Kia ora,

As 2022 gets underway there’s one thing we can be certain about. The level of uncertainty will continue to be high as the pandemic progresses through its stages. Notwithstanding this, the number of investible start-ups coming through continues to be strong. The line-up we had at our first pitch evening on 24^th February was outstanding (see below). We expect this to continue.

It’s pleasing to report a couple of our portfolio companies FileInvite and Winely are making excellent progress raising capital, increasing their ARR, and expansion into international markets.

Currently, we have a team undertaking Due Diligence on OrbViz who presented at our December pitch event. More details on this in the next couple of weeks.

A major focus for this year is to increase our membership. To this end, once the Omicron wave has passed, we are planning to host an event that will focus on debunking some of the myths about angel investing (eg you have to be wealthy, know lots about tech, and invest large sums of money) and presenting some CA investors stories on their investment journeys. More on this later in March.

It is sad to report the passing of Gerald Carter earlier this year. Gerald was a former CA Board member and chair, was very active in supporting a number of the start-ups and was heavily involved in supporting the start-up ecosystem. His contribution will be missed. 

Ngā mihi

Paul Claridge

Chair 

Interesting Stuff

An extremely relevant piece on Founder Wellness from NZ Entrepreneur plus a timely article on Due Diligence.

We owe a duty of care to founder mental health and it requires a collaborative solution – NZ Entrepreneur Magazine

Due Diligence Mistakes and Lessons Learned | Seraf-Investor.com

Investor News

Our first investor evening of 2022 was held on the 24^th of February and thanks to Omicron we had to hold another virtual event. We had a stellar line-up of companies, and the quality of the pitches was exceptional. The evening itself was one of the best we have had the pleasure to host, and it was also great to see Bambax fresh out of the UCE Summer Startup Programme highlighting the future of entrepreneurs in Ōtautahi.

For those of you who missed it, the companies that pitched are noted below. Pitch decks have been sent to all members and please contact Gabby if you are interested in any of the companies.

Orbis Diagnostics is a next-generation point of care diagnostics company that is transforming personal healthcare. Powered by microfluidic and photonic innovations, Orbis’ automated desktop system has miniaturised medical labs to deliver real-time, actionable test results from a finger-prick of blood.

Greenbox is on a mission to give Kiwis the parcel delivery service they deserve. Fast. Convenient. Sustainable. Secure. Their network of automated parcel lockers will facilitate “out of home” delivery, shrinking the last mile burden in New Zealand by 1000x, transforming the way we send and receive parcels, and reducing carbon emissions by 65 – 95%.

Friendly Manager is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business that makes this sort of club management easy. Friendly Manager gives sports clubs and community groups the opportunity to have a single cloud-based eco-system integrated with all essential tools so they can efficiently manage their business

Supergenerous provides an effortless digital service that automates donation rebates, of which $250 million goes unclaimed each tax year in NZ alone. They can access the past 4 years of unclaimed tax rebates for new customers, then automate the yearly claiming process going forward, creating a lifelong revenue stream in the process.

HT Systems has developed an innovative, quick, and easy lifter to move people with limited mobility between sitting positions. HT Systems have a strong mission and driving vision to ensure a safer and easier way of transferring people in care. They aim to ensure safe working environments for caregivers, respectful support of people in care, and ultimately, to enable people to live their best lives.

Bambax is a sustainable food packaging company on a mission to create the change that is necessary. Through innovating new manufacturing technology with the latest developments in biopolymers, Bambax aims to create 100% compostable and biodegradable food packaging with extended shelf-life capabilities.

Events

In a month where most in-person events were either moved to virtual or cancelled completely, the AANZ Summit was a rare event that managed to go ahead, albeit with limited attendance. CA were well represented with Gabby, Joelle, David, and Steven all making the shortlist and it was a busy and informative two days. Gabby and Steven summarised how things unfolded, and you can read their review here.

We are working on our first Investor Education event for 2022 and the first topic we will be exploring is founder wellness and we hopefully have an exciting speaker lined up. Watch this space for more details.

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