Top Kiwi Founders Selected For Social-focused Startup Accelerator

An app to improve emergency healthcare and wait times, a novel treatment for morning sickness, and a new disabilities support tool are among the new solutions being developed by the early-stage Kiwi startups selected for Creative HQ’s 2023 Impact Accelerator programme.

Fifteen teams of founders from Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Whanganui and Kerikeri are working on tackling various environmental, social, health and well-being challenges.

Creative HQ’s 2023 Impact Accelerator programme gives startups the resources and support they need to supercharge their ideas, secure investment, and scale their businesses.

This is the first year Creative HQ has offered the Accelerator programme exclusively to impact-focused founders with clear missions to drive positive social and environmental change.

“We know that there’s a real demand for impact-focused startup products. In 2021, our Climate Response Accelerator teams collectively brought in over $4m of investment,” says Joe Slater, Creative HQ's GM Startups.

“The Impact Accelerator programme broadens our support services to startup teams looking to improve the overall fabric of Aotearoa. We help them get investment or launch-ready, so they can get their businesses out making a positive difference in the world.”

Health and Disability tech a key focus: Two of the teams looking to solve health and disability care challenges

The teams selected range from health innovation teams like healthtech startup, myED which is developing an app to simplify the healthcare journey for patients, and the Volition team who are developing a tool to empower decision-making for people with disabilities.

Founder of myED and emergency medicine consultant, Dr David Haunschmidt, says the myED team is looking to solve the issue of complex emergency care journeys for patients.

"As ED medical professionals we know first-hand how daunting it can be for patients who need urgent care - often they’re unwell or hurt and are faced with long times or don’t know which urgent care service to attend, what to expect, how to make the most of their visit and what to do afterwards. It’s a complex and often confusing journey for patients,” says Dr Haunschmidt. “That’s why we’re developing an app that empowers and educates patients to simplify their healthcare journey.”

"Our app will help patients understand where to go when seeking care, what questions to ask, and where appropriate, inform them about alternative care options, such as GPs, pharmacies and urgent care clinics,” continues Dr Haunschmidt. “This can improve the patient experience, reduce waiting times in busy EDs, and improve patient outcomes. It will also help them navigate the service they’ve chosen to engage with.”

Another Impact Accelerator team is Volition, a startup developing an app to empower people with disabilities to collaborate with their supporters and self-direct the services they use, their decisions and ultimately their lives.

“People with disabilities don’t currently have smart tools to support them to express themselves and their decisions,” says Erika Butters, Founder and CEO of Volition. “We want to ensure that decisions about disabled people aren’t decided without disabled people.”

“Our app will put disabled people in the decision-making seat for their own lives,” continues Butters. “Everything from what they like for breakfast in the morning, to their advance directives will be held in the app to ensure their support providers can deliver their services tailored to the specific needs of the disabled people they serve.”

About the Impact Accelerator approach

For three months, these 15 founders will receive help from partners, mentoring from startup experts, and access to Creative HQ's network of knowledgeable alumni.

The teams will work directly with industry partners and Creative HQ coaches to practice the learning and validation techniques that have helped hundreds of startups succeed in previous Creative HQ programmes.

“They’ve got the ideas – and our job is to help fast-track the growth of these sustainable, high-impact startups," says Slater.

The programme is being delivered as a hybrid in-person and online programme, which opens opportunities for business development across the country, allowing companies from Kerikeri and Whanganui to participate. Startup teams based in Wellington can work from Creative HQ's central city office.

"The 15 teams will present at the final showcase, where they will pitch their mission, market offering, and progress to key players in our innovation ecosystem who may be primed to offer them support," says Slater. “With the right support, these teams can change the game by bringing their impact-focused products to market.”

Since 2013, Creative HQ has run 17 successful accelerator programmes, helping over 150 companies and bringing in over $100 million in financing through seed and Series A rounds.

About Creative HQ:

Creative HQ, Wellington’s innovation hub, operates throughout New Zealand and internationally across the Asia-Pacific region.

They build confidence, capability, and connectedness throughout their ecosystem while inspiring and supporting the growth of individuals and businesses through design thinking methodologies. This enables the delivery of innovative solutions to their customers.

They are the largest provider of structured innovation programmes in New Zealand. This work includes structured innovation workshops, sprints, programmes and events for government, corporates and startups. Their expertise has developed over a 20-year period of operating in this field.

Creative HQ is owned by WellingtonNZ, a subsidiary of the Wellington City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Complete list of 2023 Impact Accelerator teams:

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