Startup Theatre Podcast

Before the 100th episode of Startup Theatre with Rod Drury, we brought the community together in Queenstown for a live fireside series with founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem builders from across New Zealand.In front of a live audience, we explored what really happens behind the scenes of building companies – from validating an idea and surviving early mistakes, to scaling teams, raising capital, hiring well, and knowing when to step aside as a founder.You’ll hear from founders at different stages, SaaS and non-SaaS alike, alongside the people who quietly support the ecosystem every day – investors, advisors, operators, and community leaders.This episode captures the honesty, humour, and reality of startup life, complete with live reactions, tough lessons, and practical insights for anyone building, backing, or thinking about starting a company.Moderated by our own Adrienne Muir & Troy HammondFireside chat panel (Founders):Rob Stirling – ScannableMelissa Jenner – ACTVOHeidi Farren – Tourism Innovation Group (TIG)Stuart McLean – EverCommerceEcosystem supporters panel:Peter Fullerton-Smith – Mountain ClubAlison Meredith – Startup Queenstown LakesAnand Reddy – PwC New ZealandKimberley Gilmour – Sprinklr NZProudly supported by PwC, long-standing champions of New Zealand’s tech and startup ecosystem.Want a free discovery session with PwC? Head to 👉🏻 https://www.pwc.co.nz/services/private-business/startup-theatre.htmlSpecial thanks to our supporter sponsor in Startup Queenstown Lakes⁠

A New Zealand insuretech startup thought they’d cracked the US market, until a Fortune 500 incumbent sued them “out of the blue”.In this episode of Startup Theatre, Serge Van Damme speaks with former Montoux co-CEOs Shelley Cox and Klaas Stijnen about what it’s like to be hit with major IP allegations in the US, how quickly litigation can choke a startup’s ability to sell or raise, and why their realistic options became: fight, sell, or liquidate. They share the moment they discovered the filing, the impact on customers and staff, the decision to appoint a liquidator in New Zealand, and what’s happening now in the High Court, including the dispute over whether the liquidator can sell assets while proceedings continue.You’ll also hear practical lessons for founders going into litigious markets: understanding incumbent behaviour, thinking about legal risk as a board-level issue, and why insurance and jurisdiction matter more than most startups assume.You will hear:The moment Shelley found out through an email offering representation, nearly marked it as spam, then googled and saw “FIS versus Montoux” had been filedWhy a US lawsuit is an incredibly effective way to stifle a startup, regardless of motivation, because defence costs and commercial impact hit at the same timeWhat Montoux actually built for life insurers, why actuarial models matter, and what it felt like when they believed they had “cracked it” with major customer momentumThe three brutal options they had: fight, sell, or liquidate, and why “fight” became financially non-viable fastHow staff reacted to being implicitly accused of wrongdoing, and what it is like to have no playbook for something this seriousWhat liquidation actually means, what a liquidator is required to do, and why the timeline moved so quicklyThe NZ High Court injunction hearing over whether the liquidator can sell assets while the case continues, and why it felt so cold and detached from the humans behind the businessHard lessons for founders entering litigious markets: treating legal risk as a board-level topic, reviewing insurance properly, and researching an incumbent’s litigation posture before you enter their spaceStartups in the Spotlight: three Kiwi insuretechs going global, PolicyCheck, Simfuni, and Javln.Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Vanta. If you are starting or scaling your security programme, Vanta automates compliance for ISO 27001, SOC 2, and more.Get USD $1,000 off at: ⁠vanta.com/startuptheater⁠This episode discusses allegations and an ongoing legal dispute. We’re sharing the guest’s perspective and our commentary. Any claims mentioned are allegations only, not findings of fact. Nothing in this episode is legal advice, and we’ll avoid speculating on matters before the courts.

In our 100th episode of Startup Theatre, we went live in Queenstown for a milestone fireside chat with Rod Drury, founder of Xero.Rod unpacks the behind-the-scenes reality of building a global SaaS company from Wellington: why they IPO’d early, what raising capital actually takes, and how to build teams that can scale without losing pace. We also get into founder PR, working on the business vs in it, what “A-players” really are, and why culture (and proximity) still matters.Then Rod goes beyond Xero and talks about New Zealand’s next chapter: digital identity, open banking, “sovereign” infrastructure, and the practical risks of global platforms extracting value from tourism and payments. If you care about startups, high performance, or the future of NZ tech, this one is essential listening.Topics include:Early-stage IPOs, capital strategy, and “raise when you don’t need it”Building founder-led urgency and accelerating decision-makingHiring A-players and the real cost of compromiseFounder comms, media strategy, and long-term relationship buildingNZ innovation: digital identity, tourism platforms, and procurementAI’s impact on jobs and the “no new hires” mindsetStartup Theatre is produced by Empire Films, and this episode was proudly supported by PwC.

