The first Lightning Lab proved that investors, mentors, and entrepreneurs collaborating in a short amount of time can lead to big results and promise.
In March 2013, twenty-five founders gathered in Wellington to take part in the very first Lightning Lab that significantly increased their entrepreneurial capabilities.
A new experience for everyone involved, a real sense of community was established right away with all teams, mentors and staff working together to ensure both venture and programme success.
With mentors like Dave Moskovitz, Susan Iorns, Brett Holland, Dan Kahn, Linc Gasking and Helen Baxter, ventures were able to turn their ideas into investible companies with global potential.
At the end of the three months, teams pitched 150 investors during the first Demo Day on 15 May. Four of the nine startups in the inaugural class raised a total of $2.2 million in angel funding. These teams were LearnKo, Wipster, Expander and Publons.