2013-05-15 11:50:31 // Sim Ahmed
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
Don't let Vaughan Rowsell's devilishly good looking mustache fool you, the man knows how to close a deal. Today his Auckland-based cloud point of sale company has announced it's raised NZ$8 million and it's planning to put it to good use growing the team overseas.
2013-05-06 10:44:13 // Robert Bruce
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
Do you ever feel like everyone wants a piece of you? That everyone wants your time or ideas (or cash) for no payment, and that it’s just never enough?
2013-05-01 17:02:04 // Skye Wishart
| 1 comment
National Science Challenges came into being because basically, in Sir Peter Gluckman’s words, “Science makes our lives better and our country richer”. They were announced today by Minister Steven Joyce – with news also that the budget has been boosted by an extra $73.5 million on top of the $60 million set aside in last year’s budget.
2013-04-26 12:19:14 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
This year’s Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships are now open for applications, offering senior managers, business owners and executives an opportunity to attend world-class learning institutions overseas.
2013-04-17 09:56:32 // Idealog
Local company PowerbyProxi has just closed a $5 million Series C funding round, with US-based TE Connectivity taking a share in the business, and existing investor, New Zealand VC firm Movac, also upping its stake.
2013-04-15 12:47:35 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
InternetNZ has announced the list of successful recipients of its community funding.
The majority of the funding comes from the one-off Community Investment Funding round, which sees individuals and groups with internet-focused projects receiving financial assistance towards their work.
2013-04-05 09:38:01 // Idealog
| 2 comments
Good news for New Zealand startups: the Angel Association is out to recruit 200 new angel investors over the next year.
2013-03-19 14:15:03 // Carl Beck
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
As traditional venture capital all over the world seems headed for extinction, a new breed of risk capital is flourishing. Flourishing everywhere, it seems, apart from New Zealand.
2013-03-13 13:19:25
// The Idealog Blog
There's $500,000 up for the taking for fresh ideas and support projects to help reduce waste going to landfill in Auckland.
2013-03-12 16:01:56 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
ART Venture, a business acceleration programme for entrepreneurial practitioners, producers and arts leaders, is on the lookout for its next intake of participants.
2013-03-12 14:50:07 // Idealog
Flossie is on the prowl for investors, just a couple of months after raising an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by Mike Carden and Pete Weaver, formerly of Sonar6.
2013-02-27 10:25:21 // Idealog
The government is underwriting the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund by $60m to encourage more private investment into new venture capital funds.
2013-02-27 09:51:55 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Kiwi mobile payments company Pushpay has raised more than $1 million in capital from local investors. Plans to expand its operations in North America to take a crack at the valuable US market.
2013-02-22 11:10:35 // Idealog
Nexus6, an Auckland-based medical devices company, has closed $4.6m of new investment to support international expansion of its Smartinhaler range.
2013-02-11 09:42:04 // Sim Ahmed
// The Idealog Blog
New Zealand gaming studio Grinding Gear Games bucked the Kickstarter trend and instead brought its crowdfunding in-house, raising more than US$2.5 million towards developing its first game, Path of Exile.
2013-01-25 13:18:51 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Dave McClure of 500 Startups was in New Zealand not too long ago as part of the Geeks on a Plane initiative. Here, he talks to NZTE about the best techniques for presenting your story when you're trying to raise capital. Hint: know your audience, keep it succinct, and acknowledging your vulnerabilities goes a long way to building credibility.
2012-12-20 09:16:04 // Idealog
Burger Fuel Worldwide has raised $3 million from two of shareholder Milford Asset Management's funds, issuing 1.6 million shares at $1.25 apiece (a one percent discount to its 20-day volume weighted average price.
2012-12-19 09:51:31 // Esther Goh
TradeGecko.com, a cloud-based inventory and sales management SaaS application for SMEs started by a trio of Kiwis, has closed a US$650,000 seed funding round less than three months after launching its public beta.
2012-12-18 09:25:28 // Sim Ahmed
// The Idealog Blog
Online advocacy group InternetNZ is funding initiatives to advance the New Zealand internet, in a new round of community project grants that could be worth up to $20,000 for successful applicants.
2012-12-14 13:39:39 // Sim Ahmed
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Beauty and health deals website Flossie.com has secured an undisclosed amount of capital in a funding round led by Mike Carden and Pete Weaver, formerly of Sonar6. The two have been appointed directors of the startup as a part of Flossie's second funding round, which closed on 1 December.
2012-12-12 08:51:10 // Idealog
Kiwi programmer Paul Hunkin has nabbed US$25,000 in venture capital funding to create a travel booking platform for the east African tourism industry and been accepted into an accelerator programme to kickstart the idea.
2012-12-03 10:15:38 // Idealog
US-based Valar Ventures and Matrix Capital Management are upping their stakes in cloud accounting software maker Xero, which has yet to turn a profit but says it's focusing on ramping up growth.
2012-11-29 08:04:22 // Idealog
Stay Today, a price-drop app for booking same-day accommodation (see previous Idealog stories here and here) and data management provider Mohio have been awarded $150,000 and $100,000 respectively by the Global from Day One Fund, according to the Herald.
