Kia Ora team 👋🏼
Welcome to the first edition of Bootstrapped NZ 🥝 It’s been epic seeing how many of you guys are excited about the Kiwi startup scene!
Hope you’re ready to strap in - because May has been MEGA (I really had to battle the word count for this one)
🎞 Highlight Reel
🧑🏽💻 Tech week
If you haven’t already heard, last week was tech week! There is enough content for a dedicated newsletter but I promised to keep it brief so here are some highlights:
Telling the NZ Tech Story: Emma Wheeler and Paul Ryan from Trust Codes talk about tech for good, scaling internationally, and how leveraging the ‘New Zealand brand’ can be a competitive advantage. To quote Paul:
“We are recognised now for being more than orks and hobbits... we have technology to sell and we are solving real world problems”
We love to see it. Watch the full conversation here.
The Metaverse and Web3: Brian Ventura Spoke to us about the metaverse and Web3 scene in NZ. Check out Veve, Non Fungible Labs, Altered State Machine, and Cryptovoxels.
Building a digital-ready nation: You might be surprised to hear that New Zealand has dropped from 14th to 20th in the world for digital readiness. Have a listen to unpack why.
🎥 In the news
Hon Dr David Clark announced $20 million in funding for the digital technology industry plan 💸
Matchstiq released their much-anticipated “Top 100 of 2022” list of the best Kiwi startups and tech companies of 2022.
Christchurch-based fintech startup Cymonz was selected to take part in Visa’s Accelerator programme in the Asia-Pacific
Speakia announced their sale to EduMaxi limited
💰 Show me the money
PWC dropped their Autumn 2022 Investment Report. If you don’t have time to read through the full 20 pages:
Early stage investment was at a record $257.5m (up by roughly 60%) with deep tech taking out 41% of that cash pool 📈
Investment in solutions for climate change, sustainability and healthcare were hot 🔥 🌏
Carbonclick, Cropsy and Aquafortus are innovative kiwi startups in the climate and sustainability space (each have a one page feature in the report if you want to read more)
👀 Ones to Watch
The UC Centre for Entrepreneurship Food, Fibre and AgriTech program is brewing everything from seaweed plasterboard to huhu grub hummus 🤯 The top 10 startups will pitch at E Tipu in Christchurch on 21 July - not one to be missed!
Ministry of Awesome hosted a kick-off BootCamp for the HealthTech Supernode Challenge 🧬 This years cohort are working on everything from smart workplace gloves to a dementia prevention app. Check them out here.
Congratulations to Abel Odor, Again Again, Banqer, Borage + Bee Meadery, Cool Points Club, Daisy Lab, Hello Club, Grater Goods, and Yum who smashed their pitches at InvestHer2022
💬 Talks, Panels, and Fireside Chats: A Spotlight on Diversity
There were a lot of conversations about gender and ethnic diversity in the tech workforce last week.
GD1 kicked off their first in a three-part series exploring diversity and inclusion in tech.
StartUp Club NZ hosted their first Women in Tech panel
Phase One Ventures kicked off their Female Founders Forum
Techweek featured several events like sisters in tech, women in tech panels, and a celebration of Māori excellence in tech
Why does this matter? Because in New Zealand, only 27% of the tech workforce are female, 4% are Māori and 2.8% are Pasifika.
Tech companies and startups will transform how we live and work. This is part of the reason I love this space. But when the people creating solutions don’t represent our population, underrepresented communities may be left behind or hurt by the change.
🤚 We need to create solutions for all our people, not just some of them.
If you’re interested in learning from some leaders in this space - follow Lee Timutimu, Phil Kupenga, Dil Khosa, Julia Arnott-Nee, Elina Ashimbayeva and her work at Storyo.
📚 Worth a Read or Listen
🎧 Podcasts
Business is Boring: Simon Pound talks to everyone from accidental entrepreneurs to industry leaders about their business journeys. And guys, it’s so good I had to share not one but two episodes:
NewFish is reimagining the future of NZ fishing: I never dreamed I’d be excited about micro, macro-algae, and something called a Pāua Saucisson… yet here we are.
