Archive for the ‘Kiwi Stuff’ Category

The New York Times now takes on the Haka and like those before it gets a little confused. This time round mixing one haka – “Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka Ora!” with another – “Kapa O Pango” (Team in Black)

The new haka (Kapa O Pango) was developed partly in response to an challenge related to the ownership of “Ka Mate!”. The new war cry was written for the team by Ngati Porou’s Derek Lardelli. The response was immediate. One one side you had the Sth Africans:

“It was fantastic. It’s always awesome to stand in front of the haka,” says South African captain John Smit. “It’s probably one of the most special things about playing the All Blacks.”

On the other you had those offended by the throat slitting motion at the end of the Haka. If they’d taken the time to understand the symbology they might have been less offended. It isn’t about slitting the oponents throats (although one could certainly read that into the motion), it is about releasing the warrior (performing) the Haka’s spirit in battle. Frankly their is a ton of confusion over the gesture, not helped my multiple explanations by the Haka’s composer who once said the motion was intended to describe:

“Playing rugby at this level, with this intensity, is the cutting edge of sport. “The players are on the knife edge. They are gladiators in the arena. If they win they are heroes, if they lose they are taken apart.”

The New York Times cconfuses the issue suggesting that this is what caused the stupid decision by the Welsh Rugby Football Union. It wasn’t that Kapa O Pango was going to be performed. In fact, The All Blacks performed “Ka Mate” which features no such motion.

It was about grandstanding, cultural insensitivity and disrespect that ultimately deprived fans of something they wanted to see.

The Haka is a point of pride and identity on the world stage for all New Zealanders no nation gets to dabble with it at their leisure.

Link to Dancing With the Stars, of Rugby – New York Times (subscription required)

Just got off an email exchange with my Mum who has moved from Tauranga in NZ to Rotorua – both reasonably large New Zealand towns. Her Internet provider (Clear) has told her that she will need to go onto an indefinite waiting list as they don’t have any more broadband connections left.

At first I laughed – they have to be joking right? You actually have to wait for broadband? A list? Any Mayor of any city in New Zealand that can’t readily offer it’s citizens and business high-speed connections on the spot should be desperately concerned for its future. I know there are other pressing matters. But this is one of them. Broadband is a source of economic, cultural and developmental advantage.

Which leads me to a question I have posed before. Why is NZ such an appalling broadband backwater? Why is high-speed Internet so incredibly over priced and affordable only to the elite and privileged?

Now, there is the obvious frustration and disappointment of my Mum not being able to see her Grandaughter each week via the web. We will sort that out. But I do really wonder though if community and business leaders realize that this is their problem. Unless they demand and orchestrate the access to the Web and all the benefits afforded by modern technology they are not likely to get it. Citizens will leave. As will businesses. Children will not get educated as they should. And high net worth tourists will not come.

Not a pretty picture.

The Haka is something most American’s haven’t had a chance to experience. It’s something to see.

While a recent headliine in the WSJ described it as a Tongan war dance the article did go on to reference it as a Maori war dance in fact – made popular by The All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team. A Tongan war dance is known as The Kailao but this again is different than and should not be confused with the Sipi Tau, performed by the ‘Ikale Tahi’, the national rugby union team before each match.

It is pretty impressive as well but very different. Both the Haka and Ikale Tahi would be performed the moment before each game, before the teams "go into battle" – that’s the symbology. Take a look at this to see both in action.

"Ka Mate! Ka Mate! Ka Ora!" (We’re going to die! We’re going to die! We’re going to live!), has nothing to do with Tonga – the Odessa Permian Panthers are in fact taking a leaf out of the All Blacks who perform the Haka before games.

As insulting to any Kiwi as The Wall Street Journal headline was, the Welsh Rugby Football Union insulted us more this morning by requiring the All Blacks to move the Haka to another stage of the pregame entertainment.

I’ll go as far as to accuse them of racial insensitivity and ignorance. It isn’t about entertainment. All Blacks’ captain Richie McCaw said it best, " “The tradition needs to be honored properly if we’re going to do it,” said McCaw. 

“If the other team wants to mess around, we’ll just do the Haka in the shed.  At the end of the day, Haka is about spiritual preparation and we do it for ourselves. Traditionally fans can share the experience too and it’s sad that they couldn’t see it today,” he said.

At the end of the day the All Blacks did the Haka – those of use watching the came on the web got to witness the weird spectacle while 70,000 fans could do little more than boo the absence of a mighty tradition – and then watch as the All Blacks destroyed Europe’s five nations champions 45-10. Back at’cha. A shame for Welsh spectators. A win nevertheless for All Blacks fans.

Viki has kindly offered you a free pass to the event if you are up here in the Valley.

On Tuesday 31 October ANZA Technology Network brings the best of Australian technology to Silicon Valley for the ANZA Gateway to the US conference. The range of companies is impressive; from search engine marketing to cool Web 2.0 offerings to nanotech ‘green’ solutions.
 
