Nau mai, welcome to your place of innovation
estimated collective value of startup alumni
Founders supported
Participants through programmes and events
Invested in
startup alumni
The future of our economy is being built here.
At Creative HQ, we’re growing an ecosystem where innovation can thrive. Proudly based in Wellington, NZ.
We back bold ideas and the people behind them – founders, intrapreneurs and public sector leaders – who are shaping what’s next.
From start-ups to government, we empower change-makers to succeed, transform organisations, and prepare for the future of work. Together, we’re creating a more prosperous Aotearoa New Zealand.
We are Aotearoa’s leading innovation hub
Adapt
Tailored services for innovators within the public and private sector who are ready to upskill their teams
and future-proof their organisations.
Build
Support for founders and startups ready for what’s next. Whether you’re refining your MVP or entering new markets, this is your launchpad.
Connect
Get involved through events,
mentoring, coaching and more. Tap into our ecosystem and meet the people powering our economy. If you’re curious, you’re invited.
Your startup launchpad
Since 2003, we’ve supported 400+ startup founders
Empowering you to innovate
Across the globe, we’re working with leading organisations to drive impactful change.
Connect with the ecosystem
From our founders
A thriving ecosystem awaits
We’re proud to be the connector for founders, funders, mentors, corporates, government, public research organisations and universities. Our community may be smaller and younger than other global hubs, but our impact speaks volumes. We punch above our weight, and we’re proud of it.
Why walk when you can sprint?
There are a lot of benefits to applying lean startup methodologies such as design sprints in large organisations. In simple terms, design sprints are a fast and efficient tool for problem-solving. Teams engage with key issues, identify opportunities and turn…
Reimagining healthcare: how Metro North Health is transforming care from within
Who we worked with Metro North Health, Queensland Australia What we did together T7 Masterclass in Innovation What happens when a major public health provider joins forces with Creative HQ? You get a powerful alliance that’s reimagining healthcare at its…
Top books for new entrepreneurs
If you are planning to start a business or if you are running an early-stage startup, you’ll need all the advice that you can get. This is the perfect time to level up your skill sets and soak in as…
Unleashing innovation in healthcare
Who we worked with Metro South Health, Queensland Australia What we did together T7 Masterclass in Innovation What does Brisbane’s public health care system and Creative HQ have in common? How about using the power of innovation to improve people’s…
Startup World Cup New Zealand Final 2024
On 12 September 2024, Creative HQ hosted the New Zealand Final of the Startup World Cup, bringing together eleven of Aotearoa’s most promising early-stage tech ventures to compete for a place at the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley. Founders delivered…
An electric revolution that started in Wellington: FTN Motion
Clean, green New Zealand – it’s in our DNA. Kiwis are passionate about the environment and demand is rising for clean transport solutions. Wellington runs New Zealand’s original regular electric ferry schedule, was part of the world’s first electric flight…
Innovation GPS (Was Barometer)
Who we worked with Department of Internal Affairs, NZTE, NZ G2G, Victoria University of Wellington, StatsNZ, Public Service Commission What we did together Develop a new tool to measure innovation in government Senior leaders in the NZ public sector see…
Training the changemakers of the future
Who we worked with Participants aged 16-24 years old and local businesses What we did together 15-week innovation programme Key skills Applied Innovation – lean, agile, discovery, ideation, market validation, prototyping Read more Stuff – “How to make brands like…
From an idea to the regulator’s room: Two founders, a sandbox pilot and very different journeys
When Shane joined Fintech Lab at the start of last year, he didn’t have a company. He had a co-founder, a concept, and – by his own admission – no idea what FMA (Financial Markets Authority) stood for. Maria had…
Women in the Capital are raising capital
Wellington – November 2021: Wellington is bucking the trend with women currently making up the majority of founders participating in Creative HQ’s innovation and startup programmes at Wellington’s innovation hub. Nationwide women make up 17% of business founders. Further, women-founded or…
Day 1: From public sector to startup founder
Op-ed written by Annie Kim, Founder at Airie. At some point the question stopped being should someone solve this? It became if not me,then who? While working at Immigration New Zealand, I kept seeing the same problem from different angles….
Where are they now? Five Fintech Lab founders, one year on
Building a Fintech is not your regular startup journey. You can’t just build something, put it online and start selling. Before your first customer can hand over a cent, you’re navigating financial regulations, licensing requirements, compliance frameworks, and technical infrastructure…
Catherine Jones: Women are driving change in Aotearoa’s innovation space.
