Earlier this year, Startup Dunedin’s board said goodbye to long-standing member and dedicated advocate for the Otago region’s small business sector, Jason Lindsey.
If you’re one of the rare few in Dunedin who hasn’t yet come across Jason Lindsey, here’s a brief rundown on him and why we were so lucky to have him on our board.
In 2006, Jason & Kate Lindsey moved to New Zealand from Los Angeles, both having been working in the Film & Television industry.
After moving to Ōtepoti, they purchased the historic and super iconic Ross & Glendining building at 8 Stafford Street. Thus began the birth of Petridish, one of the most recognizable and well-known coworking spaces in the region.
Jason said "It kind of happened out of accidental circumstances really." A happy accident, given that last year Petridish celebrated their five year anniversary in business. Over the course of the last five years, the coworking space helped to nurture and grow many small fledgling businesses in Dunedin, giving Jason some unique insights into business life that would later prove invaluable during his time on the Startup Dunedin Board.
To help share the wisdom further, we interviewed Jason on 5 things he’s learned over his time on the board.
1. Overcoming the hard times requires connection.
Jason reiterated that it goes without saying that the past few years have brought about a lot of challenges to everyone.
In the short term, this really slowed down that all-important momentum that the Dunedin startup community had created for itself.
Dunedin has a great vibrancy to it with the amount of awesome startup related events around the city, something that was unfortunately dulled during the pandemic.
Jason sees a light at the end of the tunnel with the resurfacing of exciting in-person events and with it, the opportunities to build confidence and meet fellow businesspeople. “Even though we’ve had some incredible things happen within our community in the past couple years, we will benefit the most from getting this community back to it’s pre-COVID spirit. I’m really excited to watch what happens, then, as the ideas seem to continue to improve year on year, as does the confidence.”
2. Dunedin is a powder keg of potential.
All of the Startup Dunedin board members carry a deep love of Ōtepoti. as a city. Jason is no exception, believing that the liveability of this city with its short commute times, access to nature and strikingly clever student population are just the tip of the iceberg. Despite its great attributes, he says that he’s noticed a bizarrely humble nature of this city's entrepreneurs - leading to the discovery of people producing world-leading products and services in some of the most unexpected nooks and crannies within our community. You never know what innovative and groundbreaking technology could be lurking around the corner at the local office, or across the road in the student flats.
“Dunedin has a very bright future”.
3. While mighty and powerful, Dunedin is also kind.
Perhaps the greatest asset to our small city is the city folk themselves. That’s what makes the startup event community so particularly sparkly and vibrant. The people who came to the region to set their businesses up may have been drawn in by the ease of living, but the reason they stay? He Tāngata.
“The best thing about this city is the people. Supportive communities like Dunedin are rare.”
Maybe that’s why Jason was happy to give up the glitz and glamour of the Los Angeles TV and Film industry for little old Dunners.
4. There’s power in diversity.
Jason said that serving on the board for Startup Dunedin really reinforced the notion of the power that is found in diverse perspectives. “I think when you have a group of people that all bring something very different to the table and those people are willing to respect and consider each other’s opinions, it results in great outcomes. This idea hopefully permeates through the whole organisation and into our ecosystem.”
Embracing diversity means strengthening the very fabric of our ecosystem. One of Startup Dunedin’s values is that “Great ideas can come from anyone and anywhere” - meaning there is no set blueprint for the entrepreneurial human. Parents, students, full-time workers, retirees, immigrants, refugees, volunteers… These are the people that make up our ecosystem, and without them, we couldn’t continue to foster a culture of innovation and inclusiveness. Jason’s experience as founder of Petridish has been an incredible asset to the board, providing an active perspective from someone who is really, currently, “in it”.
5. Dunedin has some dedicated fans.
When asked about what he considers his "biggest win" while on the board or an outcome he was really proud of, Jason was incredibly humble. “I don’t think I can claim any “wins” while on the board for Startup Dunedin. I was just happy to be in the same room with the other board members. I can leave the board comfortable that it is populated with people who really care about the people that it supports and that those people care deeply about creating positive, inclusive and ethical outcomes for the city.”
Truthfully, if you live in this city, you have probably noticed the sheer amount of passionate people with real love for Dunedin. Startup Dunedin’s board is no exception - in fact, we can comfortably say that we’re probably this city’s biggest fans.