Reflections and lessons from our journey with Halter

June 2025 by Robbie Paul posted in Startups, CEO, Growth, Community

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Read 6 reflections from Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul, following Halter announcing their $165M Series D raise. 
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From Aotearoa to America: Successes and Lessons, Part 3

April 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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Expanding to the US is a major step for any Kiwi startup. Many of our portfolio companies have taken the leap - some have succeeded, and all have learned valuable (and sometimes expensive) lessons.

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From Aotearoa to America: Successes and Lessons, Part 2

March 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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Expanding to the US is a major step for any Kiwi startup. Many of our portfolio companies have taken the leap - some have succeeded, and all have learned valuable (and sometimes expensive) lessons.

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Why New Zealand Will Become a Technology Utopia

March 2025 by Robbie Paul posted in Startups, CEO, Technology, Growth

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From Aotearoa to America: Successes and Lessons, Part 1

March 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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Expanding to the US is a major step for any Kiwi startup. Many of our portfolio companies have taken the leap—some have succeeded, and all have learned valuable (and sometimes expensive) lessons.

To help the next generation of founders navigate this journey, I set out to interview six of our portfolio companies about their experiences expanding into the US. While there are common themes, each story offers its own unique insights.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be publishing anonymised stories from these companies, sharing real-world lessons on strategy, hiring, market validation, and execution. At the end of the series, I’ll post a summary capturing the most common learnings and pitfalls founders should be aware of when entering the US market.

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The Value of Values

February 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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So we’re all on the same page—company values are the fundamental beliefs and core principles that shape a company’s actions, decision-making, company culture, and brand identity.

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How to Raise $10m in 2025

February 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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Despite some of the doomsday commentary about both the NZ economy and VC investing habits in 2024 compared to 2021, there is plenty of capital looking for high-quality investment opportunities.

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More Startups Die of Indigestion Than Starvation: The Importance of Focus and your Anti-Strategy

January 2025 by Barnaby Marshall posted in Startups, Founders, Community

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It’s said that more companies die of indigestion than starvation—meaning they get distracted by shiny new opportunities, spreading focus too thin to be effective.

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Big losses and bigger wins of 2024

December 2024 by Robbie Paul posted in Funds, Startups, CEO, Technology, Growth

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The New Zealand Startup 2024 Year in Review
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Designed by Apple in California

October 2024 by Robbie Paul posted in Funds, Startups, CEO, Technology, Growth

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I'm excited to share that Pie Funds has invested $10m into Growth Fund II, bringing us to $98m of our $100m target. Their investment supports my case that the next Apple should be built from New Zealand. That may sound far-fetched so here are the reasons why it is possible.
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