Debra Hall | Startup Director
builds The Startup Governance Guide for New Zealand Founders
A practical, stage-specific roadmap for founders to understand who has authority, what they’re legally responsible for, and how to make governance decisions at each stage of building a company.
Startup Governance in New Zealand
Phase 1: Founder-Led GovernancePhase 2: Shared Governance (coming soon!)
Debra Hall is an experienced company director with 20+ years working across New Zealand’s innovation sector, operating at the earliest stages of science-based ventures. With a background in engineering, she supports founders, boards, and investors to make clear, evidence-based decisions under uncertainty — known for her straight talking and focus on outcomes.
She builds the pipeline of capable startup directors through governance workshops with the Angel Association of New Zealand, helping both directors and founders navigate the realities of early-stage companies.
This guide distills those lessons into a practical roadmap for founders navigating startup governance in New Zealand. From understanding director duties and board structure to avoiding early-stage governance mistakes, Debra shares clear, experience-driven insights to help founders get it right from day one and avoid mistakes that are hard to unwind later.
Phase 1: Founder-Led Governance
Founder-led governance — the stage where you are the sole director, and all authority and responsibility sits with you.
Phase 2: Shared Governance (Coming Soon)
Shared governance — the stage where a formal board exists, and authority is no longer yours alone but shared across directors making collective decisions.
Governance for Growth Workshops
https://www.angelassociation.co.nz/aanz-events/
Debra runs Governance for Growth workshops with the Angel Association (AANZ), designed for founders, investors, and aspiring directors navigating early-stage companies.
These sessions cover what a board actually does, how to form one, director responsibilities under the Companies Act, and how to run effective board meetings — all grounded in real startup conditions.
Workshops run across New Zealand and are priced for accessibility ($50 per founder).