News

Another FKA Friday 30 April 2021 #15

30/4/2021


	30 April 2021 #15	789 ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs

Some angel groups have it some don't, a LinkedIn page that is. FKA has taken the lead since last week with 1,910 followers - a vanity metric.

Laura Bell from SafeStack is the first to proceed to DD. Andy is assembling the DD Team and Laura is populating the data room.

The other two pitches from Aportio and HappyMoose are now available and the DD Vote for both is underway.

Why we do DD before we invest - from dilettante to diligence.

If you're watching Shadow and Bone on Netflix this week? You might like to know that it was made with Moxion #10.

Mindful Muslim #25 has generated positive press, a double spread in KOSMO Malaysia which then made the founder Akhtaar an omnipresent poster boy at all the AUT doors ?

Press Coverage ⊕ Poster Boy

ADI helps founders early on their journey. Lauren (right) came to ADI a few months ago to pick our brains on Secret Kiwi Kitchen.

This week we talked with Anna and Mike among others, six sessions.

The ink on Shadow and Bone was not dry and news from the 2021 Oscars came in with more great news from Moxion. More here!

David, that's the spirit!
Bob, thank you for your FKA synopsis! LinkedIn!

The Blackbirds are flocking across NZ, 3-20 May to provide: a) Pitch Coaching, b) Office Hours, c) Startmate Information Sessions.

Sessions are free, but spaces are limited. Make sure you RSVP.

top10in.tech - always a great source of startup wisdom. 52 tips!

Curious advice... And why are we talking about profiles again? Because we think that this is essential for your startup. Sexy profiles attract sexy investors, don’t forget that ;- )

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2021#14

23/4/2021


	23 April 2021 #14	788 ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs

Laura Bell is the first to deliver her video after pitching on Tuesday. Andy is the champion and the DD Vote is underway. Here the video!

Susan Nemeth (Aportio), Alex Dong (HappyMoose) and Liz Berryman (chnnl) were the other three who pitched on Tuesday. We will share their videos in our next issue.

Jason Kerr on Medium. Opportunity in a crisis: How Spoke Phone went from $99 to $20,000 MRR customers over COVID #15

Extreme recruitment measures of a rapidly growing startup... See who!

Similar birthday shirt but different hairstyle, happy birthday James!

□ Office Party at FileInvite #14

The Moxion + Arch VFX workflow integration is now official! Russell Crowe headliner 'Unhinged' saw 10 weeks shaved off the prod schedule + 65% reduction in VFX costs. Moxion is #10 in the FKA stable!

AANZ's Suse is giving money away for Kiwi angels to attend ACA Summit.

More here!

The NZGCP Board is searching for a new CEO after James Fletcher has been settling the Dellabarcle as interim CEO. More Here!

Here some commentary from Rowan Simpson. It is now nearly two years since Rudi's post and two-part video to point to the Dellabarcle.

Onwards and upwards!

The transcript of the NBR interview was not up to the usual standard. Josh was our pitch night MC and corrected a few things. So here the original.

It is unclear if Josh will apply for the NZGCP CEO job but there is a lot of talk of his voice taking over from David Attenborough. Watch that space!

Another case we had at ADI recently. "It looks like you are in need of $400M for a startup, pre-revenue and zero collateral and it looks like you need a funder to do 100% of the $400M. That is very challenging but we do have funders that do projects like yours at 100% funding. [...] has minimal out of pocket fees but you do not get them back and the one attached has just a $250k totally refundable commitment fee to keep you engaged during the 3 or 4-month underwriting process. You get that back even if they fund you or we or you fund funding elsewhere."

We said dodgy

Some of our angels have wings others fly in zero gravity. Go, Averill! The team at Kindrik Partners have just issues an updated set of template docs, a much-appreciated resource in the startup ecosystem. Here goes!

Based in New Zealand, he single-handedly just raised Accord’s first round of capital from a US investor three months after starting the company, for almost NZ$600,000 — and he did it through a Twitter DM. Read more!

LevelTwo has rebranded to Outset Ventures. More.

Astrix founders Fia Jones, Max Daniels and William Hunter are all 21 and have raised $500k from Peter Beck, Outset Ventures et al. Read More!

