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Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#38

18/10/2019


	18 October 2019 #38

We had no casualties and lots of fun on Thursday and Sharon Stewart is now satisfied that FKAngels and friends can sail. A full video will follow and surely stoke up the FOMO in all who didn't come out to play.

To be fair, you're also seeing James Pinner from NZVIF grinding hard. Co-investors play together and invest together!

Two days earlier, on Tuesday we had a very interesting pitch night. The full video from Freighthub will follow next week. Existing portfolio company Spoke gave an update for a follow-on round, co-investment call to follow, and expiring portfolio company StretchSense gave an update on what happened over recent months and a brief outlook for the future.

Kelly Tarltons was designed at a kitchen table more than 30 years ago. It was the beginnings of Marinescape that went on to design and build over 30 aquariums around the world. Marinescape has invented technology that is being used all over the world and there is no shortage of construction and engineering challenges in this industry. CEO Ian Mellsop will, for the FIRST TIME, give a talk about this successful business that has essentially been flying under the radar.

GridAKL Lysaght Building aka FKA HQ, Mon 21 Oct, 14:30-1600.

Velocity Wendy brought good speed to the sailing and she is bringing the Finals of the Velocity $100k Challenge on Wednesday, October 23, 18:15-20:30 at The University of Auckland, OGGB4, Level 0, OGGB, 12 Grafton Road.

Please rsvp to admin@velocity.auckland.ac.nz to reserve your seat.

Remember, Velocity has produced portfolio companies like StretchSense and Kami for FKA. It is a great programme that deserves great mentors and judges. Support it next year!

Pauli Sosa is the awesome community manager at GridAKL Lysaght Building. She is also resuscitating Startup Weekend with a strong team of organisers. This 54-hour entrepreneurial marathon is a great learning experience for aspiring founders and mentors with staying power.

Great to see GridAKL, ATEED, Startup Weekend junkies LoJo, AWS and ecentre among the sponsors. A great place to find co-founders!

☞ Get your founder ticket

Interested mentors get in touch with Pauli.Sosa@GridAKL.com

«Europe’s top tech startups to know» makes for an interesting list. Note, our Sydney based Angel Will is working for Revolut which is in the top 10.

Last but not least, let's acknowledge the angelic mentors that stayed shoreside to keep a full ADI schedule running in Auckland and Queenstown.

Andy, Ralf, Debra, Nicola, Julian, Charlie, Wayne - to name just a few.

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#37

11/10/2019


	11 October 2019 #37

FKA's Pitch Night #56. Tue, 15 October, 18:30 at KPMG
18 Viaduct Harbour Ave, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010

① New - Freighthub (CEO Alan Walpole, champion Phil)
② Update - Spoke Phone (CEO Jason, IR Phil)
③ Update - StretchSense (CEO Ben, IR Chris)

Come sailing with Angels! 17 October, AKL.
Investees, Sponsors and Other Partners
☞ Full Details and Registration

For some of our Angels mentoring has literally become an addiction. But that's good news for startup founders when they get advice and connections from multiple mentors in the room. www.ADI.Clinic/BOOK your FREE advice session in Auckland, Blenheim, Hamilton, Queenstown, Tauranga, Wanaka, Wellington and Whangarei ?

Andrew Harwood + Brian Dawson + Charlie James + Daniel Purcell + Erickson Yap + Hattaf Ansari + Ian Clarke + Julian So + Martin Knoche + Ralf Wittgen + Rudi Bublitz + Tim Pointer + Todd Brackley + Ulrich Wiehle + Wayne Hudson ? thank you all for holding the fort at the various locations around NZ - you're awesome!!!

????????? ????????? is not so anonymous

There are many more who shall remain nameless here. They join as ad hoc mentors time permitting and make for an environment that is stimulating for founders and mentors alike. We started in 2013 and it keeps getting better! ☞ Original LinkedIn Post

AB testing the effectiveness of an email campaign is nothing new. However, what about testing if readers actually read your emails?

