Founder Resources

Building Capability & Strategy | Capital Raising & Pitching Advice | Compliance & Finance | Digital Skills|Employment Matters| Exporting| Funding & Grants |Mental Health & Wellbeing|Reducing Risk & Exposure, incl IP

Building Capability and Strategy

• Startup NZ Entrepreneurs Program – Startup NZ is for all Kiwis who want to learn about starting a business. 12 online lessons with each lesson requiring 1-2 hours commitment taken in your own time as often as you want for up to 12 months. The first 3 lessons are free and fees are $287.50 for the full programme.
• Management Capability Development Funding helps business owners or managers with up to 50% subsidy towards business training.
• Strategy Workshops run by Solid Consulting to bring leadership teams together to co-create a clear, shared view of your business’s winning strategy. (Estimated costs include all related expenses including travel expenses. 50% co-funding may be availiable via RBP.)
• Road Mapping Workshops run by Solid Consulting turn your strategy into a road map ideal for start ups and preparing for launches, funding rounds, R&D or product development projects. (Estimated costs include all related expenses including travel expenses. 50% co-funding may be availiable via RBP.)
• Validating your business idea – Guidance on checking demand, defining your value proposition, and researching customers and competitors from business.govt.nz

Capital Raising and Pitching Advice

• The Capital Raising Process – what’s involved –  an insight into the preparation and steps required to raise capital through Angel Investing.
• Key tips for Founders starting on their journey –  advice from tips Jake Hoffart our Investment Associate
• Elements of an efficient capital raise – a  summary of the key components that enables us to achieve a six week turn around on a recent capital raise with Square One.
• InvestEd– a flexible free learning resource from NZTE for businesses looking to capital raise.
• Pitch example– Airbnb’s orginal pitch deck is noted for the extremely clear communication of their goal and the potential of their innovative business. Even though it’s more than 10 years old it’s a great example template from which to create your own pitch deck.
• Dropsheet Template – a  proposal framework showing the information that needs to be included when submitting your business proposition.
• Beginners guide to raising capital with Angels – the benefits of raising with Enterprise Angels.
• Funding sources for raising capital – NZTE share the different funding types available for businesses looking for investment to fund growth. Each has pros and cons and suits different stages of the business lifecycle.
• AANZ Capital Strategy Template

Compliance and Finance

• 5 Step guide to starting a business – provided by Business.govt.nz
• Governance Resource Centre – Free governance resources for growing your organisation and adopting good governance practises from Boardpro.
• How to get your Board onboard and aligned – Boardpro share strategy for creating and sustaining an engaged and motivated board.
• Everything you need to know about strategic planning at a board level – A strategic planning guide and checklist provided by Boardpro.
• Findex vCFO Services – an overview on how outsourcing your CFO services to Findex can be a game-changer for your business.
• Research and Development Tax Credit Scheme – Findex explain how businesses undertaking research and development (R&D) activities may be eligible to receive a tax credit for their R&D expenditure.
• NZTE Money Matters: Straightforward, independent financial guidance – A fully funded NZTE advisory service offering a one‑on‑one session with an experienced financial expert to provide impartial guidance on cash flow, funding options, foreign exchange risk, strategic financial decisions and tailored action planning.
• Project Scale Up; Revenue Based Financing; Contracted Receivables Financing – financing options for NZ Tech businesses from the BNZ. 

 Digital Skills

• Digital Boost – Free government funded ourses all about doing business online provided by MBIE and MindLab
• How To Optimise Your Online Presence – Three part series from NZ Entrepreneur
• Hubspot for startups program – Education resources and tailored training, professional software and integrated platforms for startups at startup pricing. 
• AWS Activate – As a startup in the Enterprise Angels portfolio, you are eligible for the following AWS (Amazon Web Services) benefits:
  • USD $5,000 in AWS Promotional Credit valid for 2 years.
  • 24×7 access to AWS Cloud Support Engineers up to 1 year (USD $1,500)
  • 80 credits for Self-Paced Labs ($80 value)

 

Employment Matters

• Employment New Zealand online learning modules – free online training for employers and employees to understand your rights and responsibilities.
• Hiring and managing people – Practical guidance on hiring, employment obligations, leave, fair workplace practices, performance management, and building a positive, skilled and well-supported team to help businesses grow sustainably from business.govt.nz
• Managing health and safety – Resources from Worksafe to help people comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Exporting

• Exporting with NZTE – Export guides, tools, training and support from NZTE.

Funding and Grants

• New to R&D Grant – Funding and support to help you successfully develop your capability for long-term R&D
• R&D Experience Grant – This grant helps businesses doing R&D to hire a tertiary-level student for up to 10 weeks.  often over the summer break.
• R&D Tax Incentive – a 15% tax credit on the money you invest in eligible research and development (R&D) in New Zealand.
• Flexi-wage for self-employment– payments from Work and Income NZ (WINZ) designed to support people who are starting up a new business or needing help to become self-sufficient in an existing business.
• Self-employment startup payment– WINZ assistance for essential start up costs, eg furniture or the first lot of stock, legal fees etc.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

• Free counselling services for NZ startup founders – A range of services available to support founder wellbeing through Callaghan Innovation. 
• Tips for maintaining your wellbeing – a link to a NZ Kiwifruit Growers podcast with Enterprise Angel member Ian Greaves around stress and resilience.
• Founder mental health and wellbeing hacks – Dave Moskovitz  shares a list of things you can do to attain and maintain good mental health.
• Founder Wellness – a 3 minute video on the importance of maintaining mental wellness through exercise, sleep and nutrition
• Abroad Founder Catalysts™ – Abroad’s founder coaching programs are based on our landmark global study of how the mindsets of 1,300 visionary founders impact their performance, decision-making, and team culture.

 Reducing risk and exposure

• Launch Sequence  – a step-by-step legal programme for startups from our partners Cooney Lees Morgan.
• What businesses need to know about IP –  James and Wells have put together this handy guide to help you get to grips with Intellectual Property (IP) and how it can be leveraged to create value in your business.
• How to impress sharks, dragons, and angels (and maybe become a unicorn) – A short article from James and Wells on how a company looking to raise capital should tailored itself and IP to be attractive to a particular class of investors.