Grit Works is an 11-week, in-person accelerator in Queenstown for riders, mechanics, and makers building physical mountain bike products. Go from idea to trail-tested prototype — without giving up equity.
Recently, the Government announced a comprehensive capability development series to help New Zealand businesses adapt to the current economic climate. Through the delivery of the Regional Business Partner (RBP) programme, Business South and Great South are pleased to offer all businesses across Otago and Southland free access to the series.
The series starts in June with 'Adapting to Change', a practical workshop designed to help business owners and their teams anticipate, respond to, and adapt to change. Using practical tools, guided reflection, and business planning strategies, the workshop will help you better understand your current operating environment, identify risks and opportunities, and build greater resilience and agility into your business.
In-person workshops will be held across the region. For those unable to attend in person, there is also a free online option for business owners, split across two 90-minute sessions: Monday 15 June and Monday 29 June, 1.00 pm to 2.30 pm.
What you’ll learn:
How to recognise and respond to change in your business environment.
Practical tools for business resilience and adaptability.
Strategies for pivoting and responding to challenges.
Identifying risks and uncovering new opportunities.
Building agility into your business planning and decision-making.
Who should attend?
Small business owners
Entrepreneurs
Business managers and leadership teams
Businesses experiencing growth, uncertainty, or change.
Presented by: Andee Gainsford
Andee Gainsford is a business advisor, executive leader, and facilitator with more than 30 years' experience working across New Zealand and international businesses. Through his consultancy, Hojo New Zealand, he works alongside organisations navigating growth, operational change, and business risk, with extensive experience supporting businesses through uncertainty and transformation. Known for his practical, people-centred approach, Andee brings real-world insight to conversations around resilience, leadership, and adapting to change. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of the NES Group of Companies, Director of Rappaw Veterinary Care, and Director of Hojo New Zealand, based in the Upper Clutha region
Please register for the session nearest you:
Online - split over two sessions on Monday 15 June & Monday 29 June - register here
Invercargill - Monday 15 June - register here
Dunedin - Monday 22 June - register here
Balclutha - Monday 22 June - register here
Queenstown - Monday 29 June - register here
Te Anau - date TBC
A 3-part series offering practical advice for launching and building a startup.
The Generator, a project by MSD and Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa, helps new start up business owners with seed funding, guidance, and expert coaching for financial advice, setup, and business planning. The team supports community service card holders in financial hardship to explore the feasibility of a business idea, learn business skills and scale up their enterprise.
Applications are now open for their current funding round. If you’re interested, read more here.
If you missed the Auckland Runway event in March, don’t miss this upcoming expert session.
Join us for a lively and interactive 90-minute online session with Jeff Wallace, founder of Silicon Valley in Your Pocket.
Understanding your motivation for becoming an angel investor and having an appreciation for the risk profile and mechanics of angel investment is all covered in this succinct 'awareness raising' course.
Angel 102 is focused on the investment activity an angel investor needs to undertake in order to manage their portfolio of investments and opportunities they are presented with regularly and give you some key tools and techniques in order to do this.
Angel 103 workshop we will take attendees through the lifecycle of a company and the key considerations that need to be made at each investment round. We will look at what terms become important and when; that different methodologies that can be used for determining valuation and what things to look for in future rounds.
Ministry of Awesome Presents: Electrify Aotearoa
Electrify Aotearoa is New Zealand’s leading high-impact conference for startup founders, investors, and supporters — built to supercharge the growth of women-led ventures and spark connections that last long after the event ends!
Ministry of Awesome Presents: Electrify Aotearoa
Electrify Aotearoa is New Zealand’s leading high-impact conference for startup founders, investors, and supporters — built to supercharge the growth of women-led ventures and spark connections that last long after the event ends!
A first-of-its-kind programme offering world-class education and support for entrepreneurial high school students. If you are curious, ambitious, and have the conviction to build something that matters, we want to hear from you.
The countdown has officially begun. You have LESS than two weeks left to apply for our Fall 2026 accelerators.
