We’re pretty excited. Another New Zealand based project, Rest in Pets, has been launched on Kickstarter.com… and it’s a meow-vellous idea!

Rest in Pets is the creation of Jane and Mat who want to provide pet owners the world over with a better way of saying goodbye to their purr-ecious friends with the consideration that, especially for children, an old box from dads garage will not do.

Whether it was Harold Hamster, Ronald Rat, or Kitty Whisker-Huggins who wriggled their way into your heart, isn’t it fitting that they get a burial just as special as they were to you and your family? (But don’t worry, no life insurance is required to cover the cost of a furry friend funeral).

Jane and Mat have created a package of products which they think are perfect to have on hand when the time comes to farewell a pet. From different sized biodegradable caskets (or an urn) to a keepsake photo frame and temporary grave marker, all the products allow for personalisation.

We certainly have our paws crossed that it is going to be as successful as previously funded projects MoMug, Exocomics and of course most recently OpusFresh who smashed their target in the first 18 hours of the project launch.

With a penchant for packaging and a pretty impressive background in the world of packaging design, working with some of the best in the business, a box is never just ‘a box’ to Mat. He owns his own business - THINK packaging  and you could say that he approaches all of his projects with a ‘thinking outside the box’ attitude.

Jane, described as the bricks and mortar of Rest in Pets, is always on hand to support with the creative side of things as well as making the sensible business decisions and, on occasion, cracking the whip.

Looking to have $11,000 pledged by Sunday the 23rd of June, Jane and Mat are at twelve percent of their target after only two days so we are definitely predicting great things for this product. Go Jane and Mat!

Read more and back the project HERE 

For more information on the BizDojo’s Kickstarter for Kiwis Channel, contact Phil Williams on phil@bizdojo.com

All great business ideas start somewhere small. However, the length of time it takes to get an idea to market means a lot of concepts never get off the ground.

But thanks to Auckland Startup Weekend, potential new companies were able to make headway into the business world through 54 hours of frenzied activity involving prototype creation, perfecting ‘the pitch’, and learning a substantial amount from expert business mentors.

Phil Williams from The Biz Dojo spent some time at the event over the weekend as a mentor. He thinks that the Startup format is interesting because it really forces people into validating their idea in an incredibly short space of time. He also enjoys how it allows for a couple of real business gems to be created and even for the ones that don’t make it it’s still a great experience.

“I love how it brings together a wide range of people, from corporate folk to start up day jobbers and entrepreneurs, which really gets all the creative and technical ‘juices’ flowing. It generates such a buzz around entrepreneur-ship, which can only be good for New Zealand.”

And for the winners of the weekend, ArriveSupplied, the future destination of their concept is looking bright. Initially targeting the international tourist market in New Zealand (around 200,000 people per annum) ArriveSupplied offers different packages that are delivered to tourist’s rooms. From the beach box, to the baby box, business box and local experience box, ArriveSupplied want to offer people the ability to order essential arrival items, delivered straight to their accommodation. It takes all the hassle out of locating those items themselves.  

As the pitch coach for ArriveSupplied, Phil was thrilled to assist such a well prepared team.

“It was easy to work with a group whose product was already well thought out, they had already done a lot of planning and had many boxes ticked. It was just about shaping the presentation so the judges could tell how much work had been done, as well as telling story in a compelling manner.”

Phil is looking forward to seeing ArriveSupplied’s progress post Startup Weekend, when the team use their prize of ten free days at The Biz Dojo premises. 

Team Selecta, an app for organising sports teams and players by ranking, positions they play and availability, was the runner-up. The People’s Choice award went to Wedding Advisors, an app and website designed as a one stop shop for wedding supplier listings, that could also be peer reviewed.

With 115 participants and mentors, 40 ideas pitched, 12 teams formed and the event attracting interest from twice as many people as were able to attend, another Startup weekend is already on the cards and you can register here; http://swauckland2013may.eventbrite.com/

RadioLIVE were at Startup Weekend and they recorded an hour long programme from the event which you can listen to here:

http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Auckland-Startup-Weekend/tabid/506/articleID/35328/Default.aspx

If there was ever a better reason needed to spend time at the Biz Dojo, apart from hanging out with a bunch of totally rad peeps, it would be that right on our doorstep is the First Thursdays Festival. Actually this time around we invited it in to our home and sat it down for a good catch up over a cup of tea and slice of pie.

