AIMing High

Marlborough’s answer to Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den is the incredibly active and vibrant Angel Investors Marlborough (AIM) group, established in 2017. Connecting investors and business professionals with entrepreneurs and innovators, the group has been drawing attention from around New Zealand for its remarkable level of success. Justin Eade finds out more.

Brian Dawson is the manager of Angel Investors Marlborough and Business Trust Marlborough, and is also an elected district councillor. He handles all day-to-day matters for AIM and its 166 members, as well as running their events. AIM has funded 69 start-ups, and the group’s investment returns have been hugely successful.

The most rewarding part of being involved, Brian says, is helping foster innovation and assisting to create the high-end jobs that New Zealand needs. “One of the most challenging parts is telling founders that we haven’t been able to secure any investment for their business.”

Brian is most proud of the support AIM is providing to the incredible founders they get to work with – not just money, but also their time, knowledge and contacts. To see these businesses competing on the world stage is very fulfilling. One memorable project was local feature film Northspur. “We were very impressed by the local filmmakers who pitched Northspur to us. AIM provided 50% of the funding for the production, and the film is now reaching audiences around the world.”

Tracy Atkin is CEO of Marlborough Capital, a local private equity firm, and serves on six different boards in governance roles. She joined the board of AIM in 2019, after relocating to Marlborough to establish the Bragato Research Institute.

Tracy was introduced to AIM through her role at Business Trust Marlborough and found it a perfect way to build a new network and meet an incredible range of people from across the region and the country, as founders come and pitch from all over New Zealand.

As a board member, Tracy helps oversee the management of AIM and their monthly pitch nights, screening investment opportunities for members. She analyses pitches from founders, sometimes working with them to help develop the pitch, and she provides commercialisation advice to help them grow and scale their business.

Tracy’s other key role has been leading capital raises, in particular for The Smart Machine Company, a local company designing and manufacturing autonomous robotic multi-tasking tractors for vineyards, and Cropsy Technologies, AI-powered image capture, providing analysis and insights for vineyards.

“I love to make a difference – to have played a part in helping start-ups survive, thrive and scale. I’m passionate about the wine industry and, more broadly, the agri-tech sector, so I get to combine my love of the industry with a passion for business and entrepreneurship.”

Tracy says AIM has a great model and has worked hard to become one of the most active and well-respected angel investment groups in New Zealand. A highlight was being approached by Seven Sharp last year to film a segment.

Neil Mulholland is a business and conservation advisor who recently shifted from Washington, DC, to Marlborough with his wife. He wanted to get involved in Marlborough’s business and conservation communities and was referred to Brian
Dawson, who invited him as a guest to an AIM meeting.

“I was astonished by the number of meeting attendees, the breadth and quality of the start-up presentations, AIM’s leadership team, the diversity of AIM’s membership, and the total amount of invested capital and number of invested companies. AIM’s scope, scale, and sophistication far exceed community based investment clubs in Washington, DC.”

Neil has been with AIM for almost a year as an active member and loves the ‘esprit de corps’ and AIM’s genuine desire to foster innovation in Marlborough and throughout New Zealand. He’s grateful for the opportunity to interact with a diverse cross-section of Marlborough and New Zealand residents, and loves the direction AIM is going in.

Rachel Enright is the digital marketing manager for Marlborough Tour Company and has been involved with AIM since June 2024. As of August, she has become a board member, which she says is an incredible opportunity to step into.

Rachel had moved back to Marlborough from Wellington and wanted to get involved with the local business community. She’d always been interested in innovation and entrepreneurship, so was happy to be surrounded with like-minded people.

“It’s easy to assume that a small town would not be as active as a city, but it’s been the opposite – my business networking life is so much busier than when I lived in the city. The collective knowledge and global connections within this group are inspiring, and everyone is very generous with their time and very welcoming.”

Rachel’s background is in marketing and global corporate partnerships, so she’s able to bring that experience to the table as an AIM board member and contribute to their screening teams to ensure they are bringing quality founders to pitch to their members.

Being part of AIM enables Rachel to keep her finger on the pulse for the latest innovations in New Zealand and abroad, and one of the most rewarding aspects is providing guidance or introductions to help entrepreneurs succeed.

As the group continues to grow, Rachel says, “I’d love to see more beginners join our group to help foster in the next generation of investors, and take advantage of learning from our more experienced members.”

Geoff Banks, a consulting engineer, has interesting ties to the Marlborough region, which is how he came to be involved with AIM. His parents retired to Marlborough over 40 years ago, but Geoff operated his business, Structex, from his home base in Christchurch. The business moved into winery design (Yealands was a client), and they established a Blenheim office and bought a small vineyard in Renwick when their home in Christchurch was damaged by the earthquakes. Their vineyard became a base for winery assessment after the Kaikōura earthquakes, so they have spent more time in Marlborough, and Geoff was invited along to an AIM meeting by Brian Dawson seven years ago.

Geoff is hugely enthused by the innovation and energy present in Marlborough and says it has opened up a field of business he was largely unaware of before joining AIM. “I love engaging with founders directly in the early stages of their journey to support and encourage. New Zealand has enormous innovative and business talent, and my observation is that this is particularly powerful in regional areas such as Marlborough.”

Geoff loves the AIM community, or ‘club’ as they describe themselves, and says in his experience it’s unique in bringing a diverse mix of people together who share similar inquiring minds and an enthusiasm for enhancing our region and country.

“Such diversity is powerful when decisions are as much about experience and instinct as numbers and facts. It recognises that it’s all about aligning ideas and people across angel investors, founders, and customers.”

This group of angels certainly is proving a major blessing to their community, and is spreading its wings more every year. Like many of the projects it helps develop, this is a true Marlborough success story of growth and innovation.

For more information, visit angelinvestorsmarlborough.co.nz