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Another FKA Friday ● 27 March 2026#08

27/3/2026

 
Angelic news from the NZ group that says it how it is □

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27 March 2026 #08

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1,590 Readers • 52% Mailchimp • 48% LinkedIn 

Hate NZ dairy for all you like, but it has spawned another NZ unicorn. MORE. It is shocking how many LinkedIn posters talk of Thiel's Founders Fund investing US$2B! That PMV is an eye watering 55x of 2025 sales, a mix of collar hardware and subs. Well done Craig Piggott and the team at Halter! □
Dan Bull is a graduate of Sprout and has just raised $1.1M for Scanabull. Did Mike our Deal Flow Manager miss that bullseye? □ Sprout has just opened for a new cohort MORE HERE.
No such bull at MOA. A new Founder Catalyst cohort, so get wings from the experts at Flightless Bird HQ. MORE HERE. Closing today! PAM is a graduate from the same stable, the Electrify variety to be precise.
Glen is the champion. He fiddled with remote controls in his earlier life; these days, he reckons there is gold in light switching. Bill and his team think so too and this week provide their pitch video! □
Five new deals pitched in the last two months, all going into DD. DNAiTEch, TheiaNova, Compostify, InnerView Insight, and ilumento. This means lots of hands to the pump. If any of the above sound interesting and you give a hand, email Mike, our Deal Flow Manager, to shoot for the bullseye □
Laurent made a living from the luxury goods sector, such a contrast to oil-rig-manic Trevor in Wellington □ Laurent has helped with ADI, DD, and drinks. David, Hugh and Mark reckon he's a good fit. So, unless anyone out there knows of a reason why he shouldn't join FKA, now is the time to tell the Board in confidence!
Boom, the future is here! Mars Bioimaging received FDA 510(k) clearance for its extremity CT scanner, the first CT imaging system developed in New Zealand to be FDA cleared. This is validating the co-investment decision with Pacific Channel ✅
How many cars does this woman need? She wants them all! Hustling...
Why is this woman dancing you may ask? □ Double Hi-Tech Awards finalist □
Tarash (Kara Technologies), Matty (Hectre), John (BioOra), and Eve (GridAKL) are also finalists in various categories, even competing in some. Their dance performances and announcements will likely follow during the course of today.
Shocking realty. Not unlike the VC-scooter-craze. Is AI totally different?□ READ
So AI agents can rewrite their own personality profiles. They change their identity without anybody knowing, including the AI agent □ Consider that!
A grandmother spent 6 months in jail for fraud because an AI said she did it. A detective wrote in court documents that she appeared to match based on "facial features, body type and hairstyle." READ MORE
It happened in Fargo but it has nothing to do with Fargo.
Katheren has booked the Sunset Bar for FKA Drinks on Saturday, 4th of April. First RSVPs are rolling in. Join us and see details at fka.nz/drinks □

