Founder Resources
There are multitudes of resources available to support founders. We have created this page as a central point of reference.
Click on the subject matter below to take you directly to related resources.
Building Capability
- 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.
- Regional Business Partner Network – Business support Management Capability Development Funding providing business owners with up to 50% subsidy towards business training.
Capital Raising and Pitching Advice
- Capital Education Workshop – a free 90 minute workshop run by Callaghan Innovation to learn how to raise capital and find investors for your innovative early-stage business..
- The Capital Raising Process – what’s involved – an insight into the preparation and steps required to raise capital through Angel Investing.
- 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.
- Key tips for Founders starting on their journey – advice from tips Jake Hoffart our Investment Associate.
- Dropsheet Template – a proposal framework showing the information that needs to be included when submitting your business proposition.
- 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.
- Beginners guide to raising capital with Angels – the benefits of raising with Enterprise Angels.
- Raising business capital with Virtual CFO services – Findex explain how employing a Virtual CFO can be beneficial when raising capital.
- The four key factors a Virtual CFO considers when raising new capital – Findex explain how to leverage data and financial information to make a compelling business case to investors and lenders.
- Investment Ready – A programme run by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and The Factory equipping primary sector businesses with the support and tools needed to attract the right investment for their capital raising projects.
- InvestEd– a free learning resource from NZTE for businesses looking to capital raise. The 13 courses feature a wealth of practical information, essential tips and advice.
- AANZ Capital Strategy Template
Compliance and Finance
- 10 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.
- 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.
- Free one-to-one session to get practical financial guidance – provided by NZTE you can talk to an experienced former CFO and CEO who can help with scenario planning, cash flow forecasting, capital raising or simply provide straightforward answers to your financial questions.
- NZTE guide to managing your cashflow – an online guide to help you understand your cash position and some of the options you can use to maintain essential cashflow
- FX forward planning – the best defence against volatile NZ dollar – Tips on riding the ups and downs of foreign exchange from the latest NZTE Money Matters expert panel.
- Project Scale Up, Revenue Based Financing, Contracted Receivables Financing – financing options for NZ Tech businesses from the BNZ.
Digital Skills
- Digital Boost – Free courses 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. Access their “Get Started” guides, for a roadmap to getting set up with Hubspot fast.
- 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
- “How to know if you comply with New Zealand Employment Law?” Take the guesswork out of employment law compliance by downloading free checklists put together by Sharp Tudhope.
- Employment rights and rules: free online training for employers and employees to understand your rights and responsibilities.
- Hiring and managing people – step by step guide from business.govt.nz
- How to set up a new employee – Guides and checklists from business.govt.nz to get new employees set up in your system and settled in their roles to save you time money and effort.
- Managing health and safety – Resources from Worksafe to help people comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Exporting
- Selling your SaaS solution to the world – New Zealand Trade and Enterprise has launched a series of free online resources for Saas businesses.
- FX forward planning – the best defence against volatile NZ dollar – Tips on riding the ups and downs of foreign exchange from the latest NZTE Money Matters expert panel.
Funding and Grants
- Callaghan Innovation – New to R&D Grant – Funding and support to help you successfully develop your capability for long-term R&D
- Callaghan R&D Student Grants – giving you the opportunity to take on students for an internship and bring new skills into your business, whether you’re looking to explore blue-sky R&D concepts or advance existing projects
- 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.
- Recognising and combatting founder burnout – an article by Findex recognising and addressing the challenges founders face, outwardly and inwardly.
- 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
- Xero Assistance Programme – all Xero starter, standard and premium plan subscribers are able to get free access to counselling through the Xero Assistance Programme (XAP).
- Abroad’s Founder wellbeing research study. 1,300 entrepreneurs took Abroad’s Awareness Assessment and their research team identified a pattern of mindsets and behaviours that are as difficult for entrepreneurs to manage as the fundamentals of their business.
Reducing risk and exposure
- 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.
- Top 11 tips for cyber security – Cyber security attacks are becoming more and more common over time. While there’s no bulletproof way to prevent an attack, here are some practical tips to keep your personal information safe and secure online.
- Business …Interrupted – Business Interruption insurance is one of the most misunderstood insurance policies, and often overlooked by business owners. Aon explain what Business Interruption insurance is and what it covers.