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Angus Blair is a General Partner at Outset Ventures, New Zealand’s leading deep-tech incubator with an active seed fund. He’s backed 25+ science-led spinouts in aerospace, advanced materials, med-tech, and fusion — writing first cheques from $100k to $2m and following through scale-up.
This guide distils those lessons into a roadmap for researchers and PhDs turning breakthroughs into venture-fundable companies. From navigating IP and university negotiations to framing research as traction, Angus shares founder-tested insights to help New Zealand scientists build startups for global impact.
Angus Blair | Outset Ventures
builds The Deep Tech Spinout Guide for New Zealand Researchers
A founder-tested roadmap for New Zealand researchers and PhDs, from IP and university negotiations to framing research as fundable traction on the path to global impact.
🆕 Global Scalers
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From Science to Seed
Deep Tech Seed Round Fundraising Pack
Prepare these materials before you start fundraising properly. Having them ready demonstrates professionalism and accelerates diligence.
Don't over-engineer these outputs though; investors expect seed-stage documentation to answer their questions but not perfect.
Main Pitch Deck
IP Pack
Data Pack
Execution Pack
Market Validation
Governance Basics
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Global Scalers
New Zealand is a small market. If you want to build something truly impactful, you have to build beyond it.
But taking a science-led company global? That’s hard on another level. It’s easy to say “go offshore,” “raise capital,” or “scale the tech”. The real difficulty is in doing it.
Global Scalers follows New Zealand’s deep-tech founders as they take their toughest ideas to the world — navigating timing traps, regulatory hurdles, capital sequencing, distribution complexity, and the emotional load of scaling frontier technology.
🆕 Volpara Health: The Algorithm, the Breast, and the Belief
Volpara Health began with a simple but unfashionable insight: before you “do AI,” you standardise the physics. That decision became the backbone of a global med-tech platform built from Wellington to the world.
In this Global Scalers episode, Angus Blair (Outset Ventures) sits down with Ralph Highnam — the physicist-turned-founder who built Volpara from research into a twice-acquired med-tech platform trusted in clinics worldwide.
Featuring:
The Volpara Health Top 10 — hard-won insights for NZ deep-tech founders.
New Zealand Deep Tech Hubs & Commercialisation Departments
The only way to access the full scope of NZ’s deep tech support without building your own tracker.
- Innovation Hubs
- Incubators & Accelerators
- Commercialisation Departments
Part 1: Is My Research Venture-Backable?
Why deep tech investing is different, the Power Law, fund-return math, and what VCs really screen for (team, market, capital efficiency).
Part 2: Patents & IP — Think Globally from Day One
Get the global patent basics right (novelty, non-obviousness, utility, subject matter) and plan filings/timing to protect future markets and acquirer value.
Part 3: Universities, TTOs, Investor Expectations and Spinout Terms
Work with your TTO to file an IDF on time, secure PI approvals, and structure spinout terms that investors will support.
Translate investor needs into a university deal and lead negotiations confidently on valuation-critical points.
Part 4: Showing Traction
Turn science into fundable traction for seed using TRLs, third-party validation, and design-partner proof. MedTech overlay included.
Champion of Deep Technology Founders in Aotearoa New Zealand.
hello@outset.ventures
Outset helps New Zealand’s deep-tech founders transform breakthrough science and engineering into global companies. As the country’s only incubator with purpose-built labs and workshops, we provide the facilities and support early-stage start-ups need to scale.
Backed by 20+ years of commercialisation experience and alumni like Rocket Lab, LanzaTech and Mint Innovation, we offer a rare opportunity to invest in credible founders pioneering the industries of tomorrow.
