Tindall becomes NZ’s first ‘Arch Angel’

November 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sir Stephen Tindall has been appointed the first ever New Zealand Arch Angel at the Angel Association of New Zealand’s second Angel Summit in Queenstown on Friday.

Angel Association Chair Andrew Hamilton said the award of Arch Angel honours Sir Stephen’s extraordinary contribution to the angel investing industry.

“Sir Stephen Tindall has invested over $150 million in seed and venture capital companies – both directly and as a fund-of-funds. He and his family have invested in over 100 New Zealand companies.

“His passion is to assist young entrepreneurs and he has invested in a variety of sectors including biotech, clean tech, IT and design led companies. He wants to see New Zealand develop as a leader in the ‘knowledge economy’, and to help create a culture of making New Zealand ‘cash flow positive’ in international goods and services trade.

“Sir Stephen’s wider contribution to New Zealand has been exceptional , including his charity work, founding Kea – the expat organisation that now has over 25,000 members worldwide, focusing on climate change, or actively investing into emerging Kiwi companies that are now taking on world markets. His contribution is quite extraordinary in a world-setting and we are extremely grateful to Stephen for his continued support and investment.”

Filed Under: Angel investment, News

Mesynthes Wins 2009 Bayer Innovation Award

August 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Mesynthes – a medical device company – has been recognised for it’s  work in the research and development of tissue scaffolds.  Mesynthes were awarded a Bayer Innovators Award in the Science and Health category.  Movac, Sparkbox and NZVIF have provided seed capital to Mesynthes.

The full press release follows:

Bayer Honours New Zealand’s Leading Innovators

Friday, 28 August 2009, 12:34 pm
Press Release: Bayer NZ

Bayer Honours New Zealand’s Leading Innovators

Auckland, Friday August 28 – Five of New Zealand’s leading lights have been acknowledged for their contributions to innovation at the 2009 Bayer Innovators Awards.

The Bayer Innovators Awards are designed to identify the country’s best and brightest innovators and this year’s winners are representatives from the science, commerce and agricultural sectors.

Winners were presented with their awards by the Minister for Research, Science and Technology, the Hon. Dr Wayne Mapp and Bayer Senior Country Representative Hans-Dieter Hausner.

Awards categories and winners are as follows:

Science and Health: Dr Brian Ward, founder and chief executive of Mesynthes Ltd. A medical device company, Mesynthes develops and manufactures speciality devices for wound healing and tissue reconstruction.

Design and Engineering: Rod Walker, executive director and head of research and development at Simcro Animal Health Delivery Systems. The company specialises in manufacturing customised animal drug delivery systems for the pharmaceutical industry.

Agriculture and the Environment: Professor Richard Warrick, founding director and chairman of the board of Climsystems Ltd. The company designs, develops, and markets advanced, user-friendly software systems for assessing climate variability and change.

Information Technology and Communications: Patrick Costigan, founder of Motorweb and chairman of the New Zealand Inventors Trust. Motorweb is a web-based e-government system which facilitates motor industry transactions with government departments while improving consumer protection and reducing legal compliance costs.

Research and Development: Professor Jim Johnston, Professor of Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Physical Sciences, at Victoria University of Wellington. Professor Johnston is internationally recognised for his research and development of new innovative nanotechnology materials and chemical process technology platforms.

Hans-Dieter Hausner, said it was important to acknowledge not only innovation, but the people leading these endeavours in New Zealand.

“I firmly believe that innovation is vitally important to business success, not only for individual companies, but also for countries as a whole.

“Behind every great creative advancement, there is an individual – an innovator, and it is those people that we recognised through the Bayer Innovators Awards.”

Mr Hausner added that Bayer had increased its research and development spending to the equivalent of approximately 6.2 billion New Zealand dollars, the largest amount in Bayer’s history.

“This investment is designed to drive our growth and create innovations that hold potential for the future, thereby safeguarding jobs and prosperity – even if the fruits of these efforts will not be evident for many years.”

