The Influencers: Marian Johnson
At Ministry of Awesome, we are completely focused on growing NZ’s future high-value companies. One of the most exciting projects we are working on right now is how we can encourage more women founders into the start-up pipeline. Not only do we want to encourage diversity in our start-up ecosystem we also know […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
We have around 530,000 small businesses in New Zealand. This represents 97 percent of all commercial ventures, 28 percent of employment, and 25 percent of GDP – proving that the Kiwi entrepreneurial mindset is alive and well. Why then do we have so few start-up versus small business founders? What’s the difference between a small […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
For the last few weeks, the Ministry of Awesome team has been working hard alongside New World to launch this year’s FoodStarter competition. We’re so excited about getting this underway because it is the ultimate opportunity for Kiwi food and beverage entrepreneurs to launch right into national success. And – if ever there was a […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
For the last few days, I have been helping eight finalists of the HealthTech Supernode Challenge prepare their five-minute presentations for the upcoming final Demo Night where they will compete for $340,000 of in-kind and cash prizes. It’s been pretty interesting work hearing about the healthtech innovations of our future and meeting the researchers, students, […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
With continuing concern around the impact of Covid-19 on the job market, there is no time like the present to consider entrepreneurship as the way forward. This doesn’t just apply to people already active in the work force. Graduating students are also entering the hardest job market since the GFC. Entrepreneurship will be a critical […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
In case readers aren’t aware, Ministry of Awesome enables and supports high growth entrepreneurship and innovation in Christchurch and, increasingly, across New Zealand. Why is this important? Because our city, our country and the world are undergoing a massive period of transition, stemming from the rapid uptake of technology, globalisation and the urgent requirement to […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
I recently took part in a discussion with NZ innovation community leaders where everyone shared their thoughts on what made New Zealand a uniquely innovative country poised to thrive and lead in a post-COVID world. I came to New Zealand 12 years ago having married a young Kiwi on his OE in London. […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
What a weird month April 2020 was. By the time you read this, we are hopefully emerged from our respective bubbles. It’s hard to think of any event as universal as this experience and there won’t be a single Kiwi amongst us who hasn’t been affected in one way or another. Yes – economic […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
International Women’s Day just passed and I’m thinking about why it’s hard to get a long list together of female startup founders in Christchurch. The scarcity of female founders is a global issue and to appreciate the size of the problem here’s a few stats to consider: 83 percent of all venture capital investment goes […]
The Influencers: Marian Johnson
The second month of the year has almost gone and there is no better time than the present to make good on the resolutions you’ve made for yourself. Whether you’re thinking of launching your own startup, joining an ambitious new startup team, or really getting into the Christchurch and Canterbury innovation scene, you’ve got some […]
