FKA 😇 Advice, Connections and Funding for NZ Startups

Another FKA Friday ● 29 September 2023#34

29/9/2023


	29 September 2023 #34		817+247

Thank you to everyone who attended the drinks on Tuesday. A civil and very casual affair - no getting-home dramas at all. □ Great conversations in good company!

AB is one of the HR ninjas at Potentia. They are FKA partners and rooting for founders. Check out the next session in their Taitamariki Potentia series!

Wed, 11 Oct, 17:30 ○ Let's Talk About Health and Wellbeing

Jonty is flexing his pecs to wing it in the US. We wish him all the best for this next step in his career and say thank you for coordinating the KPMG–FKA relationship.

At KPMG Olivia is already standing in the wings ready to help David.

Lots of soulless investors in the market, not so, our Kara co-investor Soul Capital!

The University of Sydney is plugging in Eight360's Nova—boom a sale! More HERE.

No FKA angel owns a Nova but many own a part of Eight360. □

FKA has a few bionic angels already but nobody has gone under the knife with Formus yet. So, who will be first? Read on.

Thank you, Richard, for giving us #nzentrepreneur! But another award?

Nominations are now open for THE AOTEAROA NZ ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM 2023 AWARDS

Bugger, applications closed CreativeHQ's pilot for founders aged 50+. Is a close cohort better for participants or is diversity better? Is tight targeting a result of market saturation?

Due to popular demand, The GRID Team is keeping the 1 desk 1 week 4 FREE offer open for founders or angels. Check it out, get in touch with Coby HERE!

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 25 August 2023#29

25/8/2023


	25 August 2023 #29		823+235

Rommie from Blue Mirror was the first to submit his pitch video to FKA's DD Vote. He has received strong support to progress to DD. Rudi is assembling the DD team. If you're interested and can help, just email. But first, watch the video!

Dion from Mindhive was next to submit his pitch video to FKA's DD Vote. He has also passed the DD Vote with flying colours. David is assembling the DD. If you're interested and can help, just email. But first, watch the video!

Since last week we have now firmed up a date with Duncan and Lojo. The Tuesday after our next pitch night, that is 26 Sep, 18:00. Angels, wannabes, founders in our portfolio or doing DD, who want to join for legal frivolities, please RSVP.

Nek minute, more partying with KiwiNet! What a week!

Debra chairs the KiwiNet investment committee, Hot Lime Labs, Formus and SwalTech (in DD) have come from there, and last but not least KiwiNet helps our DD every time with founder profiling.

See more details. Thu 28 Sep, 17:00-21:30, Shed 10, AKL, $125pp. If you want to join a table of angels and friends RSVP here!

With such a busy week we recommend...

The state of pre-seed fundraising, according to Carta.

"I’ll be honest - it’s hard to do, and our process evolves with every investment we make. [...] I’m including a list of the key questions we ask companies before investing." Read on! Lazy lift from Jon Davies' Top 10 in Tech.

Same at FKA, our DD has evolved and morphed a lot since 2014.

If you're an early-stage start-up founder keen to build a positive mindset, then check outFounder Catalyst! Applications close on August 31st. Only a few more days!

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 28 July 2023#25

28/7/2023


	28 July 2023 #25		818

Last week we had "Founders: don't Build a Unicorn". Gil Meron's response: Early in the pandemic, Harvard argued startups should think like camels, not unicorns. With the cash glut of 2021, this didn't get much attention but it seems very relevant now.

Kate pitched Hazard Evaluation aka HazEL in July and now comes the VIDEO.

Whilst "10 investments" is no longer deemed a sufficient number to give angel investors good diversification and returns, it is a fallacy that an index fund will produce superior results. Find out why!

Watch out for Kiwi venture funds touting that message!

FileInvite is hiring, see the ad here, and hear James the CEO on this podcast here.

Too much “you should do this” and “you should do that” and not enough “in my experience,…” or “here’s what worked for me…”

Experience ≠ expertise. Interesting!

It appears the profitability advantages of the PLG model may not persist as PLG companies scale, especially in this new economic environment. Read on!

The new Active Investor Plus Visa increased the amount foreigners had to invest in New Zealand to buy a pathway to residency from $3 million to a minimum of $5 million and shifted the asset class from bonds to direct investment into unlisted companies. Only one so far! OMG! Nek minnit, nek dah - all good! OMG₂!

