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Another FKA Friday ● 30 August 2024#32

30/8/2024


	30 August 2024 #32		840+421

Panellists: Alliv Samson, Co-Founder and COO, Kami; Hugh Calveley, Co-Founder and CEO, Moxion; Mark Bregman, Founder QuidNet Ventures, EHF Fellow; and Rudi Bublitz, Chief Cat Herder, FKA. MC: Josh Comrie □ REGISTER

Kami #02 and Moxion #10, two FKA portfolio companies, two exits for FKA. □

Strong support from our Voting Angels! So we're doing DD on Kai's Education and Bonnet. If you want to join and help with DD let us know! □□

"This sand is not like regular sand - it’s helping save the planet", says the Waikato Times about Kayasand #36.

"Why Your PreSeed SAFE Note Val Cap is ‘Low’ and Why You Want it to Be. Valuation is not always about 'value' but about setting up the right structure for success." READ!

KPMG's Priti wants to redefine the relationship between FinTechs and banks. Wicked words for the banking world and great data. MORE!

3x NZ Arch Angels united behind Eight360 #21. 83 + 60, and one from Auckland? The GeoAR gang was mightily impressed—great car race demo from Duncan.

Yello complements E360's corporate blue in this video which demonstrates how acceleration and deceleration can be simulated by spin in the NOVA. Spin doctors!

Startup investing? Josh makes a meal of it... read on.

Also check out what he's cooking up with AANZ HERE.

Another AANZ Runway in October, in Wellington to connect founders and angels. Find out MORE!

"Real Returns Not Paper Returns". The Chief Cat Herder has now done to his car what he normally does to his jackets.□

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

Another FKA Friday ● 23 August 2024#31

23/8/2024


	23 August 2024 #31		840+421

It is great to see investment dollars coming back but even better to have more of them to put back into new candidates. Thank you, Team Kami, you rock!

Panellists: Alliv Samson, Co-Founder and COO, Kami; Mark Bregman, Founder QuidNet Ventures, EHF Fellow; Rudi Bublitz, Chief Cat Herder, FKA and Kirsti Grant, Chief People Experience Officer, Auror. MC: Josh Comrie □ REGISTER

Olivia singlehandedly hosted FKA's pitch night at KPMG on Tuesday. We saw two new presentations and updates from Fuel50 #04 and Chnnl #20.

Ronel presented Kai's Education which is all about little robots teaching kids to code. Then Steph presented Bonnet; bonnet because it is about managing car fleets. FKA's DD Vote is underway and will decide if they proceed to DD. □□

After last week's insert on Eight360 #21, a whole bunch of people are flying down to Wellington to give the balls a whirl. Better be ready on Tuesday, Terry!
We're just assembling the plane...

Juan has been a regular at ADI for some time, he has invested and joined our parties. Time we make him a Flying Kiwi say David, Jeff and Rudi. Unless anyone has reasons why he shouldn't join. □ Tell the Board in confidence!

Over and out. Phew, it was a busy week!

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

Another FKA Friday ● 16 August 2024#30

16/8/2024


	16 August 2024 #30		836+417

After a slow start to 2024, things are ramping up. 3xF is insider short for the early funders 'Friends, Family & Fools', we will have 4xF to be funded!

Next Tuesday is our August Pitch Night, as always at KPMG, from 18:13. □

Olivia (5xF□) will run the show, Ronel, Steph, Liz, and Anne will do the biz! □

Yesterday's ADI was a full dice with 6 founders. Nerys Whelan's low-sugar energy drink modest® made a mighty impression. Bingo, make that 6xF as we have invited Nerys to showcase her dinks next Tuesday!

Not wanting to detract from the modesty, check out The Keto Chef's Kitchen.

On Tuesday, we'll also talk about how we aim to bridge the generational disconnect.

So bring our Next Gen along! □

Cupla #40 has just topped 20,000 paying users, mostly from the US. Erika is reporting growth with every investor update. Investor comms is so important—good news or not!□

However, the 'couple-front-end' dating apps are not doing so well for various reasons. READ ON.

