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June 17th, as part of KLP Summit, we'll be hosting five workshops with our international and New Zealand expert speakers. We know from previous events and feedback that you've wanted to spend more time with our speakers, and deep dive on content - nows the time! Details: Auckland, June 17th, 2pm-4:30pm Workshops on offer:
Sales Lies. Why what you’ve been told might not be true on the path from $0-$20M In this workshop we will be discussing some of the institutional wisdom around building teams, when to hire a VP of sales, how to break into the US or other markets and what do do when plan A fails. With Ryan Williams, Founder @ SalesColider, formely VP of Sales @ LeadGenuis. Building your Customer Success organisation from the ground up. In this session, we’ll look at the value CS brings, foundational blocks for building a world-class team, and considerations for scaling efficiently. If you’re a CEO looking to hire your first CS leader/professional, you’ll not want to miss this. With Emilie Davis, Head of Customer Success @ Periscope Data, Node.io. Building Consumer Grade Products for the Enterprise With the complexity of multiple stakeholders and the increasing purchasing influence of end users, the bar is higher than ever for enterprise UX as companies pioneer business models beyond traditional SaaS. Learn how to apply consumer grade growth, engagement, design, and prioritisation strategies to increase adoption within your products. With Ciara Peter - VP of Product @ Gainsight, formerly Invision, Box, Salesforce Marketing and Sales Operations (Revenue Ops): It’s the Glue Between Marketing and Sales The two important ‘R’s for any CEO is revenue and retention. In order to maintain scalable growth and have consistency across the entire customer lifecycle there needs to be a lynchpin* that will bring together marketing, sales and customer success - RevOps. In this workshops we'll be bringing together tools, platforms and process to move quickly, surfacing insights and data that will achieve core KPIs and overall maintaining consistency across the customer journey. With CMO @ Flossie, Cath Carlsen and Customer Growth @ Auror, Fallon Savery. Product Playbook: How to create products that change the game In this workshop we'll be discussing, How to reach product-market fit, Fundamentals of great product design, How to define a game changing vision and strategy, How to execute your vision and strategy to achieve the highest impact. With Philip Fierlinger - Product Designer, cofounder @ Xero, Angel Investor, Director. There is something for everyone, reserve your spot today, spaces are limited!
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Rich Chetwynd is the founder and CEO of ThisData, a cyber-security startup selling software that detects whether a user signing into an account is the real-user, or an attacker signing in with a stolen password. And ThisData isn’t Chetwynd’s first rodeo; his first business, Litmus, sold to a public-listed company in the US. We caught with Chetwynd on the Kiwi founder series, diving deep on a lot of things, particularly investment. We’ve summarised his top bits of investment advice below, but for the rest of the webinar, check out the replay here. Before the actual raising of money can take place, the founder/s need to make the decision whether to raise or bootstrap. Chetwynd has done both; to both extremes. With his first business he bootstrapped for two years until they had significant capital, and was acquired after five years; never raising money. With his second business, he raised right at the beginning on just an early prototype. The happy medium he’s landed on is to raise money as late as possible. “Don’t raise any money until you’ve got that strong product-market fit, and bootstrap for as long as possible.” So if and when the time comes to raising money, Chetwynd shared the advice for the first time he went about it. There is an old saying that ‘if you ask for money you’ll get advice, and if you ask for advice you’ll get money’. Although there was nothing deliberate to it, this is how things ended up playing out for Chetwynd. “I found the single person I knew who had a lot of experience raising money, and I went and asked that person if they’d be interested helping me put it together. Ultimately they ended up putting in money as well, but that wasn’t the aim. That person was really key; I didn’t need their money but I really needed their help. They helped me work out what the initial valuation might be, how much we should raise, who we should raise from, as well as opening a few doors and making a few connections.” Finding people who have been there and done that is the fastest way to learn. When approaching investors, it’s incredibly important to consider what you’re getting from them. It shouldn’t just be money; ‘dumb money’. There has to be some cherry on the top, something extra they’ll bring that will really help your business grow. For Chetwynd his early investors brought an understanding of the investment landscape, and helped him raise subsequent rounds of capital. Furthermore, he has brought on some investors more recently who, despite holding the smallest shares of the company, have had the most significant impact on their progress in the US. The networks and connections that they’ve provided Chetwynd in the US have been invaluable in their growth there. Really make sure that you’re clear what it is you need from your investors, and search for those who can bring that. Another part of raising money that plagues New Zealand companies is our trend of low valuations and high dilutions; something that really limits a founder’s options for subsequent rounds. As a way of dealing with this Chetwynd advises speaking to investors. Explain how it is not just about this round. With their investment, provided you hit your targets, you’ll likely be looking at subsequent rounds later down the track. And those rounds are likely to come from overseas. With that in mind, would overseas investors like to see a