Serge van Dam has been awarded Angel Association New Zealand’s Arch Angel Award today at the 13th New Zealand Angel Summit in Auckland.
Serge is an experienced high-tech company founder, director and investor. He loves globally-minded Kiwi software companies and is actively engaged with companies such as Montoux, Landlord Studio, Wiptser, Common Ledger, Tourwriter, Raygun and CoGo and is an exited investor in Publons and IMeasureU.
The Arch Angel Award is the highest honour in New Zealand’s angel investment community, given to those who exemplify the quintessential angel and who are champions for the endeavour making a significant difference to New Zealand’s start-up ecosystem. As well as their personal capital, Arch Angel recipients share their time, insights, deeply relevant skills and their networks with high growth start-up companies.
The recipient is chosen by the previous years’ winners.
Serge is passionate about growth in all of its manifestations and has a deep interest in software-driven disruption. He is the energy behind the 100+ strong group Kiss My SaaS established to provide networking and insights for software venture founders. He is an acknowledged thought leader in fintech and digital banking and was an integral part of the leadership team M-Com as chief marketing officer, a mobile banking platform, which was acquired by NASDAQ-listed Fiserv in 2011.
As a super active angel investor, Serge has invested in dozens of ventures. He joined Wellington’s AngelHQ in 2013 and is a founding member of the network’s ID/EA Group where investor directors and experienced angels share insights and support. A glance at Serge’s LinkedIn profile reveals he is the consummate angel when it comes to making connections and hustling for talent for ventures he backs.
Angel Association Chair and fellow AngelHQ member, Suse Reynolds, says Serge is a highly valued member of the Wellington network and New Zealand early stage venture investment scene.
“He is the sort of investor we wish we could clone; not only does Serge share his deeply relevant experience of scaling and creating value in startups, he has a huge heart and is incredibly generous with his time. He is laser focused on execution, sharing all he has learned in a straight forward, consistent fashion with founders and angels alike,” she said.
Ben Gleisner, CoGo CEO, where Serge is an investor and Board Chair, says “he continuously rolls up his sleeves and gets stuff done. Whether it is finding us amazing new investors, seeking out the best talent there is, helping us close deals with major banks or just being available every week to meet up with me to solve problems and realise opportunities, he is a complete legend. I want to say THANKS on behalf of all of us”.
Serge received his award at the annual Angel Summit, held at Hunting Lodge Winery in Auckland and attended by over 160 delegates. This year’s summit is exploring what how to be the very best kiwi angel digging into topics such as how we shape the future and the critical role that founder and investor wellbeing plays.
Former Arch Angel winners include The Warehouse founder and long-time angel investor Stephen Tindall; Andy Hamilton, chief executive of The Icehouse and member of IceAngels; US super angel Bill Payne; Movac Ventures founder Phil McCaw; veteran angel investor the late Dr Ray Thomson; prolific AngelHQ member Trevor Dickinson, former AANZ Chair Marcel van den Assum; ardent angel investor Debra Hall, champion for kiwi start-ups Dave Moskovitz and long-time Ice Angels member Scott Gilmour.
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For more information, please contact:
Suse Reynolds, AANZ Executive Chair
mob: 021 490 974 or email: [email protected]
The Angel Association of New Zealand (AANZ)
The Angel Association is an organisation that aims to increase the quantity, quality and success of angel investments in New Zealand and in doing so create a greater pool of capital for innovative start-up companies. It was established in 2008 to bring together New Zealand angels and early-stage funds. AANZ currently has 40 members representing over 800 individual angels associated with New Zealand’s key angel networks and funds. AANZ works closely with NZTE and Callaghan Innovation and a number of private sector partners including Jarden, PWC, Avid Legal, Baldwins, KiwiNet, Uniservices, Amazon Web Services, BNZ and BECA. For more, please visit: www.angelassociation.co.nz