Another FKA Friday ● 24 October 2025#37

24/10/2025

 
Angelic news from the NZ group that says it how it is □

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24 October 2025 #37

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830 + 667 

Adam O'Connor told us about CountCulture on Tuesday. No pitch video yet, more next week. In the meantime Michael is waiting for the green light from our Voting Angels to kick off DD. 
Shaun Qunincy gave a different pitch on Tuesday. He pitched for more buddies. Jeff from FKA is already a buddy, has been a long time. See more!
Naftali Yechilzuke has done DD with us, and has spoken with David, Hugh and Rudi who think he is more use to FKA than as a single tiger meal. So now the FKA VETO GATE is asking if anyone knows of any reason why Naftali  should not become a Flying Kiwi. If you do, please, email the Board in confidence!
Chris Sattler is a Flying Kiwi in more ways than one and by no means a second hand car dealer. But he can connect you with two interesting secondary deals for Kayasand and Waiheke Airfield. DM on LinkedIn or Email him.
This is no early Halloween joke! But then Kitea implants pea-sized sensors into the human skull for great patient outcomes. Read more!
Glen is investor rep for Kitea and throws one of the best Halloween parties in town!
Justin from Advemto reckons he is onto a good thing with Caro joining the Board as chair, Rudi is investor rep. Both are fair but neither of them is a soft touch. Investors watch out for Caro who seems to be a little exit magnet if ever there is such a thing.
FKA Drinks are usually on the 1st Saturday of the month. So also in November but with a twist. You better pencil this in your diary!  Preregister to put your name on the scoreboard HERE, and think of a great Halloween costume or simply take a lead from Rudi & Caro's make-up of last year.
This is the Catalist report, the press release, and what Fiona at The NBR has made of it. Great news but no surprise to FKA! However, Rudi's press photo needs updating! No such thing as eternal youth despite Andy's ice bath efforts.
Lots of great events that made sense for founders and funders alike. Still some good stuff happening today.  Desperate investors, VC-types, reverse pitching to founders at noon. See Details! The closing curtain falls with the Neurodiversity Dinner!
Sold out! Yeah nah! Trust the no-shows!
The team at GridAKL were super busy during Auckland Startup Week. But still, Eve and Pauli found some time to practice their elevator pitch. "Beam 'em up, Scotty!"
After the Queen of Auckland Startup Week, Marissa Brindley, Eve and Pauli are definitely the princesses of Auckland Startup Week and beyond. 
So great to see Suse Reynolds acknowledged for here relentless work for founders and angels over many years. She is a true icon and has to be the favourite for the 2026 Arch Angel award. LinkedIn • NBR • BusinessDesk
David Booth "I'm Joining a16z."  ♦  Diaspora NZ with David Booth.
Jonathan Good, CEO of Scentian Bio, is the NZ qualifier to go to the Startup World Cup in SF. He puts insect noses on a chip to power AI sensors. □
Oh, Oprah! Is that true? AANZ and PwC will tell you more about how this works for startups in New Zealand. 10am, Thursday, 30 October, REGISTER!

Anthropic burned $5.6 billion in 2024, and made somewhere between $400 million and $600 million in revenue □ MORE NUMBERS!

Another FKA Friday ● 22 April 2022#12

22/4/2022

 
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22 April 2022 #12 815
We had a sterling pitch night this month. The verdict from many: "One of the strongest line up yet!" A special thank you must go to Charmian Mead from KPMG who was driving all the pitch decks from her laptop.
We already have two pitch videos that we can share below. The other three will follow in our next edition: Margin Fuel | Kindello | Spoke.
Clinton pitched for OneReg's follow-on round. First, watch the explainer and then the pitch video. Also, this week a detailed NBR article and an endorsement in this CAA press release. We're doing DD for this round. Join Chris aka Mr Auckland Seaplanes, Pip and Jonathan if this flies your kite ?
Add dysphagia to your vocabulary! Maggie-Lee Huckabee and Kade Larsen delivered a compelling pitch for Swallowing Technologies. Debra is the champion and this deal will go to our DD Vote to decide if we proceed to DD. 
You all know the mother—Debra. Now, her daughter Pip is knocking at the Veto Gate. Pip has already been helping with ADI and DD on Happy Moose. She has talked with Jeff, Maheen and Rudi, all think she'd make a great addition to our team.

However, if anyone knows of any skeletons in her closet and why she should not join, please, email the Board in confidence.

AANZ: 25 May 2022, 10:00-11:30 ⚖️ Legal DD Workshop, more HERE.
"It’s overrated—both financially and emotionally" Not all is gold that glitters! It is always informative to hear an alternative view. Read more HERE.

First time MBA entrepreneurs can do all the wrong things precisely by the book.


If you seek a great humanitarian reason to make a lousy investment medical devices are tough to top.


Never throw good money after money you cannot admit you’ve already lost.

It will be 8 years in May since we formed FKA. A good reason to celebrate! We think that Tree Adventures in Woodhill Forest would be a great place to test our wings. Everyone is welcome but for now, just prepare yourselves mentally.