What’s your mental health plan with Sir John Kirwan: I loved this candid conversation with kiwi legend Sir John Kirwan about his journey with Groov, and the intersect of mental health and business.
🗞️ Articles
Sprout explores how we can reduce agricultural emissions while meeting the demand for food 🥦
HireLyte’s director Kevin Li writes about three things startups should look for when hiring early-stage talent 👨🏻💻
🙋🏼♀️ Cool people doing cool things: Meet Elise from MenuAid
This segment is dedicated to celebrating and sharing the stories of our amazing kiwi founders.
Hi Elise! What’s your story?
🚜 I hail from a small town by the name of Warkworth, where I grew up on our farm living the kiwi kid dream!
👩🎓 Next up was the great adventure of moving to Dunedin to study Sport & Exercise Nutrition where my passion for nutrition and wellbeing was ignited.
🌎 Upon completing our studies, my partner Toby & I set sail to travel the World thankfully in BC (before covid) times!
💼 We then shifted to Christchurch where I got into construction project management and throughout this, MenuAid was born.
How was MenuAid born?
🍴 MenuAid was born selfishly from Toby & I's frustration of having dinner-time fatigue at the age of 24 - we didn't even have nagging children to please either!
💵 We tried meal kits but couldn't believe the waste they came with and how expensive they were?!
🥗 When we couldn't find the solution we were looking for, we decide to create MenuAid.
How's it going?
🥘 We have over 6500 MenuAiders and helped with over 181,000 dinners.
💼 We have almost (!!!) completed our pre-seed raise (watch this space) and now we are hiring - come check us out!
🛒 Our platform is evolving into a hyper-personalised service that takes care of your whole weekly shopping experience & we are so excited to share it with everyone!
What's your vision for the future?
🌎 To build this rocket & take it global! It sounds cliché but New Zealanders are not the only ones who feel the burden of providing nutritious meals for their families and so we plan on helping as many people as possible.
Do you have an ask for the community?
👐 We are hiring so please share this with your networks
😋 Come & try MenuAid - the first 4 weeks are entirely free!
I'd love for you to follow our journey so let's connect via LinkedIn, Facebook & Instagram!
⚠️ Cool jobs ⚠️
Join the MenuAid team to work with the lovely Elise!
LawVu are hiring eight NZ based roles 👀
Winely are looking for a Head of Technology
Want more? Check out: Icehouse Careers of the Future,AirTree, GoHireHer and Matchstiq job boards
🤩 Funding, Accelerators and Incubators
Applications for the Startmate accelerator program are open 🚀
If you’re an early-stage startup with global ambition check out the Te Ōhaka Founder catalyst incubation program
SheEO are accepting venture applications until 10th June.
SODA want ambitious female founders to apply for RISE UP - those selected will pitch for the opportunity to win a 10k grant!
Sprout Agritech accelerator applications close June 4th
🌟 More accelerators and funding opportunities coming soon 🌟
📆 Upcoming Events
🖥️ VIRTUAL
Phase One Ventures Female Founders Forum (May 31) If you missed the first one don’t worry, it’s a recurring fortnightly event!
How to start a side hustle with Kaylene Langford (June 2) learn how to take your side hustle to the next level with Kaylene (founder of StartUp Creative)
🧑 IN PERSON
Electrify Aotearoa (26 May) It’s going to be a supercharged day with some of NZ’s most iconic female founders!
Blackbird Aotearoa Roadshow (May-July) The team at Blackbird are hitting the road and want to meet you 😎
Founders Happy Hour (June 2) Get connected to the startup ecosystem in Wellington at the fortnightly founders happy hour 🍻
Ko Māui Hangarau (8 and 16 June) A high-powered summit featuring some of the best Māori Tech Innovators and Entrepreneurs from around the country 💫
Want to stay in the know about NZ startup events? Something exciting is coming soon, watch this space 👀
Thats a wrap! Love it? Hate it? Something else you want to see?
Would love to hear your thoughts - feel free to message me on LinkedIn or reply to this email 🥳
See you next time,
Izzy 👩🏽💻