TL;DR: KiwiSaaS 2.0 is officially live! We’ve locked in 21 Founding Members, raised a cool $100k, and landed Movac, NZX and Stripe as our first partners. What’s next? We’re relaunching and general membership is coming soon.
The momentum’s real, so stay tuned!
🎉 Who's on board as Founding Members?
We set a target to get 10 of the top 50 and raise $50k. Instead, we’re proud to announce 21 Founding Members in our stellar lineup:
- AoFrio - Greg Balla (CEO) & Rami Elbeltagi (VP Engineering & IT)
- Auror - Kirsti Grant (Chief People Experience Officer)
- EROAD - Mark Heine (Co-CEO)
- FNZ - Jeremy Graham (CEO NZ)
- Gallagher - Kahl Betham (CEO) & Helen Camilleri (Chief People Officer)
- Innocraft (Matomo) - Adam Taylor (COO)
- Kami - Bob Drummond (Exec Chair & co-founder)
- LawVu - Sam Kidd (CEO)
- Lumin - Caleb Helm (VP Global Operations & Partnerships)
- Orion Health - Tom Varghese (Global Product Marketing & Growth Manager) & Andrew Bowater (VP Operations)
- Projectworks - Matt Hayter (President, CPO & Founder)
- Seequent - Graham Grant (CEO)
- Serko - Nick Whitehead (Chief Marketing Officer)
- TASK (Plexure) - Russ Bennett (GM)
- Timely - Fallon Savery (Senior VP Revenue)
- Tōtara - Benn Crawford (Chief Product Officer & GM)
- Tracksuit - Connor Archbold (CEO & co-founder)
- Volpara Health - Craig Hadfield (CEO)
- Vista - Stuart Dickinson (Group CEO)
- Xero - Bridget Snelling (Country Manager)
- Xplor - Nick Campbell (Chief Product Officer)
Big shoutout to David Clearwater, our Establishment Board champion, for pulling together this dream team! We couldn’t have done it without his mahi!
“It’s been incredible meeting so many SaaS legends who are genuinely passionate about our community,” says David.
”With our founding members repping close to 7,000 Kiwi staff and a casual $5 billion in revenue, we’ve got a strong foundation to build something magical together."
🚦 Straight into it, no mucking around
We’re stoked to announce our first partners, including home-grown VC legends Movac, our very own NZX and payments powerhouse, Stripe.
1️⃣Movac is in!
Movac’s investments have grown generations of startups, from the likes of Trade Me, through to more recent success stories like Unleashed, Vend, Timely and Tradify. Movac has seen it all and has tons to share with aspiring global leaders. We’re looking forward to working with them to put on quality content and events in the months ahead.
Millie McKelvie, Investment Manager at Movac says, "We are incredibly excited to get behind KiwiSaaS. Movac has a 25-year track record of backing and building New Zealand's leading technology companies. As the trusted, enduring partner in New Zealand's technology investment landscape, we are thrilled to join forces with KiwiSaaS to catalyse, grow and support the next generation of standout Kiwi startups and raise the bar for the entire SaaS industry."
2️⃣NZX is in!
We're also proud to be joined by our very own NZX. Listing on NZX has been a key part of the growth story for KiwiSaaS legends like Xero, Vista Group, Serko, AoFrio and EROAD. NZX will be working with us to help us find and support the next generation of SaaS stars with ambition to go global big.
NZX Head of Origination Anna De Souza says “New Zealand has proven time and again we have the talent, technology, and tenacity to compete and succeed internationally. At NZX, we’re focused on connecting people, businesses, and capital, ensuring innovative companies have access to the right capital pathways to achieve their growth ambitions. NZX is a proud supporter of Kiwi SaaS companies, helping to champion the next generation of world-class Listed Kiwi firms.”
3️⃣Stripe is in!
We’re excited to announce that payments powerhouse Stripe is joining us as a KiwiSaaS partner! For as long as many of us can remember, Stripe has been the go-to payment provider for SaaS, as well as being a long time supporter of our community.
As part of KiwiSaaS, Stripe is committed to making payments the easiest part of your tech stack - with their latest innovations in billing and embedded payments enabling SaaS businesses to monetise their offerings while adding value to their customers.
Ben Hanna, Head of NZ at Stripe puts it best: "At Stripe, our mission is to grow the GDP of the internet. With this, we’re committed to helping Kiwi entrepreneurs build more profitable businesses. Partnering with KiwiSaaS allows us to support the incredible talent emerging in New Zealand’s SaaS ecosystem. We believe the KiwiSaaS community has immense potential, and we’re excited to be part of the journey together."
✅ So yeah, we’re doing this!
With 21 Founding Members and a tidy $100k locked in for year one, you better believe KiwiSaaS 2.0 is officially on!
Massive thanks to all the early believers who helped us bounce back from the brink. It turns out, you can’t keep a good SaaS community down. Our Chair, Hannah Ippolito is stoked:
“It’s been incredible to see the momentum building around KiwiSaaS 2.0. We are grateful and encouraged by the strong backing from forward-thinking companies. Together we have a real opportunity to accelerate the sector and uplift the founders and teams driving it forward.”
So, what’s next for KiwiSaaS 2.0?
We’re glad you asked! Here’s what’s on the cards:
- Bringing our digital channels back to life: Website, email, socials - the works. You’ll finally know what’s happening and when it’s happening.
- Shining a spotlight on local SaaS and SaaS adjacent groups right across Aotearoa. If you’re building, scaling, or just SaaS-curious, we’ll help you find your crew.
- Resurrecting the best of KiwiSaaS 1.0’s online resource library
We’ll start with classic webinar vids from back in the day. - Restarting workshops (both online and IRL), so you can level up your skills and meet more legends.
- Scoping out a slick new SaaS directory
Something actually helpful, not just a list gathering digital dust. - Sharing more community stories
The wins, the rising stars, and those hidden gems you haven’t heard about (yet). - Exploring new online community spaces
NZTech’s got something spicy in the works, so watch this space. - Trying out fresh ways to boost peer learning and connections
Think more intros between the right people, old-school style. - Starting the plan to bring back our iconic Southern SaaS conference in 2026.
- And gearing up to open the doors to general membership
We’re making sure sign-up is a breeze and you know exactly what you’re getting. Plus, let’s be honest, if we didn’t do segmentation and personas, would we even be a proper SaaS community?
Stay tuned, there’s plenty more to come, and we can’t wait to build the next chapter of KiwiSaaS with you.
👂You asked, we listened: here's what else is coming
Back in May, we put the call out, to find out what you actually want from KiwiSaaS 2.0? Your top picks were loud and clear:
- Website, newsletter, and socials to keep the community in the loop
- Online spaces for connecting around shared interests, roles and sectors
Consider it done (well, in progress, watch this space!). The rest of your awesome ideas? They’re not gathering dust in a forgotten Trello board. Some are on our 2025 action list, others are in the mix as we look ahead to 2026 and beyond. Keep the feedback coming, this is your community and we’re building it together!
🧠 What workshops do you want most?
We’re lining up workshops for the rest of the year. What topics are you keen to see?
Apparently, AI is having a moment (who knew?). Looks like everyone’s keen to sprinkle a little AI across every part of their business. Check out a few ideas in the link below, and let us know what else is on your wishlist. Your suggestions drive what we deliver!
Let’s do this thing!
Ngā mihi nui,
Kirsti, Aaron, Bridget, Serge, Lisa, Lee, Hannah (chair), Edwin, Miriana, Graeme, Michael, Roger (deputy chair), Scotty, Tim, Caleb and David.
The KiwiSaaS 2.0 Establishment Board