The Hon. Dr Wayne Mapp acknowledged Bayer’s contribution to innovation and its support of the Awards.

“Bayer has a long history of successful products in New Zealand in healthcare, agribusiness and high-tech materials. It’s also a very important global player in research and development, investing more than six billion New Zealand dollars globally last year,” he said.

“This is a significant figure financially, and it very clearly marks Bayer’s serious commitment to research-led innovation. The commitment is also, of course, strongly reflected in the Innovators Awards that Bayer has established in New Zealand.”

Held annually, the Bayer Innovators Awards are now in their third year. For further information on the winners and other finalists, visit www.bayerinnovators.co.nz

ENDS

Filed Under: News, Our investments

New angel investment network targets life sciences

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Wellington, Tuesday 25 August, 2009 – A national angel investment network has been launched to back New Zealand high growth technology ventures, with an emphasis on life sciences, engineering and ICT.  AngelLink aims to bring together active angel investors with a constant stream of high quality IP based deal flow, to facilitate early stage investment.

AngelLink’s members include some of the country’s leading biotechnology and high technology investors: Neville Jordan, a prominent science, technology and engineering investor; angel investment company Movac, an early investor in TradeMe; investment fund K1W1; and Sparkbox, an ICT angel investor.

AngelLink has partnered with the NZ Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) through its Seed Co-Investment Fund.  NZVIF will contribute up to $4 million which will be matched AngelLink. Follow on investments from the angel investors could also substantially increase the investment over the initial $8 million target.

AngelLink Chairman Chris de Boer says, “Angel investors are a vital source of early-stage financing for high-growth science and technology companies.  We’re launching AngelLink at a time when access to capital is more important than ever.  We can make a very real contribution to New Zealand by unleashing economic potential from high quality science and technology research.”

AngelLink’s formation was initiated by WaikatoLink, the commercial arm of the University of Waikato, which will have a role managing the network and screening, monitoring and incubating ventures.

WaikatoLink Chief Executive Mark Stuart says, “We need to take an NZ Inc approach if we want to achieve the scale required for the innovation ecosystem to deliver what it is truly capable of and to drive New Zealand’s success.  AngelLink’s collaborative investment approach will draw on the success we’ve had with Unicom, the university commercialisation consortium we initiated for collaborative investing at the earlier pre seed investment stage. National collaboration is the best way to ensure the highest chance of success for ventures.”

AngelLink’s nationwide network and collaborative investment approach will allow a range of investors to participate in investment.

Greg Sitters from Sparkbox says, “AngelLink and Unicom provide deal flow for participating members.  These initiatives represent one of the most organised and developed technology transfer collaborations between education, science and the investment industry.  In practise we will see better structured, better organised, investment ready opportunities.  We will be able to work quicker to turn around our investment decisions and support the company.”

“The benefits of AngelLink’s intentional co-investment strategy are clear cut.  We are 10 – 20, 000 miles away from our markets.  We need to get close to our markets as quickly as possible, and we’ll be able to do that by drawing on the experience of the group and tapping into existing networks.  If we can shorten a venture’s time to market by 2 years through this collaborative approach it may be the difference required to achieve market success.  We now plan on making at least 75% of our investments in collaboration with other investors to utilise capabilities of each group in an investment.”

David Beard a partner at Movac, another AngelLink member, reinforces this message, “AngelLink encourages co-investment among investment parties for the betterment of New Zealand and its structure fosters and supports this process. AngelLink represents the next step forward in angel investment as it exposes investors to more deal flow and better value propositions. Our investments stand the best chance to succeed when they have a good group around them to help them succeed – and this is not just about money, it’s about skills, experience and networks.  Each party brings something unique to the table. Our last 4 deals were co-investments and we envisage AngelLink will facilitate better and across a wider set of investors than we currently deal with.”

To ensure a vibrant angel investment network, investors need to see regular high quality opportunities. For each investment one of the core experienced investors will act as lead creating opportunities for co-investment with a larger group.

