Startup Genome, a leading startup consulting and analytics company based in San Francisco, has published their annual report giving a rounded insight into various dynamics of startup ecosystems across 28 different countries.

This report aims to determine factors and policies that garner a thriving startup ecosystem and evaluate private practices that accelerate the growth of a startup ecosystem. The company primarily focuses on the factors and practices that make an early-stage startup a successful venture.

It's a great honour for technology Kiwis who participate in this ranking survey. Certainly a bold step towards developing a healthier and more efficient startup ecosystem in New Zealand. More than 100 kiwi startups took part in this benchmark survey, which was the first time for most of them.

This is certainly a headway for New Zealand technology entrepreneurs, to work in a collaborative environment toward more innovative and healthier startup scenes in New Zealand.

Mr. Marcel, Chairman of the New Zealand Angel Association, expressed his thoughts; saying:

Kiwis have always been resourceful, with an entrepreneurial spirit and pragmatic approach enabling New Zealand to "punch above its weight."

He further added, "New Zealand is attracting and developing more capability, capital and connections to achieve its full potential … and it is a great place to live!"

Published in March 2017, the findings from this report portray a positive global outreach of New Zealand's technology startups; with a meagre 4.5 million people on this edge of the earth, it's already boasting 400-600 ambitious startups who are exploring new horizons. 

New Zealand has significantly shown a higher graph of global customers, surpassing even some of the top ten cities having the best startup ecosystem, like New York, London and Paris. This shows how the New Zealand startup ecosystem is becoming more Global and exploring more offshore business opportunities. New Zealand startups also made a mark when ranked in the category, at No.5, who had the most positive interaction with the corporate sector.

There are however challenges faced by the kiwi startup ecosystem, mainly having a below-average performance rate and low domestic experienced execs. As Mr. Phil McCaw, Founder and Managing Partner at Movac puts it in another way:

The biggest challenge we face is the limited pool of experienced execs that we can tap when it comes time to scale these businesses. We have to look offshore to solve this problem as well. New Zealand's wider reputation as a pure, multicultural and welcoming nation in an uncertain and volatile world is playing in our favour.

There are significant statistical figures for New Zealand's fast-growing startup ecosystem, worth more than $800 million; the future is undoubtedly shining brightly. This creates an opportunity for New Zealand policymakers and Industry execs. to play their part in creating opportunities for early-stage startups, by attracting talent globally and improving the angel asset class to strengthen the growth index.

This survey would not have been possible without the help of the following names:

Angel Association New Zealand, NZX, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and Callaghan Innovation.