Investment Network Launched in Hamilton

MEDIA RELEASE
13 February 2009

VC and Angel Investment Network Launched in Hamilton

Venture capitalists and angel investors gathered companies in Hamilton this week to hear investment pitches from four companies at the first of the Greenfields Network’s investment meetings.

Entrepreneurs seeking capital investment presented their groundbreaking products and technologies to members of the new angel investment group. Feedback from the investors was positive, with follow up meetings planned in order to shape specific deals.

“We are pleased with the response from the investment community to this new initiative” said Michael Spaans, the Chairperson of Greenfields. “Investors are understandably wary in the current business environment, but there are still some great business opportunities needing capital to go forward. The Greenfields Network is well placed to connect new business with investors”.

Angel investment groups like the Greenfields Network typically operate in the seed and early stage investment zones. Greenfields provides investors with a preliminary assessment of these high risk ventures and then choose a selection to pitch to its member investors. “A bit like dragon’s den, but without the showmanship from investors” explains Peter Maxwell, the Greenfields Manager. “Investors get a feel for the person behind the company, and can co-invest with a group to gain a stake in exciting, often high-risk and high-reward, ventures”.

The Greenfields Network is cautious about its plans, accepting that investor appetites have dulled in past months. It will continue to recruit experienced and successful entrepreneurs and corporates as members, and will present deal opportunities as they arrive. Based in the Waikato, there will be strong support for agribusiness initiatives, but Greenfields will consider high growth initiatives from around the country, and across a range of sectors.

Strong support from the local business community, and seed funding from both NZ Trade and Enterprise and Hamilton City Council, prove the genuine desire of Waikato investors to support the early stage finance sector. But deals and membership aren’t limited to a regional focus. The Greenfields Network is a member of both the Angel Association of NZ and the NZ Venture Capital Association which will deliver syndicated deal opportunities from around the country.

ENDS

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