Creative HQ

04/06/2026

What a cool afternoon talking about all things 'scale' at Hnry Stadium 🙌

Scaling Welly Tech brought together founders, leaders and ecosystem supporters for an afternoon of no-fluff, practical connection for Wellington's tech community. 💪 Real talk, real skills, real people.

✨ Thank you to our Creative HQ ambassadors: Jamie Beaton, Brianne West, James Fuller and Leighton Roberts for making this an incredible event. You shared so many lessons that took years to learn - on leadership, scaling operations, culture, brand and everything in between. That generosity and insight makes our whole tech ecosystem stronger. ✨

And for those feeling the challenge of the path ahead, as Leighton Roberts put it perfectly: "you never get the benefit of being small again." A great reminder to our startup community.

To our advisors - thank you for trading the afternoon for 1:1s with founders who needed exactly your kind of wisdom. 🔸 Dave Allison 🔸 Diana Minnée 🔸 Dulan Perera 🔸 Fi Foster 🔸 Anna Guenther 🔸 Bruno Bordignon 🔸 Ryan McMillan 🔸 Samantha Gadd 🔸 Suse Reynolds and 🔸 Andrew Butel 🔸

Tony Philp - thank you for welcoming us to the home of the Hurricanes and reminding us what high performance really looks like. 🏃

And to everyone who joined us: these events only deliver such great outcomes because our Welly community is SO GOOD at showing up and bringing the energy. Thank you!

See you at the next one. 🚀

26/05/2026

Wellington's tech ecosystem has a reputation for being a genuinely supportive place to build. When a founder succeeds, they pass the ladder down for the next person coming up. 🤝

That's the thinking behind Scaling Welly Tech.

We've designed this afternoon to connect the right people in our community with the person who can help their business take its next step - and that's only possible because of the experienced practitioners who've put their hands up to help. ✨

Here's our speaker and advisor lineup for next week:

Brianne West (Incrediballs) 🔸 James Fuller (Hnry) 🔸 Jamie Beaton (Crimson Education) 🔸 Leighton Roberts (Sharesies) 🔸 Tony Philp (Hurricanes) 🔸 Andrew Butel (Telos) 🔸 Anna Guenther (PledgeMe) 🔸 Bruno Bordignon (Avid.legal) 🔸 Dave Allison (Angel HQ) 🔸 Diana Minnée (Ask Astro) 🔸 Dulan Perera (Re-Leased) 🔸 Fi Foster (Movac) 🔸 Ryan McMillan (Atlas Digital) 🔸 Samantha Gadd (Humankind) 🔸 Suse Reynolds (Angel HQ)

1:1 sessions with these advisors will open for booking on Monday. Grab your ticket before then so you don't miss your slot 👉 https://events.creativehq.co.nz/ScalingWellyTech #/

25/05/2026

Wellington's got talent. Now let’s connect it. 🤝

We're proud to support the Future Talent Summit - and a massive mihi to Summer of Tech for bringing this together.

The future of work is shifting fast. Employers can't find the right people. Grads can't break in. AI is reshaping what work even looks like. So what happens next?

This is one day, 100 leaders, builders, founders, educators, recruiters, students and emerging talent all in one room to rethink how talent connects to opportunity in Aotearoa. 🙌 💡

🔗 Grab your ticket: https://events.creativehq.co.nz/FutureTalentSummit #/

25/05/2026

📣 The Access Activator selected applicants have been announced!

We're very proud to collaborate with Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People on this initiative. The programme backs practical, community-driven ideas tackling real accessibility challenges across Aotearoa.

👏 Congratulations to the 6 selected teams:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/projects-selected-improve-accessibility

From accessible navigation and inclusive sport to autism-friendly housing and Easy Read technology, these projects represent the power of innovation to create a more accessible future for all. ♿️💡

A huge mihi to everyone who applied, and congratulations again to the teams now entering the programme.

What could make everyday life easier for disabled people?

We asked for ideas to address accessibility barriers, and the response was strong. Six projects are now being supported through Access Activator to help bring them to life.

That includes 2 New Zealand Paralympians helping schools make sport more accessible for disabled children, and a toolkit to support more autism-friendly homes. Other work focuses on how people plan journeys and access buildings, and understanding how accessible our streets really are.

We’re proud to be delivering Access Activator with CreativeHQ.co.nz, with funding, mentoring and delivery support.

Find out more and meet the innovators – link in comments 🔗

Image description: A purple graphic with the text “Access Activator recipients announced” at the top. Below are 3 photos of some of the recipients. The photo on the left shows Tim Young, founder of Access Quest, using a wheelchair on a suburban footpath, angled slightly away from the camera. In the middle is a headshot of Emma Foy, co-founder of Āhei, wearing glasses and facing the camera. On the right is a headshot of Laura Thompson, co-founder of Āhei, standing against a wall and facing the camera.

