Nawaz Ahmed

Startups | Venture Capital | Crypto

πŸ“ Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandπŸ”„ Updated September 2026πŸ’Ό 4 investmentsπŸ“… 7 years investingπŸ—“ Last invested Sep 2025
VC🌍 New ZealandInvested this year
4
Total investments
0
Early stage
2
Mid stage
0
Late stage
7y
Years active

Portfolio

3 investments Β· sorted by recency
All investments
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Mid stage
Late stage
Board Observer
Nov 2022
Easy Crypto believes crypto is the future and aims to bring this future to all in an easy, ethical and educational way. OUR ORIGIN STORY Brother and sister duo Alan and Janine Grainger saw an opportunity to create a portal for simpler, cheaper and safer buying of digital currencies. Friends and family had tried to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, XRP and Ethereum but had found it too difficult. Utilising years of professional experience in IT / computing, Alan automated the buying process and with his finance wiz sister, began the Easy Crypto journey. MOMENTS OF PRIDE βœ“ We logged millions in sales in our first year βœ“ Transacted over $1bn USD in total sales to date βœ“ Have 100,000+ customers worldwide βœ“ We expanded to Australia, South Africa, and Brazil βœ“ Hit 1 million orders in 2022! βœ“ Broke the record for a Series A funding round in New Zealand, raising NZD $17million βœ“ Announced in 2022 as one of the Matchstiq top 100 NZ startups to work for WHY US? ✀ We are easy. Most of our competitors offer an experience designed for professional traders. Easy Crypto has an unparalleled user experience, easy to use helpdesk and impressive order speeds. ✀ We are human. We have 24/7 support to customers via a responsive helpdesk + invest heavily in educational materials for customers. ✀ We are safe and ethical. Surveys repeatedly show that safety is the number one consideration for crypto users. Compliance is our first-thought, not an afterthought; we go beyond regulatory requirements to keep our customers safe with dedicated scam experts and industry-leading technology.
Angel Investor
Jun 2019
Flying Kiwi Angels are active investors who bring know-how, connections and funding to NZ startups. Operating via a reverse sidecar model they can complete DD swiftly and will actively support successful applicants to raise all necessary funding by syndication with other angel groups or funds. Once fully funded they continue working with investee companies to ensure success. See also our newsletter fka.nz/news πŸ—žοΈ
Experience Β· 9 entries
All (9)
Investments (4)
Founder (2)
Board (2)
2025
Board Member
Sep 2025
Spotlight Reporting provides leading accountants with a great range of reporting and forecasting options that save time and effort while delivering clarity for decision making. We have five cloud-based business intelligence tools, designed specifically for accountants looking to transform the way they deliver advisory services to their clients. We import data from leading financial and non-financial software products - including Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and MYOB - to automatically create powerful dashboards, reports, three-way forecasts and multi-entity consolidations. Transform your business today by starting a free 14-day trial at https://www.spotlightreporting.com/free-trial Follow us on: X - https://twitter.com/spotlightrep; Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Spotlight-Reporting-380174365420847/
2022
Board Observer
Nov 2022
Easy Crypto believes crypto is the future and aims to bring this future to all in an easy, ethical and educational way. OUR ORIGIN STORY Brother and sister duo Alan and Janine Grainger saw an opportunity to create a portal for simpler, cheaper and safer buying of digital currencies. Friends and family had tried to buy cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, XRP and Ethereum but had found it too difficult. Utilising years of professional experience in IT / computing, Alan automated the buying process and with his finance wiz sister, began the Easy Crypto journey. MOMENTS OF PRIDE βœ“ We logged millions in sales in our first year βœ“ Transacted over $1bn USD in total sales to date βœ“ Have 100,000+ customers worldwide βœ“ We expanded to Australia, South Africa, and Brazil βœ“ Hit 1 million orders in 2022! βœ“ Broke the record for a Series A funding round in New Zealand, raising NZD $17million βœ“ Announced in 2022 as one of the Matchstiq top 100 NZ startups to work for WHY US? ✀ We are easy. Most of our competitors offer an experience designed for professional traders. Easy Crypto has an unparalleled user experience, easy to use helpdesk and impressive order speeds. ✀ We are human. We have 24/7 support to customers via a responsive helpdesk + invest heavily in educational materials for customers. ✀ We are safe and ethical. Surveys repeatedly show that safety is the number one consideration for crypto users. Compliance is our first-thought, not an afterthought; we go beyond regulatory requirements to keep our customers safe with dedicated scam experts and industry-leading technology.
General Partner
Feb 2022
We help New Zealand founders and teams believe bigger. To dream, act and achieve on a global scale. We are an institutional-grade VC fund that supports globally ambitious kiwi tech startups with capital, on the ground operating expertise, and a vast international network in order to help them achieve growth on the world stage. Based in Auckland, New Zealand we have connections globally. We invest from seed to scale and provide operational support across product, growth and HR. GD1’s deep expertise in venture capital and first-hand international operating knowledge was gained via experience in technology companies across Europe, the US (including Silicon Valley), and New Zealand. This experience, as well as ongoing relationships, ensures that founders and management teams are supported from day one.
2021
Principal
May 2021
Faculty Group is a collection of synergistic blockchain-native firms with exceptional access to opportunities within web3, and the unique capabilities to create deep value. We build, fuel, and guide the web3 game changers of tomorrow. Faculty Group unites innovative thought leadership, strategy, token modelling, branding & marcomms, market making, business development, and capital - all under one roof, for a seamless & synergistic experience with best-in-class outcomes. Companies under the Faculty Group umbrella: Faculty Capital: A value-driven venture capital firm backed by the Faculty Capital Innovation Fund (FCIF) with a portfolio of over 130 projects. Faculty Entertainment: A brand and entertainment consulting firm and digital asset studio servicing leading brands and talent. X8C: A boutique web3 marketing agency that specialises in building and expanding web3 brands globally. Artis: A β€˜for-client’ market maker that specialises in custom algorithmic trading and market making strategies. Faculty Lab: A leading full-service web3 incubator, creating future leaders across a range of different blockchain sectors. Faculty Studio: A full-stack development studio with technical expertise across front-end, back-end, UX and design.
2020
Show all 9 entries ↓
Investment activity
2019–2025 Β· 4 investments
201922022120251
Recent (last 2 years)Earlier