Icehouse Ventures’ community for young startup founders & operators in Aotearoa
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First Cut is Icehouse Ventures’ community for young startup founders & operators in Aotearoa New Zealand.

A community to connect, inspire, and fuel young people on their startup journey. Whether you're just getting started, scaling up, or somewhere in between - First Cut removes barriers to growth, through resources, opportunities to build connections, and access to mentoring and other growth opportunities.

Join the First Cut community to be the first to receive invitations to in-person and virtual events throughout the year, gain access to the IV Resource Hub, hear about opportunities to book office hours with the IV team to discuss your ideas, and receive additional on-demand support where possible.
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What is First Cut?

Founder pitching their startup
Emily Blythe, founder of Pyper Vision, with Pyper Vision dispersal drone.
A place where Aotearoa's entrepreneurs under 30, no matter the stage of their startup journey, can come for community, resources, mentoring, events, and when ready, the opportunity to pitch for investment.

Whether it's to learn, pitch, or just stay up to date, join a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are passionate about building disruptive, purpose-driven startups.

First Cut is an Icehouse Ventures initiative that was formed in 2015 to enable young entrepreneurs and their startups to thrive.  
Perks of the Community
Invites
There are informal monthly catch-ups to build your community. On top of that, FC members receive invitations to meet founders a few steps ahead, attend workshops with industry experts, and access VC coaching sessions or 'office hours' .
Funding
For those ready for funding, there are opportunities to pitch at NZ's largest annual investor showcase, gain exposure to NZ's most active VC firm with a dedicated fund for under 30's, and receive info on grants & alternative funding options.
Resources
Access the First Cut Resource Hub - a library of resources from Icehouse Ventures and our wider community, designed to support and inspire the early stages of your entrepreneurial journey.
Connections
The IV network is vast. Leverage the ecosystem that has grown over 20 years of backing Kiwi companies scaling globally. Where there are obvious synergies between you & someone within the network, we'll connect you.
Friends of First Cut
In addition to the First Cut Community, Icehouse Ventures backs exceptional founders via the First Cut Fund - a fund that exclusively invests in young entrepreneurs building transformative companies. Here are some of the founders who First Cut have backed in the early stages of their journey.
Jamie, Fangzhou & Shandre - Crimson Education
Craig Piggot - Halter
Amber Joseph - NextWork
Will & Ben - KiwiFibre
Emily Blythe - PyperVision
Michael & Ben - Spalk
Join the Community
Being a member of the First Cut Community means you’ll get access to events, resources, and connections that may help you in your startup journey - whether you are a current or aspiring founder, an operator in a scaling company, interested in investing  in startups or just want to be connected to the startup ecosystem.

‍‍What can you expect as a member?
‍First invites to events/initiatives including the First Cut Roadshow in May (where we hit Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin), invites to attend virtual webinars, series, and in-person catch ups, dedicated resources, office hours with the IV team, and more. 

‍It’s completely free to join, all you need to do is sign up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are Icehouse Ventures?

We're a venture capital firm on a mission to fuel Aotearoa’s bravest founders. Over the last 20 years, we have scaled to become NZ’s most active early-stage investor. With $389m of funds under management and a portfolio of more than 300 companies. We invest from concept stage through to Series D and feature in our portfolio; Dawn Aerospace, Halter, Crimson Education, Hnry, Sharesies, First AML and more.

INVESTING IN A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Level 4, Textile Centre
125 St Georges Bay Rd,
Parnell, Auckland
New Zealand
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