Based out of Auckland, Aotearoa, Previously Unavailable (PU) is an innovation and venture studio that approaches everything it does through a lens of powerful branding and stellar design.
Part agency, part incubator, part business generator and part investor… it’s fair to say that, as a business PU is kind of hard to define.
The team works with companies doing new and innovative things — fast-growth startups disrupting their industries, or small businesses creating new categories or behaviours — helping them refine their brand to maximise growth opportunities.
And as part of that, PU’s own Brand Fund 1 also invests in businesses where brand is a key component to success.
Needless to say, the business is a cornerstone of the Kiwi startup ecosystem, plugged into the network of VCs and innovators, and powering local success stories.
Through collaborations and partnerships, PU has co-created businesses such as brand tracking startup Tracksuit and rapid research platform Ideally with their friends at TRA Labs. It has also led branding overhauls for beauty membership business aglow, and ‘brain drink’ Ārepa.

A Tractor x PU partnership
PU’s relationship with Tractor is similarly multi-pronged. The agency arm of the business is a Tractor Ventures partner; if a business within the Tractor family needs support in positioning and branding, or even relevant capital strategy, there’s a direct line in.
Equally, the PU team will direct clients to Tractor, if they feel they’re a good fit.
But, as managing partner for ventures Simon Pound explains, PU itself has used Tractor debt funding to fuel its growth.
“We were looking to develop a floor in the building we’re in, to allow more companies we’ve originated to grow and be close to us, and to create a space for our friends and partners,” Simon says.
“We had a transaction coming up that would fund the development, but we had a bridging capital question to answer.”
Debt funding allowed the team to get started on the expansion project, without having to wait around for working capital to be freed up. Instead, they could focus on growth and increasing support for their clients and companies.
“We were able to make that goal happen faster than if we had gone to any other capital source. We had a positive answer within 48 hours.”

Driving growth by driving value
In the simplest terms, PU is primarily bootstrapped, fuelling its growth through the revenue it brings in. But this is a unique kind of company, so that approach doesn’t necessarily look like it would anywhere else.
“We’re not really about external capital. We have funded things through the profits from our consulting and services model,” Simon explains.
“Instead of take profit out for the owners, we have reinvested our time in equity swaps with companies we’ve worked with, and by incubating and launching companies ourselves that have then gone on to create more value.”
It should come as no surprise that this unconventional business approaches sustainable growth in an unconventional way. And its part of the very fabric of the organisation, woven into the culture of innovation and vision.
“We’re a privately held company and really independent,” Simon says.
“Our founder, James Hurman, has really committed to this, because it allows us to operate in ways that are more long-term and more about value creation — running businesses in ways that are fairer and better for more people.”
This ethos ties into the investment goals of Brand Fund 1. Through a partnership with Icehouse Ventures, the fund backs businesses with brand at their hearts, and that are creating new ideas, communities or behaviours.
Businesses can work with PU to build their brand, then raise via Brand Fund 1, and work with the broader team to execute and reach their next milestone.

“The way we love to work is to swap our time for equity, and then place Brand Fund money into the company on the same terms,” Simon explains.
“This allows companies to get access to really considered branding and positioning, maybe before they would have otherwise been able to afford it or invest in it,” he adds.
“It helps them move faster and hopefully raise better valuations, attract more great customers, team members and partners to the company, and speed up their progress. That’s really exciting.”
Branding isn’t everything to all businesses. But in many cases, Simon says focusing on brand and market positioning earlier rather than later can give a business an advantage. Get your branding right from day one, and you’re set up well for success as you grow.
“A lot of startups ‘get professional’ about brand and messaging and once they’ve raised their Series A,” Simon notes.
“But our theory is that if you do it earlier, you actually raise a better Series A and move faster as a company — we’re seeing some nice examples of this.”
When VCs aren’t the answer
We often ask founders what advice they would offer to others, when weighing up their options for funding growth. Often, those founders (sensibly) reiterate that there’s no ‘right’ way that works for everyone.
Simon says the same thing. Arguably, he knows better than most that every business has a different context, a different way of working and a different ‘right’ way to approach growth. He helps founders navigate these waters every day.
“Venture capital can be great for businesses that have a massive market; that have a massive opportunity they need to move at quickly that requires a lot of capital coming in; and, where the prize is going to be big enough to make that worth it for everyone,” Simon explains.
“But not that many businesses actually fit that profile. Most won’t have a great experience going down that path, because they don’t have the economics, the market size or the world-changing product or service or idea.”

Among startup founders in particular, the venture capital ‘rocketship’ trajectory holds a certain place in the imagination, he says.
But raising a big VC round doesn’t equal success. You can be a significant leader in your industry, with a strong product, culture and growth trajectory, without taking the ‘moonshot’ approach.
And if you don’t take the moonshot, you don’t have to swear off equity funding altogether.
Simon encourages business owners to explore connections with high-net-worth individuals who have knowledge of their industry, or to partner with industry players of corporate ventures, who can offer investment alongside commercial partnership.
“It will mean the valuations won’t be as big. But it will mean the barrier to cross to succeed and return capital to everyone also won’t be so high,” he explains.
“A much more measured approach can actually work really well. We encourage the right capital strategy for the kind of business and the kind of ambition they have.”
A fast-maturing market
With that said, Simon admits this kind of funding isn’t always easy to come by.
For startups gearing up for 100x growth, there are VC options. For those taking more of a conventional approach, there are plenty of more traditional paths to tread.
But businesses targeting a 3x to 5x trajectory - robust businesses that anticipate fast-but-not-unprecedented growth - they tend to fall through the cracks. They’re too risky for the banks, but not ambitious enough for the VCs.
Simon suggests this is particularly true in New Zealand. Compared to Australia, Aotearoa has a smaller population and a smaller GDP.
Australia’s longstanding superannuation industry has created a natural professional investment base, focused around finding and funding growth opportunities.
New Zealand’s super industry is not as mature, and the smaller economy means fewer angel investors, too.
“It’s such a richer market in Australia, and such a more mature market,” Simon says.

But Aotearoa is catching up. Compared to ten years ago, the market has matured significantly.
“We’re maybe a couple of cycles behind. We haven’t had quite as many industry-making companies that have gone on to create a whole wake of great companies after them, but we have had a few now.”
There are more experienced people in the talent pool; more professional funding organisations; more VC partners and accelerators, and more opportunities locally than ever before.
“The amount of activity and the number of good things happening is at a really great point,” Simon notes.
“That’s a place where it’s fantastic for a deep funder and a more commercial funding operator, like Tractor, to play.”
Find out more about Previously Unavailable here: www.previously.co