Eric Idle singing... hear it again here!

There has been a lot of doom and gloom recently but there is also light in the tunnel. The flashlight is on James Sampson and the team at FileInvite - they have been nominated as finalists in the Hi-Tech Start-Up Company of the Year category for the NZ Hi-Tech Awards.

FileInvite is following in the footsteps of other companies in FKA's portfolio such as StretchSense, Kami and Moxion. Awesome, James & Garth!

In the meantime, Garth is compiling a runway matrix of FKA's portfolio companies with the help of investor reps. COVID-19 brings good and bad across the portfolio. Also, Chnnl DD has picked up pace as the current environment is driving demand. Andy is leading this.

Several Angels and founders attended the Corum webinar two weeks ago. Some great insights, worth checking this one out - 10 April!

Rob already in jandals! British-born and soon to be New Zealand-based venture capitalist Rob Vickery has gone ahead with setting up a new venture capital fund in this county despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vickery, who was a co-founder of Los Angeles-based Stage Venture Partners, has had the first close of what he hopes will be a $35m-$40m venture capital fund, after securing two anchor limited partners in the US. He won’t reveal who they are publicly but one is an experienced Silicon Valley tech investor.  Hear or read the full NBR interview!

Peter Wren-Hilton shines a bright light on Kiwi AgriTech. ‍

More at The Economist Espresso 

"The psychology of venture capital doesn’t work the way most people think. That’s because it is an industry based on failure: most startups — the vast majority — fail. That means most VC investment decisions are wrong."   Best read the article!

If you're locked up at home you might like to join this webinar at 10am today. EXPORT RECOVERY PANEL: SURVIVE TO THRIVE.

COVID-19 is tough for business. Thankfully, some #KIWIstartups have products that help in this environment. Here is one example of many that #makeFKAproud

This is the first LinkedIn post in the #makeFKAproud series.

Phil undoubtedly a cat herder - of grown African cats and fledgeling Kiwi startups. See the latest video of one startup that he shepherds.

Thank you for the level of interest for lunch with Bill. Of course, we had to cancel but Bill will be back! Also, the two gentlemen in the image bear no likeness to Bill, neither in looks nor in eating habits.

Simply the A to Z of AI. See it here!

Lime is seeking funds from new investors at a valuation of just $400 million, compared with the $2.4 billion level at which it last raised money.

Read More

Sharon brought us 4x4 through Woodhill Forest, yacht racing on the Hauraki Gulf and racing in Jaguars.

As a tourism company, we are trying now instead to help our communities until such times we can get back to some kind of normality. If you know of anyone who could help us to do this or indeed anyone who may need our help... MORE.

To be clear our sponsors are not in it for Rudi's Lager!

COVID-19 is affecting our work. GirdAKL has shut down and we are running our ADI.Clinic for everyone by video call. Thank you to Lawrence for providing his Horn.co platform.

This week Garth has reached out to all investor reps to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 to see if, where and how we can help our portfolio companies.

Bill is a Kiwi stuck in Melbourne yet a happy member of Melbourne Angels. He is a prolific investor with FKA and is visiting Auckland. Join Bill and Rudi in the Viaduct for lunch on Friday, 3 April at 12:30!  RSVP

Anyways, so was the plan last week

Not all Angels are saints. See the extreme measures the all-female All Saints have taken to secure funding for their portfolio companies.

Here is the video!

“Work with them to understand how to sensibly cut costs. Understand the government support package to be announced. Remember - if you have cash, NZ will have virtually zero interest rates for at least 12 months, so it's not earning much in the way of interest in the bank. Use it to keep people in jobs. Tim Warren (Co-founder Ambit & FKA Angel).

Please note there will be NO pitch night next Tuesday!

Here comes the last of the February pitch videos! Erick was the champion and introduced Stephen Macaskill the CEO for DASSET.

Watch the pitch video!

The world is struggling with the Coronavirus and FKA's portfolio company Kami is doing its bit to help school kids in Hong Kong. Making us proud!

Read more...

Moxion is one of FKA's portfolio companies and has just raised $1M+ to accelerate the rollout for one of the top film studios in the world.  Rudi is the investor rep on the Board and has this customer story to share.