I recently attended an executive education course at Stanford University, and in a room of 80 business leaders from around the world, only eight were women. I found that fact odd, a little bit shocking even. In my daily interactions,…
Leading NZ founders join Creative HQ as brand ambassadors
Wellington, New Zealand — January 2026 Creative HQ has appointed six leading founders and startup operators as brand ambassadors, formalising a deeper relationship with people already closely connected to the organisation and the wider innovation ecosystem. Meet the Brand Ambassadors…
Meet the people guiding startups to greatness
Wellington – 6 June 2024: Creative HQ’s accelerators provide our cohorts with mentors and coaches to assist them through their unique challenges across a 12-week programme. Mentors and coaches play critical roles in startup accelerator teams, but what exactly is…
Why Fintech in Wellington is thriving
Wellington’s economy has always been a beautiful blend of public service, arts, hospitality, and innovative small and medium-sized businesses that don’t let the southerly wind ever blow away their ambition. We’re biased at Creative HQ, but looking across the private…
Government Accelerator in the Philippines: Valenzuela City & New Zealand Government Innovative Social Welfare Programme
Who we worked with Valenzuela City What we did together 16-week accelerator Key skills Innovation methodologies and tools, human-centred design, team collaboration and online collaboration Read more Valenzuela City, New Zealand Government Showcase Innovative Social Welfare Programme Since 2018, Creative…
Transpower
Who we worked with Transpower What we did together 10-day challenge Key Skills Problem discovery, ideation Transpower is a New Zealand company with a big job: manage all the long-distance electricity transmission across the country. Electricity generated by power plants…
Contact Energy
Who we worked with Contact Energy What we did together Design sprint Key Skills Problem Discovery, Ideation, Prototyping Contact Energy is one of New Zealand’s leading energy generators and retailers, providing electricity, natural gas and LPG to about 562,000 customers…
Gen Z calls for innovation to be taught in schools
Wellington – 15 December 2021: A new study from Wellington’s innovation hub, Creative HQ, has found that an overwhelming majority (96%) of Gen Z believe that innovation should be taught in schools, with 77% of respondents viewing themselves as innovative….
Research and Development Tax Incentive, with Callaghan Innovation
Who we worked with Callaghan Innovation What we did together A series of sprints to re-design the customer experience for the RDTI The Research and Development Tax Incentive (RDTI) scheme is New Zealand’s largest government financial support mechanism for R&D….
‘New Creative HQ programme backs bold Climate Tech founders’: The Aurora Climate Lab has kicked off with 15 impact-driven teams.
Wellington – 14 April 2025: Fifteen founders with bold new ideas on how to tackle the climate crisis are currently embarking on Creative HQ’s Aurora Climate Lab to supercharge their start-up journey. “Aurora Climate Lab is our fourth accelerator backing…
State of the industry: How ‘paying it forward’ is building New Zealand’s most valuable export sector
The time is now OPINION 24 May 2024 – If the annual Budget is something of a state-of-the-nation moment for Aotearoa New Zealand, it is timely to present a state-of-the-industry assessment for the tech startup sector. As I stood on…
From an idea to a growing ecosystem: one year of the Fiji Innovation Hub
Fiji’s Innovation Hub may only be one year old, but this isn’t a short story. Nor is it a running tally of events and programmes. It’s a story of how one nation committed to economic growth through innovation. How the…
10 NZ Female entrepreneurs to keep on your radar
Out of approximately 582 million in the world, there are about 252 million women-owned businesses around the world. Though the percentage of women entrepreneurs has increased by 114% in the last twenty years, men still dominate the startup field. We’re…
Pōneke Artist Intensive
Who we worked with Artists based in Wellington What we did together 3-month accelerator programme Skills Applied innovation tools After 12-weeks of running Ringatoi Pōneke Artist Intensive (PAI), we can confirm that innovation and arts are a great match. New Zealand’s…
Fledgling Kiwi startups dive into the world of tech as new Incubator programme kicks off at Creative HQ
Wellington – 18 November 2021: Ten startups from across the country are bringing their digital product ideas to life as they kick off the 2021 Incubator programme today at Creative HQ, Wellington’s innovation hub. This year’s Incubator cohort is loaded with…
GovTech Accelerator Case Study
Who we worked with Government agencies What we did together 13-week Accelerator Skills Co-design, Applied Innovation tools Read more “Westpac announces $375k over three years to solve NZ Inc issues through GovTech” – Stuff Since 2018, Creative HQ has run…
Accounting Basics for Startups
Embarking on the startup journey can be thrilling, but it comes with challenges—and accounting is a crucial area where founders need a solid foundation. At a recent event, Jono Rees from BoostNest Accountants shared his thoughts on accounting basics for…
Tourism Design Accelerator
Who we worked with Tourism startups and organisations What we did together 12-months coaching through our Accelerator startup programme Key Skills Lean, Agile, Market validation Read more “Tourism Accelerator launches to help startup founders re-shape thetourism industry.” – Tourism Export…
