As a company with global ambition, a recent AANZ-sponsored trip to San Francisco served as the perfect launchpad for expanding our investor network in Silicon Valley.
Organised by the Angel Association of NZ in partnership with the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, this trip saw our CEO, Ju Zhang, along with board member Vignesh Kumar, meeting with a range of top VCs and tech companies across the Bay Area. For Vignesh this was a return to his roots, having spent a number of years at Apple before joining the Formus Labs team.
“While VCs are increasingly looking globally for opportunities, the importance of having a ‘local’ presence can’t be undersold. We’re immensely grateful for the opportunity to continue expanding our network and building a greater footprint within the Silicon Valley community”, expressed Ju Zhang.
Particular highlights include meetings with Matrix Partners, General Catalyst, and Google Ventures, among other firms. One key takeaway here was that no matter where you go, all VCs are looking for passionate, mission-driven founders with strong domain knowledge.
Special thanks must be given to Bridget Unsworth and Suse Reynolds from AANZ, along with the Edmund Hillary Foundation, without whom this trip would not have been possible. The work they do is instrumental in helping to introduce promising Kiwi start-ups to the world.
Keep an eye out for another update from us in January as we progress towards a product launch within the next 6 months, and anticipate a further raise in the next 6-12, along with further conferences and networking opportunities in Q1 2020.
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