Jordan Orth did exactly that with interesting results. ☞ A brief read

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#36

4/10/2019


	4 October 2019 #36

FKA's first portfolio company StretchSense has produced a 3x return and has now been acquired by new owners following voluntary administration. We wish CEO Ben O'Brien and the team at StretchSense all the best for the new way ahead.

Techion №08 rights issue closes today and Datagate №05 rights issue closing soon. Interested? Get in touch with Ian.Clarke@fka.nz or Steve.Copely@fka.nz for more info.

Ken Erskine is delivering his trademark Angel 101 course at the end of this month in Tauranga. RSVP

The Fee Freedom Fighter in conversation with Marvin Liao. Here is a brief extract as they touch on Angel investing and fees.

NZTE - Te Taurapa Tūhono in partnership with Poutama Trust is excited to present 'Te Kōmaru' - our first-ever showcase of Māori companies seeking investment for their next stage of growth.

Six pitches from pakihi Māori companies.
Three pitches from larger Greenfield propositions.
Opportunity to network with key stakeholders.
An introduction to some innovative 'up and coming' Māori start-ups.

Te Kōmaru is an invitation-only event. Interested Flying Kiwis and other investors, please email NZTE for your invitation.

Paul is giving a talk next Tuesday evening in Auckland at the New Zealand Software Association. Apparently he was only sweet 19 when he came up with the idea for Author-it.

To join him register here!

Come sailing with Angels! 17 October, AKL.
An alternative Xmas do. Want in?

Get in touch with Hattaf.Ansari@fka.nz !!!

Demo Day in Wellington! Mon 7 October, 17:30. RSVP

These are our two poster boys leading the ADI charge in the Queenstown Lakes District.

Rudi "Guy Fawkes Night would be calling for fireworks!" Rob Vickery "We will be burning an effigy of POTUS."

Rob is a GP of LA VC fund Stage Venture Partners. He is moving to NZ to launch the Hillfarrance VC fund and comes with a healthy measure of English humour.

Modern days startups with olden days protection concepts. New York venture investor Jerry Neumann provides an interesting insight with "A Taxonomy of Moats".

"Startups that aim to create value can’t have a moat when they begin, uncertainty is what protects them from competition until a proper moat can be built. Uncertainty becomes their moat.”

There are three special launch events to mark the opening of entries to the 2020 Hi-Tech Awards. Just by attending you will go in the draw to win two FREE tickets to the 2020 Hi-Tech Awards Gala Dinner in May.

There will be special "fireside" chat with two of our esteemed Flying Kiwis¹⁾ and one Young Achiever. Learning is always best from those that have personally been there, done it.

More details and RSVP

¹⁾ The Hi-Tech Awards honour a "Flying Kiwi" every year. This title should not be confused with the "Flying Kiwi Angels".

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#35

27/9/2019


	27 September 2019 #35

This week's edition is coming from Dallas, Texas as Rudi is attending the September Board meeting for the US subsidiary of FKA's portfolio company Aisleworx №03.

A pro-rata share offer has been circulated to all Techion Group №08 investors via FKA Nominees. Any questions should be addressed to FKA's investor rep Ian.Clarke@fka.nz who can also assist any new investors that may wish to take up any rights not taken up.

«Under 35s are the most unhappy, while older people have much more fun». This study reveals millennials are miserable while the over 55s take time out to do the things they enjoy more. Not so FKA's U35!

"Enterprise Angels launched AngelEquity in October 2016 with the vision of attracting new wholesale investors and maximising syndication with other Angel Networks [...] however the reality is that marketing a separate brand did not provide the commensurate benefit that we anticipated."

Editor's comment: One man's battle of fear to protect commission income against crowdfunding has come to an end. Crowdfunders made no great impact nor did other Angel groups adopt the platform. Better market validation might have predicted the behaviour of Angel groups.

Launch and failure were each a consequence of different parties wanting to protect their commission income. NZ Angel groups charging 6% commission on startup founders is BROKEN!

