Real Founders’ Stories: Using Tech for Positive Impact
Event description
Free online lunchtime session -join us!
Very often we just hear the glamorous part of the journey of Founders of tech start-ups. In this zoom session we will be hearing some of the other parts too - no sugar coating, no glitz, just the reality of being an entrepreneur. Sharing will be four founders who are each at different stages of the journey – one just raised money recently (Elliot Taylor of ThroughLine), two who have raised last year and are in growth phase (Jack Wood and Chris Bacon of Komodo) and one who has recently exited (Hannah Duder formerly of Indigo & Iris). As all these founders incorporated elements of purpose and impact into their business models we will also be hearing about the “Tech for Good” aspects to what they each do. To do this we will hear from each guest on their journey and challenges in an interview format hosted by Aislinn Molloy (Senior Solicitor at Parry Field Lawyers, with an expertise in capital fundraising) and Steven Moe (Partner at Parry Field Lawyers and Seeds podcast host).
We welcome questions in advance as well! Send them to stevenmoe@parryfield.com
We have an exciting panel of speakers lined up for this event:
Jack Wood and Chris Bacon
Jack and Chris are the founders of Christchurch-based EdTech startup, Komodo. Starting out in 2018 in the athlete monitoring space, Komodo later pivoted when their school customers asked them to take a deeper look into student wellbeing and how their software could solve problems that exist in schools globally. With their wellbeing monitoring software, Komodo enables schools to remove the guesswork that often comes with student mental health and wellbeing, to ultimately create an environment in which every student thrives.
Hannah Duder
Hannah is passionate about doing good business while doing good. After leaving the University of Canterbury Hannah began her entrepreneurial journey and started two social enterprises, both with product companies with international supply chains. After recently selling indigo & iris - a beauty brand that gives a damn, she has started as a Project Manager at the Christchurch Foundation, leading their Kaitakitanga projects.
Elliot Taylor
Elliot is the founder of ThroughLine, a startup tackling suicide and emotional crisis by combining human support and conversational AI into one seamless experience, delivered on global internet platforms. Previously he was the General Manager of a youth charity, where he built a world-first proactive helpline on Instagram that supported teens in over 50 countries. He leads ThroughLine from a farm in Taranaki, where he lives with his wife, two cats and golden retriever.
Steven Moe
Steven is a Partner at Parry Field Lawyers with a focus on corporate law, capital raising for start-ups and often acting for clients who have a purpose driven aspect. He has worked as a lawyer for 20 years in Wellington, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Christchurch. He wrote the book “Social Enterprises in New Zealand: A Legal Handbook” and hosts seeds podcast with almost 300 long form interviews of change making Kiwis. He is a member of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship and is chair of Community Finance which has raised $93 million for social housing and recently won the “Transforming NZ” Award at the Sustainable Business Network awards.
Aislinn Molloy
Aislinn Molloy is a Senior Solicitor at Parry Field Lawyers. She enjoys helping clients as they begin their start-up journey, particularly with capital raising. Aislinn also advises charitable entities, impact driven enterprises and companies.