This year’s NetHui, InternetNZ‘s annual multistakeholder meeting, was the best yet. Multistakeholder meeting? Wasn’t it a conference? Yes and no. It was a conference in the sense that it was held at the SkyCity Convention Centre, some sessions had speakers with questions and answers, and people walked around with name tags. But it was much…
Continue reading →I organised a Lean Startup Meetup today exploring New Zealand political parties’ policies related to startups. Jonathan Young (National), Gareth Hughes (Greens), Vikram Kumar (Internet Mana), and Clare Curran (Labour) all presented their parties’ positions. I made an audio recording of the session, which you can either download (mp3, 21MB) or play right here: Photo…
Continue reading →I love to cook. After a day of mental exertions and various people- and process-related stress, there’s nothing like combining some ingredients, getting your hands gooey, controlling physical and chemical reactions in the process known as cooking, and then serving a satisfying meal to a group of appreciative people. Ethnic food is wonderful, and recipes…
Continue reading →I’m standing for the InternetNZ Council again. This is an important job in a great organisation. If you’re a member, I’d appreciate your vote. If you’re not a member, then I’d urge you to join (note you must have been a member for at least three months prior to the election to vote). It only…
Continue reading →I was in Christchurch last night presenting to a group of investors and entrepreneurs hoping to get an angel club off the ground in Canterbury, organised by Ben Reid. I had been asked to present on the angel investment process from a startup entrepreneur’s point of view. Here are my slides: I’m very excited by…
Continue reading →I was invited to Auckland last week to The Project: Digital Disruption to discuss what’s happening in the Wellington startup scene. Here are my slides: Wellington, New Zealand’s Startup Capital Key points: Wellington’s key advantage is its scale. Everything is accessible within a 20 minute walk – but you need to plan for 30 minutes…
Continue reading →Do you have strong feelings about government surveillance? Ever since the release of information about government surveillance by Edward Snowden, I feel that the nature of the relationship of trust between governments and their citizens has changed. It’s thrown into sharp relief the uneasy balance between citizens’ right to privacy, and governments’ obligations to provide…
Continue reading →An introduction to the startup ecosystem in New Zealand and particularly Wellington. I was invited recently to attend a workshop organised by Brian Monahan, Matthew Monahan, and Yoseph Ayele who have recently decided to come to New Zealand and help turbo-charge our local startup scene. The purpose of the workshop was to help strengthen ties…
Continue reading →I was recently interviewed by Sarah Spear at The Parentalist, a new blog featuring parents who are “making an impact on the world, in business and in their local communities”. You listen to (or download) the audio: Or watch the video: On a related note, today I added the job “Parent at My Family” to…
Continue reading →Unlimited Magazine has named me one of “The 2013 Influencers” for my role as a “startup guru” helping companies get going right from the idea stage. It’s a nice little article, and I’m grateful to those who thought highly enough of my advice to recommend me to Unlimited. I’ve also snagged a PDF for…
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