Tagged: start-up

Entrepreneurial success means starting at the end - Stick

Peter Kerr • May 07, 2014 •

• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• Entrepreneur's Club,
• innovation,
• Laura Humphreys,
• Liber8me,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

Start at the end and work backwards. This was the ultimate, underlying piece of advice from Laura Humphreys, who has started and successfully exited two businesses in Wellington, and now among other things is relaunching herself as a business author … Continue reading → … Read More

Lightning Lab grows up, gets into its groove - Stick

Peter Kerr • Apr 30, 2014 •

• accelerator,
• Angel investment,
• contract writer,
• development,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• Ken Erskine,
• Lightning Lab,
• LL accelerator,
• Market validation,
• private equity,
• Prototyping,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up

The Lightning Lab’s demo day had some quite fascinating works in progress…bring on Demo (to investors) Day on May 28 at Te Papa. The team behind LL are also, as you’d hope, a year wiser, further along a path with … Continue reading → … Read More

The Kiwi innovation space is starting to look awfully crowded - Stick

Peter Kerr • Apr 16, 2014 •

• Angel investment,
• Callaghan Innovation,
• contract writer,
• crowded,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• innovation council,
• Sciblogs,
• Science policy,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

Is it just me, or is the innovation/commercialisation space looking awfully crowded and confused these days? Sure, we like to think we’re (NZ Inc) inventive and entrepreneurial. But there seem to be more entities out there offering innovation (and I … Continue reading → … Read More

Driver of Callaghan accelerator services to put pedal to the metal? - Stick

Peter Kerr • Mar 04, 2014 •

• Angel investment,
• Callaghan Innovaiton,
• Chris Somogyi,
• CI,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• Sciblogs,
• Science policy,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

We’ll make the assumption that Callaghan Innovation’s new GM of Accelerator Services isn’t there for the money. Chris Somogyi’s come relatively unannounced to the crown entity whose role is to accelerate the commercialisation of innovation by NZ firms. Softly, softly … Continue reading → … Read More

Finding the fruitful intersection of ideas and organisation - Stick

Peter Kerr • Feb 18, 2014 •

• contract writer,
• development,
• Handbook of Management and Creativity,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• Stephen Cummings,
• writer for hire

 Ultimately this blog is a plug for Stephen Cummings handbook of ways that business can fruitfully marry management and creativity. Along the way it is also an endorsement of the Professor of Management at Victoria University’s Business School, and in … Continue reading → … Read More

We’re getting over our notions of shame around business failure - Stick

Peter Kerr • Dec 10, 2013 •

• Angel investment,
• business failure,
• contract writer,
• Dead Startup Society,
• entrepreneur,
• innovation,
• Lightning Labs,
• Market validation,
• Prototyping,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• TIN 100,
• writer for hire

I’m putting the proposition out there that we’re getting over our collective Kiwi hang-up about startup and business failure. That is, whereas in the past we’d write somebody off for having tried, and been not successful in a new business … Continue reading → … Read More

KiwiNet and the sell of commercialisation - Stick

Peter Kerr • Nov 26, 2013 •

• andrew coy,
• Commercialisation,
• contract writer,
• Early stage science,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• Kiwinet,
• Magritek,
• Market validation,
• Prototyping,
• Ruth Richardson,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• university,
• writer for hire

There’s always something to learn at commercialisation workshops. KiwiNet, the group-hug of university and CRI commercialisation units held a Wellington-based forum around understanding customers. So, here’s couple of interesting bits and pieces from the day – of which I was … Continue reading → … Read More

‘Always be pitching, looking for feedback’ – Wipster’s Rollo Wenlock - Stick

Peter Kerr • Nov 19, 2013 •

• Angel investment,
• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• development,
• editing,
• entrepreneur,
• innovation,
• Market validation,
• private equity,
• Rollo Wenlock,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• video,
• Wipster,
• writer for hire

“Get your idea out there as much as possible, pitch it to everyone, even to strangers in a cafe, see what happens. If it doesn’t resonate, you probably don’t have anything.” That was Wipster head sherang’s advice given at Wellington’s … Continue reading → … Read More

Punakaiki Fund now a solution in search of a problem? - Stick

Peter Kerr • Oct 08, 2013 •

• Angel investment,
• contract writer,
• entrepreneur,
• high tech,
• innovation,
• IT,
• Lance Wiggs,
• Market validation,
• private equity,
• Prototyping,
• Punakaiki Fund,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

So, will the Punakaiki Fund get to ‘Go’? And, if so, how will it differ from the angel investment funds dotted around the country? Originally hoping to raise between $20m to $50m, when the original close date of October 2 … Continue reading → … Read More

Appiness is good service – Icestack launches its moonshot to America - Stick

Peter Kerr • Aug 27, 2013 •

• Andrew McPherson,
• cloud computing,
• contract writer,
• development,
• entrepreneur,
• Experieco,
• high tech,
• Icestack,
• innovation,
• Mobile Tech Summit,
• Sciblogs,
• start-up,
• writer for hire

Given that his presentation was to the MobileTech Summit 2013, a primary industry focused event, Andrew McPherson’s app analogy was very apt. A tractor can be likened to a mobile device, the tool that is driven off the Power Take … Continue reading → … Read More