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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#07

15/3/2019


	15 March 2019 #07

Interesting pitch night next Tuesday, one AI math tutor and one auto feeder to combat the greedy cow syndrome. Teachers and farmers in FKA ranks will rejoice or at least listen with interest.

Tue 19 March, 18:30 at KPMG, 18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, AKL as usual.

Techion is our portfolio company #07. They have made a lot of progress since we first invested. With strong support from existing shareholders, only about $400k left in their current round. CEO Greg Mirams has supplied a brief summary sheet and a more detailed overview. If that whets your appetite, please get in touch with Greg as our investor rep Ian is overseas.

A little known fact: Techion was Rudi's second investment in his quest to become a Serial Sh!t Investor.

Great news from our portfolio company #13 just in. Vlatko and his team at Hot Lime Labs have ticked off the third milestone. In fact, they have done way better than expected. That means the efficiency and hence the cost-benefit calculations are now more attractive.

That makes it really easy to transfer the third milestone tranche. Under the investment terms, FKA will shortly be entitled to subscribe further shares. That looks attractive with the progress to date.

Garry.Bluett@fka.nz is our investor rep and can tell you more.

Isabel has talked with Debra, Jackie and Phil. All feel there is a good mutual fit. Isabel adds «According to my statistic: there are 53 active angels, 6 women = 11% females. If I go through the veto gate that makes 54 active angels, 7 women = 13% females. FKA will thereby be above the average of 11% female angels across Europe.»

But hang on! Before we surrender to her seductive line of argument, let's make sure Isabel doesn't have a cupboard full of skeletons that dictate that we stay put on our current stats and shut the door on her.

Tell the bone doctors aka FKA directors in confidence.

BTW Isabel is currently checking out "Kill Bill", so active she is.
See here some stats on angelic gender balance.

Welcome, Ky.Hacker@fka.nz !

He has passed through the veto gate without incident. No skeletons have surfaced. We now have 53 active www.fka.nz/angels. BTW, Ky can backpaddle like few others.

Marisa outed herself at InvestHer last week as never having stepped into gumboots in her life. We all know that is not because she is a slacker. In this talk from 2014, we learn how busy her parents kept her as a child and that there would have been NO time to frolic on a farm.

Danish architect Dorte Mandrup makes a very interesting point!

Two posts on 'Angel Fees'. With the second one Rudi resigns his official AANZ role, he is just not diplomatic enough.
A humorous video showing a day in the life of a man angel. A KPMG Love song!

It's been a long time coming and here is Vodafone's promo video for iDefigo's surveillance camera and service. iDefigo is our portfolio company #08 and now fully established in the UK.

You are invited [if Rudi is, so are all FKAngels and our esteemed readers] to the official opening of Rewired, Xero’s new c-oworking [accounting spell as per the invite] and event space in Auckland on Tuesday, 19 March 2019.

Sadly, this clashes with our pitch night but drinks and canapés are beckoning for those who don't have a ticket to KPMG's superior fare. More details and registration HERE.

LOL! The new AANZ investment templates bring a new acronym. We had SSA for the combined shareholders' and subscription agreement. Jason from our portfolio company Spoke was creative and turned that into SUSA subscription and shareholders' agreement. Now Debra keeps talking about a SHAG or the shareholders' agreement which has been separated from the subscription agreement to hold for a number of investment rounds.

Great stuff when lawyers provide humour and entertainment. It takes two big shags to make a little shag and it takes two law firms to finesse a startup SHAG. In our most recent round, LoJo were acting for FKA and Simmonds Stewart for FormusLabs.

All the funds for the FormusLabs round are in and waiting for Debra to push go so that all can be finalised. DEAL DONE!

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#06

8/3/2019

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	8 March 2019 #06

Simon Ansley and his team at NZTE assembled a great line-up of nine very fine startups! None of them required this special platform with a female founder focus to pitch. Hopefully, InvestHer will serve as proof that this type of segmentation is not needed and may be counterproductive in New Zealand. The audience turnout was a little disappointing.

Funny moment: FKAngel Marisa was on the Q+A panel with Zeddy. «Love the purple colour! But I have never been to a farm, never put on gumboots.» Of course, she would have been in her element with Weirdly.

Gemma (PageProof), Kim (BoardPro), Tara (Grin), Lisa (Plantae), Amelia (Preno), Dale (Weirdly), Abbe (Winely), Kathryn (Yabble), Kate (Zeddy).

Over the coming months, we could see additional ADI Clinics operating in Nelson, Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. It is great to see regional Angel groups and Angels leveraging the ADI format to engage earlier with startups when advice and connections can make a big difference.

We are not planning to take ADI to the moon but at ADI Auckland this week we talked to a founder who wants to provide solar power for commercial activities on the moon.