Deal flow will come from a variety of sources across New Zealand including research institutions, universities, incubators, industry networks and professional networks, in order to offer angel members a diverse range of opportunities for investment.

“AngelLink’s strong focus on life sciences and nationwide coverage will see more early stage life science projects spun out of the lab into the market with benefits to all.  Angel Investment is an important part of the investment landscape and one which NZBIO believes will be vital to the success of a mature New Zealand life science industry. We applaud the initiative and will be lending support through our network.” says Bronwyn Dilley, Chief Executive, NZBIO.

Companies seeking investment will be screened and taken through a proven stage gate decision process to validate their suitability for investment.  The suitable investees will be mentored to prepare them for due diligence and presentation to potential angel investors. AngelLink’s rigorous pre investment due diligence will be matched by close engagement post investment.  Each venture will be monitored and mentored to ensure visibility and planning for future investment rounds and syndication.  WaikatoLink, with a strong track record in due diligence and investment performance, will play a key role in this process.

AngelLink will follow on from other collaborations to support commercialisation such as Unicom, the university commercialisation consortium comprising WaikatoLink, AUT University, Lincoln University and Canterbury University, which is supported by government pre seed funding.

Dr. Nigel Johnson, Director Research and Innovation, University of Canterbury says, “The Unicom collaboration has demonstrated value through pooling resources, networks, best practise, IP and experience across the group. Visibility at an early stage allows us to combine IP from the universities, if appropriate, and to tap into the skills of the group for commercialisation. This means we’re not duplicating effort and giving each venture the best chance of success. AngelLink continues this collaborative approach to investment.”

Dr. Kevin Pryor, Chief Executive, AUT Enterprises adds, “New Zealand is small and we have limited financial capital, human capital, and limited access to mentor programmes and in market advisors. The scale and increased activity we’ve achieved with Unicom has helped us attract a top calibre independent investment committee including Bill Day, Hon Ruth Richardson, and Professor Mark Ahn.  This has lifted the level and quality of business planning and commercialisation processes and ensures ventures are prepared for angel investment through AngelLink. “

AngelLink aims to connect investees to the full continuum of funding through its lifecycle from science to market spanning proof of concept, angel investment, early stage venture capital, expansion stage venture capital, and public markets.

“At an industry level there is a real need to make some improvements to generate more economic benefit from life sciences and technology research.  We need to start with the end in mind and bring the market in from the start. We need to encourage a co-ordinated approach and funding models that encourage collaboration rather than competition.  AngelLink represents a step change in early stage company investment by formalising visibility to upcoming investment opportunities to all of the partners across the investment continuum”, says Mark Stuart.
Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, Minister for Research, Science and Technology adds, “The highest priority for the New Zealand Government is growth. Future opportunities will depend on innovation and entrepreneurship and much of this comes from fundamental science. AngelLink will connect research and investors with the intent of getting science to the marketplace. Our future prosperity depends on getting this right.”
– ENDS –

Filed Under: Angel investment, News

EBus – Entrepreneur of the year 2008

August 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Congratulations Carmini and team for taking out the Entrepreneur of the year award at the Incubator Awards last Tuesday night.  The Incubator Awards celebrate the success of young New Zealand companies that are currently located in Business Incubators throughout the country.  EBus has been located in the ICEHOUSE in Auckland for the last couple of years, where Andy Hamilton and team have offered great support.

There were other outstanding companies represented at the awards.  For more information see:

Stuff – Start-ups shine as incubators grow new crop;

Scoop – Spark alumni start-ups shine in entrepreneurship; and

TVNZ – Start up entrepreneur of the year (interview).

Filed Under: News, Our investments

Flossie Set to Shake Up Women’s Media Market

August 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Jenene Freer, Movac Investments and NZ Girl shareholders inject $1,25 million into new venture aimed at stimulating the online advertising market and making it more effective to reach and engage with Kiwi women.

Auckland, New Zealand: Wednesday, 6 August, 2008: One of New Zealand’s most successful online entrepreneurs, nzgirl founder Jenene Freer, today formally announced the arrival of her biggest, boldest venture yet – Flossie.com (launching 4th September 2008).

