki regional development agency Venture Taranaki first launched PowerUp in 2020 to help build smart, […]
NZGCP
Who: New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP)What: Investment, Courses, Events & ResourcesHQ: AucklandEstablished: 2002 INTRODUCTION Bold ideas. Big dreams. Our plan is to invest in that. Established in 2002 by the New Zealand Government, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP) invests into early-stage Kiwi companies with high-growth potential. We partner with other investors to give […]
Reaching out to media – what’s the best approach?
If you’re thinking it’s about time to share your awesome work with the media, that’s great. But when it comes to reaching out, what is the best way to do this? There are four time tested methods commonly used by organisations wanting to reach out to media. We’ll briefly cover samples, and press conferences and […]
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From the ocean to organoleptic products, 2022 Sprout Cohort VIII announced
Ten companies have been selected to participate in the eighth Sprout Accelerator. In December 2021, the Sprout team, alongside their partners and company mentors, listened to a shortlist of 20 company pitches, all of who were vying for their position in the first of two Accelerators being run in 2022. Sprout Accelerator Manager Victoria Kennedy […]
Lockdown Startup ‘& Again’ Wins $10,000 in Soda’s Rise Up Competition
Online thrift and consignment store & Again was created during lockdown when founder, Wendy Quach, returned home from London and wanted to find a solution to her clothes hoarding problem. “I’m super lazy when it comes to clearing out my wardrobe! I hoard way too much and promise myself I’ll sell it online later, but I never […]
Electrify Aotearoa Women Founders Conference February 2022
Women will start, shape, and build the future of Aotearoa industry, but change needs to come faster. That’s the rallying call for Electrify Aotearoa, an all-day national conference taking place in Christchurch, February 17. Spearheaded by Ministry of Awesome and Blackbird Ventures, the event brings together Aotearoa’s leading founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage startups for […]
Soda Inc.
Who: SodaWhat: Startup Incubation; Mentoring; Coworking; EventsHQ: HamiltonEstablished: 2009 INTRODUCTION Soda is a business growth ecosystem that provides support, programmes and connections for Kiwi entrepreneurs and businesses to grow and succeed. WHO DO YOU WORK WITH AND WHAT KEY CHALLENGES DO YOU HELP THEM SOLVE? Based in the Waikato, Soda supports a diverse range of […]
Taranaki entrepreneurship and innovation powers on with PowerUp
The mission to power-up the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Taranaki continues in 2022, with the introduction of PowerUp for Impact Enterprises, the latest addition to PowerUp, and the return of the newly named ideas competition to win $10,000, PowerUp Kickstart. The Taranaki regional development agency Venture Taranaki first launched PowerUp in 2020 to help build smart, […]
Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA)
Who: Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA)What: Government & EDA’s; Learning & Mentoring; Groups & EventsHQ: ManawatuEstablished: 2016 INTRODUCTION The Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA) is an agency that provides economic development services for Palmerston North City and Manawatū. We are a team of thought leaders and enablers working together with a united purpose – prosperity […]
NZGCP
Who: New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP)What: Investment, Courses, Events & ResourcesHQ: AucklandEstablished: 2002 INTRODUCTION Bold ideas. Big dreams. Our plan is to invest in that. Established in 2002 by the New Zealand Government, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP) invests into early-stage Kiwi companies with high-growth potential. We partner with other investors to give […]
Sprout
Who: Sprout What: Accelerator & Investment HQ: Palmerston North INTRODUCTION Sprout builds agtech and foodtech entrepreneurs and companies, by allowing them to break new ground through our Accelerator and Investment offerings. WHO DO YOU WORK WITH AND WHAT KEY CHALLENGES DO YOU HELP THEM SOLVE? 1) New Zealanders who are in the process of researching […]
Rise Up Competition champions female entrepreneurship in Aotearoa
Five inspirational female entrepreneurs will pitch their business to a high-profile judging panel and online audience on 23 November 2021 as they vie to win $10,000. Run by Hamilton-based business growth ecosystem, Soda, Rise Up aims to encourage, support and celebrate female entrepreneurship in Aotearoa. “Women are heavily underrepresented in entrepreneur statistics – only 20 […]
FEATURED AND FAVES
SPOTLIGHT
Why our small businesses are a BIG deal
In the entrepreneur world we hear a lot of talk about entrepreneurs and businesses needing to be “global from day one”. Investors and business commentators lament our lack of large global businesses and say the “three-B” (bach, ‘Beemer’ and boat) mentality of Kiwi business owners is holding us back. In this regard small businesses are often […]
Editorial: We owe a duty of care to founder mental health and it requires a collaborative solution
I didn’t know Jake Millar, save for a few emails swapped with our editor when he was just getting started with Unfiltered. As for so many others though, the news of his death by suicide last year still came as a shock and with a deep sense of sadness. Sadness for the loss of a […]
Why every Kiwi should back or build a startup
Not all of us are built to be founders but we can all find a way to back ambitious, world-changing businesses; whether it’s buying their products, using their services, promoting them, encouraging and supporting them or investing in them. Certainly, backing and building startups will do a whole lot more for our future and our […]
What Government funding is available for startups in NZ?
One of the questions we’re often asked is, “What Government funding is available for startups in New Zealand?” Like so many questions in life, the answer is, “It depends.” So you’ve come up with a great business idea. You know exactly what problem you want to solve, and how you’re going to solve it. And […]
Start-up or startup? And what exactly is one anyway?!
If you’ve ever thought that “startup” was simply another name for a new small business, you’d be right. But, you’d also be wrong. Richard Liew explains. The Spring blossoms are out in force here in Wanaka and if ever there was a season that represented the promise, the energy, and oh-so tantalising potential of the startup […]
5 questions every entrepreneur should ask when people offer advice
When you know nothing, even fools can sound like geniuses. This is a vital lesson that all entrepreneurs need to learn as soon as possible – one that I and other entrepreneurs I know have had to learn the hard way, many times over. When you first start out in entrepreneurship – by this I […]