Angel Association NZ’s first flight meeting of 2026 is set to take place in Dunedin on 21 May.
Operated under Chatham House rules, the Flight sessions provide a safe environment for members to candidly share their experiences and seek valuable feedback from the collective wisdom of the group.
Details:
Date: May 21, 2026
Time: 11:00 - 14:00 GMT+12
Location: Potentia – Technology Recruitment (Dunedin)
Moray Place 469
Dunedin, Otago Region, New Zealand
Join Trevor McIntyre for a free lunch-and-learn built specifically for pre-seed and seed-stage SaaS founders, practical, no fluff, and easy to fit into a lunch break.
Join Startup Dunedin and NZ CODE for a TechWeek 26 breakfast panel bringing together founders, developers, and industry experts from Dunedin's game development scene.
A free online startup course for entrepreneurs aged 50+ who are ready to test and launch a business idea.
Connect in-person with the New Zealand EdTech community in Dunedin!
Angel 103 workshop we will take attendees through the lifecycle of a company and the key considerations that need to be made at each investment round. We will look at what terms become important and when; that different methodologies that can be used for determining valuation and what things to look for in future rounds.
A practical workshop evening built for students, ready to back themselves, gain real skills, real connections, and real progress. Expect a fun night of collaboration, free food, and prizes. Brought to you by Startup Dunedin and Otago Polytechnic.
Join Startup Dunedin and Hudson Gavin Martin for a free BYO lunch workshop is designed to help founders and start ups understand the different types of IP and what a company needs to think about in terms of protecting its IP.
Angel 102 is focused on the investment activity an angel investor needs to undertake in order to manage their portfolio of investments and opportunities they are presented with regularly and give you some key tools and techniques in order to do this.
Understanding your motivation for becoming an angel investor and having an appreciation for the risk profile and mechanics of angel investment is all covered in this succinct 'awareness raising' course.
Join Nanise, the founder of Startline. Supporting early-stage entrepreneurs to move from idea to structured, commercially sound businesses.
Running a trade business isn’t just about winning jobs. It’s about margins, cash flow, time, and making sure all that hard work actually pays off.
Over 90 minutes, we’ll follow the dollar through your business. From job margins and cash flow, to finance, marketing spend, and the numbers you should be watching every week.
The Blackbird Foundry roadshow brings free VC learning sessions across New Zealand and Australia, helping aspiring and early-stage deep tech founders understand how venture capital works in 2026, how to raise well, and how Blackbird’s Foundry programme supports founders from idea to scale.
Kick off 2026 with a transformative mindset experience that will enable you to set and execute the right intentions for your career throughout 2026 and beyond.
MedTech Innovator is the largest and highest performing accelerator of medical technology in the world and the medtech industry’s premiere showcase and competition for innovative medical device, digital health and diagnostic companies.
Companies that have raised up to a Series C are eligible to apply.
Join the FoundX Dunedin fireside chat featuring Boyd Peacock, founder of GetHomeSafe. Learn about his journey from launch to scaling a tech company. The event includes pitches from emerging Dunedin startups and networking opportunities.
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Time: 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Venue: Petridish, 8 Stafford Street, Central Dunedin, Dunedin 9016
Registration:
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/foundx-dunedin-founder-stories-registration-1672144000719?aff=StartupDunedin
Register by 5 November to secure your spot.
For questions, contact: events.newzealand@findex.co.nz
Join Caffeine online for a real and honest conversation with Ellie Brade, Co-Founder of Cleanery, who is building a global company with success.
Join us for a live conversation, where we dive into the moments, missteps, and lessons that have shaped Ellie's journey in being a founder.
This session will explore what our guest wishes she had known earlier, the pivotal experiences that shifted her perspective, and the insights she carries forward today. It’s an honest, practical discussion designed to spark reflection and help others navigate their own path.
The Mainland Angel Investors will host our sixth investment evening for 2025 on October 15th in Invercargill, Queenstown, Christchurch, Wanaka and Dunedin. Join in to hear from three startups as they pitch their unique value propositions, growth potential, and financial projections. This is a fantastic opportunity to network with like-minded investors and entrepreneurs who are interested in supporting the next generation of successful startups. RSVP Here.
