The most prestigious circle on campus.
An invitation-grade programme for the most serious student founders in the country, built alongside the investors who back the next generation.
Cohort '26
The twelve founders selected for the inaugural Founders Circle.
Chief Executive Officers
Shaheer Rizwan
Cathy H Wang
The Cohort
Daniel Hawes
Lucy Zhu
Matthew Prance
Ally Tang
Clinton Philathong
Ed Cheung
Ezra Fonua
Gavin Wu
Kate Lee
Jackson Irby
Maadhav Arora
Noah Thompson
Where the best build together
The Founders Circle is the inner room of Startup Club New Zealand. It is where the most committed student founders work shoulder to shoulder with each other and with the people who fund and build real companies. Membership is earned, never given. The result is a tight, trusted network of the country's most serious young builders, with direct access to the firms shaping New Zealand's startup ecosystem.
The firms in the room
University of Auckland Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
How you get in
Three stages, each one harder than the last.
Application
Founders only. From the very start, applications are open exclusively to student founders building real ventures.
Pitches
Shortlisted by Icehouse Ventures Investment Analysts.
Interview
Shortlisted applicants are invited to interview with Senior Investment Analysts from GD1.
What members receive
Office hours
Private office hours with three of the biggest private investment firms in New Zealand.
Exclusive workshops
Founder-only workshops, built and run by the partners.
Networking dinners
Invitation-only dinners with the investors and operators who fund the future.
Opening & closing nights
Hosted at the partners' headquarters across the programme.
The Venture Lab
A pathway into the University of Auckland's CIE Venture Lab.
A metal card
A souvenir to keep. Proof you made it into the Circle, and a network that carries on for decades.
Your network is your net worth.Porter Gale
Applications are closed
The Founders Circle is now in session for 2026. Thank you to everyone who applied.