The Chair of the Startup Dunedin board, Wade Pearson brings over 10 years of experience in both law and startups - and you’d be surprised how often those two things cross over. His initial journey into the startup world began in the early days of equity crowdfunding at a commercial law firm in Wellington.
When Wade moved back home to Dunedin in 2018, he was a little worried that the startup scene wouldn’t be as buzzing as Wellington’s — pause for chuckles. Of course, he was blown away by the amount of innovation and really cool stuff happening here.
Not long after, Wade was invited to join the Startup Dunedin board, and in 2019 he stepped into the role of Chair. Alongside his support for the Ōtepoti startup scene, Wade works remotely for leading tech and venture lawyers Avid.legal, where he uses his legal and commercial expertise to help growing businesses in Dunedin and nationwide. He’s a strong supporter of the Kiwi gaming sector too, with his Avid Gamers newsletter designed to highlight games from local and national early stage indie developers, and briefly cover some of the cool things going on in New Zealand.
One of the trickiest (or boring-est?) parts of starting up is nailing the legal stuff.
Wade’s extensive experience as a lawyer and deep roots in the startup sector make him a valuable asset to the ecosystem - able to help with the unique challenges that a lot of early-stage startups find themselves facing.
He loves combining the problem-solving nature of law with startup validation methodology to create effective solutions. Wade’s mahi has always been centered around the development and support of Dunedin’s startup ecosystem; working alongside Startup Dunedin is a natural fit for him.
One thing Wade often reflects on is the importance of the opportunities others have given him. From his first startup event, where a work connection invited him along, to being asked by previous Chair Sarah Ramsay to join the board and later become Chair — he’s incredibly grateful for the support and faith people have shown him along the way. And when it comes to Startup Dunedin, Wade is quick to credit the “tiny but mighty” team behind the scenes: “They do all the actual work and do it well. I just help around the edges and do the ‘Board stuff,’” he jokes.
With his background in law and complementary knowledge of the startup journey, Wade brings a pretty unique skill set to the board. He knows the steps startups can take to increase their chances of success and helps Startup Dunedin strike the right balance between compliance and agility. You can read some of his thoughts on the legal stuff for startups here.
For Wade, one of the things that makes Dunedin special is its no-wrong-door approach to startup support. “We’re not focused just on one industry or type of business with a typical path,” he says. “We often see people from all walks of life and all industries, and I think that’s a real strength — especially for a city the size of Dunedin.” But ultimately, it’s the people in Dunedin that make the city (in Wade’s opinion) one of the best places to start a business in the world.