The new initiative is based around a female centric network of sites and is backed by leading angel investors Movac (the original backers of TradeMe) and the founding investors of NZ Girl.

Gaining the support of such high profile backers was no mean feat, as Phil McCaw of Movac explains, “Jenene and her team had to force us to change our view of advertising as a business model, and she did. This is especially impressive when you consider that we accept less than one percent of the proposals we receive; Flossie is a great investment opportunity”.

“Our new business model has been inspired by the successful ‘masthead networks‘ that have appeared overseas in the last few years and are now beginning to pull in significant revenues. The intention is that within 12 months of launching this model in New Zealand, Flossie will become the single biggest media channel to reach women, irrespective of their age or demographic, throughout
the country,” says Jenene Freer.

“The Flossie network draws its strength from New Zealand’s most popular female-centric websites; of which there are 17 sites in the network at launch including nzgirl.co.nz, findsomeone.co.nz, and thewire.co.nz. These sites, combined with exclusive Flossie articles and the best daily content, will mean that when women come to Flossie they’ll find what they’re looking for easily,” she adds.

McCaw says Freer’s undisputed drive, determination and entrepreneurial flair combined with a clear vision for international growth were key components in the decision to back Flossie Media Group.

“With investments such as this, it’s always about talent, and it’s sometimes about timing. The online trends we have observed in other markets around the world suggest Flossie Media Group is now
perfectly placed to establish its position as the most powerful means for advertisers to connect with women across Asia and the Pacific,” he adds.

Filed Under: News, Our investments

Finalists named for Gen-i NZ Incubator AwardsFinalists named for Gen-i NZ Incubator Awards

July 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I had the pleasure of assisting with the judging for two of the Incubator New Zealand awards this week. The standard of innovations and businesses was truly exceptional with some fantastic results being achieved for companies in the first years. Below is the full press release, with details of the short-listed businesses / individuals for each category. Note: from a personal perspective its great to see eBus in the list and also i wasn’t involved in judging this category!

Finalists named for Gen-i NZ Incubator Awards
Monday, 28 July 2008, 2:58 pm
Press Release: Incubators New Zealand

Ten of New Zealand’s most dynamic start-up companies, including companies developing GPS tracking systems and utilising robotic technologies, have today been named as finalists in the 2008 Gen-i New Zealand Incubator Awards.

The finalists will contest four categories, with the winners to be announced in Wellington on Tuesday, 5 August. An additional award will be made to a company that has graduated from the incubation environment and excelled in their recent business achievements.

The Awards were introduced by Incubators New Zealand in 2005 with the aim of celebrating the knowledge-based start-ups that business incubators are helping to grow.

Incubators New Zealand Chairman Jonathan Kirkpatrick congratulated the finalists and believed they should be applauded for their achievements.

“Creating an outstanding business requires more than a great idea. It takes an incredible amount of commitment and perseverance, particularly when you’re also taking on the world, and all of these companies deserve recognition for what they’ve achieved,” he said.

Principal sponsor Gen-i’s GM of Wellington Key Clients and Enterprise, Paul Wilson, congratulated the finalists and said that sponsoring the Awards is just one way Gen-i encourages emerging ICT businesses.

“The Gen-i Incubator Awards are all about recognising the innovation shown by emerging New Zealand businesses and entrepreneurs. We are committed to supporting these successful companies whose skills and ideas contribute to building a strong local ICT industry. Hopefully their achievements will provide the inspiration for other New Zealand entrepreneurs,” he said.