Hwang used swaps, a type of derivative that gives an investor exposure to the gains or losses in an underlying asset without owning it directly. His US$20 billion net worth was almost as liquid as a government stimulus check. And then, in two short days, it was gone. Interesting Reading!

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2021#13

16/4/2021


	16 April 2021 #13	789 ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs

Congrats to co-founders Anne and Jo who have just raised US$15.5m in their series B round. Fuel50 is FKA's #4 portfolio company. FFF stands for Friends, Family and Fools but also FKA Fueling Founders.

20 April, 18:30 Another FKA Tuesday - Pitch Night. We have four great pitches! Join us at KPMG, 18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland.

Jeff is knocking at the Angel's Gate this week. Cambell, Cornelius and Maheen have chatted to Jeff about joining FKA. All agree he would be a good fit. Great! However, if anyone knows of any reasons why Jeff should not grow wings with FKA, please tell the board in confidence.

Geri Halliwell may sing It's Raining Men but not so in NZ. It's raining $$$ in the Kiwi startup ecosystem. Nearly $200m from angels according to AANZ's Startup Investment magazine - just out. It also includes a piece on Kami. A $14m Elevate lift for Finistere. New kid on the block,CaraMed Capital is raising $50m for the health sector. Also, Dealflow Andy has just increased his son's pocket money.

Yesterday the NZ Hi-Tech judges picked the category winners from the pool of finalists, four of them FKA Portfolio companies. However, the suspense will not subside until the Big Gala on 28 May. 1,200 peeps, already hopelessly overbooked and a hockey stick waitlist.

Wendy is moving on from the Auckland University’s Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) which runs the Velocity programme and the Unleashed space. Wendy, you have moved the needle, thank you!

It was nearly eight years ago when we launched our ADI.Clinic.

HERE SOME OF THE REACTIONS!

Liz in the chnnl t-shirt gets top marks for being first out of the box with the March investor update. Didn't get your copy? Ping investor rep Cornelius.

HERE also her recent interview with Dylan Lawrence from NZTE.

Lane Litz from Chatterize came out shortly after

Too early to call but this could be a pattern... female founders! Or is it about names that contain a 'z', asks Mr Bublitz.

Then Brady from Vesper Marine delivers his update before Friday and destroys all pattern recognition

Great to see the first three investor reports from FKA's portfolio companies come in before the middle of the month. Too early for a shame list

Rudi took an ADI-type call this week. The founder had done DD with an impact investor only to have a rude awakening when it came to final terms. "Like having your beautiful bride switched for the mother in law at the altar".

Certainly, not how the Flying Kiwis roll. Terms upfront, then DD to decide whether or not to invest, not to chip away at terms!

HLL is cleaning up with wood waste. More on that HERE.

InvestHER showcased six great startups on Tuesday. We had six Flying Kiwis in the room and nabbed one presenter for our pitch night next week.

The event will also be remembered in years to come for one pitch line. An alternative to wet wipes defined the total addressable market in a very succinct and graphical way.

We also caught up with the space cadets from Astrix Astronautics. A young team that is working on inflation tech to deploy solar power systems for satellites with an increased reliability co-efficient.

Then over drinks, we helped them simplify their tagline to "Putting Lilos into Space". If angels dig cloud tech then why not level up to space tech?

This foundation workshop will provide startups with a broad overview is for early-stage companies that are about to start - or considering - capital raising. See More!

Erik is a co-investor with FKA since the first hour. He is also a successful and agile founder who has pivoted the Lucira Health technology to bring the first COVID-19 home test to market.

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2021#12

9/4/2021


	9 April 2021 #12

Phil is our champion for Eight360. They are coming up for air and to grab $500k in a convertible note round. We have their pitch video HERE but watch this review video first. There will be a Q&A session next Wednesday. Interested investors, please get in touch with Phil.Southward@fka.nz for more info.

A very fine example of the much-coveted circular economy ⟲

Josh about Josh, founders, angels and FKA. An NBR interview, video and transcript. Communication is key, angels can help with experience and connections when the going gets tough. Commission on founders creates a conflict-of-interest situation. Reprint.

This week's ADI brought an addition to the Cat Herder's box of tricks. A device that detects catfighting noises and breaks up the fight with an even bigger noise. Ping Rudi if you want to find out more.