Many ill-founded hopes for a new crop of angel investors have crashed with it too. It would be tough to deploy $5m into early-stage NZ startups. The funds would more likely go into later-stage ventures and PE. But all that seems hypothetical as the real migrant numbers are coming through.

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 21 July 2023#24

21/7/2023


	21 July 2023 #24		818

Thanks to Jonty and David from KPMG for hosting our pitch night on Tuesday. It was good to hear how KPMG leverages AI. Funny though how AI had more to say about FKA than KPMG, albeit getting our portfolio companies mixed up.

4 sterling pitches: Integration Fox | SwalTech | HazEL | Evithé

The first 2 videos are in: from Maggie-Lee for SwalTech, GO WATCH! from Cynthia for Evithé, WATCH TOO! Others to follow.

All this means we'll have some DD 2 DO

When angels do DD they should beware of confirmation bias.

Don't read about it, hear about it from Tim!

Venture capital firms have cut spending in the past 12 months. They have invested just $80bn into start-ups this year so far, with that number largely reflecting a string of blockbuster generative AI deals. Last year venture investment totalled $246bn, down from $347bn in 2021, according to PitchBook. From the FT.

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress is four days of actionable intelligence, collaboration and collective action. It brings together thousands of voices, from more than 200+ countries to participate in creating one inclusive global ecosystem by networking, learning, and sharing. MORE, interested angels see here!

Julian So is a Flying Kiwi Angel with a day job, running CFO4U. He always has something to say, see here, his nuggets on budgeting for startups.

TheGenderInvestmentGap.com cites NZ and US stats about the ratio of female-led startups. The gender ratio at our pitch night on Tuesday was 3 female founders to 1 male. Of course, there are other gaps, and one investor's gap will be another's opportunity.

Jennifer (pictured last week) shares interesting insights on gender investing from Spice Startups □️ HERE!

A read that would resonate with angel investors. Founders: don't build a unicorn

Tim Warren is a Flying Kiwi Angel with a day job at Ambit. He will also be a keynote speaker at the upcoming M2 AI Summit.

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 14 July 2023#23

14/7/2023


	14 July 2023 #23		818

That HERE was 2019. □ Check out 2023 resources on Techweek TV on demand.

Debra was on a roll then and she has never slowed down since. She is bringing two of pitches next Tuesday!

Next Tuesday, 18 July at 18:30 at KPMG.□️4, maybe 5 pitches! Have 1 or 2 drinks!

Founders can have it tough! HERE is some sane and simple advice!

Jennifer is one of several Flying Kiwi Angels living and working in the UK.

More than 25 years in the making. No venture funding, ESOP less than 1%. READ!

Really... no such thing! READ ON!

US numbers but still they illustrate the trend. Founders lament! SEE MORE.

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 7 July 2023#22

7/7/2023


	7 July 2023 #22		818

Providing incentives for Kiwis to invest more in the nation’s high-growth startups is a key recommendation of the Startup Advisors Council, which presented a draft report to the Government last month. More HERE!

Who doesn't love geared investments? But beware! Say, you invest $100 into a startup, get a $30 tax credit, and $70 at risk gives you the return from $100 invested. If the startup fails, you lose $70 but keep the $30 tax credit.

However, none of that math helps with making good investment decisions, with bad decisions $100 simply shrinks to $30.

We should acknowledge the ADI team, there are so many who support this every week. Yesterday we had Andy, Ashley, David, Glen, Jeff, Rudi, Zac and newbie Anne dialled in from Christchurch.

We had 6 founder sessions yesterday, including plant-based cheese—great taste, later-stage market validation with snapshot, exposure therapy with oVRcome (Ashley following up), and Nanobubble (Glen following up).

We have put KPMG already on alert—our July pitch night will be busy!

Integration Fox and HazEL from our portfolio companies will give an update.

And there will be more!

PowerON has pivoted to Germany and promptly wins the 1st prize at the Saxon Start-up Awards. That is right in the heart of Silicon Saxony where its soft gripper tech will be noticed. Congrats to the team! MORE HERE!

How they came up with the IKEA concept. HERE. Apparently, IKEA is coming to NZ. If you've never assembled IKEA furniture check this out!

Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

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Another FKA Friday ● 29 September 2023#34

Another FKA Friday ● 25 August 2023#29

With such a busy week we recommend...

Another FKA Friday ● 28 July 2023#25

Watch out for Kiwi venture funds touting that message!

Another FKA Friday ● 21 July 2023#24

Another FKA Friday ● 14 July 2023#23

Another FKA Friday ● 7 July 2023#22

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