A great analysis that compares Airbnb & UBER and discusses the first-mover fallacy, 10x better and competitive moats.

Following last week's appeal, we have added further capacity with an extra launch and yacht. Hattaf.Ansari@fka.nz has more details and will reserve your place.

The above are contributions from Cornelius and Ralf W following yesterday's ADI mentor call.

Rudi - Today my notice is coming late from Dallas, Texas. Cornelius - How's Dallas? [GIF attached] Ralf - Cornelius, wrong picture just cannot recall who was who. [pic attached] Cornelius - Haha, it suits him so well...

This time James Veitch is not playing with a scammer but he is demonstrating that extracting returns from a roommate can be more nerve-wracking than getting returns from a startup. Watch the video!

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#34

20/9/2019


	20 September 2019 #34

In case you've missed it. FKA HQ has moved from our Takapuna address c/o Three Sixty Capital Partners to GridAKL - John Lysaght, Level 1, 101 Pakenham Street West, Auckland Central, Auckland, 1010.

Thank you to our long-serving Postman Pat aka Greg Young.

Whist the voluntary administration of StretchSense is underway, Zozo Chief Executive Yusaku Maezawa is stepping down to devote more time to training for his trip to the moon in 2023.

Yahoo Japan to buy online fashion retailer Zozo for ¥400B.

On Tuesday Tim regaled the masses, an audience of 80 with his talk. It was about SaaS and the sassy or not so sassy life of a startup founder.

Furthermore, we had updates from Datagate, Fuel50 and Hot Lime Labs. All have made great progress.

A big thank you to NZTE for hosting our pitch night and
to Potentia for stocking and staffing the bar!!!

Last up, Sharon outlined 50 Angels Sailing. Essentially, two Angel teams racing against each other. Fuelled by champagne, wine and craft beer.

Uber home! Private chef Stephen will prepare hand-stuffed rolls of Sfinciuni - authentic flat Italian stuffed bread from olive dough filled with capers, capsicum and aubergine with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan and 'Caprese rolls' - Clevedon buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto filo, sun blush tomato with basil pesto and baby salad leaves in a Focaccia roll delicious!

All for this good cause and all donations to NZ Sailing Trust

We have more demand than we have room on the two racing yachts so any yachties who can contribute some cruising capacity are most welcome. Please, talk to our 'race master' Hattaf.Ansari@fka.nz

From camel racing on dry sand to yacht racing on wet water.

Coffee at the #1 address for startups in Auckland, dare we say NZ

Prebook your coffee here.

Fee Freedom Fighter's friend Marvin surfaced this article that casts further light on the dodgy WeWork saga. Rudi says «Stay with good DD and trust your gut, don't follow the inflationary US VCs!»

Interesting data on the effectiveness of influencer marketing. For our market researcher Debra, marketers Cornelius and Genevieve but not just for them.

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#33

13/9/2019


	13 September 2019 #33

Different place, different time and different format! At NZTE starting already at 18:00, a great talk to kick it off. Tuesday 17 September 2019.

Find out more & grab your ticket here

Current ticket sales suggest that founders are beating angels to the game. So Angels, flap your wings and even out the numbers! Don't miss out on what promises to be a great night
Great bartender too

Share the invite link tiny.cc/fka-pn1909

Here is the video recording of the session with Marvin Liao. Two LinkedIn posts with this video have stimulated a discussion of NZ Angel practices, practices that deviate from international best practice and risk getting in the way of building a more productive ecosystem.

Post A ◇ Post B

Every year before The AANZ Summit it's time for the survey of Angels.

Give it 10 minutes of your time!

Angel Survey ◇ Founder Survey

This was our ADI crew in Auckland this week. A sprinkle of white wisdom from Garth, legal mojo from LoJo's Josh with the wooing smile, Andy sticking his nose from the right in, to name but a few of the sterling mentors. Great to see how mentors work as a team, no competition of egos here.

