FKA 😇 Advice, Connections and Funding for NZ Startups

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2018#40

16/11/2018


	16 November 2018 #40

Next Tuesday, 20 November will be the last pitch night with investment pitches in 2018. Sad but true. Debra is bringing a startup with a proposition that is going to the bone, literally. Come and see for yourself!

18:30 @ KPMG, 18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland.

If his startup is called Horn, does that make Lawrence horny or is he just crazy, chasing a fully horned unicorn after a near miss? Ask Jackie, Martin or Rudi who have all spoken to him and everyone feels there is a good mutual fit. Lawrence has already been helping Martin with ADI Whangarei over recent months.

With Tim Warren, we have at least one other Angel who had red hair at some point and a photo to prove it. But seriously, if you know of any material reasons why Lawrence should not join our group, now is the time to speak up! Raise your concerns in confidence with the FKA Directors.

The eight-company pitch in Whangarei on Monday was a great kickstart of the Northland startup ecosystem. Some potential Angel fodder there, all helped by Northland Inc, NZTE and AANZ.

Suse from AANZ was supported by a strong FKA contingent with Jackie, wannabe Lawrence, Martin and Rudi. So strong was our contingent that somehow, the MC Ken Erskine ended up registered as a Flying Kiwi Angel with a big lanyard sign to prove it. But he carried that 'badge of honour' with his typical GSOH throughout the day.

CCH says, "Ken would make a fine first Scotsman in our ranks."

Techion, our Portfolio Company #7, has made TV news with the role that the Techion tech plays in the Starworms Project of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

ADI Auckland and ADI Queenstown were running neck on neck this week, each with four bookings. Julian had one for ADI Hamilton. And here some email feedback that Cornelius received, not for his good looks, "Thanks for the great questions, we’ve not yet met people with your sort of background in the investment space...".

End of Year Celebration for 2018

You are invited to join friends and colleagues for end-of-year drinks and canapés at 5:00pm on Wednesday 5 December at the offices or sun deck of EY on Takutai Square in Auckland.

It’s been "pedal to the metal" all year in angel investment so please join us to celebrate the excitement and traction founders and investors are generating in New Zealand.

Kindly RSVP to Karren Hmm, red wine, one way to drown starworms!

Robyn Grace is a Kiwi filmmaker and knows Moxion from productions such as Ash vs Evil Dead and The Shannara Chronicles. She is raising money on Boosted to shoot a new short and wants to use Moxion.

Her partner Rory MacGillycuddy has co-hosted Ask Angels Anything with Rudi and devised the cheeky fundraiser slogan.

Says Rudi, "Fund Moxion, then Robyn and tell others! I'll send out the full co-investment call for Moxion early next week.".

The number of new startups in AUS is going down. More quality over quantity? The reason why Aussie VCs keep following the NZTE invites to see Kiwi startups? Read more about in the Startup Muster Report.

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2018#39

9/11/2018

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	9 November 2018 #39

Ralf, the champion of Kademi, has finally got a clear remit to commence DD with 80% in favour. Steve from Auckland and Alan from the UK have already volunteered to help. But Ralf would welcome another one or two brains to help examine Kademi's business model. About time you did some DD? Then get in touch with Ralf.Wittgen@fka.nz !!!

☞ Here again Kademi's pitch video

Laika was the first dog that was sent to the moon in 1957 by the Russians. Now NZ's Northland is following that lead and is picking 8 of its startup puppies to shoot for the stars.

Monday 12th November in Whangarei. BE THERE!!! ☞ Register here

Rudi is hitching a lift with NZVIF's Bridget ex Riverhead. Still room in her People Mover for more Angels.

Wow! What a busy ADI week this has been. Monday 4x founders in Wanaka, Tuesday 4x Whangarei, Wednesday 1x Takapuna, and Thursday 3x Auckland. That makes 12 founder conversations just this week!

Another cohort of GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) startups will reach its final climax in a GLAMACTIC Showcase in Wellington on Monday 3 December.

☞ Read more and register here

Debra and Rudi brought back heaps of learnings from their trip to China. One of the many things others missed out on was an opulent nine-course meal prepared by a Michelin Star chef and generously hosted by George from Zino Ventures.

Mel, the CEO of Geo AR Games and currently still held in DD suspense, was also on the trip and has written this blog on "Taking your start-up to China".

Little known fact: In China, a boy becometh a man only when he walks on The Great Wall. The Zino folk delighted in citing this proverb on the day and for days after.

A quick reminder, at the end of this month and early next month the warm-up events for the NZ Hi-Tech Awards are on. Go for a good night whether you are an aspiring Startup Founder or a seasoned Angel Investor! ☞ Register here

All mistakes, grammar, spelling or otherwise in this publication have been made by Rudi and then overlooked by Debbie, Jackie, Karl, Katheren and Masha. Same goes for the images. However, Rudi has been known to insert some after the early morning review.

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2018#38

26/10/2018

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	26 October 2018 #38

Due to a packed newsletter last week we bring you the update from the Velocity $100k Awards night only now. Four FKAngels each mentored one of the 16 finalist teams. Two angels took their teams into the top-five.

Colin was the mentor to The Surgical Canary.

