Businesses in the South Island will get a leg-up thanks to the expansion of Callaghan Innovation’s Founder Incubators.
Creative HQ will be bringing their innovation services to regions in the South Island, including Otago and Southland. Work will start on 1 July with the first coaching programmes being run soon after.
This signals the start of Creative HQ’s Train the Trainer programme that will develop a nationwide network of innovation coaches for startups and entrepreneurs. Using Creative HQ’s proven methods of Acceleration, trainers will capture the journey of startups and use data driven methodology to add structure and discipline to a formerly non linear process.
Alan Hucks, Creative HQ’s Head of Business Development says:
“Kiwis are superb problem solvers and entrepreneurs are everywhere across the nation. The CHQ platform allows local coaches, advisors and experts to support them to build fantastic solutions wherever they may be located.”
This won’t be the first time that Creative HQ has ventured into the South Island. In 2015, a Lightning Lab ran in Christchurch with all companies in the cohort receiving initial investment on Demo Day.
Glenn Andert, Jacky Laverty, Alan Hucks, Minister Goldsmith, Kelly Dare, Brett Holland
Founder Incubators are centered around helping inexperienced founders (often first time business owners) and turn them into high performing, well-rounded, resilient and astute entrepreneurs who can execute well. We do this by providing founders with:
- Applied knowledge and practice of proven startup methodologies (in particular the Lean Startup Methodology, Agile Management and the Principles of Exponential Organisations)
- Training in proven techniques used by successful early stage business such as market validation, customer interviewing, assumption mapping, business canvassing, etc.
- Preparing teams for investment through the use of our Investable Dashboard assessment and business development process
All founders are supported by certified Startup Managers, mentors, coaches and experts to help them achieve 3 distinct outcomes:
- Become investable and close an early stage investment round
- Become sustainable / profitable to the point where the business can continue to grow organically without the need for external investment
- Invalidate the business concept – which allows founders to make a choice to pivot to a different business model or shut down the business
The funding comes after an extensive tender process with Callaghan Innovation. Along with Creative HQ, other successful applicants were:
- The Icehouse
- ZeroPoint Ventures
- SODA Inc
- BCC
- Ecentre
Minister Goldsmith says of the funding:
“These successful applicants will significantly increase the extent of regional coverage. Our main cities are well served by multiple incubators and accelerators, but it has been much more difficult for regional start-ups to gain access to the same services.
This regional expansion recognises that the tech sector’s best ideas do not only come from the main centres, and that improvements such as ultra-fast broadband mean that an export-focussed start-up could be based just about anywhere from Kaitaia to Bluff.
I can’t wait to see the new Kiwi businesses that these incubators will help bring to market.”
Minister Goldsmith rings the Creative HQ Bell of Success.
All photos by Ashley Church
