Expanding your business into international markets can be a game-changer. However, understanding the nuances of various geographies is crucial for success. Here are some things to consider when exploring new markets.
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.
Startup Dunedin’s one-off microgrant fund has officially wrapped up, and one thing is for sure - there’s no shortage of great ideas and great founders in Ōtepoti.
A box of random items, a few hours of ideation and two days to make a business. A pretty impressive feat for the 2025 cohort for Bachelor of Applied Management at Otago Polytechnic!
We had the pleasure earlier this week of stopping in on the Applied Management students for a workshop as part of their Business in a Box challenge - keep reading to find out how it all went down!
At Startup Dunedin, we are big fans of the lean canvas, and we have recently revamped it to be easier and simpler than ever!
If you're currently working on a solution or have an idea, it's a great idea to take a look at a lean canvas to help you plan and focus on customer validation and problem-solution fit. Our new blog is here to help you do just that - take a look below.
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.
Chances are you didn’t start a business because you LOVE doing finances and filing tax returns. For most founders, the thought of diving into their tax obligations is enough to either frighten them or put them to sleep.
Not to worry! We’re here with tools and tips to help you get started with understanding tax.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Naming a business is hard. Even Phil Knight, the Founder of Nike, struggled. He was one short conversation away from calling his shoe brand “Dimension Six”. Hard to imagine that becoming the household name of a now $34B company!
If you want to read how Phil accidentally stumbled onto his name and logo, you can check out that story here. Otherwise, stick around for one tool and one tip we give founders in our programmes when they’re naming their startups.
It's pretty hard to quantify how massive this year felt. It certainly hasn't been a year of plain sailing - but amidst the chaos, ups, downs, and even bigger ups, 2021 has shown up and the resilience and determination of Dunedin founders has shone through.
Now that the year is over, we're looking back on how far we've come, as a team, as an organisation, and as a community.
Over the 4 years, Startup Dunedin has supported 411 students through Audacious, 233 people in our community with startup basics, and 16 Startups through incubation.
Startup Dunedin is very excited to announce the launch of Coralcone - a new, easier to use, and more sustainable option for all those who menstruate.
Founder Yvette Shum has been working on Coralcone in our Distiller Incubator over the past months, and now has some pretty amazing products available for purchase.
Every year, Dunedinites blow us away with the quality, conscience, scalability, cleverness, and innovation of their ideas. It just keeps getting better, and this is absolutely due to the participants willingness to get outside of their comfort zones, take risks to build their skills, or go out on a limb and launch a startup. Here’s a brief rundown of the results of Startup Weekend 2021 - keep reading to hear who won!
Last Wednesday, 2nd June, Startup Dunedin’s Audacious programme held the final showcase for semester one’s cohort of student entrepreneurs. This group of innovators had completed eight long weeks of workshops, market research, customer interviewing, and a lot of hard mahi, and it was time to proudly showcase this to Ōtepoti Dunedin.
