From good grubs to better banking, Icehouse Ventures Showcase highlights New Zealand’s brightest startups

From disrupting our banking sector to feeding the planet with insect protein, Auckland’s Spark Arena was lit up by eight of New Zealand’s boldest startups on Friday.

Icehouse Ventures’ 14th Annual Showcase saw the companies pitch to a room of 900 investors, seeking to turn their vision into reality or scale existing success to the next level. 

Speakers included Zincovery, a metal recycling business whose innovative system of capturing Zinc dust aims to revolutionise and decarbonise the zinc recycling industry.   

On the homefront, Basis wants to replace the dated technology of the home switchboard with a sustainable home energy panel that reduces waste, saves money and provides valuable energy insights.  

Good Grub promised to address the world’s enormous food waste problem by using the humble black soldier fly to convert food by-products into profitable insect proteins to feed animals and plants.  

As the night moved from food production to hospitals, medical device builder Avasa’s pitch was one of the more viscerally compelling. 

Some graphic surgical videos demonstrated how its implantable artery coupling device makes microsurgery faster, safer, and more efficient.

Thankfully, Avasa pitched the potentially life-saving technology well after dinner was served. 

While the visions varied, all speakers shared the same optimistic view of New Zealand startups’ ability to affect positive global change for businesses, communities and the environment.  

In his opening address, Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul referenced enduring optimism and rejecting the status quo as keys to success. 

“Startups can succeed, but most have had moments where failure felt inevitable,” he said. 

“What to do? The answers are important for everybody in this room, and the first is just to accept that life can bring challenges but reject cynicism. It didn’t get New Zealand to space. Understand that you are not in control, but do not conceive of what you can control.”

The night also opened with a speech from Dr Sean Simpson, co-founder of Lanzatech, providing an aspirational vision of where this year’s speakers hope to be.

“Our journey began with trips up and down the motorway with bags filled with gas from Glenbrook Steel Mill to deliver to test tubes of microbes in a lab in a basement in Parnell,” he said. 

“Several years later, after a lot of hair loss and sleepless nights, we commercialised that process. We built our first commercial plant at a steel mill in China that took a flue gas and converted it into 46,000 tons of ethanol per year. We’ve since commercialised several other plants in China, and our last one was in Europe.”

While focused on the future, the showcase also celebrated the past.

Outset Ventures founding partner Mat Row received the Ray Thomson award in recognition of his decades-long contribution to the New Zealand tech ecosystem.  

Whether the next RocketLab or Lanzatech will emerge from last night’s speakers remains to be seen.

However, based on pitches alone, the future of New Zealand’s startup ecosystem is only growing brighter. 

Complete list of speakers:

Zincovery:

Zinc is a $40b global business and Zincovery has developed a solution to capture and recycle the zinc dust generated by steel recycling. Its process significantly reduces emissions and production costs. They’re working with cleantech investors, steel mills, and zinc buyers to decarbonise the zinc recycling industry.

Basis:

Basis has created a world-first smart panel that transforms homes into energy-efficient powerhouses, significantly reducing waste and enabling a dynamic smart grid. Modernising how energy is consumed and managed, Basis aims to make every household more efficient and environmentally friendly. 

DevRamp:

DevRamp is a revolutionary dev tool that enhances code familiarity to boost productivity and minimise risk. A SaaS tool specifically designed for the modern digital business and minimising knowledge loss with departing workers. 

Vessev:

Vessev has developed a hydro-foiling marine vessel that uses a new form of marine propulsion. This lifts vessels up and out of the water to drastically reduce drag and minimise energy consumption. 

Avasa:

AVASA aims to improve microsurgery and provide potentially life-saving benefits through an implantable device which promises to help plastic surgeons connect micro-arteries and veins more effectively and 80% faster than the current standard of care.

Good Grub:

Good Grub uses the unique bio-converting abilities of the black soldier fly to turn food waste into valuable protein and fertiliser. This process reduces emissions and creates healthy alternative products for animals and plants. 

Emerge:

With a bold and simple pitch to ‘disrupt banking,’ Emerge is a digital-first banking alternative built to allow Kiwi businesses to move faster, be more cost-effective, and save time.

Kwetta:

Kwetta is developing innovative EV charging systems to allow the rapid expansion of an EV charging infrastructure. Its expansive charging sites cater to personal

vehicles, public transit, and heavy-duty fleets.