From live tattooing, to a plethora of musicians and artists, DJ’s, street performers and everything in between, there t’was never a dull moment on K’Road from 6pm Thursday till mum called us in for dinner on Sunday.

And yes, of course we were right in amongst it - in fact our very own Biz Dojo residents Dandy & Co put on a pretty ‘out of this world’ experience with their Pearshaped Party in the Garden which you can check out here; vimeo.com/65574723

We also hosted the awesome pop up venue PedalPixal, who brought along their experimental two wheeled Makey Makey Meanderer where pedalling participants got to take some pretty epic journeys around the world without having to go very far at all (no mind altering substances required).

We certainly can’t wait for the next one, and as soon as the date is announced, we recommend putting that bad boy in your calendar A-SAP.

Keep an eye out here for news; www.firstthursdays.co.nz

Ahead of its Demo Day next week, New Zealand’s first digital start-up accelerator Lightning Lab touched down in our Auckland pop-up event space with some tips on how to ensure accelerator success.

With a wide range of the local startup community in attendance, including new Auckland accelerator Hopscale and angel investors Sparkbox, around 60 participants were able to get valuable insight with where people go wrong, and then get back on the right track, when it comes to the growth of accelerator initiatives here in the land of the long white cloud. And almost no one knows as much about how accelerators can triumph over those ‘start-up hiccups’ than Laura Reitel, the former programme manager for US-based accelerator Techstars who was invited over to New Zealand by Lightning Lab founding partner, Wellington’s Creative HQ. (Lightning Lab is NZ’s only member of the Global Accelerator Network, established by Techstars and with 50 particpating accelerator programmes globally).

Reitel’s main point that hit home for the Dojo team: the minute an application is submitted to an accelerator programme, the individual or team needs to be drumming up interest and activity around their concept.  

“Most people just apply then wait for an answer but the acceptance stage takes two and a half months. If you’re just sitting on your idea, you’re not the people to do what you’re saying. Create a website or start collecting some signups, start a blog and get an audience around your product.”

Nick Churchouse, Venture Manager at Creative HQ, also got in amongst the discussion using some real life experiences of how the current intake is managing the accelerator process.

“In the first four weeks the Lightning Lab teams got hammered by mentors. Everyone has a different opinion and they all have their advice, but you have to pick what works for you and your team.”

Lightning Lab has certainly been an exciting venture for the BizDojo to be supporting, with co-founder Nick Shewring also acting as a mentor for the programme.  We are definitely looking forward to seeing what fantastic new businesses will emerge from next Wednesday’s Demo Day at Te Papa in Wellington - watch this space! 

Meet Tana Mitchell, BizDojo resident and design strategist sharing her recent work for Quirky.

If you’re new to Quirky, it’s a high profile New York based start-up paving the way for people to bring their product ideas to life. Quirky positions itself as making invention possible and it does this by utilising a 400K strong community of inventors, expert product designers, financing, engineering, distribution, and legal expertise.

In a recent move, Quirky partnered with GE in an effort to inspire its inventors to be innovative. Inventors will now get access to thousands of GE’s patents, and new products designed through the partnership will be branded ‘Wink’.

Prior to the partnership, Tana was brought on board by Creative Director Viresh Chopra to assist the internal team build the Quirky brand. To help give the team a boost of creativity, a huge office space was hired out overlooking Times Square. Tana recalls that the ultimate challenge was “to create a single identity to cover an extremely broad, multifaceted and ever changing company.”

One month later, the team’s ideas had been translated into a visual solution. “We had completely covered the walls of this office space,” says Tana. Through agile development, constant questioning, and live evaluations every night, they created a new design language for Quirky products, enabling them to carry personalised stamps submitted by the inventor.

In order to explain Quirky’s new design direction to its community of inventors, Tana contacted animation and visualisation expert Han Law from the BizDojo to put together an animated video, instrumental in the re-branding of Quirky.

Check out also this great behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new identity (some language NSFW). Ten points for those who spot Tana in some of the shots :)

Tana is one of many Kiwi designers around the world doing amazing things. No business card. No website. All word of mouth. But not for long, her website is coming, so watch this space.