Here is a little extract from the latest shareholder update from our portfolio company Datagate. A video with a North American voice to take on the North American market. Go rockstar Mark!

Debra lowered the tone of the discussion to underwater with her aquatic analogy. She avoided talking of sharks but Rudi couldn't help bringing anglerfish into the discussion.

The point here is that Callaghan Tech Incubators are dictating aggressive investment terms that a) dilute founders to a point that will disincentivise them b) frustrate syndication with other investors c) torpedo future funding rounds.

You thought Unfiltered's Jacke Millar is young, think again! Eli Smit is only 9 and brings you his entrepreneurial podcast Ground Breaking. Some of the world famous in New Zealand founders that have talked to Eli include Anna Guenther, Craig Piggot, Dale Clareburt, Robett Hollis and Will Hewitt. The same Will that helped with FormusLabs DD.

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#05

1/3/2019

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	1 March 2019 #05

Ju Zhang came to ADI back on 11 February 2016, early days. Then again 8 November 2018, with traction and a path to market. Pitched, then DD with FKA. Today Debra who took the lead confirms $1.25m in overfunding on this $850k round for FormusLabs. We did the deal in four months and over the summer break, AWESOME!

The five biggest investors are FKA, Uniservices, Cure Kids Ventures, MIG Angels, NZVIF, with sizeable investments from the board and team. Great to partner again with Uniservices following StretchSense. This is our first time syndicating with Cure Kids Ventures who bring great med tech know-how and connections. Robust DD and SHAG discussions with MIG Angels have served to further strengthen our relationship.

Last week we saw the humorous side of Josh and not a week later he shows us his serious side in this video interview with the NBR.

This guy rocks! Shaven or not!

Let's welcome Jenn to the FKA team! She has passed the Veto Gate without incident. One more thing that has surfaced since last week is this podcast from grlpwrpod.com (Girl Power Pod).

Ky has been a regular at ADI and has also helped Moxion. He has worked at Everedge IP, NZTE and is now with PWC. A salesman at heart and motormouth to challenge Paul Trotter. Naturally, Ky has talked with Paul, also Mike Hanna and Rudi. All feel there is a good mutual fit.

However, if any of you know things that could veto Ky's joining, then speak up and raise your concerns in confidence with the FKA directors.

Thankfully Kami has kept some of that juvenile charm that made their 6th birthday party a lot of fun. They now have a team of 18. Talking to staff away from the founders, it is clear that they love what they do and they love what the company does. Unexpectedly, Kami is having a really positive impact on kids with learning difficulties apart from helping teachers run a paperless classroom.

Two big paella pans and a dedicated barman made for perfect catering. A just application of funds was the view of two investors on the night, Rudi from FKA pictured with the unicorn and Ben from Right Click Capital sporting the bihorn.

Wednesday night was Demo Day of the Centrality Accelerator. Six interesting pitches, several that had come through ADI, and Yabble pitched to FKA last year. There were at least nine FKAngles in the room: Debra, Erick, Karl, Heath, Jackie, Paul T, Ralf W, Rudi and Uli, and FKApprentice Nawaz, furthermore one FKAwannabe Andy H.

But hang on, that's not all! Erick and Karl were mentors to the program, as was FKAsponsor extraordinaire and sword-wielding strongman of Potentia, Nate.

Just in. A startup with $1m+ ARR traction in the courier industry is seeking funding. The static image is part of their pitch deck and promo material. Points for that from the editor and a GIF addition.

Email Rudi if you want to find out more.

Remember its next week! Register HERE if you have not yet done so.

Callaghan Innovation plays an important role in New Zealand's innovation ecosystem. To some it is like a Golden Goose that gives them access to soft loans. In turn, these loans are being brokered for a 33% fee by some.

Who would not want a Golden Goose at that rate?

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#04

22/2/2019

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	22 February 2019 #04

Debra, not pictured above, is syndicating our FormusLabs deal with many to get the round closed. Absolutely, no sin in that, it's the right thing to do when funding startups. Total commitments stand at $835k, time to come off the fence if you're sitting on it. Ping Debra or by form.

Make no mistake, she doesn't just syndicate with anybody. She blankly refused the cheeky terms of one of the Callaghan Tech Incubators.

JOSH has served two years on the FKA board and has helped shape our group into what we are today. Quite separate from his board role, he has totally owned sponsorship relations from the inception of FKA in 2014. He can muster a gravitas for this that role belies his otherwise wildly humorous side. Josh is the very reason why we can run with our ZERO FEES policy!

Two things! (UNO) A super, super BIG THANK YOU to Josh for his contribution to date. He has made his mark and will now focus more on Ambit. Makes sense, Josh, but don't stop MCing our pitch nights!!! (DOS) Is there anyone out there to take that sponsorship crown off Josh??? As with everything, lean principles, taking small calculated steps. Ping Jai.