heavily diluted founding team? Acknowledge that whilst you understand their desire for a bigger piece of the pie, they may be shooting themselves in the foot in terms of the long term value of the company. Finally, whilst all this investment talk is going on, you still have a business to run and a team to manage. And they’re going to be wondering what is going on. Chetwynd is a massive fan of being open and honest with the team. He always makes sure they know how much runway the company has, and where their next paycheck is coming from. However, whilst your employees will be great at their jobs, some might not be cut out for the emotional rollercoaster of being a founder. So Chetwynd does advise that “you don’t want to necessarily tell them everything that’s bad and everything that’s good because you want them to be steady. To focus on getting the job done, rather than worrying about things that they don’t need to be worrying about.” In short, be open and transparent about the financial position of the business, but don’t share things that your employees are going to struggle to handle. Every month at the Kiwi Landing Pad, we do a monthly update that covers who is in, what’s going on, and companies we have meet, come across or talked with lately, they are in varying industries and stages and in no particular order, sometimes old, sometimes new. To subscribe to our updates please follow this link or send us an email to [email protected] NZ Companies you should know – check them out: Mindhive – Solve business problems by pulling industrial R&D solutions out of thin engineering air. Boardingware – Fulfil your duty of care with our boarding school management system – Track students, manage leave and attendance, sign-in/out, pastoral care and more. Conscious Consumers – We connect conscious consumers to businesses that want to make a difference in the world. Conqa - The new standard in quality assurance. Conqa is a market leading platform that makes quality assurance simple, accountable and transparent. Storypark - Parents control their child’s digital footprint (Storypark does not own your data) and can decide who has access to their child’s information. Virsae – Virsae is air traffic control for unified communications systems. Virsae’s cloud-based service, VirsaeService Management, keeps unified communications systems performing at their best. 9spokes – 9 Spokes is a free data dashboard that connects your apps to identify powerful insights to deliver your business KPI’s. Tru2U - Supporting Quality Sleep, Good Health & Wellbeing. We offer innovative functional foods of exceptional quality that are results driven, which support great health, and are classified as every day foods! Spalk – Grow your audience and fan engagement through demographically targeted commentary! Designer Wardrobe – A marketplace and community for buying, selling & renting pre-loved designer fashion Every month at the Kiwi Landing Pad, we do a monthly update that covers who is in, what’s going on, and companies we have meet, come across or talked with lately, they are in varying industries and stages and in no particular order, sometimes old, sometimes new. To subscribe for updates please follow this link or send us an email to [email protected] NZ Companies you should know – check them out: 1Centre – Reinventing, streamlining and de-stressing the Trade Credit Application Process. Tribe Sport App – Your Destination for Sport. Everything in one place… and actually nice to use! ThinkLadder – Thinkladder is a collaboration between, writers, therapists and creatives. Our mission is to produce engaging content for those who want to develop their self awareness, mental health and wellbeing, and to deliver that content via social platforms, and unique online experiences. Code Lingo – Code Quality that Scales The Social Club - The Social Club is an online platform, connecting New Zealand’s largest community of social media influencers directly with brands and agencies. Stratamap – StrataMap is a single source of truth platform for maintaining and sharing models. Designed specifically for large enterprises, government agencies and vendors, StrataMap exists to ease the pain of change. Vinsight – Great web based winery software: inventory, winemaking, lab, costings, sales. Make it, trace it! PrenoHQ – Preno is a property management software created for hoteliers by an award winning hotelier. Linc Ed – LINC-ED is a unique web app for NZ schools that is designed to be simple, secure and stylish. Boma - Boma enables SMB’s to join the digital revolution by allowing them to easily create, distribute & optimise digital marketing campaigns across multiple channels. Every month at the Kiwi Landing Pad, we do a monthly update that covers who is in, what’s going on, and companies we have meet, come across or talked with lately, they are in varying industries and stages and in no particular order, sometimes old, sometimes new. To subscribe to our updates please follow this link or send us an email to [email protected] NZ Companies you should know – check them out: SteadyPay – Steadypay provides an alternative credit service for the gig economy that enables people to earn a consistent income, even when they work inconsistent hours. Modlar- Modlar helps bring great design to life by connecting architects from the world’s top firms with building products from the world’s best brands. Thankyou Payroll - Thankyou Payroll is a social enterprise that offers a cloud-based payroll software system to manage all the complexities of payroll, leave entitlements and taxes. The Babysitters Club – The Babysitters Club is a premium babysitting service, which makes it easy for busy parents to do the things they love or need to do, without the worrying about the safety and well-being of their children. Flossie – Flossie is the smarter way to book beauty services in seconds. Curating only premium, tried and tested salons and spas across Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Melbourne. Melon Health – Behaviour change platform for chronic disease management