Entries from April 2009 ↓

The Angel Association in conjunction with Angel HQ and Simpson Grierson ran a workshop at PwC in Wellington yesterday on Term Sheets.  The instructional part of the course was well delivered by Simon Vannini (Simpson Grierson), but the most interesting part of the afternoon was the panel discussion led by David Beard (Movac), Brent Ogilvie (Pacific Channel), Andrew Turnbull (ICE Angels) and Gavin Milnes (No 8). The attendees liberally related war stories and shared past foibles in a frank yet lighthearted way, which was worth the price of admission.

NZVIF have a Guide to Term Sheets (including sample documents) which covers most of the material we talked about, and is a great place for entrepreneurs and angels to start.

WaikatoLink has been named as one of the first members of the International Incubation Initiative, Icube, launched by Exploit Technologies at the New Zealand Business Forum in Singapore yesterday. Icube was set up to encourage innovation, new opportunities, collaboration and international business linkages through greater access to incubators internationally.

WaikatoLink Chief Executive Mark Stuart says, “Good networks and support services are vital for growing New Zealand businesses wanting to achieve success in overseas markets.  Singapore provides a great leveraging platform for our technologies and ventures, particularly due to their interest in innovation and collaboration.  There is also an abundance of private sector capital to tap into.”

Icube will help start-ups from WaikatoLink, the commercial arm of the University of Waikato, and other participating incubators find business partners, customers and investors in the South East Asia market.

New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister, the Hon Murray McCully, was a Guest of Honour at the Forum to witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Exploit Technologies and the new partners.  The agreement outlined collaborative activities and services designed to help start-ups increase their global presence, including: provision of a virtual international office, use of office space, extended international incubation for business engagement or research and development, mentoring and advisory services, and access to angel networks.

Mr Boon Swan Foo, Executive Chairman of Exploit Technologies said, “In recent years, the number of global start-ups is growing; and the collective potential of global start-ups as a powerful economic engine begins to emerge. Having a robust network of partners who can provide support services to homegrown start‐ups overseas will eliminate some of the risk for these new entrants.”

WaikatoLink currently has nine high potential subsidiary companies under incubation.  WaikatoLink’s successful incubator, VentureLink, has operated for a number of years for ventures based on University of Waikato science and technology. WaikatoLink’s incubation expertise was opened up to entrepreneurs and other organisations last year as part of the university’s commitment to innovation and regional economic development.

WaikatoLink’s Icube membership builds on other global linkages the company has established recently.  Last year WaikatoLink partnered with Tsinghua University in Beijing to open up a commercialisation pathway into China; secured a relationship with the Market Access Centre in the US; and joined Singapore’s Technology Transfer Network (TTN), an international alliance formed in 2008 to accelerate the commercialisation of technology to industry.

WaikatoLink’s Mark Stuart was also invited to present at the New Zealand Business Forum on New Zealand’s world‐leading research capability in biotechnology and the fit with Singapore’s science commercialisation expertise and resources. The presentation and panel discussion outlined thriving partnerships already in existence and considers possibilities for future cooperation.

3D and geospatial technologies encompass fascinating sciences that open up exciting new worlds for us all. Some of the hottest new companies in these areas are to be found on our own doorstep.

This week Wellington’s premier information and communication technology network Unlimited Potential hosts the UP3D event featuring presentations from Nextspace and Geospatial Research Centre NZ . Both industry bodies are looking to share their technology and engage with developer and entrepreneur communities.

Event manager and Unlimited Potential Executive Committee member Paul Spence says “anyone interested in 3D graphics and geospatial applications should attend UP3D to see tech demos and learn how cutting edge technology research translates into commercial products and services.”

*EVENT DETAILS:*
When: 5.30pm, Friday 24th April
Where: Wellington Chamber of Commerce.
RSVP essential: http://up.org.nz/up3d-2009/

Confirmed speakers:
Gavin Lennox (CEO, Nextspace)
Dr. Steven Mills Geospatial Research Centre NZ

Special Event – FREE admission

Why? Listen to top tips from The ICEHOUSE CEO, Andy Hamilton, about access to funding in the current market.

