‘At the early stage, the steps forward can seem quite small in the grand scheme of things, but in their individual journeys, they can be huge.  Like making a key connection, completing a prototype or getting the first feedback from a customer.’

So says Dr. Dianne Jones, Founder and Director of Myovolt - a world-leading wearable technology company, and, since 2024 one of our Startup Aotearoa coaches. We sat down with Dianne to talk about what drew her to coaching, the benefits of local coaching,  and why innovation in NZ needs nurturing. 

What's the journey that brought you here, to being a coach?

I have 25 years’ experience in technology entrepreneurship, having founded several companies in the wearable electronics field, inventing, commercialising and bringing new products to international markets. I’ve learned how the innovation process works, beginning with an idea and translating this into a scalable product that can be delivered to customers around the world. An opportunity came up to coach for Startup Aotearoa - to give back to the New Zealand ecosystem, and I thought it looked super interesting

Clearly, you’ve got a huge amount of value to add, and a wealth of knowledge and experience to pass on. Outside of the chance to pass that knowledge and experience on, was there anything else that drew you to coaching?

I guess I've got to the point in my career where I want to help the next generation and share what I've learned in business. Another aspect for me has been the opportunity to connect with the ecosystem, and just to get excited by it. I like helping people, learning about what they are trying to achieve and the problems they are facing. Within your own business, you tend to be quite siloed and focused on your own sector and specific challenges. With Startup Aotearoa, it gave me more of a chance to get out into the wider world - to push my own boundaries and capabilities, challenging me to apply my knowledge in new ways. So, it’s a whole combination of things, and I’ve loved the role so far.

What’s the most rewarding thing about supporting the founders you meet?

I think the highlight for me has been finding a way to help each of the businesses that I'm coaching take that next step forward, to achieve a small but significant win.  And for each of them, it's different, you know? The challenges and blocking points are unique to each founder and each venture.  At the early stage, the steps forward can seem quite small in the grand scheme of things, but in their individual journeys, they can be huge.  Like making a key connection, completing a prototype or getting the first feedback from a customer.

Taking into account that everyone's journey is unique, what kind of growth would you typically see from the very first coaching session?

For the majority of founders, the Startup Aotearoa process starts by stepping back to look at the bigger picture and developing a much deeper understanding of the problem they're solving and who the customer is. These are critical parts that underpin the venture that they hope to build. With this understanding, the venture has a much better chance of success. Often, founders come into the Startup Aotearoa process with a lot of assumptions around the value of the product or service they are building, but they don’t have any insights from customers. So focusing the thinking around the needs of the customer and not the features of the product is typically the best starting point.

You’re based here in Ōtautahi, and coach the wider Canterbury area. What do you see as the value of the ecosystem here, and why do you think it’s important to have programmes like Startup Aotearoa, where founders can access support within their local ecosystem as opposed to having to access remote support?

The great thing about coaching in Canterbury is the breadth of different sectors and expertise here - it’s quite well-rounded, which allows for the cross-fertilisation of ideas. Some of the innovation is fuelled by the region’s high-level technology sectors, and we can leverage that and the expertise here to help early-stage founders. About 80% of my coaching sessions are in person, and people actively choose this, even travelling into Christchurch from in the wider Canterbury region for meetings. As a mentor, there's something in the personal connection that's important and valuable when you're helping people - so the opportunity to meet face-to-face is available if you’d like to.

We’ve discussed the value of coaching - but specifically, for a programme like Startup Aotearoa, what’s the value in that? Why should we bother?

For a small country like New Zealand, I think innovation is key, and it has to be nurtured and supported.  Startup Aotearoa’s focus is providing guidance at the really early stage, when an idea or product is unproven and it’s commercial viability is unknown. Often people don't know where to start or what to do next and this is where Startup Aotearoa comes in. You know, if you are thinking of starting a business, there’s a process or formula you can follow to evaluate a business idea. We help founders to validate the opportunity correctly, so that they can decide whether to invest their time or money or both. And that’s where this programme brings expertise to people, before they make big choices or investments.

What would you say to founders who are considering joining Startup Aotearoa, but are hesitant?

I would say, if you have an ambition to start your own business or develop an idea into a product, but you don’t know what to do next, you should at least book a first session and get some advice. There’s nothing to lose - it’s free, we’re all friendly, and we’re not going to judge your idea.  We’re here to guide you as to what your journey might look like, and then you can decide whether it’s for you or not.

Very encouraging - good to hear! I like to end on a positive note. What excites you the most about the future of startups in New Zealand?

Gosh, that's a question!

So far, I've seen some awesome business ideas coming through - and what’s really exciting for Startup Aotearoa specifically, is the opportunity to be the hub of connectivity, helping founders get to know people who can really help accelerate what they’re doing. Moving forward, I’m excited and hopeful that we can expand on this approach, get faster connectivity for founders, and help them take those small steps towards building successful ventures in Canterbury.