Factor co-founder Jessica Venning Bryan on giving energy the respect it deserves
Plus: BNZ answers your business questions.
Happy Thursday!
Kia ora Caffeinators,
Hope your week is progressing well. We’ve probably had enough of me faffing at the top of this newsletter for one week so let’s get straight into it shall we?
Here’s what’s brewing in your Daily Shot:
BNZ’s Head of Emerging Tech Business answers your questions
Factor co-founder Jessica Venning Bryan on giving energy the respect it deserves
Event: HERizon: Burnout to Brilliance, Boundaries, Balance & Breakthroughs
Pod Pick: From Aotearoa to the world: How Wai Mānuka is going global
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.
Finn and the CAFFEINE team
Meet Jason, BNZ’s Head of Emerging Tech Business
This week, Jason Hill, BNZ’s Head of Emerging Tech Business answers your questions. If you want to know more or simply want to have a chat, reach out to Jason on jason_p_hill@bnz.co.nz
What information do I need to talk to a banker about funding?
A good place to start is your last year’s financial statements prepared by your accountant, your management accounts year-to-date, trends in the other key metrics you track, and a forecast showing how the funding will be used in the business. A business plan or similar is also a helpful document to assist in the banker understanding your business. The more information you can provide, the easier it will be for the banker to understand your business and what you’re looking to achieve.
How do you help fund your tech customers versus other banks?
Although there can be similarities, each bank has its own set of financial products, credit policy and appetite for lending. A funding proposal that doesn’t get supported by one bank, due to being outside of its appetite, may be supported by another that has a more supportive set of policies for that business or funding proposal.
For example, BNZ has several solutions such as Revenue-Based Finance and Contract Receivables funding to support growing technology companies to scale, which may not be available at other banks.
What do banks look at when assessing a lending proposal?
A key framework we look at is what’s considered the three Cs: Character, Cash flow and Collateral.
Character refers to the owners/management of the business. We consider what their capability is to execute on their strategy and plans, whether they have any external advisors (and if so, who they are), whether there is formal governance/a board in place (if so, who they are), and does the business have a clear strategy or business plan?
Cash flow refers to our primary repayment source for the debt. We look at the levers or cash flow drivers of the business to determine whether there is enough cash flow being generated to meet the operational requirements of the business, and to meet any debt-servicing requirements.
Collateral refers to the security provided to the bank as a secondary (back-up) source of repayment of the debt if it can’t be repaid through cash flow. With technology businesses it’s important we understand the IP and economic value the business generates, what the key economic value drivers are, how these are valued, whether they’re owned and/or controlled by the borrower, and how they’re protected.
Factor co-founder Jessica Venning Bryan on giving energy the respect it deserves: As I’ve said many times on Caffeine, we don’t get to build the future we’re all so excited about if we don’t build the energy infrastructure systems required to power that future. One startup doing the hard mahi of making that possible is Factor, which recently secured $3 million of investment to accelerate the development of its pricing automation platform for energy companies globally.
Factor is developing a suite of plug-and-play tools that automate what has traditionally been a clunky, spreadsheet-based pricing process for energy retailers, distribution networks, and other energy tech companies. The company's AI-powered solution addresses a critical gap in the energy sector, where 70% of electricity is consumed by industry with complex needs, but where pricing management remains largely manual and inefficient.
I had a great chat with Factor co-founder Jessica Venning Bryan about how energy is upstream of so many other problems, why energy is ‘sexy’ and we should give it the respect it deserves. Read in the link below.
Factor co-founder Jessica Venning Bryan on giving energy the respect it deserves
·As I’ve said many times on Caffeine, we don’t get to build the future we’re all so excited about if we don’t build the energy infrastructure systems required to power that future. One startup doing the hard mahi of making that possible is Factor, which recently secured $3 million of investment to accelerate the development of its pricing automation plat…
Event: HERizon: Burnout to Brilliance, Boundaries, Balance & Breakthroughs - We love to celebrate the success stories of startups here at Caffeine but it’s so important to reflect on just how bloody hard it is to build something from nothing. That’s why events like this are important. Burnout’s not just a buzzword. It’s real. And if you’ve been holding it all together — for your work, your whānau, your business — this morning is for you.
What to expect?
A panel of wāhine leaders sharing real stories.
A practical workshop to help you take action.
Time to connect with like-minded women.
Morning tea. Cold smoothies. A few beautiful surprises.
Speakers:
• Yaela Raber – Chief Executive Rebel & Founder, The Powerhouse Alliance
• Emie Peters – (HIP) Health Improvement Practitioner, Tend Health
• Catrina Kuehler – Founder & Managing Director, fu/nis EMS Training
• Kaytee Boyd – Integrative Health Strategist | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Cancer Educator
Date: Thursday 14 August 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
Location: Auckland Business Chamber
Get your tickets here.
Pod Pick: From Aotearoa to the world: How Wai Mānuka is going global - We love a Business is Boring new episode drop around these parts and also love an episode that diversifies the kind of founder voices we hear from. We talk a lot aobut the frothier end of tech startups here at Caffeine but it’s great to hear some wisdom from founders outside of software ecosystem and building businesses with more tangible products because they have just as much wisdom to share. Wai Mānuka founder and CEO Joseph Harawira joins Simon Pound to discuss the premium beverage brand’s journey from humble origins to FMCG markets around the world. Listen to the full ep here.
In light of the burnout focused event mentioned above, thought I’d finish with some words from Michelle Dickinson who articulates the hard parts of startup life better than I ever could.
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