2012-11-26 09:31:44 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
Bill Payne is one of America’s leading angel investors, with more than two decades of experience under his belt. When he speaks, entrepreneurs listen.
2012-11-13 10:06:20 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Last month we introduced you to the HiLo, an extension for your iPhone camera or iPad camera with a right angle lens. With a week left to go, the project has already raised more than US$29,000 (well over its original goal of $27,500 in pledges) and Hampton has added a stretch goal of $37,500.
2012-10-11 11:40:31 // Idealog
It’s official: Kiwi investors will soon be able to buy a piece of Moa Beer, with Moa Group Limited set to proceed with an issue of shares to raise $15 million.
2012-10-09 17:06:12 // Idealog
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and the Icehouse are formalising their partnership, with ATEED putting $70,000 of investment in to seal the deal.
2012-10-04 09:25:33 // Idealog
Cleantech pioneer LanzaTech has closed US$15 million in debt financing from a private investment firm in Silicon Valley.
2012-10-03 16:10:05 // Idealog
Food and gaming – two Kiwi growth industries – are at the core of three companies that won funding from the AUT Venture Fund last week.
2012-09-18 15:03:53.650070 // Idealog
| 3 comments
New contestable fund is targeted at New Zealand tourism businesses developing products and services that inspire more Japanese people to visit
2012-08-28 08:12:29 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
The last few Young Company Finance Index findings have pointed to a trend for angel investors investing less at a time, and the latest results are no different.
2012-08-24 09:00:46 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Do you aspire to being a high-performing, world class entrepreneur? (Stupid question, really.)
2012-08-22 12:00:44 // Idealog
The new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is inviting applications from businesses for the 2012 Technology Development Grant, its flagship investment programme.
2012-08-20 08:59:27 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Thought NZ On Air was all about broadcasting? It's branching out with a new digital media fund, offering $1 million for a few "substantial" projects through DMF Kickstart, and $400,000 for smaller initiatives through DMF Ignite.
2012-08-13 08:44:17 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Dick Smith (yes, that one) launched the Wilberforce Award in Australia well over a year ago, hoping to find someone under the age of 30 who showed leadership in "communicating an alternative to our population and consumption growth-obsessed economy".
2012-08-09 16:20:04 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Pledgeme is the big kahuna in Kiwi crowdfunding, but joining it on the podium is Social Backing, which launched last month.
2012-08-08 13:17:20 // Design Daily Team
// The Idealog Blog
An award-winning Kiwi design writer is hoping crowdfunding will help him take the New Zealand design story to an international conference in Brazil next month.
2012-08-01 10:50:17 // Idealog
Increasing sustainable resource use is a key thrust of the Ministry for Primary Industries' Strategy 2030 and it's opening two funding rounds this month to promote sustainability in agribusiness.
2012-07-25 13:16:40 // Franceska Banga
// The Idealog Blog
| 8 comments
If a tree falls in an empty forest, does it make a sound? That is the sort of conundrum startups face if they have an idea that no one wants or needs.
2012-07-24 12:38:51 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Our favourite crowdfunding campaign this week has got to be Who Gives A Crap, the brainchild of some Aussies out to bring a new brand of toilet paper to the market that uses 50 percent of its profits to build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.
2012-07-23 13:24:35 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
There's just one week left to enter this year's University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurial Challenge, with entry cut-off at the end of this month.
2012-07-19 16:56:39 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
More than $1 million has been doled out to 10 projects that will reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfills, under the latest round of the Waste Minimisation Fund.
2012-06-26 10:07:04 // Idealog
Venture capital firm MOVAC's third fund has closed after successfully raising $42 million to invest in New Zealand companies.
2012-06-21 21:13:09 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Asia is the future – you've heard it enough times. And if you're in the tourism biz, Auckland Airport's new Tourism Asia Marketing Fund could be just your ticket.
2012-06-12 10:10:36 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Standout scientist or aspiring business leader? Step up and shake the governmental money tree – both the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes and Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships are now accepting applications for the year.
2012-06-01 10:13:34 // Idealog
| 1 comment
More than ever, tech startups – by necessity – are setting their sights on offshore markets from day one, and a new angel investment fund wants to give them a leg up along the way.
2012-05-24 14:30:39 // Esther Goh
Two Ministry of Economic Development funds have been cancelled in the latest budget with both the Enterprising Partnerships Fund and the Transformational Initiatives Fund disestablished, bringing back $26.1 million over the next four years into the government fold.
2012-05-22 13:54:54 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
Got a fantastic business idea? Want to turn your startup into a successful enterprise? Have a business with great growth potential?
2012-04-13 08:57:03 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
The Arts Foundation is building a crowdfunding website that it predicts will raise millions every year upon its launch in September, with a charitable twist.
2012-04-04 14:08:44 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
More than $370,000 of grants were given to Christchurch projects by InternetNZ in its latest Christchurch funding tound.
2012-04-03 15:29:37 // Idealog
// The Idealog Blog
For the first time New Zealand women have the chance to apply for a National Fellowship programme to support a career in science.
