BNZ Start-up Alley is a celebration of New Zealand start-ups. We want to celebrate start-ups seeking to scale rapidly, those doing social enterprise work and those seeking to establish themselves as long-term, sustainable businesses.
The competition is an opportunity to take your start-up to the next level. It might just be the helping hand you need and it’s certainly a promotional opportunity you won’t get anywhere else.
6 Start-ups. 2 winners. There’s 6 opportunities at Webstock ‘15 at the BNZ Start-up Alley. If your start-up is chosen you’ll be able to tell everyone at Webstock what you’re about and pitch your start-up to our panel of expert judges in front of a live audience. The winning start-up will receive $20,000 and more!
The prizes
Each of the 6 finalists will receive:
- A $1,000 cash prize.
- Two free tickets to Webstock ’15 — Thursday 19 and Friday 20 February.
- The opportunity to promote yourself to Webstock attendees and speakers via a specially produced BNZ Start-up Alley section in the conference handbook.
- The opportunity to have a 30min meeting with the Start-Up Alley judges on Wednesday 18 February.
- The opportunity to have an specific coaching for your pitch at Start-up Alley via NZTE.
- The opportunity to be part of the BNZ Start-up Alley event on Thursday night at Webstock. Three minutes to pitch yourself to judges. Ten minutes to answer their questions. All in front of a live audience.
- BNZ “health check” – a chat about your business with one of our specialists to see how BNZ can help meet your needs.
The runner-up will receive:
- A $10,000 cash prize.
- Return trip for 2 to the USA to further their business
- Programme place at Kiwi Landing Pad
- Icehouse Programme place (Business Fundamentals 1 day course)
- Support through NZTE’s Better by Capital Programme to refine their business growth, capital plan and prepare their business for international growth (Up to $5,000 worth of Specialist Engagement)
The winner will receive:
- A $20,000 cash prize.
- Return trip for 2 to the USA to further their business
- Programme place at Kiwi Landing Pad
- Icehouse Programme place (Business Fundamentals 1 day course)
- Support through NZTE’s Better by Capital Programme to refine their business growth, capital plan and prepare their business for international growth (Up to $5,000 worth of Specialist Engagement)
The Finalists
The 6 finalists are:
The Judges
Lance Wiggs
Lance is the founder of Punakaiki Fund, which raised $4.1 million in 2014 to invest in growing internet, technology and design-led companies. Punakaiki Fund’s first four investments in April 2014 included two former Webstock Start-up Alley finalists, Timely (who won in 2013) and InfluxHQ (a 2014 finalist), along with Wellington’s own Mindscape and Auckland’s Vibe Communications. We suspect, and Lance confirms, that there will be more Start-up Alley related announcements as they are in the middle of investing their latest rounds of fund raising.
Lance is one of the four external NZTE Better by Capital practitioners, helping over 35 companies (including one Start-up Alley graduate) so far become more investable through Challenge Workshops. He is a co-founder of My Tours and an investor in and director of Lingopal, 200Square, Pocketsmith, My Tours, and Define Instruments, amongst others. He tried to put something humorous here.
Derek Sivers
Originally a professional musician and circus clown, Derek Sivers created CD Baby in 1998.
It became the largest seller of independent music online, with $100M in sales for 150,000 musicians.
In 2008, Derek sold CD Baby for $22M, giving the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education.
Anna Guenther
Anna Guenther is the co-founder and Chief Bubble Blower of PledgeMe, New Zealand’s first crowdfunding platform. Since launching 3 years ago, over 740 creative, community and entrepreneurial projects have raised almost $3.5million through PledgeMe.
Anna has also worked for the New Zealand Government, MIT and Harvard, and completed her Masters in Entrepreneurship with a focus on crowdfunding.
Harry Ferreira
Harry is the Head of Small Business at the Bank of New Zealand. He has held the reins as BNZ Small Business has won the Canstar Award for Best Small Business Bank in New Zealand for the last three years running. Outside of BNZ he has started and run successful business of his own in both South Africa and New Zealand.
And your MC for the evening
Nat Torkington
Nat ran the first web server in New Zealand, wrote a bestselling programming book, chaired the biggest open source programming conference in North America, and was a trend spotter for O’Reilly Media. He returned to New Zealand in 2005 and started Kiwi Foo Camp, a gathering of influential New Zealanders. He is currently Head of Partnerships for Hapara, an education startup based in Palo Alto and Auckland. Somewhere in there, he finds time to play bluegrass banjo.
The Fine Print
Please read the Terms and Conditions [PDF] that apply to the event and competition. By entering into this competition it is deemed you have read the Terms & Conditions. You agree to be used for promotional purposes by Webstock and the BNZ. You agree to interviews as required.