David Booth joins a16z + Auckland Startup Week wraps
Plus: Save the date for The Caffeine Christmas Party!
Happy Friday!
Kia ora Caffeinators, hope you’re well. I am off on a jet plane to Spain this weekend but couldn’t leave you without a parting newsletter with both some great ecosystem news to shou out and an invitation to the Caffeine Christmas Party.
Here’s what’s brewing in your Daily Shot:
David Booth joins Andreessen Horowitz
Inaugural Auckland Startup Week Wraps Up
Event: The Caffeine Christmas Party | Proudly Powered by Airwallex
As always, thank you to everyone who has upgraded to a paid subscription or simply recommended Caffeine to friends and whānau. We couldn’t do any of this without you.
Have a great few weeks without me and I’ll see y’all back here on November 17h.
Finn and the CAFFEINE team
David Booth joins Andreessen Horowitz: My favourite thing to do on Caffeine is shou out the success of Kiwis in his ecosystem and honestly it’s hard to think of a bigger W than David Booth (who likely needs no introduction to anyone reading this) joining Andreesen Horowitz as a partner and Head of Ecosystem. I could waste your time putting my own words to this announcement but thankfully David penned a wonderful Substack about his move and his goals for the role which is better than anything I’d write:.
I particularly enjoyed this section:
“If “marketing” is the top-down vector of storytelling, “ecosystem” is the bottom-up vector of trust.
While marketing expands brand and visibility, helps shape the conversation; ecosystem creates the rooms and networks in which those conversations take place.
Ecosystem is the hidden operating system of venture. It’s an understanding that today’s senior product manager is tomorrow’s founder; today’s founder becomes tomorrow’s angel investor or advisor. It’s about building the infrastructure to support those 5-10 year journeys as they play out. When the two are in sync, you get the compounding engine that made Silicon Valley what it is: a dense network of people who believe in the same future—willing, and able to build it together.”
Congratulations to David and check out his full Substack below to hear more.
FYI If you’re wondering how the wider startup ecosystem is absorbing this news, I think Jamie Beaton put it best.
Inaugural Auckland Startup Week Wraps Up: Auckland Startup week wraps up today and it’s clear our city’s founders, investors and politicians were more than ready for their own flagship moment. With over 30 events and an expected 4,000 attendees, the week has brought a concentrated burst of energy to the local innovation scene.
In the middle of her hustle this week, I jumped on a call with ” says Marissa Brindley, Head of Investment at Auckland Council’s Economic Development Office and Startup Week founder. “It was one of those lightbulb moments when I went to Denver Startup Week last year and thought, why aren’t we doing this? Auckland should be on that map.”
Less than a year later, she’s made it happen. The inaugural event has drawn delegations from from Denver, Utah, and Japan alongside local founders and everyone from early-stage upstarts to scale-ups and corporates.
Each day’s programming zeroes in on a different stage of the founder journey: from idea validation to scaling, innovation and balancing mental health with the endless hustle .
Highlights so far include the Startup Expo at GridAKL, where Mayor Wayne Brown and the Deputy Mayor met dozens of local ventures, a visit from Chris Hipkins and the Labour leadership team, and the Disruptors Dinner, an avant-garde, theatrical networking experience which I am DYING to attend in 2026f.
“We want this to become a fixture, just like Tech Week is,” explains Marissa. So our idea was that you’d have Tech Week at the beginning half of the year, and then at the other end of the year, you’ve got a Startup Week. So we’ve given opportunities to really engage people at both ends of the calendar.”
With plans already underway for year two, Startup Week looks set to become that fixture. Congratulations to the team and can’t wait to see what you cook up next year.
If you want to get involved next year, head along to the website and drop the team a line.
Event: The Caffeine Christmas Party | Proudly Powered by Airwallex - Good lord when Georgia asked me to post this in the newsletter today I had to stare out my office window for a full minute. Not because I’m not excited but because it’s officially Christmas party planning time and I have no idea how we got here so fast.
Listen close and you’ll hear faint bells as Mariah Carey rises once more from her deathless slumber to remind us what she wants for Christmas.
It’s been a big year for Aotearoa’s startup ecosystem. We’ve launched things, funded things, fixed things, and probably failed a few too. Through it all, the energy, ambition, and chaos never stopped and that we all deserve a drink and a good old celebration.
Join us for the Caffeine Christmas party - with all of the incredible people who make New Zealand’s startup world what it is. Airwallex have kindly put on good food, drinks and music for the community to wrap up the year together. Bring your team, your friends, or just yourself - everyone’s welcome.
Who it’s for
This event is designed for operators, founders, and leadership teams in the startup community.
Partner spotlight: Airwallex
We’re proud to partner with Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform built to support ambitious operators. Airwallex helps businesses scale across borders with multi-currency accounts, borderless cards, and streamlined global payments, removing the friction of traditional banking so leaders can focus on growth. Whether it’s expanding into new markets, paying overseas teams, or managing FX, Airwallex is giving Kiwi companies the financial infrastructure to compete on the world stage.
Date and time
Tue, 2 Dec 2025 5:15 PM - 7:00 PM NZDT
Location
Darling on Drake, 27 Drake Street Auckland
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Want to get in touch with a news tip, bit of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co