February 8th, 2010 — events
Kevin McCaffrey runs Effective Governance, an independent privately-owned consulting firm that delivers advice on Corporate Governance to clients in New Zealand and Australia. Kevin will discuss governance across all sectors of society and its power in making a difference. This will include how to do due diligence as a director.
When: Tuesday 16th Feb, 5.30-7.30pm
Where: Russell McVeagh, Level 24, Vodafone on the Park.
We look seeing you there, where you’ll have the opportunity to talk with Kevin and network with your Wellington peers.
Simon Telfer, co-founder of SpringBoard’s national group, who will talk more about SpringBoard and governance.
For more info and to RSVP, see the Springboard Wellington LinkedIn Group.
February 8th, 2010 — events
Unlimited Potential are running a Damsel’s Den event, where you can “get to know local angels before you pitch your brilliant idea to them. Angel HQ and Unlimited Potential matchmake our entrepreneurs and investors.”
When: Tuesday 9 March 2010 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Where: Deloittes 10 Brandon Street, Wellington
RSVP: Unlimited Potential
Special Guest: Bill Payne
I always advise entrepreneurs to get to know their local angels well in advance of even thinking about asking them to invest. This evening will be a perfect opportunity to network, practice some lines before using them in a pitch, and meet other entrepreneurs and investors.
See you there!
November 20th, 2009 — opinion
As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the DomPost published an interview with me headlined “Passion a crucial ingredient for success” on the relationship between angel investors and wannabe entrepreneurs, which is available online.
They haven’t published my take on factors that affect valuation online, so I’ll take the liberty of reproducing them here.
Valuations are very subjective, and it takes someone with significant domain expertise to even hazard a guess. That’s one of the reasons that angels like to syndicate deals – nobody is an expert in every domain.
Factors that effect valuation include:
- Team: Track record (both success and failure), commitment, passion, ethics
- Financials: Realistic cash flow forecasts, ability to do things on the cheap, and future capital requirements
- Product: Uniqueness, simplicity, how much pain it will alleviate
- Sexiness: How “hot” is the product and the space?
- Market: Size, addressability, familiarity
- Sales strategy: Customer acquisition cost/effort, ability to execute
- Business model: Rapid scalability, flexibility, operational complexity, robustness of assumptions
- Intellectual Property: Patents and other barriers to entry for potential competitors
- Competition: Can someone else easily squash your startup?
- Hygiene: Governance, tidy accounts, good legal agreements, no outstanding law suits or significant legal risks etc
One thing’s for sure: your company becomes a lot more valuable the day you sign on your first batch of significant customers, and is worth more again the day you become cash-flow positive.
It’s a surprise to many entrepreneurs that cash-in (ie, how much as been previously invested into the company) has little impact on an objective valuation – it’s a highly emotional issue that is often a real roadblock to doing a deal.
For a bit of fun, see Cayenne Consulting’s High Tech Valuation Estimator.
If you’re more serious about it, local companies like Valuecruncher provide reasonably priced objective valuations. The Angel Association / NZTE’s Escalator Service also does a great job of helping companies become investment ready, part of which is arriving at a valuation you’re comfortable with.
It’s a truism to say that your idea or company is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Don’t fall down the hole of holding out for an impossibly high valuation, as the real value in a high-growth company is its ability to outstrip that initial valuation quickly. Most investors will completely shut off when you give them a number that’s an order of magnitude out from what they think your company is really worth, and you may not get a second chance.
So instead of insisting that your company or idea is worth a lot more than your potential investor thinks it might be worth, ask what your investor can do to ensure that your company will have the resources and expertise it needs to realise its full potential.
November 4th, 2009 — news
The Springboard NZ governance group for emerging directors is starting up a Wellington Branch. The inagural meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 November at 5:30 pm at Minter Ellison, Level 24, Vodafone Tower.
For more information and to RSVP, please see the discussion on the SpringBoard Wellington LinkedIn subgroup.
September 27th, 2009 — news
Move over China, the future of manufacturing is alive in a five-person shop in Wellington, New Zealand. Think cheap, quick, green, and global. And everything’s made to order.
That’s the headline on the latest issue of Inc. Magazine, with Ponoko’s David ten Have on the cover.
This is a scene in every angel’s dream, where their investment’s CEO literally becomes a poster boy. David and the team totally deserve it too, as they’ve worked both hard and smart to make a market and change the game of manufacturing.
Good onya guys, New Zealand’s angel investors and entrepreneurs are right behind you, and would love to see your innovation and success replicated a thousand times over.
Update: Read the Inc. article online
Disclosure: my trust owns shares in Ponoko.
September 10th, 2009 — events
What: Wellington to the World 2009
When: Tuesday 17 November 2009 2:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Civic Suite, Level 2, Wellington Town Hall
Unlimited Potential’s W2W eventaims to build bridges between academia, technology entrepreneurs and investor communities. The focus for this year’s event is “internationalising your technology venture”. Appropriately, our keynote speaker will be Richard MacManus, local web entrepreneur and founder of ReadWriteWeb, one of the world’s leading tech blogs. This year W2W will be an official Global Entrepreneurship Week event and represents a huge opportunity for our local tech sector to gain global recognition.
August 21st, 2009 — events
Gadgets, Games & Geeks 2009
When: Monday 24 August 2009
4.30pm: Exhibits and doors open
6.00pm: Presentations start
Where: St James Theatre, Courtenay Place
Twitter feed: #ggg09; Flickr tag: GGG09
RSVP: http://up.org.nz/ggg-09/
Gadgets, Games and Geeks is Unlimited Potential’s showcase of Wellington’s vibrant and thriving information and communication technology sector, and will take place at the St James Theatre on Courtenay Place THIS COMING MONDAY. Come and network and get a chance to see both the latest innovations and catch-up on industry trends, developments and expertise.
Confirmed Speakers:
Bill Reichert, Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures
Tim Launder, Weta Cave
Andy Satterthwaite, Sidhe
August 11th, 2009 — events
In a bizarre turning of the tables, angels will be pitching to entrepreneurs on Monday 31 August 2009 from 5.30pm onwards at Deloitte House, 10 Brandon St, Wellington.
For more information, visit wellington.geek.nz, or register at Unlimited Potential.
April 21st, 2009 — events
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
March 5th, 2009 — events
Tony Seba is speaking in Wellington later this month on “Building a winner in uncertain times: the 9 fundamental rules of high-tech strategy”.
His book, Winners Take All, is available for free download from his web site.
WHEN: 4:00-6:00 Thursday 26th March 2008
WHERE: Paramount Theatre, 25 Courtney Place, Wellington.
COST: $225
Drinks and nibbles will be served for half an hour after the session to stimulate networking discussions.
You can book directly on PayPal.