Pepper Curry is the new Community Assistant at BizDojo Wellington, and is excited to be here helping out with events and streamlining day-to-day operations! She has a background in fine arts, as well as being a live performance VJ with audio-reactive programming skills. She brings with her a variety of other skills including graphic design, iOS device repair, and knitting.

Pepper was born in Auckland, but has been living in the States for the vast majority of her life, in such exotic locales as Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, and most recently…the glorious San Francisco. She’s cultivated a great working knowledge of startup culture from working with Apple retail, and also can roll a mean burrito if you’re hungry.

She has a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts, with a focus in performance art and installations. She spends her free time gardening with her partner, Peter, knitting like a boss, and working on a zine that may or may not ever get published. 

Since moving to Wellington, Pepper had been looking for the right place to work, and was inspired and excited by the amazing culture of innovation and creativity in the city:

“I had been looking for a company that aligns with my desire to create alongside innovators, as well as being a part of something that was more collective and collaborative than hierarchical. BizDojo seems like the perfect place for both of these things! I am excited to be a facilitator for the creative aspect of business, and to form connections with New Zealand’s best and brightest,” Pepper says.

Han’s background spans 10 years in 3D animation and design, includes TV series background production and television commercials in his home country of Malaysia.

Up until 2012, Han was a contractor for architectural visualisation. After taking some time off in South America, he decided to use his skills to create Pixel Push, and relocated to New Zealand about 5 years ago.

For Han, travelling to New Zealand was an unplanned shift from KL, a big city with lots of development. “The hustle and bustle is a bit much to take. Auckland is a city too but has it’s own pace”.

Han’s business is currently split into two work streams. One is 3D visualisation and animation, the other motion graphics and design. He wants more commercials, and more graphical infomercials because “it’s more fun and exciting.”

Reflecting on the past, Han says: “Last year I was securing work that paid the bills. This year I want to work on projects that I really enjoy and use my skills to their best use.” For Pixel Push “Hopefully I’ll be able to take on someone and expand the company!”

For Han the dynamics at the Dojo have been different to an ordinary company. “The Dojo plays a big part in my work. Before the Dojo, I was just working from home… Problem was, I couldn’t switch off. Over here, people can offer each other support and skills, meeting like minded people and look for new opportunities. People here are so driven, they are always looking for ways to collaborate.”

“Through the dojo, I’ve been talking about multiple areas for collaboration with other members. There are always potential ventures to be found!”

Han loves Auckland, and is the Dojo’s nearest thing to a Pro Surfer. He’s always up for a session if the waves are good… and even does pre work runs. If you’re keen, grab your board and drop him a line!

On Thursday last week, Co.Space hosted a team of managers and developers from Datacom keen to get their heads outside the box.

They joined a workshop led by Phil from BizDojo, to re-imagine the digital sales channel for one of their key clients, who were also there to pitch in with ideas.

We can’t say too much about this top secret workshop, but we love seeing Co.Space at it’s best… bringing together diverse teams from corporate, creative, and innovative spheres to do some cool thinking!

OpusFresh, a new adventurewear clothing line, has raised over $22,000 USD on Kickstarter in less than 18 hours.

The label is the brainchild of James Simpson & Laura Currie, two adventurous and talented souls from Ohakune and Auckland. It’s based around a core line of functional merino pieces, designed to keep you warm in the harshest conditions… while still looking fashion forward in the city.

Simpson is an adventure sports nut and outdoor filmmaker based in The BizDojo Auckland, while Currie is a graphic designer with fashion leanings. The couple met many years ago on the snow where he “taught” her to snowboard, breaking her arm in the process! Despite the icy beginnings, a great partnership formed. The OpusFresh line is the output of several years of trial and error, endless prototypes, and big dreams.

Simpson & Currie decided to crowdsource the funding for their initial line on Kickstarter, the worlds largest crowdfunding platform. They used the BizDojo’s “Kickstarter for Kiwis” channel, which assists local businesses with the financial setup required to use the USA-only site, as well as hands-on advice from experienced crowdsourcers.

