Welcome to the Innovators Online Network e-Letter.

ION is New Zealand’s leading innovation and entrepreneurship online community. ION provides an informative and interactive virtual knowledge sharing forum plus a private business matchmaking service for emerging technology enterprises.

The ION e-Letter is supported by Revera – High integrity I.T. infrastructure.

Capital Raising in the Capital

Capital raising networks are rapidly waking up to the latent opportunities available within the New Zealand technology community. Startup founders in Wellington are welcoming the news that tech incubator CreativeHQ is planning an Angel Network of its own and there has been a notable increase in the number of networking events relating to the tech sector in the city.

Towards this end, young entrepreneurs and investors will be engaged in some serious networking at Unlimited Potential’s aptly named Angels and Demons gig. Joseph Stuart from FRST will be speaking about funding programmes available to the creative and ICT sectors following which there will be a panel discussion, including Peter Dickinson from high tech accelerator AintoG. NZTE’s Escalator programme is also running an ongoing series of workshops and networking events around New Zealand aimed at matchmaking businesses with investors and bootstrapping new ventures into investment ready status.

From Xero to Hero

Serial technology entrepreneur Rod Drury demonstrated impeccable timing by announcing a planned NZX float of his latest venture the day after he cleaned up at the Wellington Gold Awards. Drury scored the ‘Absolutely Creatively Wellington Ambassador’ gong in a nod to his ongoing contribution to promoting the Capital as a destination for technology investors. A successful listing for Xero could mark a sea change amongst investor sentiment in a market where there have lately been very few local technology offerings.

VCs Connect Across the Ditch 

Looking offshore we note that Slattery’s are organising the annual VC Connect event. Attendees can meet investors, learn how to win VC backing and how to evaluate the right VC firm to meet their needs. There will also be sessions outlining the expectations of venture capitalists; funding strategy; termsheets and team building. Best of all the cost of entry is affordable for cash-strapped entrepreneurs!

Investors Leverage Web Technology for Outreach 

About 18 months ago we flagged that North American markets were reawakening to technology venture investment and that trend continues to accelerate. Microsoft are jumping on the bandwagon with a web-based community that mediates between investment ready tech companies in Asia-Pacific and sources of capital. Our friends at IPMarket also provide a global online listing of intellectual property looking for investment and commercialisation expertise, supported by research that identifies potential partners. Even No8 Ventures has a blog these days as investors look to leverage communities of interest.

Getting Your AintoG

AintoG continue their engagement with upstart technology firms around the country later in the month with a number of seminar events discussing business growth. Through taking a stake in a new venture AintoG deploys its team of “battle hardened” ICT industry executives to help with growth pains. The philosophy goes further than simply sitting on a board, but gets some key talent into the target business at ground level to move things along.

Your ION Needs You!

Have you got a NZ technology success story? Can you help new ventures connect globally? Are you an investor, mentor or technology entrepreneur? Do you have a community project that leverages technology or is seeking expertise? We’d love to hear from you. ION is a connector community, with both social and economic objectives, helping New Zealand innovators reach out to the world. Add a comment to this blog article or reply to your email alert.