New + Improved Ventures launches with the team behind “NZ’s fastest growing startups” raises $6m
The people behind two of Aotearoa’s fastest growing tech companies, Tracksuit and Ideally, have set up a new studio capable of founding multiple new startups a year.
New + Improved Ventures is a venture studio dedicated to coming up with new marketing technology business ideas, testing them, and bringing them to market, before [recruiting a team to take them forward.
The new venture studio formalises several years of work between TRA (The Research Agency) and Previously Unavailable, with the formation of New + Improved Ventures allowing key staff to focus on building the next generation of martech success stories.
“Over the last 3-4 years of working together we’ve learnt a lot about how to start and set companies up for success with the venture studio model, and how to partner with venture capital to help these companies achieve meaningful scale. We’re excited to be going deeper into partnership with this team to help make some more great companies, with some great people,”
said Simon Pound, co-founder of New + Improved Ventures.
New + Improved Ventures has $6m in investment from the founders of the new business, TRA, Previously Unavailable, and Icehouse Ventures. The investment will fund N+I to build 1-2 new startups a year, in what will be an ongoing dedicated venture builder.
Fellow co-founder Antony Ede says the business will be a proving ground for a fresh way of building businesses in New Zealand.
“We’ve raised investment to fund the operations of the studio and allow us to continuously build great startups. We’re focused on building a valuable portfolio of exceptional companies. If we are successful we believe that this could help strengthen the tech sector in New Zealand by seeding it with great startups and prove out a different model for company formation,”
said Ede.
Alongside Simon and Antony, Connon Bray, Chris Paykel, James Hurman, and Phoebe Devine have also joined as co-founders, formalising a venture studio working relationship that has existed for years amongst the group. The six founders bring a breadth of experience across brand, marketing, data, and company building.
In New Zealand, the concept of venture studios is relatively new, but New + Improved Ventures co-founders have already enjoyed industry leading success in the startups they have produced.
In 2021, they set into motion a new brand tracking company Tracksuit, which this year received $22m in new investment and reached hundreds of global customers, while a year on from the launch of Ideally, the company has raised $8m and rapidly added clients around the world.
Icehouse Ventures’ CEO Robbie Paul described the early trajectories of Tracksuit and Ideally as “two of the fastest growing SaaS companies New Zealand has produced.”
A key differentiating factor for New + Improved Ventures is its intention to work with venture capital from the beginning, which underscores Icehouse Ventures’ investment in the venture studio, says partner Barnaby Marshall.
“We’re significant shareholders in both Ideally and Tracksuit, where it was immediately obvious how much both companies benefited from hitting the ground running with a product concept the world wants. The founders of New + Improved Ventures have developed a formula to test ideas and find early product market fit. Given the success of prior ventures they are attracting ever more high quality talent to join the companies they form, which we expect will increase the chances of future spin out’s potential”
said Marshall.
“Nothing is ever guaranteed in startup land, but we’re very confident in their ability to continue producing NZ’s highest potential, venture-ready martech startups.”
The studio is operational now, working on developing its first venture ideas, and the team is excited to be connecting with great talent in the SaaS operations and marketing spaces.
“Our mission is to make companies and products that will increase the impact and influence of marketing and marketers, and to do so in a way that brings the joy back into the space. Tracksuit and Ideally are two great examples of this in practice, and we can’t wait to help build out the rest of the future martech stack,”
said Simon Pound.
What is a Venture Studio?
A venture studio is a company that starts companies. The New + Improved Venture Studio or Venture Builder concentrates on the early stages of the companies. It works to validate a problem to solve, create an initial solution, brand and marketing assets and prove the first product market fit.
The N+I Ventures team then helps secure the first customers for the new business and helps put a strong founding team in place. From here, the founding team takes over to grow their startup independently into the future.
About Previously Unavailable
Previously Unavailable is an innovation and venture studio. It works with ambitious businesses to win an unfair share of the future. Its team is made up of experienced entrepreneurs, researchers, strategists and designers using a human-centred, design-led approach. Previously Unavailable has helped create the brand strategy for some of New Zealand’s most exciting brands, including AF Drinks, Taxi, Ārepa, Simplicity Kiwisaver, Ideally and Tracksuit. Previously operates the Brand Fund Venture Capital funds in partnership with Icehouse Ventures, investing in companies where brand will be a critical part of their success.
About TRA
TRA is a leading, Trans-Tasman insight agency. The agency unlocks potential for clients through the art of knowing people. By layering perspectives from culture, CX, behaviour change, innovation and brand, TRA sees what others don't. The uncommon truths. With offices in Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, the agency works with all types of brands and organisations to solve complex problems that improve people's lives.
In 2024, TRA won Research Agency of the Year at the B&T Awards, the AFR BOSS Most Innovative Company of the year – Professional Services. TRA was named Campaign Asia's 2023 Market Research Agency of the Year AU/NZ, and is shortlisted for the same award this year.
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