OpusFresh set an initial funding target of $16,000 USD. In the first 12 hours, they raised $7.5k, mostly from local sources. At that point, the project was featured in Kickstarters Staff Picks and Popular searches, which tipped off a wave of international backers. Add some local PR, and the pair quickly sailed beyond their target. Funding is now projected to reach over $50K USD.

Read more and back the project HERE.

For more information on BizDojo’s Kickstarter for Kiwis Channel, contact Phil Williams on phil@bizdojo.com

Get ready to have your mind blown! Semi-Permanent, the international festival for creatives, and annual fixture on the NZ design calendar, is returning to Auckland on 31 May for its two day showcase of the world’s leading creative and design practitioners.

BizDojo Auckland resident and festival director, Simon Velvin, is pumped about this year’s event, saying in an interview with Idealog this week that the addition of new shows in North America has continued to raise the bar for the iconic conference:

“We love creating collisions and bringing together dynamic people doing things a little differently. The Auckland show reflects a more diverse and rich talent pool than ever before – topping off a big two months in the US. We’re truly a global gathering of creative minds.”

With the date confirmation also comes the first speakers announcement, including Mike Bashore, head of creative at Digital Kitchen; US production designer Annie Sperling; Curious Films Founder Darryl Ward; Berlin animator and engineer, Niklas Roy; and Michael Lugmayr, founder of TOKO.

Tickets on sale now, and we’ll see you all there!

BizDojo partner Nick Shewring was invited by Microsoft to be a judge in this year’s Imagine Cup New Zealand National Finals held over 24/25 March.

The Imagine Cup is one of the world’s most prestigious student technology competitions, bringing together student innovators from all over the world. Over the past 10 years, more than 1.65 million students from 190 countries have participated in the Imagine Cup.

This year’s NZ leg of the competition saw a massive 549 teams enter, with 25 finalists selected to showcase their software solutions to the judges, all hoping to be in with a chance to represent NZ at the Worldwide Finals in St Petersburg, Russia this coming July.

Team InfinityTek won the overall grand prize for its wristband UV sensor and app combo, while MyStory took out the Innovation category with their childrens storytelling app, and Quaketown won the Gaming category with their physics-based app that raises awareness of earthquake-proof construction.

Nick and the other judges were impressed by the quality of the ideas and execution displayed, with many teams having fully functional pre-production prototypes. Nick says “it was awesome to see the enthusiasm levels from the teams, and huge props to Microsoft for their continuing investment into growing these students and encouraging their interest in app development.”

Quote of the day has to go to one of the team members who when questioned on stage by the MC about his role, said “I turn caffeine into code”. Our kind of guy!

This week, a group of entrepreneurs and educators from the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) visited New Zealand to look at unique and innovative Kiwi businesses… and BizDojo was a key stop in the Auckland leg.

The visit was part of MIT’s REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program) initiative. REAPs goal is to enable teams from key regions around the globe in the development and execution of a well-designed acceleration strategy. Their approach focuses on entrepreneurial activity that can “enhance innovation-driven economic development and job creation”.

The visiting party of 35 included academics and businesspeople associated with MIT, as well as representatives from ATEED, who managed visit schedule. Other stops in Auckland included Serato, local purveyors of the world’s best digital DJ-ing technology, and The Foodbowl, which provides facilities and expertise for food businesses developing new products and technologies.

At the BizDojo, the REAP party heard a presentation from the partner team about the Dojo’s triple-stack business model, which combines co-working, consulting and investment. Beyond the provision of workspace, the BizDojo model leverages the power of co-located innovators to deliver consulting services, as well as identifying businesses that are ready for angel investment. Together, these create a unique SME Innovation Framework.

Phil Williams of BizDojo shared his thoughts on the day. ”The REAP visit was a good opportunity for us to share the unique elements of what we’re doing. But even more importantly, to get feedback from some really smart people. Because our model is new, it can take a few goes for people to understand it, but as you’d expect the MIT team got it right away, and were very complimentary about what The BizDojo is doing.”

For more on the MIT REAP program or the BizDojo’s SME Innovation Framework, contact Jonah Merchant:jonah@bizdojo.com

Cool Residents: Tim Ross, Elucidcode app founder

Steve Jobs apparently said of the iPhone, “It can do anything, apart from play the bagpipes”. Well even Steve got a few things wrong… because a New Zealand based bagpipe app on the Apple store has made traction around the world with 60,000 downloads and counting.

