ENTREPRENEUR • INVESTOR • ADVISER
Clarity, capital and experience for ambitious businesses.
I work with a small number of New Zealand founders and leadership teams at pivotal moments, from growth and restructuring to investment and exit.
My experience includes leading New Zealand’s first dual exchange NZX/ASX IPO, which led to my being named E&Y Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
I am a Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, with an application for Fellow in progress.
PEOPLE
IDEAS
PROGRESS
20+ years building businesses
NZX/ASX Technology IPO
Founder, operator and investor
EXPERIENCE
Built through experience, not theory.
Aaron Ridgway has founded, funded, led and exited technology and telecommunications businesses in New Zealand and international markets.
As an experienced professional director, business investor and advisor, he helps businesses secure growth capital and steer strategy. He prepares businesses for his own investment, private equity or public market investment and can facilitate access to these funding opportunities.
Aaron brings experienced negotiation skills to help owners maximise their business’s exit potential.
Selected experience
1992-2010
2001-2011
2011-2012
2014-Present
2021-Present
First Mobile
Datasquirt
LiveOps
Vadacom
Next Telecom
Founder of NZ’s largest Independent Vodafone Dealership, sold to Vodafone.
Founder, major shareholder and CEO; led growth, international expansion, ASX listing and sale to LiveOps.
Senior Vice President, International Sales.
CEO, director and investor.
Investor, adviser and board leadership.
1992-2010
First Mobile
Founded and grew an eight-store Vodafone dealership before its sale.
2001-2011
Datasquirt
Founder, major shareholder and CEO; led growth, international expansion, ASX listing and sale to LiveOps.
2011-2012
LiveOps
Senior Vice President, International Sales.
2014-Present
Vadacom
CEO, director and investor.
2021-Present
Next Telecom
Investor, adviser and board leadership.
APPROACH
Focused advice for pivotal business decisions.
I work with founders and leadership teams facing growth, investment, restructuring or exit. The work is direct, practical and shaped around the decision in front of you.
Where I can help
01
Growth
Sharpen the offer, route to market and operating model.
02
Investment
Prepare the business, the case and the terms.
03
Governance
Strengthen accountability, reporting and decision-making.
04
Exit
Build value and prepare for a well-managed transition.
INSIGHTS
Notes from the operator’s side of the table
Practical thinking on growth, capital, governance and exits drawn from building businesses and making the decisions.
FEATURED
Raising capital without losing sight of the business
What to resolve before approaching investors.
Growth
The operating questions that matter before you scale.
Governance
When a founder needs a board and when they do not.
Exit
Preparing a business for a strategic buyer.
20+ years building businesses
NZX/ASX Technology IPO
Founder, operator and investor
CONTACT
Start with the decision in front of you.
Send a short outline of your business, the challenge you alve working through and what a useful outcome would look like. If there is a strong fit, Aaron will arrange an initial conversation.
Your details
Your details
The most useful enquiries include a clear summary of the business, its current stage and the decision that needs to be made.
Aaron@RidgwayAdvice.com
Your information will only be used to respond to your enquiry.