Debra and Katheren will lead the charge!

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

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2021#13

16/4/2021

 
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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•2019#20

14/6/2019

 
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14 June 2019 #20

Our June pitch night is upon us.
KPMG, 18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, AKL
Tue, 18 June 2019, 18:30

The FKA Veto Gate builds on a tradition that goes back to Roman times, except that we don't have a Veto Caller. Anyways, Thinker Andy Harwood has talked with Debra, Eric and Rudi after he attended numerous ADI sessions with them. They reckon he is a great fit and "a breath of fresh air". See his LinkedIn profile to understand the reference.

However, if any Angels wish to blow the Veto Horn, they should notify the Board in confidence of any concerns.

Nawaz Ahmed has been toiling for our CCH as FKA intern. Our youngest kid on the block yet and very clued up about blockchain. He has now talked with Hattaf, Rudi and Uli about becoming a fully fledged Flying Kiwi and all feel there is a great mutual fit. 

However, if any Angels know of reasons to block him, then they should notify the Board in confidence of any concerns.

iDefigo №08 has been named this week as one of the major Security as a Service (SaaS) Market Players by Zion Market Research.
Uli got a job recently, now he also has a jet ski! Tim G and Uli are calling on all other risk-takers with a similar affliction among the Flying Kiwis to come out and join them on the water. Not 50 Angels flying on Lime Scooters but flying on jet skis. 
It was with initial shock when one unsuspecting Angel opened an email to hear of a stolen shareholder update. Turns out this was simply an update from Stolen Spirits.
Roelof Botha's investment memo for YouTube came into the public domain as an exhibit in a Court case about copyright violations. It illustrates how Sequoia makes investment decisions. 

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#18

31/5/2019

 
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31 May 2019 #18

All of you, here comes the video to show what you've missed out on if you didn't join the flight of 50 on Monday 20 May 2019.

We're running ADI.Clinic at eight sites across the country with the help of other angels groups that are stepping up in the regions. Whangarei is one of those sites and Akudos comes from there after the team has been coached by Lawrence over several months.

This is their pitch video, FKA's 34 Voting Angels are currently deliberating whether to proceed to DD. Nearly half the votes are in so far and there is clearly interest in Akudos.

Nothing smelly has come up on these two, they have cleared the VETO GATE without incident. So, let's welcome [email protected] and [email protected] as new members to FKA, taking our count to 58.

"It will be administered by the Super fund, with NZVIF making the investments through private sector fund managers."

"The Venture Capital Association had expressed concerns that if NZVIF went it alone with investments, bypassing private fund managers, that would run counter to its original remit of helping grow a strong private sector venture capital industry in New Zealand and could "crowd out" private investment." ☞ full article

Also, ☞ this article.  "[...] Icehouse chief executive Andy Hamilton also said the challenge would be getting the private sector on board to match the investment." Meaning increase the $3m($100m) fund presumably?

FileInvite №14 is raising to accelerate growth. Watch out for the co-investment call that is coming your way later today. Cornelius and Phil are sharing their findings in a DD Brief for this round. Both of them and Garth, who is Chair and investor rep, are doubling down.

Ping [email protected] for more info.

The Vesper Marine Sẙ02 round is coming to a close. If you want to invest in smart Kiwi tech that prevents oil spills and other maritime disasters, then ping [email protected] for more info.
Rudi and Gavin were the two FKAngels at table 54 of the HI-Tech Awards, the last and crowning event of Techweek. Even Jacinda attended. Each year they also add one to the Flying Kiwi Hall of Fame.

The above shot shows impeccable timing from Lance Wiggs. Still, he is clearly better at investing than photography.

David Wang, on the other hand, shows more talent with photo composition and lighting. His LinkedIn post includes the propaganda suit "No Future for Fees on Founders".

With Techweek and Budget over, it's time for some Friday Fun Facts!
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