We’d like to invite you to be our guest for the day. Space is limited so register now using your VIP pass code viptue to enjoy the Tuesday Company Pitches and lunch as our guest. You can see the full conference program online.

I’m quoted throughout this piece on the decision by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise not to back ANZA here in the Valley… It’s a conference for emerging technology companies from downunder. I really like ANZA – and would have supported it by participating on panels if I had time.

When Peter Griffin of the NZ Herald asked me for my thoughts, here is what I told him. I’d say the road to Silicon Valley is as rocky as you choose to make it and that ANZA should continue to be a success and avenue for NZ companies:

I can’t speak for NZTE. What I would say is that any NZ company can still get involved with ANZA so the avenue is open. And ultimately they (the companies) have to determine the success of the program via their participation – not the sponsors. So, if NZ pulls out of ANZA it will be because the Entrepreneurs didn’t see value in it – not NZTE.

How many NZ companies are signed-up to go? Not sure on that.

I definitely know ANZA is not the only organization setting out to link NZ & Australian start-ups with investors and partners in the US. Let me address that on several levels:

1. The US beachhead program is targeted at companies of all levels – not just established. For the past few years we focused the program heavily on the early stage start-ups and now NZTE is balancing the program out with more mature tech companies – that is the right thing to do. If I look at the current portfolio of companies it is a blend of the likes of Sonar6, SurveyLab, Hyperfactory, Esphion (all early stage) and more mature companies like Rakon and Tait (who are all challenged by the same market entry issues as the start-ups). Disclosure – I helped found the beachhead program and chair the technology beachhead in the US market.
2. One of the primary activities we engage in is linking start-ups and Entrepreneurs to partners and VCs. Case in point – next week I have two companies – both very early stage, here in the Valley for no less than 10 meetings that we have arranged.
3. There are many other avenues a NZ start-up has to the US market from networking organizations like KEA through VCs in NZ, consultants and NZTE itself. They could also choose to attend any number of US events such as AlwaysOn and RedHerring (like Eurekster has done). I think that NZTE would be supportive of this should they approach them.
4. I do believe that NZTE is doing the right thing in focusing its efforts. They/NZ have scarce resources so concentrating on things like the Beachhead program and delivering results through that is critical.

Should NZ companies attend ANZA? I think ANZA is a very useful educational forum and venue for sharing experiences and networking within the start-up community. I am not sure what metrics they have for securing funding etc for participating companies so can’t really speak to their value on that front? I’d suggest that NZ companies looking to achieve this check-in with other NZ companies that attended in past years as to its effectiveness for them. The companies I have spoken to about ANZA have seen value in the panels and speakers – and the post event networking.

Remembering that these companies are competing for money with US companies – I’d recommend that they invest in events like AlwaysOn, RedHerring and Demo.

Also interested in your views on the overall appetite in Silicon Valley for incubating and investing in companies from this part of the world. Are you seeing enough innovative NZ start-ups coming through to attract attention over there? Is the Government doing enough to encourage the development of strong ties between New Zealand and Silicon Valley companies?

I’m very active in both markets (VC and NZTE USAB in NZ) + CEO/CMO of start-ups in the Valley (working with many of the top VCs here)… So, I think there is always an appetite for great ventures, ideas and talent irrespective of where they have come. In fact, I think the flattening of the planet and willingness to engage in ventures in China and India will only benefit NZ over the long run.

I’m seeing more and more tech companies looking at the full range of funding options – from AIM, to the Valley and US-based angels. At the end of the day I don’t think the Government can play a big role in building those ties directly. Remember that the culture and approach to business here is very different.  What NZTE can do is serve a group of ventures – not all of them.

What the Government can do via things like the Beachhead program is make terrific connections and light-up networks for the Entrepreneur to take advantage of. They can also marshal expertise and smarts onshore and bring them to bear on early-stage enterprises – strengthening them before they do head offshore. An example of this is the recent addition of Rod Drury to the NZ Beachhead onshore – a terrific move. I also think some of the new brand work around “New Thinking” is great and will help us define an investor-friendly brand for NZ that leverages recent success in the entertainment sector. This is a good example of how the Government can provide great air cover.

I do think there is a lack of knowledge and maturity in how NZ companies seeking funding approach funding in the US market. And, that this will require new approaches to increase the number of companies getting access to offshore capital. For instance – tighter mentoring and discipline through the investment process. It is something I am going to track over the coming year. It might also require a more commercial approach than we have now.

At the end of the day though these companies need one thing more important than capital – they need smart money. Money that comes with brains and connections. Without that they would have been better off securing the money onshore at a cheaper rate.

If you are interested, ANZA takes place in the Valley over the next week.

To all of this I would add that Governments can only bear the burden of growing companies for so long. NZTE have taken a good swing at it. How about some of the Enterprises in NZ step-up – especially those who directly benefit from global commerce – airlines, telcos, software platform and tools vendors…