TechMates

From early days at Rocket Lab to running global marketing for Les Mills, these founders reveal exactly how to build world-class startups from the edge of the world.
In this "Born Global" panel from NZVC Portfolio Day, we explore what it takes to launch a company in New Zealand that is designed to dominate international markets from Day One.
We are joined by Jamie France (Founder of Newton Space & early Rocket Lab engineer), Anna Henwood (CEO of Stickybeak & former Les Mills CMO), and Steph Kennard (Co-founder of Bonnet).The conversation cuts through the noise of startup advice, offering real-world truths about fundraising across borders (and why US VCs "divide everything by two"), the scrappy advantage of Kiwi talent, and the surprising reality of balancing a high-growth startup with family life. Whether you are building deep tech, a consumer app, or B2B SaaS, this panel proves that geography is no longer a barrier to building a unicorn.
🌍 Global Day 1 Strategy: Why Stickybeak and Bonnet looked offshore immediately.
🚀 Deep Tech Fundraising: The reality of raising capital for space tech in NZ vs. the US.
💰 The "Divide by Two" Rule: How US investors view Kiwi startup projections.
🧠 The Talent Advantage: Why New Zealand’s "scrappy" generalist culture wins.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Parenting & Startups: How having kids can actually make you more ambitious.
Connect with the Guests:
Anna Henwood (Stickybeak): https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-henwood/
Steph Kennard (Bonnet): https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-kennard/
Jamie France (Newton Space): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiefrance/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC:
Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction
01:01 - Meet the Founders: Stickybeak, Bonnet, Newton
03:07 - Strategy: Going Global from Day One
04:26 - Navigating Global Regulations in Auto Tech
06:40 - Fundraising for Deep Tech: NZ vs. US
07:58 - The "Divide by Two" Rule for American VCs
10:51 - Silicon Valley's Perception of NZ Startups
13:40 - Hiring Talent: The "Roll Up Your Sleeves" Culture
15:16 - Culture Lessons from Rocket Lab & Les Mills
19:12 - Pros & Cons: Moving to the US vs. Building Remotely
20:35 - Balancing Kids, Family, and Ambition
25:29 - Advice to Early-Stage Founders
If you enjoyed these insights on building global companies, please hit the Like button, Comment with your biggest takeaway, and Subscribe for more content from world-class founders!
#startups, #NewZealand, #globalbusiness, #entrepreneurship, #deeptech, #SaaS, #marketing, #automotive, #spaceindustry, #venturecapital, #fundraising, #founderstories, #womenintech, #RocketLab, #LesMills, #Stickybeak, #Bonnet, #NewtonSpace, #NZVC, #innovation

Harrison Crowe-Maxwell turned a flooded street on his way to work into a robotics startup that just raised seed funding from Sequoia’s Peak XV.
In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell, co-founder of Puralink, a robotics company building "ferrets" to inspect and repair critical pipe infrastructure from the inside. Harrison takes us from his early days building soccer-playing robots in high school to identifying a massive global problem: 30% of the world's drinking water is lost to leaks.
He reveals the engineering secrets behind building robots that can crawl vertically up pipes, the "Apple ecosystem" vision for underground infrastructure, and how he went from bootstrapping with his co-founder to securing backing from top-tier VCs like Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India & SEA).
If you're into hard tech, robotics, or just want to know how to turn a real-world frustration into a venture-backed startup, this episode is a must-watch.
🤖 From LEGO Mindstorms to industrial robotics
💧 Solving the global water crisis with robots
🛠️ The "Best Part is No Part" engineering philosophy
🚀 Raising capital from Sequoia's Peak XV
🔮 The future of humanoid robots & AI in the physical world
🇦🇺 Building deep tech startups in Australia
Connect with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell
Puralink: https://www.puralink.com.au
Harrison’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrison-crowe-maxwell/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Early obsession with robotics & competitions
08:51 - Engineering philosophy: "The Best Part is No Part"
10:53 - Is there an "LLM moment" for robotics?
18:51 - Meeting co-founder Shion at AWS
20:52 - The "Flooded Street" moment that started PureLink
25:52 - Understanding the complex world of pipe infrastructure
36:57 - Engineering a robot that climbs vertical pipes
44:14 - From prototype to first commercial traction
46:33 - The StartMate experience & raising from Peak XV
52:13 - The "App Store" vision for underground robotics
59:09 - Robots that repair pipes autonomously
1:05:54 - The future of humanoid robots in daily life
If you enjoyed this deep dive into the future of robotics and infrastructure, please hit the Like button, Comment with your thoughts on autonomous repair robots, and Subscribe for more insights from world-class founders!
#robotics, #startups, #deeptech, #HarrisonCroweMaxwell, #Puralink, #infrastructure, #engineering, #AI, #venturecapital, #Sequoia, #PeakXV, #StartMate, #Australia, #tech, #watercrisis, #innovation, #hardware, #entrepreneurship, #futuretech, #TechMates