Jenn has been making her mark in the startup ecosystem over a number of years. She took her startup from Startup Weekend to Global Startup Battle in 2013 whilst responsible for growth programmes at ATEED, and more recently for Techweek. She has talked with Heath, Josh and Rudi about joining FKA and all feel there is a great fit.

Still, some of you may know things that could veto Jenn's joining. If so, please, raise your concerns in confidence with the FKA directors.

Showcasing the best and brightest female-led startups and if that is not enough there is drinks and canapes too. A 7-course pitch degustation followed by Q+A and networking. Don't miss out and register HERE.

All freshly prepared by master chef Simon Ansley and his top team from the NZTE kitchen. Some have missed this, but Richard Campbell whose catering we so loved at KPMG is now cooking up more startup dishes at the NZTE kitchen.

Nothing has surfaced on Steffen! So let's give him a big welcome to FKA to take our count of active FKAngels to 51. The above picture shows him at the Octoberfest in Munich doing what he loves, with the woman he loves. Watch the space, with her next move, Isabel might just make these two the first angelic couple in our ranks.

Hang on! There are the Youngs, Jackie and Greg, already.

Uli has brought you toothbrushes from a virtual store, virtual playgrounds and now he is focused on virtual gifting. Early days with this startup, not ready for FKA so he is doing a triple Ⓕ round. No hard sell but if you're interested then talk to him about connections and/or cash.

Uli.Wiehle@fka.nz 021 703 060

Rudi has hijacked another video, a good one, to promote #KIWIstartups and #FKAngels on LinkedIn.

Bigger than life Jordan Green is the leader of the Melbourne Angels and has shared his thinking on startup valuation and fundraising in this informative article. «One of the most common questions I get from founders is, “How much of my company should I give away?” and my automatic answer is “None!!”.»

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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#03

15/2/2019

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	15 February 2019 #03

We had some pitches but then the champions decided that they're not are quite ready. Fair enough, that means no February pitch night. Let's just do BYO drinks, normal time (18:30) but different place (Rudi's).

So far we have 24 votes from our 34 Voting Angels in. 23 say YES to FormusLabs which leaps the minimum hurdle of 18. This means FKAngels have voted on the DD Report and will invest $85k as a group which then clears the way for discretionary co-investment from individual angels. Debra and Ju will now go on to nut out the legals. Debra will manage the commitments.

MIG Angels sent one hell of a sharp knife in Joe Harper and are first on the list to syndicate with FKAngels. BTW MIG is also the first NZ angel group after FKA to not charge a commission to startups. As usual, we will share the full DD Report via our Co-investment Call to all investing readers.

David has self-selected his angelic moniker with his very personal endorsement of FormusLabs. «Like it – am something of an expert in knees and hips as all 4 have been “done” to some degree! (the bionic man). So – although it is no doubt speculative – I have a vested interest for this to work!»

Angel investors are not just about making spectacular returns, often they just want to see great stuff happen.

Steffen Schaefer now lives closer to Munich's Hofbrauhaus than most. He got a taste of FKA a few months before he left NZ. But that didn't stop him to work in with several DD Teams. He would like to formally join as a Flying Kiwi and has talked to Phil, Rudi and Uli. All feel there is a mutually good fit.

Okay, yet another German but seriously, if you know of any reasons why Steffen should not join now is the time to speak up. Please raise your concerns in confidence with our FKA Directors.

Hi Rudi, We would love to invite you and the FKA crew to our 6th birthday party on the 22nd of February Friday at our office. Please RSVP by 20 February to alyssa@kamiapp.com Best, Alliv ☞ details

After Kami's successful raise at the end of last year, this should be one party not to miss!

Ever wondered what the inner workings of the AANZ look like? The above shot was taken this week when Rudi attended two days of AANZ council meetings in Auckland. He was promptly given the hot potato of commissions. Thankfully, a potato that has cooled a little as increased syndication with funds and VCs has been highlighting the mismatch of charging practices. Funds and VCs charge fees to their investors and don't like subsidising angel groups that charge their fees to startups post-investment.

Rudi's announcement of his new role has generated a lively debate on LinkedIn that is for the most part supportive of AANZ's recommended policy shift. See for yourself and feel free to join the debate.

☞ Fee Freedom Fighter

If you want to see rapid AR/VR game development on the Magic Leap platform come and see the graduation projects of a one week course that is finishing today. Weta Workshop is working closely with Magic Leap which is valued at over US$4.5 billion. Mel from Geo AR Games says she is both drained and excited after this week. Today, 16:00 at The University of Auckland, pls register here.