Portfolio Day 2025.

The day, hour by hour

1. 9:30 AM - 10:00 AMRegistration and Welcome ReceptionCoffee, tea, and light snacks. Informal networking. Check-in at registration desk.
2. 10:00 AM - 10:15 AMOpening RemarksWelcome to NZVC Portfolio Day. How the ANZ startup ecosystem is changing. Our thesis: sovereign tech, robotics, AI-native services, human enhancement.Brad Feld / Foundry
3. 10:15 AM - 11:00 AMFrom Edge to Epicenter: Building the NZ Innovation EcosystemHow founders, investors, and institutions are shaping the next decade of ANZ innovationJanine Grainger / EasyCrypto · Jacques Richter / NZGCP · Shaun Quincey / Simfuni
4. 11:00 AM - 11:45 AMGrassroots to Global: Innovation the Kiwi WayAgtech and other inventions particular to New ZealandBen Scales / KiwiFibre · Nicole Freed / Daisy Lab · Jeremy Bryant / Aimer · Amos Palfreyman / Miruku
5. 11:45 AM - 12:00 PMBreak
6. 12:00 PM - 12:45 PMThe Agentic AI FutureLane Rettig / NEAR Foundation · Philip Fierlinger / Upstock · Bradley So / QCL
7. 12:45 PM - 1:30 PMNetworking LunchLight buffet with NZ cuisine. Informal investor-founder chats.
8. 1:30 PM - 2:15 PMFintech FrontiersReinventing money from the edge of the worldDermot Butterfield / Wych · Steven Zinsli / Extraordinary · Jovan Pavlicevic / Emerge
9. 2:15 PM - 3:00 PMBorn GlobalFounding from New Zealand to the worldAnna Henwood / Stickybeak · Steph Kennard / Bonnet · Erika Palmer / Cupla · Jamie France / Newton Space
10. 3:00 PM - 3:45 PMBreak
11. 3:45 PM - 5:00 PMScaling from the Edge: NZ's Global ChampionsLeighton Roberts / Sharesies · David Yu / VeVe · Penelope Barton / Crimson Global Academy
12. 5:00 PMNetworking

Speakers

The founders, investors and innovators who took the stage, in the order the day introduced them.

• Mark Pavlyukovskyy

  General Partner at NZVC

  A serial entrepreneur who exited his first company, Piper, after raising $15M from top-tier investors. Mark arrived in New Zealand as an Edmund Hillary Fellow just before the 2020 lockdown and saw an opportunity to empower Kiwi founders with global ambition.

• Hendrik Remigereau

  General Partner at NZVC

  Hendrik's venture journey began in Europe, leading the expansion of Founders Intelligence before its acquisition by Accenture. At Merantix, he helped build Europe's leading AI venture studio and co-founded AI House Davos. Now based in Australia, he's passionate about scaling ANZ startups globally.

• Philip Fierlinger

  Co-founder of Upstock, Xero

  Design and product leader with 25+ years shaping digital experiences. A co-founder of Xero and now Co-CEO of Upstock, he's helped build iconic brands and advised top startups across product, growth, and strategy.

• Janine Grainger

  Co-Founder and CEO at Easy Crypto

  She co-founded Easy Crypto, which is New Zealand's leading cryptocurrency trading platform, established in 2017. She is a member of the Executive Council for FinTechNZ and recognized as a Women of Web3 Top 10 Changemaker, the Blockchain NZ Stand-Out Individual and Entrepreneur of the Year, and winner of the 2023 IBM Hi-Tech Awards for Inspiring Individual.

• Brad Feld

  Co-Founder of Foundry

  Brad is a legendary early-stage investor and author, best known for co-founding Foundry and Techstars. With 30+ years in venture capital, he's supported hundreds of startups globally. Brad is also a thought leader in startup ecosystems, mental health for founders, and the future of innovation.