Is there a champion for NZ FemTech startup JunoFit? Rudi caught up with the CEO Jen Barnes. Real IP and it could lift FKA's human body exposure from the hip joint with FormusLabs to the pelvic floor muscle. Certainly an interesting new space. See the US buzz!

Thur 26 March, AKL, DD with Ngaio Merrick

Talk with Garth.Hinton@fka.nz for more details and eligibility.

RSVP

SimmondsStewart has one □ less so to speak. The man who brought us FREE legal templates and a tint in his hair that could only be challenged by Averill in the Auckland office. Andrew is pivoting his career. Read more.

Thanks, Andrew, and all the best going forward!

Dean has been an Angel of the first hour in NZ, serving on the board of AANZ and instrumental in building MIG Angels and The Factory. He is now tilling the fields for the AgTech fund Finistere Ventures NZ. Read More.

John Blakey is the man who in his earlier book tagged Rudi as "reassuringly amateurish". John was part of the management team of Rudi's UK startup and has things to say about leadership.

Kara.tech was another one of the three pitches in February. CEO Arash has now supplied an abbreviated video of his pitch. The full video along with the DD report of the lead investors for this co-investment opportunity will be circulated over the weekend.

Debra in her inimitable style has just kicked off the FKA strategy cycle. She is driving the process and is helped by James and Eva from KPMG. Thank you to everyone who can make the sessions!

Given the many changes in our ecosystem, it is important that we assess and adjust how we work so that we continue to produce better outcomes for Angels and founders alike.

"The $300m VCF bill is about stimulating the VC industry. Will international funds participate or will standards adjust to give money to local funds that are passive or have a lesser track record." wonders Rudi.

If in doubt? Rebrand!

Richard Dellabarca, the chief executive of NZ Growth Capital Partners (formerly NZVIF), has confirmed that the just launched Elevate NZ Venture Fund will allocate up to $300 million, alongside matching private capital, within five years into five to ten private VC funds.

Full Press Release.

First up at last week's pitch night was Liz, founder and CEO of chnnl. Thank you to the 21 FKA Angels who have voted so far. With 20 YES votes, we have the necessary 50%+ support to progress to DD. Here is the pitch video if missed it on the night.

Andy will now assemble the DD Team. If you're interested to help, get in touch with Andy.Harwood@fka.nz. At FKA we believe syndication starts with collaborative DD!

Moxion opened a convertible note round on 1 January 2020 looking for $900k. The team has over $1M in the tank with strong support from existing shareholders. FKA investors have taken more than double their rights, committing $237k. Our investor rep Rudi would love to see this number bumped up to $¼m. Ask him anything, rb@fka.nz!

If you're interested to help with this FKA slot on that evening just flick Rudi a note, rb@fka.nz.

Rob Vickery is the managing partner of Hillfarrance VC and now also the parent of a baby boy. All the best to mum, dad and baby!

We've always known that Tim can be pretty vocal and relentless at beating his drums.  Here he goes again with another podcast with what can only be called a sensation grabbing title.

On 13 January 2020, the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Act (No 2) 2019 came into effect amending the definition of “code company” under New Zealand’s takeovers legislation.

Previously, unlisted companies with at least 50 shareholders, were automatically considered a “code company” and therefore subject to the provisions of the Takeovers Code.

The new thresholds are now total assets of NZ$30m or total revenue of NZ$15m. Now easier to be 50 and over!

An IPO is not always the perfect ending for a Kiwi startup. CropLogic, which has had its shares suspended from trading on the ASX since November while it sorts out its problems, said its directors had provided short-term funding in order for it to meet payroll and other obligations.

Of course, some IPOs never happen...

"Masa Son's Masterwork Is A PowerPoint Presentation About WeWork That Will One Day Hang In The Louvre".

Good news for NZ? WeWork will renovate eight floors of the heritage building, former upmarket department store Milne and Choyce, on Queenstreet into a mix of private and shared workspaces for 1,300 workers.

Sandeep Mathrani has taken over as the office-rental firm’s chief executive. He could scarcely provide a more striking contrast to WeWork’s founder and ousted boss, Adam Neumann.