In the dynamic and ever-evolving world of entrepreneurship, Steph Benseman and Mason Bleakley have already had quite the journey - from helping fledgling startups and young entrepreneurs find their feet, to ending up listed in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia for their work with  First Cut. 

Grace is the newest member of Startup Dunedin, having taken over as Programme Facilitator a.k.a startup lead, this week following her move from Tauranga.

This role will see her engaging directly with our startups, providing support for founders and delivering workshops right here in Ōtepoti, Dunedin. 

Despite the obvious drop in temperature, I was keen to learn more about how Grace is adjusting to her brand new (she’s 7 days in!) spot in Otago, and what excites her about the road ahead.

Is there a “right” personality for entrepreneurs?

Thibault Vandermosten from Personas360 explores that very question through the framework of the Big Five personality aspects.

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.

The future is looking incredibly bright.

Last week, our GM Rachel had the privilege of judging the Otago Regional Young Enterprise Awards last week. The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) is an opportunity for students to unleash their inner entrepreneur and experience the start-up world first-hand, nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and community leaders.

The best part? Throughout all of the teams, the pitch quality was so consistently impressive; it was clear that the teams had spent a great deal of time this year validating, understanding their customer and solving some unique problems in Aotearoa. Pay special attention to their Quadruple Bottom Line; this is a new way of thinking about business, ensuring startups are making sustainable profits, but that they are also factoring in social and environmental responsibilities.

You’ll want to make sure you’re on board for this journey - make sure you get a slice of the action on their Instagram and Facebook.

Can you believe it?

Audacious Semester 2 for 2022 is already done and dusted. After 8 weeks of prototyping, pavement-pounding, and polish, we've seen our Audacious students turn their emergent shower-thoughts and business brainwaves from “that could be cool” into “this is actually happening”. We’re stoked to officially bring you the results for this semester’s showcase.

A little over 80% of New Zealand businesses make it through the first year. Extend that by five years and less than 40% will be left.

Why?

Award-winning marketer, published author, and stalwart of the Dunedin startup ecosystem, Leanne Ross has a lot of serious accomplishments under her belt, and with those accomplishments comes good wisdom (and some great stories). A recent alum of the Startup Dunedin Board and originally from Ireland, Leanne began her career in Dunedin as a freelancer in Digital Marketing. Within 6 months she had given that up to take a role with a games studio in the city that was growing fast, citing it as just too exciting and too welcoming to not get in amongst it.