and prevention. Helping people help themselves. Patient empowering digital health programs for physical and mental health. Montoux- Montoux is the global leader in pricing transformation for the life insurance industry. Our application’s integrated modules allow life insurers to combine pricing, competitive analysis, elasticity analysis and price optimization in one reliable, easy to use application. KuraCloud- kuraCloud is a cloud based learning and authoring platform that allows educators to easily create, publish, and manage active learning content on any device. TownSquare- Find shows, markets, live music, activities, exhibitions, events to learn something new, family-friendly events and more using our hashtag-powered search engine. Town Square provides a one-stop solution with features to bookmark events, share them with friends, add them to your online calendar, navigate to the venues and get tickets for events. EROAD- EROAD’s user-friendly solution sets the standard for accurate data collection, fleet performance management, electronic compliance and tax reporting. iMoved- iMoved is an easy way to update your contact details in NZ with businesses, family and friends, quickly, securely and completely free! Kiwi Landing Pad has been running for almost a decade making the journey of building a global business from New Zealand easier. One of the ways we tackled this was by making use of technology, building a global and virtual community so that founders, entrepreneurs and talent can get access to what they need anywhere and anytime. This is one of the reasons we started the Sales and Marketing Jams in an attempt to bring best practise in the areas of scaling sales, marketing and product management teams and methodology back to New Zealand. Whats more, we launched our webinar program so that we could help our community keep learning throughout the year in topics that we know they need to grow different areas of their business. What we noticed over the last three years we’ve been running these programs, our most engaged community members come from various regions across New Zealand outside of the major city centres. Its a privilege (to us) to bring people together online every week, providing access where traditionally there hasn’t been, and whats turned into an engaged community most Thursdays at 10am. With the next round of Sales and Marketing Jams coming to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch we thought we’d help with the proximity piece and get two lucky community members the chance to attend a jam for free, and thanks to our foundation jam sponsor Air New Zealand, for covering your airfares too. Our program and KLP is expanding to the regions, something we are working on, which will be ready in 2019, in the meantime, we thought we’d bring you to us. The Offer: We are delighted to be able to offer two FREE places at our upcoming Jams for those of you not located in the Wellington, Christchurch or Auckland area (75km radius) INCLUDING A FREE AIRFARE to the closest Jam location. Go into the draw here by entering your details. Every month at the Kiwi Landing Pad, we do a monthly update that covers who is in, what’s going on, and companies we have meet, come across or talked with lately, they are in varying industries and stages and in no particular order, sometimes old, sometimes new. To subscribe to our updates please follow this link or send us an email to [email protected] NZ Companies you should know – check them out: Datch – Datch is a smart voice assistant for the factory, enabling manufacturers to make informed decisions no matter where they are; meaning understanding the factory is as simple as having a conversation. Wanderer VR – An interactive virtual reality series, Wanderer re-invents the greatest stories and adventures from some of the most iconic moments and civilizations in time. Aimy Plus – Aimy Plus is software designed to help After School Care, Child Care, Clubs, Classes and Organisations administer their programmes and track of everything, from kids & parents to invoices and roll call. Contento – Guest posting platform for smart marketers. Offer your articles to reputable publishers. Gain brand awareness, add inbound links, increase your SEO, and drive real traffic to your website with high-quality content placement. FaceMe – A platform that enables your chatbot to become an engaging, visual customer experience that creates emotional connection. McCarthy Finch – Combining pioneering research in the fields of natural language processing & machine learning with leading legal expertise to create the future of law. LearnCoach – An online oasis of free tutorials to help students succeed in their NCEA & University exams. Dawn AeroSpace – A new class of vehicles providing responsive, low cost hypersonic, suborbital and orbital access. Breadcrumbs – Breadcrumbs app is designed to help you discover things to do based on your individual interests. Connect with locals & travelers to share your gems! Unleashed Software – Powerful Inventory Management. Unleashed manages your inventory and easily integrates with accounting and eCommerce platforms like Xero and Magento. Every month at the Kiwi Landing Pad, we do a monthly update that covers who is in, what’s going on, and companies we have meet, come across or talked with lately, they are in varying industries and stages and in no particular order, sometimes old, sometimes new. To subscribe for updates please follow this link or send us an email to [email protected] NZ Companies you should know – check them out: GameStatix – Gamestatix is a social platform for the co-creation of PC games, that recognises, encourages and rewards user contribution, whilst giving game developers access to global pool of talent to efficiently generate, curate and promote their content. Couchdrop – Couchdrop is the only true Cloud SCP, SFTP and Rsync server. Couchdrop lets you SCP, SFTP and Rsync directly to cloud storage (Dropbox, Box, BackblazeB2, GoogleDrive etc.). With Couchdrop you do not need to install additional software as it