What happens when you put a crypto veteran, a Xero co-founder, and a high-stakes lawyer on stage with a robot dog to debate the future of AI?
In this special panel from NZVC Portfolio Day, we dive into the "Agentic Future" with three experts operating at very different layers of the AI stack. We are joined by Bradley So (Principal at QCL), who is disrupting the legal billable hour; Philip Fierlinger (Co-founder of Xero and Upstock), who is automating supply chains; and Lane Rettig (Core Dev at NEAR Foundation), who is building the decentralized infrastructure to power it all.
From the "Minder, Finder, Grinder" theory of legal work to the 30-year journey of "AI Agents" starting at General Magic in 1992, this conversation cuts through the hype. The panelists debate whether AI is a job-killer or a productivity multiplier, the critical need for community-governed data sovereignty, and why New Zealand’s "scrappy" generalist mindset might be its biggest superpower in the AI era.
🤖 Robot Dogs & Real Tech: Kicking off with live robotics on stage
⚖️ Legal Disruption: Moving from "time billing" to "value billing" with AI
🛒 Supply Chain Agents: Turning messy emails into structured orders in one click
⛓️ Crypto x AI: Why we need community-governed AI infrastructure
📉 Job Market Myths: Why radiologists (and lawyers) are earning more with AI
🥝 The Kiwi Advantage: Why New Zealand is perfectly positioned for the AI revolution
Connect with the Guests:
Philip Fierlinger (Upstock): https://www.linkedin.com/in/fierlinger/
Lane Rettig (NEAR Foundation): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lane-rettig-32904b227/
Bradley So (QCL): https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-so-11042424/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:48 - Bradley So: AI Disrupting the Legal Industry
07:23 - Philip Fierlinger: From General Magic to Upstock
09:12 - Lane Rettig: NEAR Protocol & AI Infrastructure
14:13 - Is the Future Utopian or Dystopian?
18:14 - Will Lawyers Lose Their Jobs? (Minder, Finder, Grinder)
22:31 - How Upstock Uses AI for Supply Chain 2
7:27 - How Far Away Are True Autonomous Agents?
32:12 - Are Startups Hiring Less Because of AI?
If you enjoyed this deep dive into the future of AI and business, please hit the Like button, Comment with your thoughts on AI agents, and Subscribe for more insights from world-class founders!
#startups, #AI, #NewZealand, #artificialintelligence, #business, #tech, #legaltech, #crypto, #NEARProtocol, #Xero, #Upstock, #entrepreneurship, #futureofwork, #venturecapital, #NZVC, #innovation, #SaaS, #blockchain, #technology, #TechMates

