Startup Dunedin
Audacious student showcase 2024

The energy in the room at last night’s Audacious showcase was buzzing, with our Ōtepoti startup ecosystem coming together again to celebrate the amazing work from this year’s cohort of hardworking Audacious students!  This year, a massive 72 students from all areas of study at Otago University and Otago Polytechnic were involved in Audacious. With drinks in hand and the best spicy tortilla chips in the world (quote us on that - go on), we took our seats to cheer for the hard mahi, pivots, reworks, and new beginnings of our Audacious participants.

Audacious student showcase 2024
Startup Dunedin
3 tools to help you plan your startup

3 top tools to help prioritise your time and give you more headspace when starting a business.

The first thing to remember is that the best way to reduce your time money and resources is to focus on validation.

Validation can be seen as three parts of a Venn diagram; where all three parts overlap is the “sweet spot” that indicates the best chance of a successful business. The three parts of the Venn diagram are Desirability, Viability, and Feasibility.

3 tools to help you plan your startup
Startup Dunedin
Meet the Faces Behind Startup Dunedin

Kia ora to our vibrant and ever-growing Startup Dunedin community! You might have noticed a little bit of change around the Startup Dunedin space lately. As our General Manager Rachel Butler has begun her parental leave, we’ve welcomed some friendly new faces to the team. 

So, as we prepare to say goodbye to 2023 at the end of this month, we reckon this is a great time to introduce (and reintroduce) the dedicated individuals you’ll meet with - or run into at Strictly Coffee - behind the scenes at Startup Dunedin.

Meet the Faces Behind Startup Dunedin
Startup Dunedin
What happens when a Dunedin startup stops?

One of Startup Dunedin’s core values is that innovation requires success and failure.

That failure part? Turns out it’s pretty important. In fact, failure can be just as much of a success as, well, success. The lessons you learn, the skills you pick up, and the connections you make can be the spark that ignites the next big flame.

For Cameron Templer, who founded the npw-closed startup Yezmac, the journey has just begun.

We sat down with Cam for a quick Q&A on the ups and down that came with his entrepreneurial journey and the decision to close Yezmac.

What happens when a Dunedin startup stops?
Startup Dunedin
Local startups, glass ceilings, and a national ...

Perspectives and learnings from local female founders  at the second ever Electrify conference.

Recently, three women currently in Startup Dunedin’s Distiller Incubator had the unique opportunity to attend Electrify Aotearoa, presented by the good folks at Ministry of Awesome. Conferences like Electrify are a part of that solution. Just as a series of amazing wāhine took the national stage to share their wisdom, we’re excited to see how our local startups take that knowledge and turn it into real and tangible progress here in Ōtepoti.

Let’s recap some of that wisdom!

Local startups, glass ceilings, and a national conference

The Distiller Alumni

SAFE Notes: A Simple Agreement for Future Equity

SAFE (or simple agreement for future equity) notes are documents that startups often use to help raise seed capital, a.k.a the initial amount of money an entrepreneur uses to start a business. Essentially, a SAFE note acts as a legally binding promise to allow an investor to purchase a specified number of shares for an agreed-upon price in the future.

Today we highlight one tool and one tip we give founders in our programmes when they’re considering raising capital.

First time raising capital? Checkout this free guide. It will help with the mountain of jargon heading your way.

Paper Not Foil - The Dunedin Startup Changing Salons Everywhere

Paper Not Foil - The Dunedin Startup Changing Salons Everywhere

Paper Not Foil is a Dunedin based startup tackling aluminium waste, one salon at a time. Their sustainable alternative is made of construction waste stone and is reusable, recyclable, compostable and saves you money. This week we sit down with Paper Not Foil co-founder, Amanda Buckingham.