As a founder or startup owner, you most likely have many questions about setting up your business, raising capital, or managing legal risks.
What better way to get answers than from two experts with serious startup experience and success? Read More Here.
See what this year’s cohort of Otago tertiary students have been working on, and watch them pitch their startups for $5,000!
After weeks of shaping ideas and putting pitches through their paces, Dunedin students will present and share their startups, side hustles, research projects, and not-for-profits. Our Pitch Night gives you the opportunity to see what our student entrepreneurs have been building and to get behind the next wave of student startups right here in Ōtepoti.
Looking for ways to connect into the digital identity ecosystem? Join these informal monthly drop in/coffee chats for the Digital Identity NZ community. Each session is designed to help you connect, share stories and spark discussion, and runs for 45 minutes to allow more time for discussion and ideas exchange. Read More.
Marketing can feel overwhelming when you’re running a start-up — small budgets, limited time, and a hundred other jobs on your plate. The good news? You don’t need a big spend to start winning customers.
This session includes actionable guidance to help you create an action list you can implement immediately, plus a Q+A to answer your burning questions.
Avid Legal lawyer (and Startup Dunedin’s board chair!) Wade Pearson is joining fellow Avid Legal lawyer Monica Cacho-Bevin at the New Zealand Game Dev Conference this year in Wellington!
Join them for some clear and simple advice on contracts for all stages, whether you’re developing your own game or doing contract work for others. Warning: this talk includes useful tips and interesting stories. You might even have fun.
Dunedin City Council allocates up to $70,000 per year for innovation and development from the Waste Minimisation contestable fund. Applications are open to any idea, project, initiative, or event that encourages, promotes, or administers waste minimisation activities in Dunedin.
Collaborative projects are encouraged.
Apply here: Waste Minimisation Commercial Grant application - Dunedin City Council
Retrospectives are a vital part of engineering team performance, helping improve processes, teamwork, and delivery efficiency. But many teams still face challenges bridging the gap between objective data and subjective feedback. With so many approaches available, it can be difficult to know which method best fits a team’s needs.
This upcoming session will explore the barriers that get in the way of running meaningful retrospectives and how engineering leaders can overcome them. The discussion will also cover how to address team concerns about retro processes and strike the right balance between human reflections and data-driven insights.
The conversation will feature Aino Corry from MetaDeveloper and Vivek Katial, Lead Data Scientist, who will share their perspectives on creating impactful retrospectives. RSVP here
As a startup or business owner, raising capital is essential for growth, but the legal requirements can be difficult to navigate. LegalVision is hosting a free webinar designed to support founders and entrepreneurs who want to better understand their options around funding strategies and investment structures.
The session, Ask a Cap Raising Lawyer: Seed, Series A and Beyond, takes place on Tuesday, 23 September at 12 pm NZST. Georgina Toomey, Managing Director at LegalVision, will answer questions and share insights into funding at different stages of growth. RSVP here
![Angel 101 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [Second cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769034677945-PHGVZ0FZP54B0SPJBAWQ/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.30.48%E2%80%AFAM.png)
![Angel 102 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [Second cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769034793574-AJ1STUNKEL48IL02RE37/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.32.13%E2%80%AFAM.png)
![Angel 103 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [Second cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769034925683-4YYDHGGPYT59B73O4GH7/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.35.07%E2%80%AFAM.png)
![Angel 103 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [First cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769034350951-HEAD5FKO3W82HV4AYP10/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.21.14%E2%80%AFAM.png)
![Angel 102 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [First cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769033517685-L96OKL0HRACVQP7UBZME/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.11.30%E2%80%AFAM.png)
![Angel 101 - AANZ Angel Investing Workshop [First cycle]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/59994c00e6f2e19ff038d526/1769033025573-H96CKR4HB01SBDQWLTSN/Screenshot+2026-01-22+at+11.03.36%E2%80%AFAM.png)
