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Another FKA Friday ● 31 May 2024#19

31/5/2024

 
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31 May 2024 #19 848+391 

Kara # 33 took home Best Hi-Tech Solution for The Public Good last Friday. Well deserved! The Kara round has progressed well and is getting some extra push with this win! □

Sadly, the Kami #02 team couldn't make it to FKA's 10th Anniversary but we caught up at the Hi-Tech Awards. The team rocks but couldn't beat Rocketlab in the Hi-Tech Company of the Year category.

Phil is in Europe flying his kite for NZ. He is also flying a kite for Vince #38! Read MORE about Riches in Niches.

TVNZ's Sunday magazine reports on NZ's deep tech startups! Several of them are backed by Pacific Channel the lead investor of our Nanobubble AgriTech round.

Blue Mirror is preventing health infections and the round is closing soon.
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Investors can see more about Blue Mirror at fka.nz/OpenDeals *|END:IF|*
Climate Hackathon 21-22 June, Launch Webinar, Tue 28 May 4-5pm. Interested in solving climate-related challenges? Keen on developing solutions that are circular, build resilience, and have net zero impact? Or are you a mentor or subject matter expert who could guide our Hackathon participants?

REGISTER Of course at GridAKL!

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

Another FKA Friday ● 24 May 2024#18

24/5/2024

 
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24 May 2024 #18 848+391 

Awesome to see such a great turnout for our 10th Anniversary, 71 peeps! Monika and Rick posted about it on LinkedIn and we did too.

See what you missed fka.nz/10-years □


Haha, no hangovers! Angels get their thrills from startup investing
Thank you  to all the angels, co-investors, sponsors, founders, mentors and volunteers who as a team have helped each other with advice, connections and funding to grow NZ's startup and innovation ecosystem.
So cool to see what is happening at GridAKL, also FKA HQ!
Sat 25th May 2024, 11:00 - 17:00, Register to PLAY!
Check out last year's video to see what will be even bigger this year!

Glen, Olivia & Seth have completed the DD Canvas. SEE MORE  

That will be tonight! The gala dinner and announcement of the 2024 winners! 

How Aussie VCs see their future. HERE  Imagine NZ VCs talking about Elevate □

How does ChatGPT deal with new versions of the Wolf, Goat, and Cabbage puzzle? Interesting... What would ChatFKA trained on Another FKA Friday produce?

Two-sided marketplaces are tough to get started when they're not balanced.  Most dating sites are of women but not enough men is also a problem. HERE

We see a lot of marketplaces at ADI.Clinic. They are great at scale when demand and supply match frequently, that is transact. But getting there is bloody hard!

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

Another FKA Friday ● 17 May 2024#17

17/5/2024

 
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17 May 2024 #17 848+387 
Party & Pitches! Next Tuesday! 10th-floor Sunset Bar of the Sudima Hotel. $100 pays for your meal & 1st drink. Last chance to secure your spot and mingle with angels, founders, partners, and next-gen angels.

Nanobuble AgriTech! Glen, Olivia & Seth have just completed the DD Canvas and we will have more on this wet winner next week!  

Rommie and Hollie from Blue Mirror pitched to Angel HQ and their support put BM into oversubscription. There was also strong interest at this week's pitch night in Marlborough with AIM. Final commitments from AIM will close this round!
MINDHIVE: Thank you to Flying Kiwi Angels who led that deal, AngelHQ who came in in support, and Snowball Effect who simply did more work than I thought possible to help us fill the round. THE POST!

The Snowball 'Snow Queen' Sophie McLernon worked hard to close this round!!!□

Abiotic Factor has sold over 250,000 copies since it began its journey on May 2nd, 2024. Steam News & Youtube Review. 10 FKA investors reckon there is some upside thanks to working with Chris Jagger from Alt Ventures and Tim Ponting. 

NZ Herald, 2012. Rudi Bublitz, winner of the 2011 Active Angel [Ice Angels] Award, jokes that he's "on the brink of becoming a serial s*** investor" after recently investing some of his hard-earned cash in a smart portable toilet start-up and another new company focused on counting parasitic eggs in sheep poo.

