The Kiwi Who Cracked Silicon Valley: Now a partner at Andreessen Horowitz a16z
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
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1:34:10
My software will power every health transaction worldwide within two years
In this episode of Startup Theatre, host Troy Hammond sits down with serial founder and engineer Nimo Naamani—a man who’s lived through the chaos of founding blockchain companies, building developer tools, getting acqui-hired by Twitter, and now taking on one of the hardest industries of all: healthcare.Nimo shares wild stories—from building Horizon State, to selling his startup to Twitter, to launching Propagator, a platform aiming to connect every health transaction in New Zealand. Along the way, we unpack the mindset of a “zero to one” founder, what makes a 10x engineer (or a 100x one), and why he thinks clarity is more important than speed.Plus, you’ll hear about:Building tech under Jack Dorsey and Elon MuskWhy he believes every system leaks and how Propagator builds around thatThe surprising cult-like spirit inside TwitterThe infamous swamp origin story (yes, it involves a cowboy costume and actual sh*t)If you’re a startup builder, healthtech nerd, or just love hearing from people who do the hard stuff, this is one for the queue.🎧 Tune in now – and take notes. Nimo knows how to build a product and scale. 🔑 Topics CoveredThe swampy origin story that shaped Nimo’s love of chaos and hard problemsWhat happens inside a Twitter acqui-hire — and why they paid top dollar for his teamHow Propagator is fixing healthcare by doing the hardest thing first and not storing your dataWhy most startups fail at integration — and what it actually takes to connect legacy systemsThe messy truth about co-founders, clarity, and leading when you're not a natural CEO🔥 SoundbitesSpeed without clarity is just noise.I don’t want to store your data. I want to move it — fast and safely.I’ve been surrounded by bullsh!t since I was four. I’m used to chaos.I never wanted to be CEO. I just want to fix things.You don’t need a cult to build a great company. You need adults.A startup is not a family. I’ve got kids — I don’t need more at work.I’ll take the swamp every time. That’s where the real work is.Most people start with the easy. We started with the hard.The best founders aren’t the loudest. They’re the most convicted.Every system leaks. So prepare, don’t panic.This podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off Vanta using the link https://www.vanta.com/startup
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1:11:54
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1:11:54
The All-In Founder: How One Bet Sparked a New Superhuman AI
What happens when a broke Kiwi founder and his team fly to San Francisco with only $15,000 left, sleep in a basement, and end up playing poker with the investor who changes everything?In this episode of Startup Theatre, Troy Hammond sits down with Alistair McLeay, co-founder and co-CEO of Grw AI, one of New Zealand’s most ambitious artificial intelligence startups. Alistair shares how a chance poker game in San Francisco helped him land funding and kickstart the creation of what he calls a “superhuman AI sales leader.” Grw AI is a tool that coaches, trains, and lifts entire sales teams like the world’s best manager on steroids.🔑 Topics Covered:The high-stakes gamble that almost ended his company before it beganWhat it takes to raise capital when you have nothing left but convictionWhy AI could make us more human, not lessThe personal cost of chasing something world-changingHow the next five years of AI will transform how we think and workFrom investing in San Frasnciso, to neural networks, this is a story about risk, belief, and the blurred line between human intuition, machine intelligence, and moral responsibility.If you care about startups, AI ethics, and the people shaping the future of artificial intelligence when everything is on the line, this one is for you.🔥 Soundbites:We had $15,000 left and nowhere to sleep, so we went all in.We’re not building AI to replace people. We’re building it to make them superhuman.The real danger isn’t that AI will take your job. It’s that it might take your purpose.We taught machines to think, but can we teach them to care?This isn’t just a startup story. It’s a glimpse into the next chapter of humanity.You don’t need comfort to build the future. You need obsession.🎧 Tune in now – and take notes. Alistair doesn’t hold back.This podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off Vanta using the link https://www.vanta.com/startup
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1:19:06
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1:19:06
Forget Silver Bullets: The Engineering Secret No One Told You About
In this episode of Startup Theatre, Troy Hammond sits down with Michael "Koz" Koziarski, a veteran software engineer, startup founder, and open source contributor, to talk about the messy, real, and rewarding side of building software and leading teams.From his early work in Ruby on Rails and open source to his leadership roles at Vend and Southgate Labs, Koz shares the honest truths about engineering in high-growth environments.You’ll hear how great leadership isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about building trust, hiring well, and raising the performance bar.This conversation delves into what it truly takes to lead technical teams, navigate outages, transition from consulting to product development, and why there are no silver bullets—just consistent, hard, and deliberate work.Whether you're an engineer stepping into leadership or a founder trying to build a high-performing team, Koz’s lessons on product understanding, trust, AI expectations, and crisis management will resonate.🔑 Topics Covered:The evolution of open source and Ruby on RailsWhy understanding product is non-negotiable for engineering leadersThe real differences between consulting and building productTransitioning from coder to leader—and doing it wellNavigating business reality vs. startup fantasyRaising the performance bar and letting your team failLeadership in the age of AIOutages, crisis comms, and how to keep calm under fire🔥 Soundbites:“There are no silver bullets in business... hard work is key.”“You’ve got to be able to call bullsh!t.”“Engineers need to stop sitting in ball pits."🎧 Tune in now – and take notes. Koz doesn’t hold back.This podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off Vanta using the link https://www.vanta.com/startup
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1:29:20
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1:29:20
Why I had everything to lose on this startup.
In this episode of Startup Theatre, we sit down with Sam Kidd, co-founder and CEO of Lawvu, the pioneering legal operations platform that's transforming how in-house legal teams operate around the globe. Sam shares the journey of turning a bold idea from Tauranga, New Zealand in to a global SaaS company trusted by enterprise legal departments worldwide.We dive into:The pain points in legal ops that inspired LawvuLessons learned scaling a startup in a niche (and often overlooked) industryThe mental resilience needed to lead through hypergrowth and headwindsWhy building company culture and customer trust go hand-in-handThe future of legal tech and where Lawvu is headed nextWhether you're an early-stage founder, a SaaS junkie, or just love hearing how great ideas become global businesses, this one’s packed with insights you don’t want to miss.🎧 Tune in now – and take notes. Sam doesn’t hold back.This podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 🙌🏻Get USD $1000 off Vanta using the link https://www.vanta.com/startuptheatre.
Exploring the wins, challenges, & lessons from startups. Honest conversations, real insights, and everything in between.
Troy Hammond & Serge van Dam, with deep roots in the startup ecosystem in New Zealand and beyond, explore the world of startups, tech, markets, and media. They break down industry trends, uncover the realities of scaling companies, and share expert insights through candid conversations. Each episode features top founders, operators, investors, and innovators, offering lessons, perspectives, and stories from the frontlines of business and technology.
New Zealand