Start-up Support
Do you have a business idea, but unsure on your next step? Are you a founder with a problem, or are you looking for some suggestions on how to grow your business? CIE’s Start-up Support sessions are for you!
Free and open to all current students, recent alumni and staff of the University of Auckland.
What you will gain from a session?
When building a start-up, you are likely to run into some questions that you’d like advice on. Talking to an expert or a mentor would be great. Well, now you can. With CIE’s Start-up Support, you’ll get 25 minutes of free advice from experts in specific areas such as finance, intellectual property and marketing. If you are looking for more general advice, our mentors will help you get a different perspective, stretch your thinking and together brainstorm next best steps to move your venture forward. Being a founder is challenging and can sometimes even be a lonely experience. So sharing your thoughts and questions with a mentor or expert will help you accelerate growth, both personally and for your venture.
How it works
1). Book a conversation with our friendly Programmes team
In this first conversation you’ll be asked to share your story, answer some questions and have a bit of a dialogue. Getting to know you and the support you need will help us connect you with the mentor or expert best placed to support you.
2). Set-up Miro board
After your intake conversation, you’ll receive a link to Miro, an online whiteboard platform. You’ll upload basic information, such as who’s in the team, your idea, and what support you are looking for. Miro makes it easy to collaborate online, and most importantly, track progress.
3). Meet the mentor/expert
You will receive an invite to meet the mentor/expert, via Zoom, for a 30-minute conversation. The mentor/expert will also have access to your Miroboard, so they can prepare and know something about you ahead of time. Use your board to make notes/add comments and record your agreed next steps.
4). Do it all again
We’ve got a range of mentors, all with different skills and expertise. So you’re free to ask for another conversation with the same or a different mentor. Don’t be shy to use their expertise and life skills to get different points of view, grow your network, and your start-up.
Our mentors
Christopher Bean
Advises on idea and concept creation and validation, capital raising strategy, pitch deck creation, start-up development, brand development and marketing strategies, sales and distribution strategies.
Marco Fabio Borges
Advises on entrepreneurship, commercial applications through the RPAS, Aero photogrammetry and 3D modelling, Automotive industry, Applied statistics, Problem solving methodologies.
Vishal Chaddha
Advises on product market fit, Go To Market strategy and building scale profitably.
Warner Cowin
Advises on developing clear business strategies, planning and implementing organisational change, driving innovation, and improving operational performance. He also has strong skills in Tikanga Maori and Iwi facilitation.
Mike Evans
Advises on developing and managing technology start-ups, creating IP, apps, and products for web and mobile.
Scott Fenton
Advises on market validation, market entry, product market fit, and strategy development.
Sam Fielden
Advises on value-proposition development and communication, partnering, development of business models, intellectual property management, licensing frameworks, and developing your hustle.
Ajit Joshi
Advises on initiating start-up ideas, validation, international operations, and strategy (for growth, operations, product, pricing, and marketing).
Bhuvana Kannan
Advises on up-scaling tech research, research & development, commercialisation & innovation activities, pilot-scale testing and operations, market validation, tech sales strategy, IP strategies, funding, mitigating risk, navigating failures, start-up values, culture, and management.
Sasha Lockley
Advises on customer vision and experience, team dynamics, leadership and storytelling. As an accountant, she can also act as a kind of ‘translator’ between the numbers, risk, opportunity, impact and the story.
Mahesh Muralidhar
Advises on getting 0-1 (revenue positive), identifying where to focus, building high performance teams, inclusivity, goal setting systems, product/market fit, setting up the right acquisition engine and setting up operations (HR and Finance) to scale.
Eoghan Neligan
Advises on early stage product development, market validation, product growth and product lifecycle management
Aaron Small
Advises on capital raising, go-to-market strategies, pitch deck creation, start-up development and technology commercialisation.
Fasiha Subhan
Advises on social entrepreneurship, business strategies, and innovation approaches with socio-economic and environmental impact.
Bruce Randolph Tizes
Advises early founders and companies on general business strategy, management, innovation, science, operations, and risk.
Nan Yang
Advises on accelerating deep-tech startup businesses to find their product/market fit.
Grant Young
Advises on ideation, strategy, start-up development and marketing.
Christopher Bean
Advises on idea and concept creation and validation, capital raising strategy, pitch deck creation, start-up development, brand development and marketing strategies, sales and distribution strategies.
Marco Fabio Borges
Advises on entrepreneurship, commercial applications through the RPAS, Aero photogrammetry and 3D modelling, Automotive industry, Applied statistics, Problem solving methodologies.
Vishal Chaddha
Advises on product market fit, Go To Market strategy and building scale profitably.
Warner Cowin
Advises on developing clear business strategies, planning and implementing organisational change, driving innovation, and improving operational performance. He also has strong skills in Tikanga Maori and Iwi facilitation.
Mike Evans
Advises on developing and managing technology start-ups, creating IP, apps, and products for web and mobile
Scott Fenton
Advises on market validation, market entry, product market fit, and strategy development.
Sam Fielden
Advises on value-proposition development and communication, partnering, development of business models, intellectual property management, licensing frameworks, and developing your hustle.
Ajit Joshi
Advises on initiating start-up ideas, validation, international operations, and strategy (for growth, operations, product, pricing, and marketing)
Bhuvana Kannan
Advises on up-scaling tech research, research & development, commercialisation & innovation activities, pilot-scale testing and operations, market validation, tech sales strategy, IP strategies, funding, mitigating risk, navigating failures, start-up values, culture, and management.
Sasha Lockley
Advises on customer vision and experience, team dynamics, leadership and storytelling. As an accountant, she can also act as a kind of ‘translator’ between the numbers, risk, opportunity, impact and the story.
Mahesh Muralidhar
Advises on getting 0-1 (revenue positive), identifying where to focus, building high performance teams, inclusivity, goal setting systems, product/market fit, setting up the right acquisition engine and setting up operations (HR and Finance) to scale.
Eoghan Neligan
Advises on early stage product development, market validation, product growth and product lifecycle management.
Aaron Small
Advises on capital raising, go-to-market strategies, pitch deck creation, start-up development and technology commercialisation.
Fasiha Subhan
Advises on social entrepreneurship, business strategies, and innovation approaches with socio-economic and environmental impact.
Bruce Randolph Tizes
Advises early founders and companies on general business strategy, management, innovation, science, operations, and risk.
Nan Yang
Advises on accelerating deep-tech startup businesses to find their product/market fit.
Grant Young
Advises on ideation, strategy, start-up development and marketing.
EMAIL
CIE@AUCKLAND.AC.NZ
POSTAL ADDRESS
THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL
PRIVATE BAG 92019, AUCKLAND
