Click here to download our 2022 highlights .pdf, in all it’s fancy glory!
Otherwise, keep reading for the blog version of our end-of-year recap.

“Every startup has a chance to change the world.”
Eric Ries - The Lean Startup

Kia ora, Ōtepoti.

This isn't really an annual report; it's a compilation of the stories, the humans and the ups and downs of our community in 2022.

One thing that's hard to capture when reflecting on the year is the unseen hours given by alumni, mentors, and supporters. We hope when reading about the dedication and creativity of those starting up, you can also sense the hundreds of hours given by our community unaccounted for.

Mostly though, we hope reading it leaves you incredibly optimistic about the Dunedin ecosystem.

Tēnā rawa atu koutou.

Coralcone’s Journey

Just as some of us come up with great business ideas in the shower, Yvette formed the idea for her startup under water.

Except in her case, it was deep sea diving in Indonesia, surrounded by all that beautiful, diverse marine life, that gave way to Coralcone - the world's best menstrual cup.

A focus on sustainability

Dissatisfied with the current options on the market, Yvette thought there had to be a better, more sustainable way to manage periods, and thus the idea for Coralcone was born.

After being accepted into The Distiller Incubator in 2021, Coralcone have launched to great success, being featured in Style Magazine, and winning Good Magazine's 'Most Mindful of Materials' Award in their 2022 awards.

Audacious Semester One

The initial cohort of 2022’s Audacious students first gathered together at 20 Leithbank in late March. Between the glossy whiteboards and fun-but-distractible décor (lego anyone?), students mulled over their new ideas for businesses, social enterprises, and not-for-profits. The goal: take an idea and turn it into reality - no easy feat alongside student life.

But Audacious students did what they always do - work hard, put in the hours, and knock it out of the park at the showcase.

Julia’s Journey

Julia Imo, a post-grad bio-enegineering student at the University of Otago, was a full-time student when she came through semester one of Audacious. Her startup Wayfinder is an insole designed to detect early signs of mental health deterioration by measuring changes in your gait.

After eight weeks of hard work, Julia's innovative idea had her crossing, re-crossing, and re-crossing the stage again at the Audacious showcase. She ended up with Best Positive Impact, People's Choice, and the top prize, the Polson Higgs Premiere award.

Julia quickly moved through into our Distiller Incubator programme , beginning the journey of finding investment, and is now continuing onwards to launch.

Audacious Semester Two

The second semester of Audacious saw a momentous occasion - the first in-person, full-noise, "we're back, baby" Audacious showcase since 2019. Yeehaw!

Students had worked hard on their ideas once again, and were eager to show the world what they'd achieved.

The Polson Higgs Premiere award went to Abalro Health this semester. Abalro creates a health food supplement powder from the Iranian superfood, barberries. They are a prizewinning Young Enterprise Scheme alumni, and these super-students have made over $135,000 in revenue already. We've watched them juggle sport, study, and starting up - seriously impressive.

All Majors & Minors

If there’s something we have learned after the last 15-ish years of Audacious running, it’s that there is no wrong way to be an entrepreneur.

While entrepreneurship might have previously had a reputation for only being for business students, this year’s cohort is living proof that Audacious is for all Ōtepoti tertiary students, no matter if you’re studying business, physics, music, or anything in between.

Students interested in startups don't need business experience to do Audacious. You can find our more about the programme here.

Robert’s Journey

It's been a hot minute since Robert Stirling came through our Distiller Incubator with Scannable, an app that allows the user to track the lifecycle of their safety equipment, and gives them access to vital manufacturer data and compliance information.

Onwards and Upwards

After packing up and moving during 2020’s most hectic months, Rob came into the Distiller Incubator and eventually raised $1million from two VCs, arriving at a valuation of $5.5m. Rob has since welcomed his first child with his wife Sarah, built a tiny house, and built Scannable into a bigger, better business. He's also brought on a co-founder, grown the team to 11, and is closing off another raise - just as this report goes to print!

Team Updates

Marketing & Community

Our Dunedin startup community is something pretty special. We've never felt stuck for reasons to be excited and proud of our southern ecosystem - every week it seemed like something new would crop up - from S.T.A.R Lab winning Academic Initiative of the year, to Otago Girls' High startup Sole Haircare taking out the Young Enterprise top prize for 2022, to the launch of several new and exciting ventures.

Collaboration is key - and we can't wait for more next year.

- McKenzie Dowson

Robots, Web3, and Fashion

2022 was an excellent year.

We served teams across a variety of industries including agritech, healthtech, Web3, SaaS and more. The cohort was very ambitious with global aspirations and a determination to succeed.

Some highlights include Jeenks completing a working prototype of their grain crawler, Luni gaining Waste Minimisation funding, and Yezmac landing a couple of huge contracts for their web3 ticketing platform.

We look forward to seeing more Dunedin founders push the boundaries in 2023!

- Angus Pauley

Looking back at 2022

“Every startup has a chance to change the world.”