Who? Anyone looking for business funding to get your business off the ground.

When? Wednesday 29 April, 12 noon – 1pm

Where? The ICEHOUSE, Level 2, Textile Centre, 117-125 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland

Registrations for this event are free.  To register or for more information, phone Mariko King on (09) 308 6200.

Auckland-based wireless power solutions company PowerbyProxi has secured investment to accelerate growth from local investors Movac and Evander Management <outbind://5/#_msocom_1> , sending a positive signal that high growth potential businesses are still getting funded in these changing economic times.

PowerbyProxi delivers ‘unplugged power’ – eliminating the need for a physical power cable. The technology was developed to change the way electricity is delivered in hostile industrial environments where traditional power cables and physical connectors are problematic due to moving parts and/or wet and dirty environments. The technology can also be used for consumer device applications where convenience or design demands a wireless power solution.

PowerbyProxi Executive Chairman Greg Cross says, “PowerbyProxi are pioneers in the design and development of turnkey wireless power solutions.  We’re delighted to have the backing of Movac and Evander Management as we go to market.  Their investment and expertise will be used to accelerate technology development, grow the team and build on the 2008 launch of our first commercial products in the US.”

The current cap round as well as the follow-on round were fully taken up by angel investor Movac with a track record of early stage investment success including TradeMe, and Evander Management Limited a private investment company.

David Beard a partner at Movac said, “With all of our investments we look for high growth potential, and the PowerbyProxi technology, team and global potential impressed. We’re funding a company that has a fantastic market opportunity and a really compelling sales proposition. Movac is committed to investing in early stage companies.  This investment shows that businesses can still get money in tough times if they are focused on meeting unmet needs.”

PowerbyProxi, based at the ICEHOUSE business growth centre, is founded based on leading edge research from the University of Auckland in 2007.  The company has already come to the attention of industry due to a 12 month development effort with John Deere.

PowerbyProxi recently completed the commercial launch of the Proxi-RingTM, a completely contactless slip ring which is used to transfer power across 360 degree rotating joints.  The new technology replaces mechanical slip rings which have a reputation for failure and high associated maintenance costs.

Greg Cross says, “Securing investment has allowed us to accelerate our plans for key international markets like the US and Japan.  It will also enable us to build out our research and development team who really are doing some ground breaking work in this exciting space.”

Today’s guest blogger is Simon Telfer.

Does governance have an image problem? Possibly so. While 73% of the  Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 companies have boards there is anecdotal evidence that many other high growth organisations are slow to embrace external directors and formalised boards.

Why is that? Perceptions that a board’s primary contribution is centered around compliance has gradually shifted – strategic planning and direction is now recognized as being twice as important as other board functions including governance culture, management accountability and compliance.  Two other issues may therefore be impacting the adoption of governance:

1. Alignment: directors are typically seen as being older, more conservative and culturally misaligned with the new breed of rapid growth ventures.
2. Access: entrepreneurs have limited opportunities to be exposed to potential directors and informally discuss or experience the value and support that can be provided.

These were some of the ideas behind SpringBoard – a group recently formed to support the next generation of New Zealand directors and to promote age diversity around the board table. Existing directors or trustees under 45 years of age now have a forum for sharing ideas and experiences as well as the ability to professionally grow through attendance at events.  SpringBoard actively promotes younger directors for appointment to established and nascent boards in both the commercial and NFP sectors.

If you’re interested in joining this community then connect with us via LinkedIn.  If you’re looking to be put in touch with directors from a younger demographic please make contact with SpringBoard here.

As further insights arise in relation to high growth governance we’ll share them with you via this NZ Angels blog.

Basho Technologies, a Massachusetts-based startup offering software to improve sales performance, has had an interesting ride obtaining funding from investors.  The Wall Street Journal reports that after a year of trying to secure funding with VC’s, they gave up and were pleasantly surprised by the difference in attitude and approach of angels.  They found that angels were much more engaged in meetings, and offered much greater diversity.

According to a University of New Hampshire study,  “the number of [US] venture capital deals fell 10% to 2,550 in 2008, according to VentureSource, the number of angel investments dropped only 2.9% to 55,480 deals.”

Read the full article at WSJ.com