The finalists for the 2008 Gen-i New Zealand Incubator Awards are:

Start-Up of the Year
• Blackhawk Tracking Systems Limited (Auckland)
• INRO Technologies Limited (Auckland)
• TracPlus Global Limited (Dunedin)

Start-Up Exporter of the Year
• CropLogic (Christchurch)
• Hector’s World (Auckland)
• TracPlus Global Limited (Dunedin)

Innovation of the Year
• iMonitor Limited (Auckland)
• PowerbyProxi Limited (Auckland)
• TracMap NZ Limited (Dunedin)

Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year
• Carmine Masiello – eBUS Limited (Auckland)
• Chris Hinch – TracPlus Global Limited (Dunedin)
• Neil Fitzpatrick – Oh! Group Limited (Wellington)

–
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

About Incubators New Zealand
Incubators in New Zealand are organisations that give fledgling entrepreneurs an opportunity to develop their innovative ideas and set up new businesses in order to commercialise them. The entrepreneurs’ term of activity in the incubator considerably enhances their prospects of raising the financial investment they need, finding strategic partners, and emerging from the incubator with businesses that can stand on their own two feet.

Incubators New Zealand was established in 2003 as an industry body and charged with driving and guiding the development of incubation. The association is tasked with providing New Zealand’s regional incubators with the tools, capability and networks to significantly increase their chances of growing the next wave of Kiwi start-up entrepreneurs. For more information, please visit www.incubators.org.nz.

About Gen-i
Gen-i is at the forefront of helping customers take advantage of the convergence of technology and telecommunications, and the new opportunities this makes possible. Gen-i works alongside its 3,300 corporate, government and business customers to deliver seamless and integrated ICT solutions. A member of the Telecom New Zealand Group, Gen-i achieves this with the support of 3,300 highly skilled people in 17 locations across New Zealand and Australia. For more information on Gen-i, visit www.gen-i.co.nz

The following information relates to each of the finalists.
The text in brackets is the incubator that they are/were resident in.
BLACKHAWK Tracking Systems Limited (The ICEHOUSE, Auckland)
The only event-based telematics company in Australasia, BLACKHAWK’s products are designed for car finance companies, hire equipment firms, refrigerated container companies and personal vehicles. Combining internet mapping, GSM and GPS tracking, BLACKHAWK sends a text to a vehicle or asset owner when an event happens and the owner can then track its position using GPS viewed online or on a nominated mobile phone. This event could be when an asset moves from within a set perimeter or when a vehicle is in an accident. BLACKHAWK have already secured significant angel investment, and seen staff numbers grow to 10 employees.

CropLogic (Canterbury Innovation Incubator)
CropLogic, a start-up from the New Zealand Institute of Crop & Food Research, provides internet based supply management and forecasting services to food processors, the fresh produce supply chain and crop management advice to their suppliers. CropLogic services deliver improved quality and yield, better economic returns and a reduced environmental footprint. With their first Product, the Potato Calculator, CropLogic already has contracts with the world’s five largest potato processors and their major suppliers, with over 90% of revenue coming from export sales.

eBUS Limited (The ICEHOUSE, Auckland)
eBUS has developed cutting edge software that allows production teams, creatives and their clients to access and work on the same piece of video footage at the same time no matter where in the world they are. It is little surprise that the original TradeMe angel investment company Movac and TradeMe founder Sam Morgan have recently invested $1.25m in eBUS when you consider that it has over 50% market share in New Zealand and promising signs from international markets in South East Asia and India.

Hector’s World (The ICEHOUSE, Auckland)
Hector’s World offers high quality and reliable products that help children become wise and confident users of information and communication technologies. A charitable subsidiary of New Zealand’s internet safety group, NetSafe, Hector’s World is a social entrepreneurship venture. Their products are designed to work well alongside existing cyber-safety programs in a country and already it has been launched across Britain, through UK primary schools, by a UK Governmental organisation.

iMonitor Limited (AUT Technology Park, Auckland)
iMonitor is an Auckland company that has developed wireless technology that enables people to monitor and control situations at remote locations, in real time, from practically anywhere on the planet. Having grown in eighteen months from 2 to 12 staff, iMonitor is now installing their technology into food cool stores which can not only save the operator energy costs but will reduce cool store product losses worth millions of dollars annually.

