To get the ball rolling for 2022 we chatted with our co-founder Pascale Hyboud-Peron about the top trends Venture Centre will be aligning its focus with:
- Woman and Entrepreneurship
- Wellbeing and Mental Health
- The Web3 Opportunity
Our hope is that conversation will be sparked, and our learning and actions will be inspired by these trends throughout the year to come. We’re looking forward to a year of continued growth within our community and their lives and businesses.
Woman and Entrepreneurship
At Venture Centre we have an open door for entrepreneurs at all stages. Most are at the idea stage and come to us to test the idea and get support. Over the past two years, we’ve noticed that 61% of community members are women.
Traditionally in entrepreneurship, women founders have more hurdles than male founders. It is documented that women have less governance roles as well as more problems raising capital.
As these hurdles (and more) are being addressed worldwide, Venture Centre wants to be an active part of the solution. As a female founded organisation, we have an idea where to start. However, we still know that diversity of thought is needed to make an even bigger impact.
“We know that our women entrepreneurs are working to solve the big, hairy problems. They are strong and resilient. They provide, and they bring people together. In entrepreneurship, more often than not, they put purpose before profit,” shares Pascale.
Some examples of wahine around us who are addressing the big, hairy problems include:
- Emelie and Cherie at Wai Kai - providing healthy food.
- Bobbi at CLOSER - providing affordable housing.
- Nada at Again Again - avoiding recycling by changing to a reusable model.
- Deborah at Usedfully - improving the supply chain and the disposal of textiles.
“We need to overestimate the power of our females to solve the problems that our communities and world face. They deserve and need our full focus so they can realise how much goodness they can do in the world.”
Venture Centre wants to be part of growing the next batch of women entrepreneurs. This year this looks like listening, learning, and having our actions inspired by the feedback from our community.
“We want to learn alongside female entrepreneurs and investors in our community about how we can best help. This knowledge will help us support them more effectively.”
Resources
Be inspired by the above mentioned wahine by clicking through to each of their business pages.
Our team will be attending Electrify Aotearoa on May 26th in Christchurch to connect with electrifying women founders. Come along and join in, tickets are available here.
Wellbeing and Mental Health
Wellbeing has been a buzz word for the past few years. However, despite the growing chat around health, our own overall wellbeing usually doesn’t come under scrutiny until we’re in crisis.
Although a touchy subject, the wellbeing of our founders, our team and our community needs to be a core focus.
“We want to raise awareness about wellbeing because entrepreneurship is a long, hard, and personal journey. We’ve become aware of this even more, thanks to our female founders who courageously come forward with the challenges they’ve met in their wellbeing.”
Venture Centre is at the beginning of this journey so we’re asking:
- What does wellbeing actually look like?
- How can the entrepreneurs in our community thrive?
- How can we be listening and responding to our community’s needs?
Our desire is to create space for these questions to be explored and discussed together. And we appreciate all who have and will join us on the journey.
Resources
We are grateful for the existing resources that support the wellbeing of our community and help raise awareness. Some of them are highlighted below:
Founder Wellness - Callaghan Innovation
Three Mental Health Habits every founder needs - Techstars
Supporting Founder Mental Wellbeing- Angel Association AANZ
The Web3 Opportunity
Venture Centre has been at the forefront of digital enablement with PoweringOn and the digital support we provide in several communities.
That’s why our team is focusing on what’s happening with the web moving forward. This is a crazy prospect as we exist in a world where words like ‘crypto’, ‘NFTs’ and ‘blockchain’ are becoming common speak.
We can do one of two things; look away and pretend it’s not happening or learn, understand and harness the potential.
“We need a Web3 101 and are keen to hear from any members of our community that can help demystify the journey for beginners (like us). Let’s make the Web3 opportunities accessible.”
It’s awesome to see several founders around us already utilising blockchain technology for tracing, authentication and more. Some are looking at mining crypto currency for more financial independence, while collectors and artists are looking to NFTs for creative opportunities.
As we start exploring Web3 and it’s many applications, we are asking:
- What is the opportunity for less transaction and more value exchange?
- What does it look like in the context of community building?
- How do we ensure everyone involved in community building is valued and gets value?
We’re excited to explore Web3 as a community and would love to hear from anyone who has knowledge and experience to share. You can get in touch with us here.
Resources
Some resources that we’ve found helpful are:
Beginners Guide to Web3
Blockchain 101: a visual demo
Much gratitude to Dan Khan, instigator of Startup Community Next
How you can help
Community contributions regarding these top trends are valued and welcome. This could look like:
- Leading a conversation at a meetup
- Presenting a concept at a workshop
- Meeting founders one-on-one at a clinic
We’re open to suggestions! Simply get in touch with our team for a chat about how you can help and get involved.
2022 is a year to learn together and we look forward to the growth we’ll experience together. Keep your eyes peeled for more opportunities and resources throughout the year.
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Have a business idea you want to develop? Book a time with one of our Venture Navigators here.
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