NZTE is thrilled to invite you to the 2021 Female Founder showcase.
Generator, 12 Madden St, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland

Tue 13 April 16:00-20:00 ⮩ MORE

Talent goes from one startup to another and it's a win-win.

top10in.tech - always a great source of startup wisdom. 52 tips!

Curious advice... And why are we talking about profiles again? Because we think that this is essential for your startup. Sexy profiles attract sexy investors, don’t forget that ;- )

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2021#11

2/4/2021


	2 April 2021 #11

Five of our portfolio companies have qualified as finalists in this year's awards in different categories. Start-Up Company of the Year: FileInvite & Moxion 〇 Most Innovative Hi-Tech Software Solution: Fuel50 〇 Most Innovative Hi-Tech Service: chnnl 〇 Most Innovative Deep Tech Solution: Formus Labs

AWESOME! James+Garth, Hugh+Rudi, Anne+Tim W, Liz+Cornelius, Ju+Debra.

Are you FOMO or YOLO. Got your TikTok game on? See what the kool kids are thinking of the future through the Velocity programme. Be an angel and volunteer! HERE

I am Campbell, Chief Bunny Herder and happy to have conversations on what this entails as I have previously participated

Bunnies can grow up to become unicorns, says the Chief Cat Herder. Kami is a perfect growth prospect coming from that stable. □

More FOMO! The MM is closing with bootstrapping master extraordinary Akhtaar, helped by Rudi. Last chance! Email The CCH.

Good news! Formus Hip in Commercial Use More HERE.

AANZ :: Professional Development :: How not to screw up the cap table!

14 April Online ✪ 15 April, Auckland ✪ Register HERE

Kami #02 lives in the cloud now. Chair Bob speaks from cloud 9. Hear it!

AANZ :: Professional Development :: Angel 102. Focused on what an angel investor needs to do to manage a portfolio of investments and new opportunities. Key tools and techniques to help with this.

23 April 2021, 11.30-13.30 ✪ Register HERE

In the New Normal, Bessemer explores cloud economy milestones, what's driving cloud valuations, and the frameworks to help founders accelerate go-to-market momentum. Read On!

AANZ Newsletter :: Suse is reminiscing, Fifteen years ago... Read On!

Who says that all the startup action is in Auckland? MOA and Orion have teamed up for an energetic accelerator. More HERE!

The Pöny Saga continues. After how not to pitch, comes how not to give investor feedback. Learn here.

Commentary on iFlytek from Matū Man 〇 Dil Khosa 〇 A founder...

Building business is hard. Guess what's even harder? Be forced to choose between giving up on one of your largest markets/customers and getting criticised by your employees and investors. It just doesn't make any sense.

Most Kiwi businesses are still following the John Key doctrine when it comes to dealing with China. i.e. "We are a small country so we can operate between super powers without upsetting either." It might be true back in 2008 but it's looking increasingly hard to navigate.

F***, we are entrepreneurs. Not bloody cold-war diplomats.

Bumble just had a great IPO. James Veitch shows how "The S*x Rob*t" can be debunked with the Turing Test that was invented in 1951 by Benedict Cumberbatch.

NZGCP ◆ A review into a Government-run venture capital fund has found bullying and perceptions of gender discrimination and "disrespectful and inappropriate workplace conduct. Controlled Release.

Perceptions would be very close to misconceptions?

Nothing new but shocking how Dellabarca paid himself and staff to buy their allegiance, and he gets away with it. A Ctr+Alt+Del with a new team.

The Investment News The Book

Is the book rated by Narrative Muse? Brough reckons it should be!

The NBR's 'Government venture outfit struggles to shed its past, keeps scoring own goals' trailed four days behind Investment News.

Another FKA Friday 11 December 2020 #44

11/12/2020


	11 December 2020 #44	768 ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀs

Mohd Athkaar from Mindful Muslim brings our last pitch in 2020. Nawaz is the champion and has compiled the DD Canvas with help from Andy, Hattaf (now UAE) and Nirjhor (Bangladesh Angels). Rudi is joining the advisory board.

Here the pitch! If you want to know more email Nawaz.Ahmed@fka.nz.