INRO Technologies (The ICEHOUSE, Auckland)
INRO Technologies uses robotics to automate customers’ existing vehicles, autonomously moving products within warehouses and cold stores. In the past year the company has grown from volunteer staff to over 20 full-time staff and received one of the largest angel investments ever in New Zealand.

Oh! Group Limited (Creative HQ, Wellington)
Oh! Group is an independent drinks innovation and marketing company based in Wellington. Their first product, Loud&Lola Cocktails, was launched in late 2007 in conjunction with DB Breweries and is now distributed to over 150 liquor stores nationally. This is only the first step for a company that is actively creating new products and entering new markets.

PowerbyProxi Limited (The ICEHOUSE, Auckland)
A spin-out from the University of Auckland, PowerbyProxi is a pioneer in the design and development of turnkey wireless power solutions, which eliminate the need for a physical or frictional power connection to electronic devices. Their first product, Proxi-Ring a completely contactless slip ring, is ready to be launched after a 12 month development effort with John Deere.

TracPlus Global Limited (Upstart Business Incubator, Dunedin)
Recent winners of the Global Technium Challenge, this Dunedin company has developed a revolutionary tracking service for commercial, government and non government agencies that is now operating in 14 countries and areas, including the Antarctic. TracPlus allows users to not only monitor the status and location of their assets, but also to securely share that information with other users, regardless of tracking hardware and network chosen.

TracMap NZ Limited (Upstart Business Incubator, Dunedin)
TracMap provides a complete agricultural and horticultural GPS guidance and proof of placement mapping package for vehicles operating in demanding outdoor environments. For fertiliser spreading contractors it can achieve a 15% productivity gain and reduce environmental impact from fertiliser application. In less than two years TracMap has grown from 2 to 14 staff, sold over 300 units nationally and developed a product variant for the aviation industry.

Filed Under: News, Our investments

Congratulations Team New Zealand – World champions of the 2008 Global Enterprise Challenge

July 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment

It’s great to see young New Zealand entrepreneurs succeeding on a global stage! Movac sponsors the Young Enterprise Scheme.  Below is the press release from the Enterprise New Zealand Trust.

Late yesterday afternoon students from 15 countries submitted a three-minute video presentation and written business plans via web-link to a panel of international judges based around the world, to compete for the right to win first place in this year’s Global Enterprise Challenge.

Four awards were made in the early hours of this morning (New Zealand time). The overall winner was New Zealand, with Australia taking second place and Wales third. A creativity award was shared by Germany and Korea.

Eighty senior secondary school students from Kerikeri to Invercargill assembled at Massey University’s Albany Campus during the weekend to prepare for the challenge.

The Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Helen Clark, launched the New Zealand challenge on Saturday and warned that the competition would be tough and challenging. Among those present were the Deputy Mayor of North Shore City, Professor John Raine, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Massey University and local business people.

The New Zealand students, who are all directors of student companies participating in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme competed against England, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Norway, Phillippines, Poland, Singapore the might of the United States of America, as well as Scotland, Wales and Australia.

Since the Global Enterprise Challenge’s inception eight years ago, Enterprise New Zealand Trust organised New Zealand’s participation in the event. The Trust operates the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme in New Zealand along with other programmes in enterprise education and financial literacy in schools. Each year some 40,000+ students participate in one of its programmes.

The 24-hour challenge issued by the international judges said, “Water is Planet Earth’s most precious resource that is becoming scarcer by the day”. Your challenge is: “to produce a working model of an innovative product, process, service or plan that will reduce the impact of growing demand on the world’s dwindling water resources.”

New Zealand students were divided into nine teams, and each team presented its plans to a panel of local judges including The Hon Tim Groser, National MP, Suze Strowger, Ministry of Education, Paul Lockey, a trustee of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust and Steve Corbett, CEO of the e-Centre at Massey University.

The judges chose a team that developed a product called “LillyPod” a stand-alone, floating saltwater farm, growing Salicomia (a plant grown in salt water). The aim of the team was to develop a world wide commercially viable sea based farm which reduces the impact of crops relying on fresh water.