Haha! The toilet business is no more, it was lacking the savvy SHVT Box marketing, and the sheep shit counter is today's Techion #08.

The late Ray Thomson has inspired many of the active angels of today. His brother Graeme is still mixing it up with FKA and MIG Angels.

If you are selling a system to build an audience and then monetise it by selling courses on how to build an audience and monetise it then you AREN'T DOING ANYTHING! Read Luke's Post!

ADI.Clinic this week: Our angels expected to get closer to God but "Seeking funding to build a cathedral, hall, chapel and manse and to build congregation numbers through church planting" sadly was a no-show.
But we had 4 other interesting founders who showed up.
In our last edition, we noted that Kiwi investors were bucking international trends, as our investment levels in startups remained relatively stable compared to the same period of the previous year.  [Maybe Kiwi investors were slow to react?] Investment activity for the remainder of 2023 did not demonstrate the same resilience, resulting in a 12% decline in funding for the full year. As a result, the total investment in 2023 amounted to $163m, compared to $186m in 2022. Full Report 
Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 10 May 2024#16

10/5/2024

 
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10 May 2024 #16 853+382 
It is getting cold in the mornings but there is love in the air

Amor is the new kid on the block after Compatico launched in February. Couples planning App Cupa #40 has great traction in the international market, growing subscribers by 10% last month.

Bootstrapped to exit It can be done! But then the founders are Rich Listers

Here comes bootstrapping marketing from Papatoetoe startup Critical.

Video + MORE

The AmCham competition is still open. Kami #02 participated, won, and look where they are now! Check it out!
Interesting discussion about Marketing and R&D spend. Some say great tech means less marketing spend, others call bull to that. Startup founders don't mistake this to mean you should build a perfect product before you look for your customer!

Hurman + Krikul

If universities take too much equity off the table for IP, investors don't come to the table, and founders leave the table. READ ON!
ADI.Clinic this week: Interesting discussions about a property inspection app, liquid food, and a marketplace for trade services. Thank you, Sutharsan,  Jill, and Dawin.
Let's also acknowledge the mentors in the room: David fetching the next founder, Ashley, Shahzad, Liam, Andy, Mike & Garth via video, Glen, Lucy, Laurent, Ewart, Mark, and Rudi taking the pics.
10 years on and a little bit wiser. We're taking our May pitch night to new levels, at the 10th-floor Sunset Bar of the Sudima Hotel. Tickets are $100 for meal and 1st drink. Secure your spot! Angels, founders, partners, next-gen angels.
Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.

Another FKA Friday ● 3 May 2024#15

3/5/2024

 
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3 May 2024 #15 853+378 
With Rommie from Blue Mirror, we have one Brazilian founder already. So, don't ignore the Grande Opening of this new business chamber, next Thursday.

Expect Marcelo to be more cheerful than Wayne   

Thank you to everyone who is participating in the above round!
If you suffer FOMO? We'll still take your money! Email [email protected]
A great event on Wednesday! FKA is proud to have helped a little bit. Rudi was judging alongside Debbie from Vince and other Northland ecosystem dignitaries. A big thank you to Jesse Henderson and everyone behind the scenes, the mentors and the founders for stepping up, NorthlandInc and the many local sponsors!

Among other things, we learned that people in Northland suffer from cold feet. They care about non-toxic lubricants and eyelash glues. They dig vegan cheesecake and hope for the Renaissance of personalised signature stamps.

We will have more on Vince next week, good news!

Funding is more difficult now and where will the future exits be? Some thoughts!
No rust yet, so selling now, for startup re-investment! More pics HERE or talk to Rudi.
10 years on and a little bit wiser. We're taking our May pitch night to new levels, at the 10th-floor Sunset Bar of the Sudima Hotel. Tickets are $100 for meal and 1st drink. Secure your spot! Angels, founders, partners, next-gen angels.
Also, on LinkedIn and over 2,000 FKA GIFs on GIPHY.
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