Terry from Eight360 #21 is making balls bigger than most and he is world-famous in NZ. His latest video is trending on LinkedIn and Facebook, and for our social-media-shy readers on YouTube.

The above is just one of the good things being built right next to the FKA desk at GridAKL. Scan the QR code or go to CatAngelsTriumph.com. Mel and Aaron at Geo AR are mad—mad about cats. □‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛□‍⬛

At FKA we're thinking of Angels like cats that are hard to herd! □

Mahesh is a Master Motivator and inspires founders to think big. It's a good thing even if sometimes we have to remind founders where the rubber hits the road. HERE

AI Image Generator Battles: "Flux Is The Open-Source Midjourney Killer Everyone's Talking About!" and it comes from Germany! Lots of venture money going into AI may be going down the drain. READ MORE

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

Another FKA Friday ● 9 August 2024#29

9/8/2024


	9 August 2024 #29		836+417

READ how the University of Auckland tripled the rate of spinouts it created by launching a fund to invest in its university startups and lowering its equity stake.

Sadly, many other universities don't give their spinout founders enough equity, making it hard or impossible to raise funding.

Airtree on What to include in your startup's data room. MORE.

CEO pay by stage really diverged in 2024, with Series B and beyond compensation dropping by 9.6% vs. 2023, whereas seed and Series A went up. See the Interesting US stats HERE.

Raising lots of money pre-revenue like Figma did, is the exception—not a realistic example to train founder expectations. MORE!

We focus a lot on product market fit, scaling and where the exit might be. But timing the exit is just as important.

Co-founder Tom Harding, in hindsight, that’s when he should have looked at a trade exit. Get Caffeine ☕

The elephant in the room or the egg in the belly. The article, the full report.

We looked at Yabble in mid-2018 but felt it was too early. Kathryn and Rachel went on to raise from Hillferrance and Movac among others, and 6 years on they exit with great timing. READ!

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

Another FKA Friday ● 2 August 2024#28

2/8/2024


	2 August 2024 #28		836+413

It's a small world, not just in NZ. This week's Google search for a header GIF went full circle and we've repurposed an image from 2016 that we found.

Debbie and Nigel from Vince after the Auckland Food Show, are on the plane to another expo, Seedlab Australia. "Look out Australia the NZ veggie smugglers are on their way!"

More good news, with the round done, growth money is on the way! □ Thanks!

Yes, we’ll soon see that a lot of AI companies were over-valued just like Pets.com and AOL. But innovators are also, under the surface, building the new Amazons and Paypals and Salesforces. TRUE!

From the Business Desk. Soul Machines raised US$100m+ but seems not to have found product market fit. Vision attracts investor-$$$, but customer-$$$ call for execution.

MORE HERE! Watch out for the Tim Warren cameo--now a year older!

SAFE stats from Carta. In the US a SAFE is a generic instrument, akin to our CLA or convertible note agreement. Some local investors say a SAFE has no interest but a CLA has. It's not in the name but in the details of the docs.

Even when you make a deal with angels the devil is still in the details.

There is a tricky nuance between pre- and post-money caps. HERE The latter is not very common in NZ yet but stands at 85% in the US.

From the Economist. No one cares about the character of hedge-fund managers or private-equity tycoons, as long as they are making money. The genius of Taylor Inc is the ability to pursue sharp business tactics, while at the same time being careful not to undermine Swift’s wholesome image.

We have been running ADI.Clinic since 2013. 20 minutes to understand what founders are doing and give feedback, advice, and connections—an initial conversation. But this may not be right for everyone.

Timing can kill companies. The survivor syndrome is alive and well. When everybody thinks that Elon Musk invented the EV that couldn't be further from the truth. READ

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

Another FKA Friday ● 30 August 2024#32

Another FKA Friday ● 23 August 2024#31

Another FKA Friday ● 16 August 2024#30

So bring our Next Gen along! □

Another FKA Friday ● 9 August 2024#29

Another FKA Friday ● 2 August 2024#28

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