This team then went on to represent New Zealand and made their presentation via an internet link to a panel of international judges based around the world.

In a web-streamed announcement of the winners, the GEC’s judge coordinator, Len Norman said, “it has been an exciting event and the work quality has been absolutely outstanding. Creativity is extremely high. Business plans were very detailed and believable and the standard has improved year on year”.

Dr Neil Pellis, Chief Scientist at NASA announced the winners of the event, with first place being awarded to Team New Zealand, whose members are:

Adam Botterill, Westlake Boys’ High School
Ben McNab, Rangiora High School
Kristina Clarke, Long Bay College
Matthew Holt, Long Bay College
Louis O’Brien, St Thomas of Canterbury College
Brigid McLeod, John Paul College
Melissa Eade, James Hargest High School
Michelle Panzer, Garin College
Stacey Kenzelmann, Orewa College

“For New Zealand students to compete in a global arena and more than hold their own should give us great confidence in our future generation” said Tony Caughey, Chairman of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust. “Given the time constraints and pressure, our students were outstanding”, he said.

The competition was made possible by the sponsorship of Massey University, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Enterprise North Shore and North Shore City. Nine local businesses were involved in mentoring the students, and acted as corporate hosts:

ActionMail
ActionCOACH
Apple Division, Renaissance Corporation
ASB
GlidePath
PKF Accountants
Quicken
Russell Investments
The Edge

Global Enterprise Challenge announcements and winning entries can be found at:

http://gec.abw.org.au/

For further information about the Global Enterprise Challenge, or the work of Enterprise New Zealand Trust please contact:

Sue Jury, General Manager
Enterprise New Zealand Trust,
Phone 0274 960037
Email: sue.jury@enzt.co.nz

Filed Under: News, Young Enterprise

Angel industry group established

July 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Angel Association New Zealand
Media release
1 July 2008

Angel industry group established

Angel investor groups have formed a new industry body – the Angel Association New Zealand – to advocate for and to promote best practice within the fastgrowing investment sector.

The association’s members consist of 15 angel groups from around New Zealand. Andy Hamilton, CEO of business growth centre The ICEHOUSE, is the inaugural chairperson of the association’s council.

“Angel investing – individuals and groups investing in early stage businesses – is an emerging industry which has the potential to be a key asset class and a very influential player in commercialising New Zealand innovations,” says Andy Hamilton.

“Overseas, we have seen national angel bodies formed once the sector reaches a critical mass. Establishing a national body in New Zealand is a sign of the recent growth of angel investing in our local market.

“The Angel Association New Zealand will set a national vision for the sector, and help to raise the capability and knowledge of angel groups, many of which are at relatively early stages in their maturity and mainly focused on their own issues and challenges.”

Clyde Rogers, from Auckland regional economic development agency AucklandPlus and a member of the establishment board, says a key role for the Association will be to advocate for initiatives which will assist the sector’s growth and development.

“To date, in New Zealand, much of the growth in early stage investing and the formation of angel investor groups has been organic and informal, rather than market-led.

“As an investment class looking to attract more investors, it is important that newcomers to angel investing have confidence in the practices and methods which make this type of investing unique from others. The Association will develop ‘best practice’ models and training for business angels and entrepreneurs.

“It will also provide greater visibility and promotion of the sector, so that entrepreneurs with innovative ideas can more easily find potential investors.”

Andy Hamilton says the United States is the most developed and advanced angel investment market, and may of the current trends there bode well for the sector’s development in New Zealand. In the US, for example:

  • The number of accredited investors who are entering the angel world is increasing each year by over ten percent.
  • There is an increase in the number of investors per deal with an average of four to five investors joining together to fund an entrepreneurial venture.
  • The number of angel groups has grown, as have the number of ventures receiving investment from angel groups.
  • Angel groups fund over thirty times as many entrepreneurial companies as the formal venture capital industry, investing three to five times more money in total.
  • Angels continue to be the largest source of seed and start-up capital, and there has been a dramatic increase in post-seed funding by angels.

