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0.Ventures
0.Ventures launched a decade ago as a grassroots effort to build venture infrastructure outside Auckland's main centres.
0.Ventures
0.Ventures launched a decade ago as a grassroots effort to build venture infrastructure outside Auckland's main centres. The founding team — Dan Khan, Jane Treadwell-Hoye and Lenz Gschwendtner — had already seeded the ecosystem through Startup Weekend New Zealand, which reached more than 3,000 participants nationwide, and then designed Lightning Lab, a Wellington-based investment accelerator that helped over 60 ventures raise more than $10 million of early-stage capital. Their work is anchored in a belief that the Silicon Valley playbook needs a distinctly Kiwi rewrite. The firm operates through three interconnected arms. 0.Studio incubates internal ventures and guides external founders to product-market fit. 0.Corporate deploys a proprietary framework called StartupOS inside established enterprises that want to rekindle an entrepreneurial rhythm. 0.Programmes runs not-for-profit acceleration for regional New Zealand. The composite aims to supply companies that stay independent longer and prioritize sustainable profitability over headline valuations. Sectors on the roster cover enterprise software, agritech, digital health, mobility and climate-aligned technologies, with a geographic footprint that extends from the Waikato to Gisborne and Napier. No AUM or total deployment figure is publicly disclosed. The firm is deliberately capital-light, earning revenue through corporate engagements, studio returns and community-programme partnerships instead of charging a management fee on a traditional blind pool. Ecosystem alliances bring additional resources to portfolio companies. In recent years the team has deepened its focus on territorial authorities and iwi-aligned economic development in regions that private venture dollars rarely reach on their own. What distinguishes 0.Ventures is its insistence on a self-reinforcing pathway. An aspiring founder might enter through a Startup Weekend, progress into a Lightning Lab-style accelerator, spend time in the 0.Studio, then cycle back as a mentor for the next cohort. That architecture — three co-founders running three mutually reinforcing vehicles from a single Wellington base — is uncommon among early-stage incubation platforms. It more closely resembles an open-source community framework than a conventional venture firm, and the founders actively publish that playbook for global accelerator networks to adapt.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
New Zealand
City
Wellington
Corporate office
Wellington, New Zealand
Principals
Jane Treadwell-Hoye
Co-Founder - Corporate Lead
Dan Khan
Co-Founder - Startup Lead
Lenz Gschwendtner
Co-Founder - Studio Lead
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at 0.Ventures?
The three co-founders — Dan Khan (Startup Lead), Jane Treadwell-Hoye (Corporate Lead) and Lenz Gschwendtner (Studio Lead) — run their respective arms of the firm. Each has built and scaled technology companies before assembling 0.Ventures. The firm operates as a collective of complementary units rather than a hierarchical GP/LP structure, so studio incubation calls are Gschwendtner's domain, corporate engagements sit with Treadwell-Hoye, and accelerator programming flows through Khan's network.
How does 0.Ventures source proprietary deal flow?
The firm's pipeline is fed by its own grassroots programming. Startup Weekend and Lightning Lab accelerator events draw founders from regional New Zealand who would otherwise bypass the venture ecosystem. The 0.Studio also generates early-stage ventures internally, while 0.Corporate surfaces opportunities inside the enterprise clients that use the StartupOS methodology.
Is 0.Ventures structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Neither. 0.Ventures is a hybrid that runs a venture studio, a corporate-innovation consultancy and a not-for-profit accelerator network concurrently. It does not raise third-party blind pools. The firm earns revenue through studio equity, corporate service contracts and community-programme funding, making it more of a structured ecosystem platform than a traditional venture capital fund.
Does 0.Ventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
There is no public record of 0.Ventures making fund commitments as a limited partner. The firm's activities are built around direct operating involvement — incubating its own ventures, taking stakes in startups that pass through its accelerator, and embedding corporate innovation programs inside client organisations.
What investment stages does 0.Ventures typically target?
Pre-seed, seed and early growth. The firm works with founders from their 'zero-point onwards,' often before they have incorporated or raised any outside capital. Its historical track record includes accelerator cohorts that progressed from idea stage through to venture-backed rounds, alongside later-stage corporate innovation mandates inside established enterprises.
Which sectors does 0.Ventures explicitly avoid?
No publicly stated exclusion list exists. The firm's programming is designed for a broadly diversified New Zealand economy, with observed activity spanning enterprise software, digital health, agritech, mobility and climate-aligned projects. Its regional mandate means it accepts founders from any sector as long as the venture can scale from a New Zealand base.
How is 0.Ventures related to Lightning Lab and Startup Weekend New Zealand?
They share the same founding team. Dan Khan and his co-founders first brought Startup Weekend to New Zealand in 2010, then designed Lightning Lab in 2012 to be the country's leading seed-stage accelerator. 0.Ventures was built on top of that foundation as the parent entity housing the studio, corporate and programme arms, with Lightning Lab and Startup Weekend remaining operating brands within the 0.Programmes unit.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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