AI recycling solutions and Kiwi carbon capture technology: Startups come together to progress clever world-saving ideas at Creative HQ
Wellington – 23 March 2022 Carbon capture technology, AI recycling and ‘Xero for climate change‘ are just a few of the ten ingenious new startup innovations from around Aotearoa set to be supercharged in the virtual Climate Response Accelerator, a…
Get Funded
Who we worked with KiwiNet What we did together Get scientists ready to pitch with a 2-day workshop Key skills Pitching, Market validation Take scientists from all over the country who have amazing big ideas, based on years of research…
Te Puni Kōkiri
Who we worked with Te Puni Kōkiri What we did together 10-day sprint The Ministry has a broad mandate to support whānau Māori to thrive, through policy design and implementation, monitoring other government departments’ work, and relationship management and advocacy…
Five things we would import for New Zealand innovation
New Zealanders vote on 7 November. Every party will get handed a wish list for backing founders and growing the innovation economy between now and then. We wanted to do something more useful than add to it. Here are five…
Building NZ Fintechs
Everything you need to start, scale and lead in New Zealand’s fastest-growing tech sector. Building a Fintech startup? Start here. Created by Creative HQ with Aotearoa’s Fintech community, this guide gives you the tools, connections, and know-how to take your…
“No rules, no recipe” – the Wellington startup that made investing accessible to over half a million Kiwis
“But what if I want to invest just $50?” Sharesies all started with a problem and a conversation between friends and colleagues. Now, over half a million Kiwis use their investment platform every day. We hear from Sharesies co-founder and…
Fiji Launches Innovation Hub with European Union, Australia and New Zealand Support
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE: Suva, Fiji – 17 July 2025 In a major boost to Fiji’s financial services landscape, the UN Capital Development Fund, UN Development Programme, Reserve Bank of Fiji, Mastercard and New Zealand innovation agency Creative HQ, have collaborated to unveil…
Startup World Cup New Zealand Final 2025
On 9 October 2025, Te Raukura ki Kāpiti hosted the New Zealand Final of the Startup World Cup for the first time, bringing a global stage to the Kāpiti Coast in partnership with Creative HQ. Twelve of Aotearoa’s most promising…
Ecosystems do not grow startups by accident
Startups are often talked about as if they succeed through talented people alone. A founder sees a problem. They build something new. They raise capital. They scale. That’s the version we tend to tell, but it leaves a lot out….
Startup Stories – Publons
The story of Publons is a great illustration of the power of vision and determination, and the impact you can achieve with a startup. Publons was one of the 10 companies in our first startup accelerator programme, Lightning Lab 2013….
Startup Stories – Sharesies
Sharesies has become a household name in New Zealand. We were lucky to be able to work with them when they were a team of six founders in Creative HQ’s 2017 FinTech Accelerator programme. Their story provides a great example…
Startup Stories – Hnry
The FinTech Accelerator programme alumni Hnry is a great example of the power of building a scalable solution on a straightforward problem that is experienced by many people. What is Hnry? Hnry, founded by James and Claire Fuller, is an…
Startup Stories – GeoBind
GeoBind is one of the more recent success stories to come through Creative HQ’s doors. Founded by partners Alice Hosted and Doug Sturrock, GeoBind is a great illustration of the highly creative, impact-focused companies that are now being built in…
Startup Stories – FTN Motion
You can’t go far in Wellington without seeing a Streetdog from FTN Motion cruising by you on the roads. They are rideable works of art. We were fortunate enough to be able to work with the FTN team in our…
What is exponential technology?
An exponential technology is two things First, it’s exponential. In each period it doubles in capability or performance. Or perhaps on the flip side, it halves in cost in each period. Computers are an example of an exponential technology we’re…
In the age of the Unicorn, what support are we giving to the foals?
At Creative HQ, we have been supporting founders for yonks. Nearly 20 years to be exact. Over this time we’ve run a wide range of startup support programmes: from incubators to accelerators and things in between. We’ve supported all kinds…
Problems are innovators’ best friends
As innovators, problems are our bread and butter and turning them into opportunities is what we do best. In order to do this effectively, we need to know what the problem is. A vague problem is an unsolvable problem because…
Co-working spaces
Coworking spaces let you share a space with other like-minded people allowing you to collaborate and share the journey with other people. Most spaces are set up for both individuals and small companies and a few will be able to…
A year in Wellington’s tech sector
Building ecosystems that grow and people feel proud to be a part of doesn’t happen by chance. They’re built by people turning up, making introductions, attracting the right investment, backing each other and sharing what they’ve learned. Over the past…
We’ve innovated with