“While angel investing in the US has been a feature of its economy for a considerable period, it is the significant formalisation of the asset class over the last ten years – and the subsequent significant growth – which is most striking. “The trends occurring in the US are also occurring in Europe and the Asia- Pacific, which are more advanced than New Zealand in terms of the maturity of their angel sectors, and in having established national angel associations.

“The establishment of a national body will provide fresh impetus to the growth of angel investing in New Zealand,” Andy Hamilton said.

Background

The Angel Association New Zealand’s establishment is being supported by the NZ Venture Investment Fund and AucklandPlus, the economic development agency of the Auckland Regional Council. Law firm Minter Ellison has provided legal expertise.

The inaugural council members are: Andy Hamilton, Phil McCaw, Mark Houghton-Brown, Richard Palmer, Dean Tilyard, Steve Hampson, Norman Evans, Greg Sitters, Clyde Rogers, Mark Robotham. Questions and Answers

What is an angel investor? An angel investor is an individual who provides capital and, often, expertise to early stage businesses which can’t source traditional sources of business funding. Angels typically invest their own capital, and often provide valuable management advice, mentoring and access to important contacts and markets.

What type of people become angel investors? Typically, angels are ex-entrepreneurs and successful business people looking to add early stage companies to their investment portfolio. By taking an active role in their investments, they provide not only governance by serving on boards, but also assisting companies with relationships, strategy, team building, and future fundraising.

What are angel groups or networks? Increasingly, angel investors are forming angel networks and groups to share research and pool their investment capital. They can operate as a collective of private investors who band together to increase their ‘deal flow’ (the number of investment opportunities they see). These groups connect high-potential start-up ventures, with willing investors to facilitate the funding and success of emerging companies.

How many angel groups are there? There are around 15 established groups in New Zealand. They include ICE Angels, Pacific Channel, Chrysalis, CureKids Ventures, K1W1 and Sparkbox in Auckland, Angel HQ & MOVAC in Wellington, the Manawatu Investment Group, Powerhouse Ventures in Christchurch, Venture Accelerator in Nelson and Upstart Angels in Dunedin. There are, however, other informal networks which operate in a similar way.

What are the returns on angel investments? Angel investors are exposed to high risks and expect that some investments will fail. If an angel invests in ten companies, the rule is that four will fail, three will tread water, two will return 2-5 times the initial investment, and one will result in a return of five to ten times the original investment over a 5-10 year period. Investors typically invest in a portfolio of prospective firms in the hope that 10-20 percent of the investments will be significantly successful, generating an overall healthy return across the portfolio. Each investment will have a defined exit strategy, such as plans for an initial public offering or a trade sale of the business.

Is there a large angel investing market in New Zealand? The angel market in New Zealand has long been predominantly informal. Over the last 2-3 years it has become increasingly vibrant with the launch of several angel networks modelled on similar organisations offshore. The New Zealand Venture Investment Fund’s Seed Co-investment Fund has been a catalyst for the formation of formal angel networks and evolving practice standards – the Angel Investing Guide is an example.

What sort of businesses are suitable for angel investing? New Zealand is producing world class intellectual property in a number of areas such as ICT, life science and niche manufacturing. This intellectual property is behind the creation of a significant number of early stage companies that need angel involvement to succeed. Angel investors are enabling these companies to grow in scale and to become an increasingly strong and positive force for New Zealand’s economic growth. Angel investors usually seek businesses with innovative products or solutions that have international market potential. Management capability is another key factor and founders often need to bring in experienced executives to take the business to the next level.

How many members does the Angel Association New Zealand have? At its establishment, the Association has 15 member groups. [Note: we are an association representing angel groups rather than individual angel investors. To be involved with the Association, an individual needs to be a member of an affiliated group.]

What is the next step for the Angel Association New Zealand? The Association is now an incorporated society. It has an establishment board. Members will be encouraging other angel networks to become involved in the sector, and promote the sector to potential new angels and entrepreneurs.

ENDS

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