Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#40

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1 November 2019 #40 Our last pitch night in 2019 will be 19 November. It will be a busy night! We're grateful to our sponsors KPMG for hosting all of the FKA Pitch Nights in 2019, except for two that were hosted by LoJo, and Potentia with NZTE. However, Halloween calls for a special thank-you to James McGeorge of KPMG who saves us every time the lights go off at 20:11. 18 YES-votes from 23 votes cast or 78% gives the green light for FreightHub to proceed to DD with [email protected] as the lead. Here is the pitch video from Freighthub again.  Ping Phil if you can help with DD! You can learn lots from him. He is a member of more Angel groups and has done more DD than most. Let's welcome new Angel [email protected] to the FKA family. He sailed through the Veto Gate without hiccups. That makes at least two 'harmonious' Angels, David Flack is Chair of Harmoney and Glen made the Harmony Remote. You know you've arrived in Hollywood when you make it into The Hollywood Reporter.  See this piece on Moxion - FKA's portfolio company №10. You know FileInvite №14 has arrived for talks with Google Ventures when you receive this mugshot of IR Garth and CEO James from their recent MBIE/AANZ trip to Silicon Valley.  AirTree has just raised $275m for its 3rd Fund to continue backing game-changing Aussie and Kiwi founders for first rounds, multiple rounds! Follow this link for the full newsletter. Note how they also back Canva whose CEO, Mel Perkins was a keynote speaker at BlackBird's Sunrise event last Friday. BlackBird led the $15M Series B round in 2016. Mel shares the embarrassing first pitch deck here. Aussie funds syndicate, something some Kiwi funds have yet to learn. Come along on Wednesday, 27 November, from 5:00pm at Freeman & Grey in Ponsonby, to celebrate the end of the year and wrap up the 2019 Sprint Global founders' programme. RSVP to have a drink with Jackie & Co Last Friday Blackbird Ventures called for their launch event Sunrise. It was an awesome and inspiring day for founders and investors alike. Anybody who attended would agree that Blackbird has arrived in the NZ VC market with a strong commitment to the local ecosystem. WELCOME!  This month In Hamilton Soda Inc had its CO.STARTERS celebration night, see their newsletter. Julian is our Angel with two wings and he is also a member of two groups, EA and FKA. Until now Josh held the title of Chief Photobomber at FKA, however, he may have to concede this title to Julian. Seriously though, Julian is a busy and much-appreciated mentor and also responsible for ADI Hamilton.  Sharon from Love My New Zealand has brought us 50 Angels Sailing - an awesome day on the water. Little surprise that she has now picked up a coveted award from LUXlife, the bimonthly luxury lifestyle magazine that offers a glimpse into the world of the glamorous. Complacency is threatened by disruption - everywhere! New Zealand is a nation of migrants and so is FKA a group made up of Angels that have flown in from around the globe. No surprise that not all of them comprehend rugby. The apt mock explanation from earlier this month is no longer entirely apt. As with startups, a fail provides great learning for the next win! When the Chief Cat Herder advised FreightHub and Phil last night that they had reached enough support to go to DD he did so via the "YES - Borat" image and added, "Ever wondered what Phil could look like with curly hair, a moustache and sunnies?". The prompt pictorial proof from Phil made it in good time for the copy deadline of today's issue.  Of course, hairpieces will not be compulsory for anyone joining the FreighHub DD. Phil is way more professional than his hair colour of yesteryear might suggest.