uses the native Rsync, SFTP and SCP applications. Couchdrop offers a secure means of transfer as both applications run over SSH. Wine Grenade – The Wine Grenade is a simple and cost effective tool to help winemakers make great reds through the process of micro-oxygenation. Re-leased – Re-Leased is a powerful, award-winning cloud-based commercial property management software. SwipedOn - Welcome people into your world with a smart but simple visitor management solution. Our paperless gateway makes connecting people intuitive and easy. Tradify – The app of choice for thousands of Tradies. Track jobs from quote to invoice and everything in between. A2X – Automated Accounting For Amazon Marketplace Sales, Fees, Cost Of Goods Sold, And FBA Inventory Cemplicity – The Cemplicity Aim – a powerful patient voice. We believe every patient should have the opportunity to tell their story and that a patient’s positive view of their own health is the ultimate measure of success. Aider.ai - Aider is the digital assistant for your small business. Using the latest AI technology, Aider helps small business stay connected and utilize insights to make smarter business decisions. Ask Aider questions from anywhere, get easy answers, then share the learnings with your staff, partners and advisors. Aider is your business’ own AI engine. Orbica – Location Data Connectivity. Orbica unlocks the value of location data to create effective business solutions and products. You’ll develop new insights that improve and accelerate your decision making, increase performance, reduce risks and costs, enhance your customer’s experience and generate revenue. At Stripe they firmly believe great companies come from everywhere. Which is why they’ve built the Stripe Atlas platform, making it easier for great companies from around the world to expand into the US. Through developing this platform, and growing globally themselves, they’ve learnt a few things. Here are the top five lessons on going global with Sarah Heck, Stripe’s Head of Entrepreneurship. Don’t (necessarily) Go For The Obvious Choice. There are lots of different markets that look appealing as either large markets or similar ones to the markets you’re already operating in. However some of the most successful markets for Stripe have been the smaller or less obvious ones. Singapore is a good example of this; a market that seems small, but is actually quite the opposite. Many countries in the Southeast Asia region use Singapore as their hub of operations, therefore being in Singapore gives you access to the whole region. So sometimes making the non-obvious choice for your company makes a lot of sense. Invent Your Own Signals. When looking at markets you need to look beyond the obvious metrics everyone else is using, like GDP, population, or language. It’s important to pick the right metrics for your business and market. Stripe has a strong brand with developers and startups, so look towards things like the number of GitHub accounts in a certain market, or the number of startups on Crunchbase. They invented some of their own signals like which IP address locations were being logged, and the countries where people were frequently tweeting about pain points around payments or economic infrastructure. Or where people were notifying them when they launched their companies. These things got them much closer to the actual latent demand that exists for their product than the more mainstream signals would have. It Takes Longer Than You Expect Launching in a new market will always take longer than you expect, whether it’s because of regulation, time zone, language or something else. Everything gets slowed down, even for the fastest moving companies. Stripe overcame this by running really long beta periods, which has worked well. They launch in beta and test very rapidly, working closely with a small set of users to make sure the product is really tailored for the market. Then only when they’re super competitive do they go from beta to a public version. Despite requiring a long runway it gave them confidence that they’d be successful when launching publicly. The First Person Makes or Breaks a Market Every company needs to find their Batman. Finding the right person to start in a new market will really make a difference. Stripe have found generalists who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into everything make the best first hires in a new market. You have to think about everything from building a prototype of the company to thinking about how you do sales. You have to be a jack of all trades. Being out there alone making it all happen can be really difficult, so you really have to find the right personality for that. Build an Organizational Structure To Empower You From Day One Lastly, Stripe has worked really hard to build an organizational structure that empowers local markets from day one. How do you empower teams, especially early on, to make sure they can operate relatively autonomously? When you’re thinking about timezones and language, how can you make sure the people on the ground who really understand the local market are empowered to do their job? Allow them to dig into the details of what will be most successful in the market, and what is needed to achieve product market fit. Later on, as markets mature, you can bring them back into the fold of HQ in different ways. But make sure that they’re empowered in the beginning.
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Kiwi Landing Pad is a not for profit community, that focuses on supporting the best New Zealand Founders global growth aspirations. We've been around for ten years, with a twenty year vision to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to the New Zealand entrepreneurial community and, in doing so, positively impacting economic growth, export income and the wellbeing of New Zealand.
Proudly supported by: The Bank of New Zealand, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, Sam Morgan, Stephen Tindall and the Holdsworth Family.
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