Geeks on a Plane & The Icehouse:

New Zealand Rocket Pitch Contest

Organized by 500 Startups, a startup incubator and investment fund led by celebrity entrepreneur and angel investor Dave McClure, Geeks on a Plane is a tour for startups, investors, and executives to learn about ‘burgeoning technology markets worldwide’. The program aims to link startups, with investors and geeks around the world.

As part of their tour, The Icehouse organized for the geeks to participate in a Rocket Pitch Contest. The competition featured prominent New Zealand start-ups pitching their high-tech companies to two sets of judges. The teams had 2 minutes to pitch to the panels.

The panels were divided into two panels, one for the visiting American geeks  and one for a team of prominent New Zealand business figures including Stephen Tindall whose interest in the technology sector is surely heightened following The Warehouse recent purchase of Noel Leeming.

The competitors were divided into three groups:

• No. 8 Wire: product & service innovations that will compete globally
• Breaking the rules: start-ups that demonstrate that New Zealand can do it better
• 100% Pure NZ: start-ups taking on the world with kiwi-centric advantages

Live Coverage

test.wp.newzealandinc.com –  Live from Geeks on a Plane: NZ Rocket Pitch Contest

test.wp.newzealandinc.com reporting live from The Cloud at the New Zealand Rocket Pitch competition, presented by The Icehouse and Geeks on a Plane.

Join the conversation:

Company Profiles

test.wp.newzealandinc.com profiles the three winning companies from the Rocket Pitch NZ competition

Outpost Central   Winner No.8 Wire – Outsourced IT Company Profile

EcoFibre   Winner 100% Pure NZ – Return on Science Company Profile

KlickEx Winner BNZ – Breaking the Rules  Company Profile

Investor Profiles

test.wp.newzealandinc.com talks to the visiting geeks as they let us know about their expectations from New Zealand entrepreneurs,their knowledge of the New Zealand business environment and the Geeks’ take-aways from their trip down-under.

Andrea Zurek Founding Partner XG Ventures Investor Profile

Charles Hudson Venture Partner Softtech VC Investor Profile

Aaron Batalion Co-Founder Living Social Investor Profile

Sundeep Ahuja Venture Partner Blissmo Investor Profile

 On-Site Interviews

Andy Symons	Todd Sawicki	Chris Quin	Christen O’Brien
Andy Hamilton	Katherine Barr	Wesley Chan	Paul Marcum

 

Full-Event Footage

Stream 1

Stream 2

Stream 3