25/05/2026

Wellington, our Fintech community is gathering again 🙌

Join us for the next Wellington Fintech Meetup, this time hosted at Hnry - New Zealand's office on Johnston St 🫶 brought to you by Octave (and us): https://events.creativehq.co.nz/FintechWellyTheTrade-offsadeepdiveintoproductstrategy #/

This time, we're going deep on product strategy with a panel discussion: "The Trade-offs: a deep dive into product strategy"

Expect honest conversations about:
👉 Prioritisation under pressure
👉 What breaks first as you scale
👉 The real decisions behind great products

Our panellists:
🎙 Bridget Cowie – Senior Product Manager, Hnry
🎙 Claire Jaycock – Creative Director, Octave
🎙 Corinna Stukan – CEO, Bizzy
🎙 Mark Stevenson – Head of Digital Experience & Capability, ANZ
🎙 Stuart Whitehead – Engineering Lead at Hnry - and this month's moderator!

Drinks and pizza provided. Come connect with the people shaping the future of finance tech in Aotearoa.

📍 45 Johnston St, Level 2 (Hnry's office)

24/05/2026

As part of Techweek NZ, some of the PS/ gals attended the ‘Wāhine Fuelled Tech: Inspiring Stories’ event at Creative HQ

What an inspiring night of real experiences, amazing mahi, honest conversations and plenty of belly laughs. 🙌

We loved hearing from Claire, Piper and Priya - such a great reminder of the incredible women shaping the tech and business space in Aotearoa.

Thanks for a brilliant evening full of insight, connection and inspiration ✨

21/05/2026

We love ✨ The events, the energy, the spotlight on people doing incredible things.

This week, we’re recognising some incredible wāhine founders whose tech startup journeys are incredible. We asked them to share what they're working on, the advice they'd give their earlier selves and the communities and networks that have helped them along the way. 💡 👏

🙌 Read their story here: https://creativehq.co.nz/stories/12-new-zealand-female-entrepreneurs-you-need-to-know-in-2026/

20/05/2026

We love TechWeek. The events, the energy, the spotlight on people doing incredible things. ✨ With all eyes on tech, this week we wanted to spotlight some founders whose tech startup journey is incredible - and, statistically speaking, harder than it is for your average founder.

This week, we’re recognising some incredible wāhine. We asked them to share what they're working on, the advice they'd give their earlier selves and the communities and networks that have helped them along the way. 💡 👏

Featuring 🔸 Tiowaana Harrington🔸 Sadia Islam 🔸 Stephanie Smits O'Callaghan 🔸 Mela Greenslade 🔸 Ashleigh Adair 🔸 Ella Blake 🔸 Sasha Lockleyn 🔸 Alanna Irving 🔸 Lani Evans MNZM 🔸 Kathleen Webber 🔸 Erika Butters 🔸 and 🔸 Nicole Retter.

🙌 We're lucky in NZ to have mission-oriented people working to make our tech sector more inclusive and close the gaps in funding and opportunities. We can't highlight everyone, but let this piece be one of many stories to be shared.

Take a read and follow these amazing women in their journeys:

Creative HQ is celebrating female founders in tech

18/05/2026

🎮 From film to gaming, animation to digital experiences, Wellington is home to globally recognised creative tech talent, studios and startups - and we're helping support the next generation of founders stepping into this space.

Next Thursday, the Creative Tech Activate Celebration is taking place - where teams from New Zealand’s first creative tech pre-accelerator will pitch their ideas shaping the future of creative technology in Aotearoa. 🛠

We’re also bringing together an epic lineup of creative tech founders and leaders to share their experiences building globally from NZ.

🎤 Keynote Speaker: Hugh Calveley (Moxion) “How to sell your startup to Hollywood”

🔥 Panel Discussion featuring Hugh Calveley of Moxion (now Autodesk), Jessica Manins of Beyond Studio, Kelsey O'Hagan of Rascal, Chris Jagger of Alt Ventures, moderated by Dave Gougé of Squirrelball.

This is a celebration of what’s possible for creative tech in New Zealand - and the people building it.

👇 See you there: https://events.creativehq.co.nz/CreativeTechActivateCelebration2026
🎬 Massey University Cinema, Wellington
🕔 5:00 - 7:30 PM + networking and celebrating

14/05/2026

Wellington tech, we’re bringing you something pretty epic. Welcome to your working day. ⚡️

Scaling Welly Tech is bringing together founders, operators, board members, investors and ecosystem supporters for an afternoon focused on practical skills, new networks and honest conversations to help you grow.

This is not conference style event - it’s designed for hands-on working sessions to plug- in and connect with the community.

Hear scale stories from founders of Crimson Education, Incrediballs, Hnry - New Zealand Sharesies and Hurricanes then take part in practical masterclasses and 1:1 sessions with experts who’ve been where you are now.

If you’re building, leading or supporting Wellington tech - you should be in the room.

Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to hang out at Hnry Stadium? 🏟 Sweet as.
See you there.
https://events.creativehq.co.nz/ScalingWellyTech

📍 Hnry Stadium, Wellington
🗓 4 June 2026
🕑 12:00 - 5:00PM + networking drinks