Emily Blythe skipped university to launch a quad-bike accessory business, spent years trying to clear airport fog with drones, and eventually pivoted to solve aviation’s biggest headache through data.
In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Emily Blythe, the New Zealand tech entrepreneur and CEO of Pyper Vision. Coming from four generations of pilots, Emily seemed destined for aviation—but instead of flying planes, she’s saving them from being grounded.
She shares the incredible story of her first startup "Flatpak," the brutal reality of deep tech R&D, and the gut-wrenching decision to pivot Pyper Vision from fog dispersal (using chemicals and drones) to fog forecasting after discovering a flaw in the fundamental science.This is a masterclass in resilience, "missionary" founder mindsets, and how to build a global deep tech monopoly from New Zealand. If you are interested in aviation, hard pivot stories, or the reality of building hardware and software for high-stakes industries, this episode is for you.
✈️ A 4-generation legacy in aviation
🚜 Skipping uni to build "Flatpak" (her first exit)
🌫️ The "Fog Factory" myth & early experiments
🚁 Trying to clear fog with drones & chemicals
📉 The painful pivot: When the science doesn't work
🔮 How Pyper Vision now predicts fog with 84% accuracy
Connect with Emily Blythe:
Pyper Vision: https://www.pypervision.com/
Emily’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-blythe-2b4125156/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:55 - Emily's deep aviation family history
08:49 - Launching "Flatpak" & skipping university
15:36 - Lessons from bootstrapping a hardware business
20:39 - The "Fog Factory" lie & discovering weather modification
29:15 - How airports & pilots actually handle low visibility
46:37 - Early experiments: Fog chambers & modified leaf blowers
53:14 - Testing drones in Australia during COVID
55:09 - The Big Pivot: Why dispersal didn't work
1:00:19 - Shifting to high-accuracy forecasting
1:10:18 - Advice for New Zealand founders going global
If you found value in this story of resilience and innovation, please hit the like button, leave a comment with your thoughts on deep tech pivots, and subscribe for more conversations with world-class founders!
#startups, #business, #NewZealand, #aviation, #deeptech, #entrepreneurship, #EmilyBlythe, #PyperVision, #founders, #pivot, #tech, #innovation, #airlines, #flightdelays, #weathertech, #NZVC, #venturecapital, #success, #motivation, #techmates

Jamie Beaton managed a hedge fund portfolio at Tiger Management while simultaneously taking maximum course loads at Harvard and building a startup that now generates over $300M in revenue.
In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Jamie Beaton, the New Zealand tech entrepreneur and CEO of Crimson Education. Jamie’s story is nothing short of relentless; he breaks down the massive cultural shift from New Zealand’s "tall poppy syndrome" to the "capitalism cubed" ambition of Manhattan. He reveals how he turned a dorm-room consulting hustle into a global education empire, all while working under legendary investor Julian Robertson.
We dive deep into the mechanics of scaling a service business to 20+ countries, the controversial truths about elite college admissions, and Jamie's bold take on the future of schooling in the age of AI. Whether you are interested in EdTech, high-stakes investing, or just want to know what it takes to build a unicorn from a corner of the world, this conversation is packed with actionable insights.
🇳🇿 New Zealand vs. USA: Ambition & Mindset
🎓 Building a $300M business from a Harvard dorm
🐯 Lessons from Tiger Management & Julian Robertson
📈 Global expansion strategies & hiring "unicorns"
🤖 The role of AI in the future of education
🏫 Launching New Zealand’s first online charter school
Connect with Jamie Beaton:
Jamie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebeaton/
Crimson Education: https://www.crimsoneducation.org/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:37 - Growing up in a "hustle" household
07:11 - The train ride that changed his life
12:12 - Arriving at Harvard: "Capitalism on Steroids"
17:10 - New Zealand vs. Manhattan Mindset
20:37 - Launching Crimson from a dorm room
23:51 - Doing $300k revenue in Year 1
32:45 - Raising capital from Julian Robertson
37:57 - Working at Tiger Management while studying
46:58 - The formula for Ivy League admissions
51:44 - How to launch a business in 20+ countries
54:29 - Reaching $300M in sales
58:25 - New Zealand’s Online Charter School
01:06:00 - Alpha School, AI, and the future of learning
01:23:24 - Will AI destroy white-collar jobs?Support the Channel: If you enjoyed this episode, please hit the like button, leave a comment with your thoughts on the future of education, and subscribe for more deep dives with world-class founders!
#startups, #business, #NewZealand, #JamieBeaton, #CrimsonEducation, #Harvard, #entrepreneurship, #investing, #TigerManagement, #EdTech, #scaling, #growth, #founders, #venturecapital, #education, #success, #motivation, #techmates, #NZVC, #economy