• Jovan Pavlicevic

  Co-Founder at Emerge

  Jovan co-founded Emerge, a digital-first business banking alternative for NZ SMEs (backed by a NZ$12m Series A), after earlier founding SquareOne. With deep ties to the Kiwi tech ecosystem, he brings global capital and hands-on support to founders. Previously in San Francisco and Singapore, he now champions NZ innovation on the world stage.

• Anna Henwood

  CEO at Stickybeak

  Anna has over 20 years' experience in marketing and communications across B2C and B2B. She's led global campaigns from 100% Pure New Zealand to serving as CMO at Les Mills International. Now as CEO of consumer testing platform Stickybeak, she helps FMCG marketers worldwide make smarter, data-driven decisions.

• Ben Scales

  Co-Founder and CEO of KiwiFibre

  Ben Scales is the Co-Founder and CEO of KiwiFibre, a New Zealand-based startup developing high-performance natural fiber composites. With a background in sustainable materials and innovation, he is leading the charge to replace carbon-intensive materials with lightweight, eco-friendly alternatives.

• Lane Rettig

  Head of Research at NEAR Foundation

  Lane is an early contributor to Ethereum and founding team member at NEAR Foundation, where he supports the growth of decentralized protocols. With a background in tech and policy, Lane focuses on building open, inclusive systems that empower communities across the blockchain ecosystem.

• Jacques Richter

  Investment Director at New Zealand Growth Capital Partners

  Jacques is an Investment Director responsible for managing the Aspire fund. Jacques obtained experience in consulting engineering in the UK and South Africa before joining a development finance institution. He spent five years in venture capital and industry development roles, pursuing the economic growth and industrial development objectives of the bank.

• Shaun Quincey

  CEO and Co-founder, Simfuni

  With over 17 years of experience working in payments across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand, Shaun has built and led high-growth payment companies from startups to publicly listed organizations. He is a seasoned financial services entrepreneur with expertise in building and scaling regulated and unregulated solutions for enterprise and early-stage startups. Shaun has a passion for unlocking revenue with seamless customer experiences.

• Nicole Freed

  Co-Founder of Daisy Lab

  Nicole Freed is the Co-Founder of Daisy Lab, a New Zealand startup pioneering precision fermentation for dairy protein production. New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of dairy proteins, but traditional production comes at a cost to the environment, polluting waterways and generating significant greenhouse gas emissions. Daisy Lab is working to change that, using precision fermentation to create identical dairy proteins without harming land, rivers, or animals.

• Bradley So

  Director at Queen City Law

  Bradley So is an Immigration Law Specialist with a focus on business and investment migration. Over the past two years, he has assisted clients in investing more than $500 million in New Zealand. Passionate about business growth and workforce development, Bradley has helped numerous companies expand their migrant workforce and frequently presents at seminars and New Zealand law conferences on a wide range of immigration topics.

• Steph Kennard

  Founder, Bonnet and Charlie & Co

  Steph Kennard is a self-taught designer and web/app engineer, and the CEO and founder of Charlie & Co, a creative agency known for building industry-leading digital products. Her latest venture, Bonnet, is a vehicle service platform connecting car owners and dealerships through an intuitive app and desktop system. Within three weeks of launch, Bonnet became New Zealand's #1 app and now manages over 60,000 vehicles nationwide.

• Jeremy Bryant

  Founder and CTO at Aimer Farming

  Jeremy Bryant is an experienced AgTech software leader and strategist. He founded Aimer Farming, the company behind AIMER, an AI-enabled digital assistant for pastoral farms, and AIMER Vision, a smartphone-based pasture measurement tool. He has deep expertise in machine learning and simulation, with extensive experience applying both supervised and unsupervised learning methods, as well as developing process-based and hybrid analytical simulation models.

• Dermot Butterfield

  CEO and Founder at Wych Limited

  Dermot Butterfield is the Founder and CEO of Wych, a New Zealand-based open financial data platform. Originally from Limerick, Ireland, he relocated to Auckland and in 2018 launched Wych to simplify and secure the way organizations access customer-permissioned financial data. Under his leadership, Wych has integrated with over 140 CDR (Consumer Data Right) data providers and operates in both Australia and New Zealand.

