Frequently Asked Questions

Applications for the 2019 xone Partner Series Programme with BNZ are open from the 31st of October 2019  – 29th of November 2019.

Apply for the new xone Partner Series Programme with BNZ here!

Applications close Friday 29th November, 4pm. Successful candidates will then be short-listed for the Pitch Event which will take place on the Friday 6th December and an announcement of the programme participants made on Thursday 12th December.

The xone Partner Series Programme with BNZ is a 3-month programme, starting in January

This programme is designed for those who are looking to accelerate their growth and create win-win partnerships with BNZ and Vodafone NZ. We’re combining our wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to work with businesses who are truly ready to scale their products with Industry Partners and make a positive impact for our small and medium business customers.

The perfect candidates for this programme:

– Must have global ambitions for their business
– A small yet awesome team (3 – 15 Staff) – Sorry, No Lone Wolves!
– In the scaling stage of their business lifecycle
– At least, a working MVP or fully functional product
– Validated product with first customer(s) or at minimum, trial users.
– Delivering a unique value proposition for NZ SME Businesses

Yes, your startup must be a NZ registered business on the Companies Office website.

Yes, as long as the team is also based in New Zealand.

We recommend that you think about how to communicate your solution (product or service), so that it is clear and shows us how well your team understands its customers, your ability to define and validate the problem you’re setting out to solve in the marketplace. We look at how each team fits in with the series theme, overall cultural fit for the programme, as well as exploration of re-seller and partnership fit at the end of the series.

No – there is no fee

This is a zero equity programme require no exchange of equity for startups to participate.

No – changing from our previous accelerator programme there is no funding being offered through the xone Partner Series Programme with BNZ.

Although the xone lab and office space is located in Christchurch. There is no requirement for your team to re-locate or be permanently based in Christchurch during the programme. Our teams from both BNZ and Vodafone are based across the country and will work with you remotely during the programme period; with a few key events and workshops requiring your attendance taking place in Auckland.

No it is not a requirement for you and your team to be in Christchurch. There however is a requirement that your team (founders and relevant team members) are present at our Auckland HQ for the key programme events and workshops.

Your product or service will go through a product-intensive programme, driven heavily in product development, customer testing and validation. After completion of the 3 month Partner Series there is potential for a re-seller agreement and/or partnership agreement with our Industry Partners and/or Customers.