David F (also NZVIF), Debra (also KiwiNet) and Rudi attended the MBIE consultation session yesterday for what do with the $300m - more formally referred to as the Venture Capital Fund (CVF).

We have linked the Industry Consultation Document here. You can make an individual submission to influence the implementation of the bill or circle back to Rudi to compile a collective submission from FKA.

No prizes for guessing the names of the three gentlemen that were first at the MBIE lunch trough.

2019 Funding Round All Done

We are pleased to announce the successful close of FileInvite's latest capital funding round. Following a short rolling close during August to accommodate two late investments, the round was hard closed on 3rd of September having successfully achieved our target investment amount of NZ$1M. A total of 636,255 new shares were issued with a total new investment of $1,056,182 made in the company.

We would like to welcome all new shareholders investing under existing nominees Flying Kiwi Angels, Enterprise Angels and Icehouse Ventures, and would also like to welcome to the company new investors from Angel Investors Marlborough (AIM), Angel HQ, Brisbane Angels, Canterbury Angels, Devonport VC LLC, and Manawatu Investment Group (MIG)

Thank you all for your ongoing support and joining us on the journey to be the global leader in document collection. Stay tuned for some exciting times ahead! Your James Sampson

Last week the IPO value was slashed from US$47B to US$20M. This week's news is "Both of its lead financial advisers - JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. - have concerns about proceeding with an IPO."Bloomberg 2019. What about the cleaners and employee relations? Bloomberg 2017.

Newsletter ➢ ᴀFKAғ•2019#32

6/9/2019


	6 September 2019 #32

Join the 7 Million User Party! There are few perks for Angels but every Kami party is definitely one of them. Don't miss it!

Saturday 7 September, 18:00 @ Kami HQ, 214 K Rd, AKL. RSVP

We'll have the Tim Talk at our 17 September pitch night. It was the top-rated talk next to the keynote from Marvin Liao at Callaghan's #SouthernSaaS19. Here the NBR extract and the LinkedIn reactions.

Steve our investor rep for Datagate has scheduled the following shareholder updates. Mark will give a briefing via video call and call for money. Remember new money is always welcome!

Fri 13 Sep 12:30	FKA members
Tue 17 Sep 12:00	All Datagate investors
Wed 18 Sep12:00	All Datagate investors

Thursday afternoon 17 October, see the full details here.

Email Hattaf.Ansary@fka.nz to secure your spot! The two boats are filling up fast.

The same hipster that was advertising soap so brilliantly the other week brings you sunglasses with a twist this week. Here's the ad, here's the test. Startups, think smart about your advertising!

Normally we advocate focus for startups and would say single purpose beats multipurpose but not so with "The Hook".

After Renée Zellweger's Indecent Proposal here comes another Netflix flick that reverses gender stereotypes, French style.

We had a visit from Royalty at ADI Auckland this week - Frank Simon, the former chairman of the notorious and prestigious Caos Computer Club. He is a cat herder of a different kind, the co-founder of a cattery on the Kapiti Coast. He is keen to help with ADI Wellington and hook up with Palmy Angels.

Last week we questioned the WeWork valuation and business model. This week they have slashed their IPO valuation from US$47B to US$20B.

So, IPO valuation is as much an art as it is for startups?

MYOB's Head Start - Pitch Night RSVP

Wed, 25 September 2019 1800-2100

Froth Technologies growing Aotearoa’s first commercially available beer yeast. Getaflex providing flexible work for all professionals. Spout Alternatives eliminating plastic milk bottle waste in cafes by providing a milk on tap solution. Smile Initiative tackling mental health in the workplace. Stay Native sharing authentic indigenous experiences in Aotearoa with travellers from all over the world.

Not Nek Minnit but a day later... RSVP

In this video, James is not dealing with a scam artist but rather with a misdirected email from a pool builder. Very funny if you're not a pool builder.

Ponder this: In kindy boys dig dinosaurs and girls love pink unicorns. Later in life, many men chase unicorns.

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