• Steven Zinsli

  CEO at Extraordinary

  Steven Zinsli is the Founder and CEO of Extraordinary (formerly HealthNow), a company revolutionizing how organizations manage non-payroll employee benefits. Under his leadership, Extraordinary issues a specialized employee card that lets staff access benefits, such as health, transport, or wellness, without reimbursements or gift cards.

• Erika Palmer

  Founder at Cupla

  Erika Palmer is a co-founder of Cupla, a relationship app designed to help couples manage shared schedules, communicate, and plan quality time. Before Cupla, she founded Synthony, a music concept and stage show business, and held roles in finance and analytics (FP&A at Movio). Erika holds degrees in accounting and management and is a Chartered Accountant.

• Leighton Roberts

  Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Sharesies

  He began his investment journey at age 17, running a small investment club, before moving into banking and product management roles. Under his leadership, Sharesies has grown rapidly, serving over half a million users in NZ, expanding into Australia, and emphasizing ease of access, education, and inclusion in investing.

• Amos Palfreyman

  Co-Founder and CEO at Miruku

  Amos drives corporate strategy, building dairy proteins via plant-based molecular farming and partnerships across the alt-protein ecosystem. His extensive international networks and outstanding ability to build and maintain relationships enable Amos to open doors, establish and complete core partnerships key to an efficient B2B business model.

• David Yu

  CEO at VeVe

  David Yu, a 27-year veteran of the games and collectibles industry, founded Games R Us at 17 and later co-founded VeVe in 2018, now the world leader in digital collectibles with over 9 million sales. Under his leadership, VeVe has partnered with top global brands like Disney, Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, offering an immersive AR-based collecting experience through its app and marketplace.

• Penelope Barton

  CEO at Crimson Global Academy

  Penelope Barton is an EdTech leader and a self-described magpie for productivity tools. She builds and scales organizations at the intersection of technology, impact, and people. Believing that ideas are easy but execution is hard, Penelope focuses on reducing complexity, developing high-performing teams, and designing systems that empower people to focus on what truly matters.

• Jamie France

  Founder at Newton Space

  Jamie France is a seasoned engineering and manufacturing leader with extensive experience taking cutting-edge prototypes to production. Passionate about developing people and teams, he focuses on enabling efficient and purposeful execution. Jamie seeks to work with ambitious companies that aim to make a positive impact on the world and view their staff as their most valuable asset.

What the day was for

• Inspiring keynotes and panels

  Hear from global venture capital experts and successful founders about the future of innovation and startup ecosystems.

• Meet our portfolio founders

  Connect directly with the entrepreneurs shaping the future of technology and business in ANZ.

• Networking opportunities

  Build relationships with top investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders driving the next wave of innovation.

Portfolio Day 2025, in 48 photographs

The whole album from the day, from the first coffee at 9:30 AM to the room on stage at 5:00 PM.

Questions and answers

When and where was Portfolio Day 2025?

Tuesday, October 21, 2025, from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM, at Pipiri Lane (124 Halsey Street), Auckland. It was part of Auckland Startup Week 2025, which ran from October 20 to 24.

What is Portfolio Day?

Portfolio Day is NZVC's flagship event that showcases a handpicked group of early-stage startups from across New Zealand. Founders present their companies to an audience of venture capitalists, angel investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders.

Who should attend?

Investors scouting pre-seed and seed-stage opportunities, corporate innovators looking for strategic partnerships, fellow founders seeking community and inspiration, and ecosystem supporters who want to connect with NZ's next generation of startups.

What types of startups are featured?

Startups span a range of sectors, including SaaS, deeptech, sustainability and climate, and fintech.

What can I expect from the day?

Startup pitches, fireside chats and panels with leading investors, networking sessions, and informal founder to investor conversations.

What happened at Portfolio Day 2022?

Our inaugural Portfolio Day 2022 featured 15 startups and over 120 attendees. Several founders went on to raise additional capital, hire new teams, and land key partnerships.