A medical device that monitors patients for leaks after bowel surgery.

Debra was the mentor to Nebula.

Extracting key messages from online conversations and articles and presenting them in an intuitive, impactful, and exciting way.

Iain was the mentor to Electroclear.

Preventing biological growth on submerged surfaces such as boats.

Rudi was the mentor to Shwoop.

Turning cities into digital playgrounds. Guerrilla marketing style!

First prize was taken by Andrew Steel with ZENNO Astronautics. Andrew also mentored Kami in 2012.

Iain with Electroclear made second place, and Colin with The Surgical Canary made it into the top five.

Our FKAngels in Germany stop being angels during the month of October and focus on Bier, Bretzeln, and having a good time.

Steffen and Isabel are no exception. We could not even obtain a publishable photo of Phil and 'the Frau'. Tough times in Germany but then they are moving into real Winter soon.

Debra's reaction after her first night away from New Zealand. More here.

Rudi made a special jacket for the trip...

Watch out! Steve will be helping Mark bring in funding $$$ to drive Datagate's further growth much like Mark is helping his customers bring in $$$ from billing.

Quizz Steve.Copley@fka.nz and look out for his update

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2018#37

19/10/2018

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	19 October 2018 #37

FKA is doing something right when founders keep coming back to pitch even after failing the first or second time. Kademi.co first pitched alongside Kami in early 2014 and pitched again on Tuesday.

Kademi is also doing something right. They have come a long way with strong endorsements from customers and channel partners. See the abridged pitch video, the full video with better sound will be circulated to our 32 Voting Angels later today to determine if Ralf, the Champion for Kademi, has a remit to kick off with collective DD.

There is another reason why founders come back pitching to FKA, they need more money, ideally to go further faster.

Hugh, the CEO of Moxion.io, FKA's Portfolio Company #10, also pitched on Tuesday and falls into that second category. Moxion is a platform that increases speed and reduces costs of film production, perfect timing as global streaming services are revving up production volumes in a battle to dominate this market that is displacing TV and cinema.

They will follow up with more info and the pitch video but here is a brief reel of some of the films made with Moxion in 2018.

Most people say angel investing is crazy. Does that make angel investors crazy? Take FKAngel Katheren!

Two years ago she had us all driving 4x4 monsters through the forest. This year she is calling for angels to test their wings from the top of Sky Tower. So, get in touch to jump with crazy keen Katheren.

FKA and Geo AR Games have agreed to halt the DD process until after Mel and Rudi have returned from their China trip. They hope to clear up questions around the gaming licence and sales model that have surfaced and will need to be cleared. Otherwise, they could become showstoppers to the funding of the showcase in Shanghai.

FKA and Ambit have agreed to halt the DD process as they could not reach full agreement on the term sheet. Ambit's business has grown throughout the discussions and has strong commitments from outside FKA so the investment opportunity remains.

Same as Heath, Erick, Martin, Phil and Steve remain interested in helping with DD when Ambit gets a term sheet with a new lead investor. We'll keep you posted or talk with Josh@Ambit-ai.com.

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2018#36

12/10/2018

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	12 October 2018 #36

KPMG has hosted countless FKA pitch nights. They put a pleasant end to our vagabond ways of not knowing where our next pitch night would be.

Join us next Tuesday, 16 October, 18:30, 18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, AKL

Ralf will bring Kademi, all focused on DXP. CEO Brad has pitched before and is confident he has more focus and purpose this time around.

Rudi will bring Portfolio Company #10, Moxion. Exec chair Nigel and CEO Hugh have a progress update and plans for 2019 to share. Trust them to bring early season greetings from STX, the Hollywood film studio that is making every film with Moxion since 2017.

For those who remember the threesome waddle of penguins from last week, Terry, the founder of Eight360, and Ian, the FKA champion, have decided to defer the pitch.

Suse from AANZ is calling for more nominations for the three annual awards that recognise The Angels that have made a significant contribution to the Kiwi angel community throughout the year. Nominate from the circle you know and let the judges benchmark the different nominations.

FKAngels and other Angels reading this newsletter, see the simple definitions of the three award categories and make your nominations.

☞ Just Do It ✔︎

Debra is appealing for more support for the AANZ survey, only 9 from FKA so far but Auckland is hopelessly underrepresented.

☞ DO IT, just, DO IT!

We had ADI in Hamilton, Takapuna and Auckland this week. We almost had a celebrity booking from Christopher Walken but then the spelling was off, Ⓡ rather than Ⓝ.

This was the week in which shamelessly compared startups to newborn babies and wine in our LinkedIn promotions for ADI. #ADIclinic

There seems to be a propensity to name co-working, incubation and accelerator spaces after the old brick and mortar buildings they occupy. As we have The Icehouse (AKL), Soda Inc (HLZ), and The Cube (WKA), so we now have The Factory, after the rebranding of Manawatu's BBC. Great shift workers in this factory, including Angels Dean Tilyard and Phil McPhail.

Maybe Manukau's MIT should follow the lead Manawatu's BBC and stop that confusion. Interestingly, in ChCh the Ministry of Awesome chose a name that talks boldly about what they do, not where they do it.