2012-03-28 07:50:46 // Idealog
There's $10 million up for grabs for startups over the next five years, thanks to a renewed partnership between Ice Angels and NZVIF.
2012-03-22 21:41:59 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
Kiwi tech companies will be first in line to benefit from Facebook investor Peter Thiel and the NZVIF teaming up to form a $40 million New Zealand-based venture capital fund.
2012-03-20 12:17:49 // Aimee Whitcroft
// The Idealog Blog
Welcome, dear readers, to the most recent foray into the new, very exciting (and entirely necessary, given the increasing squeeze on science funding from all fronts) world of crowdfunded science/research: Petridish.
2012-03-09 09:00:01 // Idealog
| 1 comment
Melbourne Business School is offering partial scholarships to applicants affected by the Christchurch earthquakes.
2012-03-06 14:54:55 // Idealog
Angel are investing smaller amounts in each deal as they focus on supporting existing companies rather than investing in new businesses, according to the latest Young Company Finance Index.
2012-02-29 13:43:22 // Paul Adams
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
New Zealand is at a public research crossroad: push it into the real world or continue to write off vast amounts.
2012-02-27 17:07:03 // Stacey Riordan
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
When it comes to evaluating potential investment opportunities, it all comes down to the three Ts.
2012-02-16 14:50:22 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
Angel investment groups, it seems, still think women are only suited to being Charlie's Angels.
2012-02-14 13:45:02 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 5 comments
Taika Waititi has taken to Kickstarter to drum up $90,000 in order to bring the film Boy to US cinemas.
2012-02-13 10:27:20 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
The EU is on a drive to recruit talented scientists from around the world, and three Kiwis are already leading the way.
2012-01-24 11:10:10 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
Experts agree the Asia Pacific region can expect continual growth in private equity, according to the Ernst & Young 2012 Private Equity Outlook report.
2012-01-24 10:36:24 // Idealog
LanzaTech, the Kiwi producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases and darling of the cleantech biz, has closed its Series C round with new investment totaling US$55.8 million ($68.8 million) led by the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.
2012-01-19 16:42:00 // Siobhan Leathley
// The Idealog Blog
| 1 comment
More than 70 community projects aimed at protecting and nurturing Auckland have received grants from Auckland Council’s Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF).
2012-01-11 14:13:53 // Siobhan Leathley
Christchurch may not be able to catch a break of late, but there's a new, if small, Red Cross grant to help earthquake-affected businesses get back on their feet.
2011-12-13 09:03:38 // Esther Goh
The government must give the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund room to grow if it is to survive, says the head of the national venture capital association.
2011-12-08 09:14:14 // Idealog
Ten finalists have been announced in the BNZ Presents: The Virgin Business Challenge, a competition to find New Zealand’s best start-up talent.
2011-12-05 14:27:08 // Idealog
Wellington-based angel investment group Angel HQ is partnering with the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund to invest up to $8 million into startup companies.
2011-11-29 12:09:53 // Idealog
When Sir Richard Branson put out a challenge to New Zealand businesses last month, they responded in force. A total of 263, in fact, which have now been whittled down to 15 finalists.
2011-11-24 15:48:45 // Peter Kerr
// The Idealog Blog
| 2 comments
One of the little secrets of the venture capital world, is, generally speaking, it ain’t doing that well from a returns point of view.
2011-11-14 13:42:20 // Idealog
An internet infrastructure mapping network and and two wireless broadband projects have scored close to $50,000 in funding from InternetNZ thanks to its Community Projects Funding Round.
2011-10-11 15:22:20 // Idealog
Small to medium-sized Canterbury businesses have a new avenue of support – the Vodafone Foundation and the Canterbury Business Recovery Trust have announced a joint venture to help quake-affected businesses grow.
2011-10-05 09:56:29 // Idealog
| 1 comment
An Auckland digital book producer has caught the eye of investors, completing its first significant round of funding.
2011-07-26 11:19:19 // Esther Goh
A New Zealand company has secured $1 million to help advance development of its technology to diagnose prostate cancer.
2011-06-21 17:05:58 // Esther Goh
// The Idealog Blog
BNZ and NZTE have announced a new funding venture to assist SMEs in completing the Icehouse's programme for owner-managers.
2011-02-10 08:22:54 // Stephen Jewell
// Idealog #31: now
Filmmaker David Blyth completes his
cult-horror trilogy after a 30-year hiatus in
the Hollywood “sausage factory”
2010-08-11 09:12:50 // Florence Noble
// Idealog #28: features
| 1 comment
Roseanne Liang directs her first feature film—based on her own life and starring two kung-fu movie veterans. No pressure, says Florence Noble.
2009-05-26 16:04:03 // Simon Young
// Idealog TV
| 2 comments
Tim Chang, Principal of Norwest Venture Partners in Silicon Valley, sees New Zealand as a source of unique and refreshing ideas, born out of our distance from easy capital. Being a VC from Silicon Valley, you'd expect him to advise Kiwi businesses to chase American money, but you may be surprised at his answer.
2009-05-24 19:09:44 // Simon Young
// The Idealog Blog
X-Media Lab was all about companies getting one-to-one advice, but some advice is true for all entrepreneurs.
