Teō Haka
Centre for
growth &
innovation

Startup Breakfast Club

“Marketing is more than a clever email campaign or Facebook Ad. Rather, it’s a discipline that should be baked into a startup’s process and product from the inside out”

Join us at this month’s Startup Breakfast Club all about Marketing for Startups. Come along to hear from three of the experts in this industry, Lee Parkinson, Strategy Director at Plato Creative; Kris Herbert, self-employed Content Strategist and Tri Phung former Ministry of Awesome Marketing Manager and now head of Growth & Product Marketing at New Zealand based startup, Partly.

Lee’s spent a decade in the British Army, studied electrical engineering, then worked in the corporate world before eventually crossing over to the ‘agency-side’, becoming a marketer, copywriter and brand strategist. He helped establish one of NZ’s first digital shops in Wellington and Auckland before joining a large global full-service ad agency. Lee has a passion for behavioural science and uses this when developing brand, marketing, creative and communications strategies for clients. He believes that the most important attributes a person needs to get by in life are curiosity and empathy. Being curious keeps us fresh. Being empathetic helps us see the world through the eyes of others. Lee will share some thoughts on what marketing is, why marketing is critically important to a business, and some general principles to consider in your business.

Kris Herbert is a journalist, multi-disciplinary storyteller and a co-founder of Content NZ – the New Zealand Content Marketing Association. With her brand and marketing agency, Creative Agent, Kris helps businesses from Trade Aid to Kathmandu to ChristchurchNZ develop their brand story and leverage the power of authentic storytelling to get attention and build trust with audiences. Kris will talk to us about how to harness your start-up journey into a content marketing strategy.

Tri is working in the Growth team at the automotive startup Partly. He has a background in marketing, specifically in the context of the lean startup. In 2017 he co-founded an e-commerce business with his sister and grew that to >$400k NZD annual recurring revenues, all through organic traffic. He also led the marketing effort for national innovation campaigns like FoodStarter 2019, and the very successful HealthTech Supernode Challenge 2020 which received an unprecedented 128 entries from across the country. Within the field of marketing, Tri shares a deep-seated passion for a data-driven approach to customer acquisition and conversion, marketing strategy and campaign management. Tri will speak about things founders should consider when promoting their products in the early stage of a startup.

This is a must-attend event so don’t miss out! Get your insights, meet your startup tribe, and enjoy the free-flowing coffee and breakfast nibbles. Thanks to MYOB, it’s all free so secure your spot now!

Parking: There are parks across the road by Washington Skate park or out the front of the Te Ōhaka building along Moorehouse avenue. These parks can fill up very quickly in the morning. There are also parks found along Allen Street off of Madras Street along the front of the ARA building. The rest of the carparks found around this area are pay to park carparks.

*By booking a ticket to this event you are accepting that you will be required to show your ‘My Vaccine Pass’ upon entry to the venue.

Meet your speakers


Lee Parkinson
Strategy Director @Plato Creative

Lee’s career has taken an unconventional journey. He spent a decade in the British Army, studied electrical engineering, then worked in the corporate world before eventually crossing over to the ‘agency-side’, becoming a marketer, copywriter and brand strategist. He helped establish one of NZ’s first digital shops in Wellington and Auckland before joining a large global full-service ad agency.

After the dot com bubble burst, he set up and run a number of agencies before joining Plato Creative. He helps clients identify the actual marketing problem (or opportunity) they need to address, then works with them to encapsulate the challenge and scope of work to be undertaken. He works with clients to help develop their marketing or product plan. Where there is a design or advertising requirement, he briefs the agency’s creative and design teams. Lee has a passion for behavioural science and uses this when developing brand, marketing, creative and communications strategies for clients.

He believes that the most important attributes a person needs to get by in life are curiosity and empathy. Being curious keeps us fresh. Being empathetic helps us see the world through the eyes of others. Lee will share some thoughts on what marketing is, why marketing is critically important to a business, and some general principles to consider in your business.


Kris Herbert
Content Strategist @Kris Herbert

Kris Herbert is a journalist, multi-disciplinary storyteller and a co-founder of Content NZ – the New Zealand Content Marketing Association. With her brand and marketing agency, Creative Agent, Kris helps businesses from Trade Aid to Kathmandu to ChristchurchNZ develop their brand story and leverage the power of authentic storytelling to get attention and build trust with audiences. Kris will talk to us today about how to harness your start-up journey into a content marketing strategy.


Tri Phung
Growth & Product Marketing @Partly

Tri is working in the Growth team at the automotive startup Partly. He has a background in marketing, specifically in the context of the lean startup. In 2017 he co-founded an e-commerce business with his sister and grew that to >$400k NZD annual recurring revenues, all through organic traffic.

He also led the marketing effort for national innovation campaigns like FoodStarter 2019, and the very successful HealthTech Supernode Challenge 2020 which received an unprecedented 128 entries from across the country. Within the field of marketing, Tri shares a deep-seated passion for a data-driven approach to customer acquisition and conversion, marketing strategy and campaign management. At this event, he will speak about things founders should consider when promoting their products in the early stage of a startup.

Kickstart your business! Ventures less than 2 years old pay $10/month for the first 12 months on MYOB Essentials Starter or Accounting.