Blog Archives

Another FKA Friday ● 16 December 2022#46

16/12/2022


	16 December 2022 #46		807

Last December several Flying Kiwi Angels were pretty busy with the back office work surrounding the Moxion exit, our 10th portfolio company. 62 investors received a Xmas present ranging between $6k and $1.5m. During 2022 FKA had more returns from Debtor Daddy #08, Vesper Marine #16, and Chatterize #22. Phew, all completed before the end of the year.

However, there are still several funding rounds in process for Hot Lime Labs #13, Narrative Muse #18, and OneReg #25 ?

Email Rudi if you wish to redirect some of your budget for Xmas presents towards startups that will be truly grateful for that extra bit of runway!

From TechCrunch+. Partly from Christchurch is obviously in FKA's anti-portfolio. We missed the seed round in 2020 but then it was priced well north of the angelic comfort zone. But an impressive number of local and international VCs jumped in.

Angel investor puts $10,000 into a friend’s business. Pre-product and pre-revenue, he gets 1%, pricing the round at $1m post-money. The company grows like crazy and eventually sells for $10bn. The angel investor makes $100m right? 10,000x his investment? Nope, he makes $0.

Sobering thoughts before the festive drinks

From the CCH and AI.

Merry Christmas, FKA investors! Thank you for your support and guidance throughout the year. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with joy, laughter, and good cheer.
Wishing a very merry Christmas to FKA, the best group of angel investors around! Your passion and expertise inspire us every day. We hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with love, laughter, and good company.
Happy holidays, Flying Kiwis! Your contributions to the startup ecosystem are invaluable. Thank you for taking a chance on us and for helping us realize our dreams. We hope you have a joyous Christmas and a happy new year.
On this special day, we want to say thank you and merry Christmas to the amazing Flying Kiwi Angels who make our dreams a reality. Your wisdom and support mean the world to us. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season surrounded by the people you love.

ChatGPT illustrates how far conversational AI has come. It can write pitches, blogs, websites, oh, and poems. Feed it articles and see how it summarises them...

Julian So has already shown his lazy hand with this post! ?

Tim like Julian is a Flying Kiwi with a day job. He doesn't let AI speak for him nor grab his drink. Creative Welly Episode #39--Courageous conversations with bold humans (from the most creative little capital in the world).

Will AI words displace GIF animations in this newsletter? Maybe! But then unicorn Figma bets on GIF despite several high Flying Kiwi Angels having shared doom and gloom articles about the future of GIF with the editorial team.

A Flying Kiwi, oh so sweet
A boon for startups, can't be beat
They bring capital, and lots of skill
To help your business climb the hill

With money and advice, they can assist
In getting your venture off to a good start
They'll offer guidance, and help you grow
So you can build a company that's sure to show

And as you rise, and reach the top
You'll look back and see, your angel played a part
In getting you there, with their wise counsel
And helping your dreams, become more full

So if you're a founder, with a great idea
Don't hesitate, to seek out an angel near
They'll be a valuable ally, in your quest for success
And help you build a company, that's truly the best!

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

Another FKA Friday ● 9 December 2022#45

9/12/2022


	9 December 2022 #45		805

Putin's actions have cut natural gas supplies to Europe. Europe's greenhouses rely on CO₂ for high yields. HLL can solve the problem which is why the company has opened a raise to put the heat on Europe.

Shareholders including FKA are taking up preemptive rights. There may be some capacity left for new investors. Please, email Garry our investor rep on the HLL Board if you want to find out more.

From the NBR. Is it that often disruptive startups will at scale converge to a business model much like the disrupted? Remember WeWork—in the end essentially a serviced office business. Now, Uber pushed to treat its drivers as employees.

Chelsea Hirst from SPROUT is calling for this event next Wednesday at 5 pm at GridAKL, 12 Madden St--MORE HERE RSVP

Cornelius is a Flying Kiwi with a day job, he is stacking shelves at Kathmandu but more about that HERE.

“This is the dynamic of a bubble, it develops when you are only looking at the topline, how much a company has grown. This allows you to raise more money and grow further, and so on. Companies grew quickly because they had access to money. Even if they sold something at a loss - whether it was an insurance policy or real estate like WeWork - the consumer didn’t care and sales increased. This inflated valuation further until something went wrong. And then everything was reversed and the bubble burst.” READ ON!

The NZ Hi-Tech team is powering away and has announced the launch dates for early next year already. Launch your 2023!

Winning an award can be good for a startup but trying over and over again can be like chasing vanity metric when actual sales matter more!

So true! We had an early morning cancellation and with this LinkedIn post, we filled that slot again to talk with six startups yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday's Angels were, in no particular order: Jonathan Curtis, Andy Harwood, Jeff Skidmore, David Eldor, Ewart MacLucas, Rudi Bublitz and John Lundqvist. John is originally from Sweden and has attended ADI via video since June from various places around the globe as he is making his way to New Zealand. He has yet to brave the veto gate. ?

We still have two deals in DD and two deals to follow up on after ADI.

The KiwiNet 2022-12 Pipeline Post is out. Worth checking out some early smart tech. Several of our portfolio companies have originated from that pipeline.

What's the purpose of the goals you are setting?

Simon Sinek puts it like few others!

LOL? The other day we received a note from a portfolio company that had a morbid spelling mistake. A little earlier it would have been perfect for Halloween.

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

Another FKA Friday ● 2 December 2022#44

2/12/2022


	2 December 2022 #44		806

FKA—Angels and nominee investors spreading their wings. Chris making it possible.

High Growth Exporter of the Year to the USA, FileInvite! Acceptance speech or song? More HERE.

Many Series A funds are on a deal freeze. They've lost their footing on KPIs and valuation expectations. It's a game of wait-and-see among them. How much is a SaaS generating 100k of MRR? The same thing that happened to growth funds a year ago is happening to Series A now. LinkedIn Post.

Whilst Angels like to think that they have wings, they generally cannot fly. But pizza can fly! This week we caught up with Matt from Skydrop formerly Flirtey. He has come full circle, having started in NZ, then built in the US, and now back in NZ he has secured a deal with Dominos, watch the first delivery to a marae in Huntly.

More HERE and Andy.Harwood@fka.nz has the deck.

The portfolio is down 57% this year. This means Tiger’s public stocks would have to more than double just to get back to even. With a weak world economy, this seems unlikely. The firm cannot charge performance fees until it makes back its losses. That could be years from now, if ever. MORE. NZ funds and fees?