ElucidCode co-founder Tim Ross has been a musician all his life. Add a bit of inspiration from his grandpappy who played in a pipe band for years, Tim’s familiarity with tech, and you have yourself an iOS based app that allows you to play a bagpipe on screen. As if that wasn’t cool enough, the app requires real-time puffs of your own breath to boost the app’s realism.

Ross and co-founder Marty Batten founded Elucidcode in 2011. Having released their flagship bagpipe app on the Apps store March 2012, they’re currently creating a banjo app.

But that’s not all - they have big plans to release an entire set of musical instruments that can be synced with your friends, allowing you to create live music on the go with your smart devices… a true iOS jam environment.

If you’re wondering how to get traction with your app, this is how the boys at Elucidcode did it: First they got picked up by the Herald, then stuff.co.nz and then they featured on Scottish 6pm news. This caused a dramatic spike in sales. Almost overnight, thousands of people were picking up the app.

According to Tim, word of mouth is invaluable. Another key marketing tool is “free weekend” promotions, allowing app users to download the bagpipe app for free over 48 hours. Doing this quarterly has resulted in tens of thousands of extra users. Great work guys.

Check out the app:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DnWTbjIdU4?autoplay=1

http://elucidcode.com/airpipes/

The BizDojo is pleased to announce the formal signing of our first major corporate alliance, with ANZ Bank.

Phil, Nick and Jonah from BizDojo first began casual discussions with ANZ way back in June last year. What began over a few coffees slowly percolated into an understanding of how the two organisations might work together more closely, resulting in a new partnership agreement. ANZ comes on board as BizDojo’s highest level sponsor.

Campbell Wright, Head of Business Sales and Execution for Business Banking, was the internal champion for the partnership within ANZ. Campbell writes:

“We’re really excited about our new partnership with the BizDojo. ANZ is committed to helping small business be successful, and are looking forward to enhancing this with our new relationship. The BizDojo is an innovative environment with some really smart people that we will work alongside to deliver some great banking solutions for businesses.”

Phil Williams, BizDojo Partner, helped craft the partnership from the Dojo end.

“We’re stoked to announce this strong association with ANZ. Not only are they Australasia’s powerhouse bank, but they have huge ambitions around innovative product and service… something we share. Best of all, Campbell and the rest of the senior team at ANZ are interested in new thinking, and believe in the great potential the Dojo environment provides. We’re looking forward to doing some great work with them.”

ANZ’s sponsorship funding will be applied to BizDojo’s core co-working and innovation environments, as well as our ongoing plans for expansion and world domination.

BizDojo will be delivering insight and innovation work for ANZ. Also in planning is a Scholarship Program for ANZ businesses, showcasing the support the Dojo and the bank can provide to smart New Zealand SME’s.

Hamish Dobbie, a local making big impressions around the world with his nifty and highly popular Yolkr, has found cracking success on Kickstarter.

Yolkr is described as a simple, novel and incredibly good looking kitchen accessory for separating egg yolks from egg whites. And after taking a look at http://www.yolkr.com/ you’ll probably agree. It is ridiculously good looking.

Have you ever tried to extract yolk and things went pear shaped? Shovelling yolk out of your egg white? Having to dig shell out of your omelette? Not anymore. Through six months of research and development on shape, form and feel, a failproof system was born - the Yolkr. Hamish describes the ultimate test. His 90 year old grandfather. Down to one eye, glasses and the shakes, he is the perfect candidate. When asked to “suck the yolk”, guess what he did? He nailed it.

This is one beautiful product, and its utility is obvious. Pledging on Kickstarter, Hamish aimed for £15,000 to get his product off the ground. What he achieved was almost 3 times that amount at £43,169 with 2,191 backers! Awesome mate.

Interested in more? Read the full story on Kickstarter:

http://www.yolkr.com/

PS. The good news for us here in New Zealand is he is creating jobs, with a position available for a go-getting admin / marketing / business graduate. This is a full time role in the thick of it helping a young entrepreneur run a startup product business. If you’d like more info, email info@bizdojo.com with your details.