Founders in the Wild with Brooke Roberts
News from the New Zealand startup ecosystem, straight to your inbox thanks to today's Presenting Partner, VANTA.
Good morning Caffeinators!
We’re wishing everyone a happy hump day but lets be honest, this point of the week can often be a push uphill. So we’re adding some extra inspiration to your morning brew to get you through.
Firstly a really warm welcome to our new Wednesday newsletter ‘Presenting Partner’ Vanta. More on what they can do for you below…
Today we’re also launching a new feature with Unyoked called ‘Founders in the Wild’.
As part of our mission to foster wellbeing for our startup community, we’re sending two of New Zealand’s top founders to Unyoked’s beautiful off-grid cabins for a digital detox and to reflect on whatever they’ve been grappling with. You’ll hear in their own words what the experience meant to them, starting with how they were feeling before [today] and then what changed after [tomorrow].
First into the wilderness, Sharesies Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Brooke Roberts.
As always, a massive thank you to those who have donated or upgraded to a paid subscription. We quite literally wouldn’t be here without you.
Finn & the Caffeine team
Two weeks before taking two days out with Unyoked | Sharesies Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Brooke Roberts
Being off-the-grid is an odd feeling. The last time I was off-the-grid was approximately four years ago, with a handful of my friends and colleagues. During that time, we enjoyed deep conversations and experimented with being silent for a day. I found myself writing, drawing and going for a hīkoi in nature. It felt wholesome and calming - though I also found my thoughts would often wander to what was happening in the wider world and how my daughter was going as well.
I anticipate while I’m staying with Unyoked that I’ll find my mind wandering to those thoughts again. However this time, I recognise that this is wasted energy and that I need to try and be present within the moment.
Being present in the moment is something I continue to work on. As a co-founder and co-CEO, I can be managing teams, communicating, learning, attending and speaking at events, as well as balancing being a mum to my two tāmariki and a great mate to my friends. It’s an incredible privilege to be a founder, with such a talented team to support, but it’s something that comes with a lot of responsibility. The need to ruthlessly prioritise is a daily challenge and ensuring my cup is full so I can support others in the best way possible is important too. Read more
PwC M&A Update: Some fascinating reading in PwC’s latest quarterly report with some welcome reasons for optimism despite global headwinds. Deal activity increased in Q2 2024 with 52 deals announced, up from 26 deals in the previous quarter. Read more here.
How is the class of 2019 faring?: Peter Walker from Carta has taken a deep data dive on where US startups incorporated in 19’ have ended up. The report card is pretty impressive considering the COVID economic gauntlet these startups navigated.
• Just over 40% of startups incorporated in 2019 have shut down
• About 4% have exited (mostly through M&A)
• 7 IPOs (but if you remove biotech/pharma as an industry...no IPOs)
• 54% still kickingTop insider tip, he is a great follow on LinkedIn. Full post here.
Careers Of The Future: If you’re in the Tron’ today you should absolutely be heading along to Icehouse Venture’s Careers of the Future event. It’ll be a great opportunity to network, and hear valuable insights from the founders & operators leading some of Aotearoa's most exciting startups. Also, some of them are currently hiring…
Kiwi B Corps triple in four years: Between 2021 and 2024, the number of Kiwi B Corps has tripled from 52 to 165 and contributed over $5 billion to the New Zealand economy.
WFLS: How Beastie Boys lead me to co-founding Xero and now Upstock
Philip Fierlinger, co-founder and Head of Design at Xero, was instrumental in shaping it into a disruptive global brand. Now, as the co-founder of Upstock, he's applying the lessons learned from Xero to revolutionise the food and beverage industry. Listen here
Vanta is a leading security and compliance platform, founded in 2018, that helps companies safeguard consumer data and maintain trust. By automating compliance processes for standards like SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001, Vanta empowers businesses to continuously manage and prove their security in real time. Thousands of companies trust Vanta [including many kiwi startups] to streamline security reviews and ensure compliance, making it a pivotal partner in protecting the integrity of internet-based businesses. Check out this handy calculator to see how much time you can save automating compliance.
Something to get you through the week:
Say what you will about Elon Musk and his many companies but one of them is proving genuinely transformational for at least one person. Noland Arbaugh was paralysed from the neck down after a freak accident in 2016. He became the first patient implanted with Nueralink’s brain to computer interface and the results are incredible. He can now books, play video games and is even learning multiple languages. Check out this incredible clip of him playing chess with his mind at the Chess.com speed championships this week.
Hi team!
I really enjoy Caffeine Daily but must say I far preferred the earlier format of five quickly-read headings that I could scan at a glance and follow up on if interested.
Could we possibly have the first part of the post in that format with the fuller breakdown that you have here as the follow-on text? This approach is taken by Bernard Hickey's Kākā and works well for me.
The problem with this long form format is it take time and many brain cycles to sort through, parse and decide what to follow up on; net result being that I am inclined to simply skip it all and move on.
Yours, appreciatively ... Anake