Goodnature CEO Dave Shoemack has had one of the more unusual startup careers you will hear about. From big beer at Heineken HQ, to helping turn VanMoof into the “Tesla of e-bikes” in Amsterdam, to leading Wellington trap-maker Goodnature and living with a founder at home through natural perfume brand Abel.In this episode of Startup Theatre, Troy and Serge sit down with Dave to talk about building global hardware companies from tiny teams, dealing with bankruptcy and rebirth, and why focus and courage matter more than almost anything else.You will hear:The inside story of VanMoof’s rise, the brave anti-car ad that was banned in France, and what it felt like to watch the company go bankrupt after he leftHow Dave walked away from a cushy global role at Heineken, battled crippling imposter syndrome, and learned to love “lobster moments” where growth only comes from discomfortWhy VanMoof eventually doubled down on one bike, one audience, and one moment, and how that extreme focus translated directly into brand powerThe move back to Wellington, joining Goodnature’s board then stepping up as CEO, and what it is really like to manufacture smart, humane traps 100 metres from the Basin Reserve and ship them to the worldDinner-table startup life with his wife Frances, founder of natural perfume house Abel, and the difference between pioneers who start things and settlers who grow themHow Goodnature keeps “founder chaos” alive in a 20-year-old company, and why Kiwi companies should stop selling out too earlyIn a new “Behind the Curtain” explainer segment, Serge also breaks down ESOPs and share options:What ESOP and options actually are, and why most employees do not receive real shares up frontHow vesting, cliffs, good leaver and bad leaver provisions work in New ZealandWhat happens to your options if the company sells early, or you leaveWhen tax hits, how net settlement usually works, and whether ESOP is really “worth it”Practical advice on negotiating salary first, then treating options as upside rather than your base payFinally, Troy and Serge answer audience questions, talk through the new Behind the Curtain segment, and explain how you can be in the draw for a $1,000 Prezi card as they work towards the 100th episode.Sponsor:This episode is brought to you by Vanta. If you are starting or scaling your security programme, Vanta automates compliance for ISO 27001, SOC 2, and more.Get USD $1,000 off at: vanta.com/startuptheaterLinks from this episode:Goodnature: https://goodnature.co.nzVanMoof: https://www.vanmoof.comAbel fragrance: https://abelodor.com

From AngelList to OnDeck to Blackbird, David has spent a decade designing the connective tissue between people, products, and ideas. NZ's own David Booth now joins a16z as Partner and Head of Ecosystem. His mission: make a16z the F1 pit crew of venture, where network power compounds and every founder gets faster.David helped build one of the world’s most impactful founder communities through On Deck, helping over 1,000 startups raise more than $2B. But his path wasn’t conventional. He built momentum quietly — through community, consistency, and backing other founders long before becoming a VC himself.In this conversation, David shares how he went from building a dinner-table movement to being invited to join one of the most powerful VC firms in the world. It’s a story about showing up, lifting others, and trusting that if you do the hard things well, people will notice.How On Deck grew from idea to $20M+ revenue and a $70M raiseLessons from his time as Entrepreneur in Residence at BlackbirdHow building a Kiwi founder network in SF led to a16zWhat great VCs actually look for in early-stage foundersWhy advising others made him a better founder — and now a better investor🔑 Topics Covered:The crossroad moment where he almost walked away from the company he builtWhy fundraising is just as much about self-awareness as it is about metricsHow scaling culture is the real moat, and why most startups miss itThe psychological shift from operator to investor — and what founders still get wrongWhy joining a16z isn’t the finish line—it’s the beginning of a new missionThis podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vanta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Vanta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ using the link ⁠⁠⁠https://www.vanta.com/startup⁠⁠Startups under the Spotlight brought to you by Talent ArmyBuild your team with NZ's best tech startup recruiters at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.talent.army