Read Robbie Paul's case for optimism: why highlighting 230 Kiwi companies can inspire the next generation to build a brighter future for Aotearoa.
Celebrating our latest Brighter Future artwork
We are delighted to release our second Brighter Future, a commission celebrating 239 Kiwi founders and companies that are building a brighter future for New Zealand. Check out the interactive version here.
Here is why creating this piece was important to me:
- A bright future for New Zealand is not inevitable and must be earned.
- Kiwis are more likely to stretch for a brighter future if they see examples that support it is possible.
- Through both triumph and tribulation, entrepreneurs serve as phenomenal examples.
Our approach to accepting bad news while embracing optimism.
Icehouse Ventures may hold the unenviable title in New Zealand for experiencing the most startup failures. Of our 372 investments since 2003, 81 have failed.
These losses were not anticipated at the outset. (Quite the opposite!) They marked the end of missions to improve and save lives, clean up the world, bring joy to customers, and generate wealth.
They came despite many years of hard work. The companies were an average of 6.6 years old at failure. They also arrived following significant investment. Icehouse Ventures invested $38.7m and had only $3.4m returned.
With startups and venture investing, you can either be dismayed into inaction by risks and losses or accept them and forge ahead in pursuit of exemplary outcomes. (The good news is our 35 positive outcomes have returned $125m from $24m invested. Our 266 live investments, in which we invested $564m, have a current value of $1.008b.)
I share this because the same can be said about Kiwis building a bright future for New Zealand. We can either read headlines and succumb to cynicism or accept that bad news happens and keep aiming high.
Bad news is inevitable. Let’s tilt the scale in favour of good news.
My concern is that the frequency of bad headlines could cause up-and-coming generations to fear the future and lead to apathy and inaction. (If you read most headlines these days you will know we need the next gen to be super motivated.) A higher frequency of inspiring headlines could compel them to view the future with optimism and have a greater desire to shape it. This will drive more positive headlines and on-and-on the positive flywheel will go.
The 239 entrepreneurs and companies featured in Brighter Future are playing important roles in shaping New Zealand’s future and setting examples for others to follow. The challenge is that their ambition, hard work, risk-taking, and achievements are not visible enough to most Kiwis. We are enthusiastic about increasing the visibility of these entrepreneurs and companies.
