Meet the Founders

Taiawa Wellington Tech Hub

Asa Cox
Arcanum AI / Numa

Asa Cox

CEO

Helping SMBs grow profitably by automating tasks, unlocking data insights, and speeding up innovation with the Numa platform.

We all know someone who works too much in their business. They will love you when they get a free extended trial at arcanum.ai with the code TAIAWA.
Nilesh Kapoor
Blacklock Security

Nilesh Kapoor

Founder & CEO

Award-winning vulnerability scanning and Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS). We combine AI and human automation for security.

Connect for feedback and testing software security.
Ben Gleisner
Cogo

Ben Gleisner

Founder & CEO

Powering the shift to a low-carbon economy. We build products that enable individuals and businesses to measure and reduce their climate impact.

Check out the Cogo Home Electrification platform! If you like what you see: a) tell all your friends, and b) connect with me for a chance to invest.
Cynthia Hunefeld
Evithé Biotechnology

Cynthia Hunefeld

Founder & CEO

Developing novel, patented botanical prescription drugs. We harness plant compounds to treat inflammatory diseases.

Invest. Gauge interest for a future investment round.
Jessica Venning-Bryan
Factor

Jessica Venning-Bryan

Co-Founders

Plug-and-play forecasting and pricing tools for modern energy utilities. An API-driven, AI-powered toolkit.

Connect us with people you know at energy utilities. We have great customers in Australia and the UK and would love New Zealand to benefit from what we do too!
Kevin Gudmundson
HeyPenny

Kevin Gudmundson

Founder

A humanistic approach to supporting workplace wellbeing. We develop leaders, prioritise people, and improve productivity.

Connect to HR professionals to seek their leaders participation in a 6-month academic-led longitudinal study at no cost. Or, our investment round is open.
Axton Pitt
Litmaps

Axton Pitt

Co-Founder & CEO

Literature review made easy. A discovery tool that helps researchers find vital scientific papers and tell a better research story.

Connect with university leadership.
John Campbell
Our Energy

John Campbell

Founder & CEO

Pioneering local energy market transformation - 'Localflex', NZ's first independent local flexibility market service, and 'Lemonade', energy sharing and granular time and location matching.

Invest in Our Energy, live on Catalist now and/or connect with John to help consolidate our strong NZ position and secure first Australian opportunities.
Alex Clark
PressPatron

Alex Clark

Founder & CEO

Powering the future of journalism. We turn media audiences into paying supporters via memberships and donations.

Connect with people who want to support the future of independent journalism, either as investors, collaborators or advisors.
Roscoe Price Moor
Roady

Roscoe Price Moor

Founder & MD

New Zealand's leading travel content platform. The go-to app for finding cool things to do locally and planning road trips.

We’re keen to connect with people thinking about how digital tools and content can play a bigger role in how visitors discover and plan travel in Aotearoa.
Cole Hauptfuhrer
Find Fat Fish

Cole Hauptfuhrer

Chief Executive Fishmonger

We help wannabe retirees make their 9-to-5s unnecessary by stock picking as a hobby.

Dive into findfatfish.com – if you resonate with the success stories enough to trust The Word of Cod, connect me with evangelists & other power-Kiwis who can help elevate the standard of amateur investing across New Zealand & beyond.
Chris Hawksworth
Speculo

Chris Hawksworth

Founder & CEO

A cybersecurity risk intelligence platform. We help organisations move beyond compliance checklists toward continuous data-driven assurance.

Connect with orgs wanting to understand their cybersecurity risk.
Shane Bartle
Storbie

Shane Bartle

CEO

An easy-to-use website and ecommerce platform specifically for pharmacies and veterinary clinics.

Introductions to help Storbie deepen US partnerships and accelerate our US growth.
Glenn Campbell
Tourwriter

Glenn Campbell

Founder & CEO

A canvas for travel storytelling. The complete toolkit for tour operators to create, price, book, and sell itineraries.

Gauge interest for a future investment round.
Dascha Cooper
Taiawa Wellington Tech Hub

Dascha Cooper

Business Partner, Tech Sector & Entrepreneurship

Taiawa is a co-working space for Wellington tech companies with innovation at their core and global ambition in their sights.

We are a collaborative community located within VUW, designed to connect growing businesses with the best talent and research in the city.