EHF Friendly Sharks: Mentor Hours for Founders (July, 2025)

Ready to Sharpen Your Startup? 

Join EHF’s Friendly Sharks Office Hours—free and online. Limited to just 3 spots so get in quick. 

This session offers a unique opportunity to gain personalised support from three experienced leaders in the startup ecosystem. You’ll have the chance to discuss key challenges, refine your business vision, and receive actionable advice—all in a collaborative, pressure-free environment designed to help your business thrive.

What to Expect:

Closed Online Session:
Join 3 founders in an exclusive setting where each will have a dedicated 20-minute slot: 5 minutes to present their ideas or challenges, followed by 15 minutes of personalised feedback and guidance.

Tailored Advice: 
Receive expert insights on critical areas like assessing market potential, safeguarding intellectual property, crafting effective fundraising strategies, and scaling your business globally.

A Pressure-Free Zone: 
Ask questions, explore ideas, and gain honest, actionable feedback—without the stress of pitching or the expectation of investment. Plus, connect and support each other as you build your network with like-minded founders.

You will be hosted by Industry Leaders. 
This session is led by three seasoned experts with deep experience in startups, investment, and scaling businesses internationally. You’ll receive tailored advice and insights from:

Kirsty Reynolds is an EHF Fellow, angel investor and company director with deep experience investing in startups and working with ambitious New Zealand SME businesses that are poised for international expansion. She has 25+ years of commercial experience, developing businesses internationally throughout the Asia Pacific region, across a range of industries, from SMEs to MNCs including founding her own export business which she ran for 8 years. These experiences help inform her understanding of the unique challenges faced by business owners who are invariably constrained by limited resources, thereby impacting their ability to scale their businesses internationally. As an angel investor, her focus is on companies poised to significantly contribute to the growth of a productive, sustainable and inclusive New Zealand economy. In addition to supporting dozens of Ice Angels portfolio companies, she is a founding investor in Icehouse Ventures, Outset Ventures and several funds including the Arc Angels’ funds. 

Mentoring and empowering women founders on their capital raise journey is especially important to Kirsty. Her aspiration for women founders is that they can raise money on the merits of their business despite potential unconscious bias in the market.

Sean McGrail is a committed social entrepreneur and impact investor based in Auckland, New Zealand. As an Edmund Hillary Fellowship Investor Fellow, he propels entrepreneurs to create world-changing businesses, with a focus on UN sustainable development goals like gender equality, clean energy, and fair work. Prior roles include Managing Director at Golden Seeds, where he supported women-led start-ups, and co-founder of Paint Nite, an award-winning, social impact company that became one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US.

Mark Bregman has spent more than 30 years in the technology industry since earning his PhD in physics. He has often worked with early-stage companies to help them develop their products and bring them to market. Mark launched Quidnet Ventures, a new fund to support early-stage NZ companies. He previously ran IBM’s innovation lab in Japan and was Managing Director of Vista Labs (Vista Equity Partners), helping their portfolio companies innovate more effectively.

Take the next step in your startup journey—secure your spot ASAP.