We are ...
Startup Wellington.
Your launchpad into Wellington’s
startup and entrepreneur community.
A radically accessible, low-barrier space
for aspiring founders and early-stage builders.
Startup Wellington is the crew powering Techstars Startup Weekend Wellington - the largest grassroots entrepreneurial event in the world.
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After a five-year breather, we brought the SWWLG spark back to Pōneke in 2025. And in just one wild weekend, strangers became teammates, scrappy ideas turned into prototypes, and bold pitches capped off a hands-on sprint from 'napkin sketch' to MVP.
It was fast-paced, a good amount of pressure, energy, and collaboration - the kind of weekend you don’t forget.
But the ‘aspiring’ weren’t ready to call it. The buzz, the people, the possibility. Too good to lose. And… something started to brew.
What kicked off as a 54-hour sprint is turning into something with energy. Something stickier. A space to keep turning up, hyper-focused on growth and staying close to the people who just get it.
This is our tūrangawaewae — our place to stand. Not just an event, but a collective drive. A home base for ideas in motion, for people with potential.
Startup Wellington is your startup playground. Low-pressure, high-energy, and designed for real connections, real momentum to launch and grow.
There are no boxes to fit into and no one way to be a founder. Just real humans building startups to solve real problems.
A place to start.
A place to return to.
A place to grow from.
And we're just getting started!
Play Starts Here - Stay In The Loop!
Keep checking back as we build Wellington’s startup playground — or even better, sign up for our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop!
Startup Weekend Wellington #SWWLG: March 25
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Photos by Oli Treadwell — thanks for capturing the magic!
What's coming up next?
We're here to connect, play, and grow- without the overwhelm!
SW May Meetup!21 May 2025, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pmLocation is TBD
SWWLG: October 25Date and time is TBDLocation is TBD