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Ep 6: Greg Shanahan (Veriphi) on raising privately & publicly, developing Deeptech, and persistence
In this episode of the Funding Files we interview Greg Shanahan, founder of Veriphi, about Veriphi’s innovative solution to prevent medication errors using laser technology, AI, and cloud computing, and his big goal to create a billion-dollar company here in Aotearoa New Zealand. In the pod we cover Veriphi's development, funding journey, and future plans with the goal to reduce the 3% of hospital patients harmed by preventable medication errors, particularly with high-impact cancer drugs. Greg shares his background, including his work at Fisher and Paykel, which inspired the idea to apply a recurring revenue model to intravenous drug administration, noting that 30 drugs are administered every second in the US.The conversation focuses on Veriphi's funding history, starting with personal funds and early investors like Roger Lampen, who Greg cold-called when he saw him investing in other health tech companies. Greg shares insights on capital raising, emphasizing persistence and focus. He advises founders to manage stress and focus on the steps they think will make them succeed. Ultimately, Greg highlights the importance of building a team where everyone feels ownership and contributes to the company's success.Veriphi are currently equity crowdfunding on PledgeMe - you can find their campaign here: https://pledgeme.co.nz/investments/608-veriphi-limited-- Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand. Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.
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Ep 5: Laura Bell Main (SafeStack) on bootstrapping, raising from VC and profitability in hard times
In this pod, we learn about Laura from Safestack's journey in building her company, from its inception as a cybersecurity consultancy to its evolution into a VC-backed platform with over 25,000 security learners in 80 countries.Laura shares her journey as a software engineer and security enthusiast, detailing the origins of her passion and the unique approach Safestack takes in integrating security with software development. The conversation also delves into Safestack's funding journey, starting with her quitting her job with a new baby and $300 in the bank, bootstrapping through consultancy revenue, to securing investments from various VC firms. Laura shares insights into the lessons learned during fundraising, team scaling, and navigating market shifts, particularly the economic downturn in 2023. She emphasizes the importance of adapting to market conditions, making tough decisions, and maintaining a focus on profitability. This podcast is entertaining, enlightening, and a must-listen for anyone interested in lessons on raising from Venture Capital.-- Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand. Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.
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Ep 4: Lani Evans (Thankyou Payroll & Fundsorter)
In this episode of The Funding Files, Anna and Matt interview Lani Evans, the first CEO of Thankyou Payroll, a New Zealand-based payroll intermediary with a social enterprise model. Lani shares her journey helping scale the company, raise early-stage funding, and later support an equity crowdfunding campaign. The conversation highlights the lack of funding when you're just getting started, values-driven business model, challenges of raising capital for social enterprises, and the innovative approach they took to philanthropy through the Thankyou Charitable Trust (now Generous Ventures). They also explore how equity crowdfunding empowered their community of supporters and aligned with their ethical principles. The episode reflects on lessons learned, creative marketing, and the eventual success of returning dividends to shareholders — a crowdfunding world first according to Forbes.Lani also gives insights into her new venture, Fundsorter, which uses AI to support not-for-profits to find and apply for funding here in Aotearoa - which just launched to the public this month! Learn more about Thankyou Payroll: https://www.thankyoupayroll.co.nz/Check out Fundsorter: https://www.fundsorter.com/-- Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand. Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.
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Ep 3: Matt Stevens (Parrotdog)
In this episode of The Funding Files, co-host Anna Guenther chats with Matt Stevens, co-host and co-founder of Parrotdog, about his funding journey raising capital to launch and grow a craft brewery in Wellington, way back when the beer industry was just taking off. Parrotdog started in 2011 when three friends named Matt decided to start a craft brewery. Matt Stevens, initially brought in to help with incorporation, eventually became a co-founder. The company began with contract brewing, funded by $7,000 initial capital ($5,000 from Stevens, $1,000 each from the other two Matts). They progressed through various funding stages, including family loans, asset financing, and bank debt, before successfully completing a $2 million equity crowdfunding campaign in 2016. The crowdfunding campaign, which reached its minimum target of $1.2 million within 24 hours and full subscription of $2 million within 2 days, enabled them to move from their original 300-square-meter location in Vivian Street to a much larger facility in Lyall Bay. Through their crowdfunding capital raises, they grew from producing 350,000 liters to becoming a business with 70 staff producing nearly 3 million liters of beer annually.-- Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand. Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.
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Ep 2: Tim Shallard & Nigel Cottle (Morningcider)
Tim, Lou and Nige, former pastors and youthworkers, started Morningcider in 2015. What started off as just a name to do with their favourite suburb, Morningside in Auckland, has now grown into a nationwide cider brand that distributes around Aotearoa and the world. In this pod, Tim and Nige will share the story of how they started, the power of joint ventures with friends to scale, and how being pastors and starting a business are related!They’re currently raising investment on the PledgeMe platform so we thought what better time to hear their funding journey than right now when they’re in the thick of a raise. (You can learn more about their current raise here: https://pledgeme.co.nz/investments/604)-- Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand. Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.
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