Meet Ali, General Manager at Startup Queenstown Lakes
What drew you to join Startup Queenstown Lakes, and what excites you most about stepping into the General Manager role?
I love helping people succeed - especially in a place like Queenstown, where creativity and community run deep. Startup Queenstown Lakes is such an integral part of our local innovation story, and I saw an opportunity to build on that foundation - connecting people, ideas, and investment in ways that create tangible impact for the region.
What excites me most is shaping an ecosystem that’s both deeply local and globally minded - one where startups can grow, collaborate, and ultimately help diversify our regional economy.
Picture: Ali Meredith
SQL’s mission is all about helping founders build scalable, impactful ventures. What part of that mission connects most with you personally?
I’m passionate about scale. My background is in growing technology companies, and I love helping founders take that leap from early traction to national or global growth. I want to see founders from Queenstown Lakes take on the world.
If you could give one piece of advice to a founder, what would it be?
Don’t wait for perfect conditions, and be ambitious. Start small, test quickly, and talk to your customers early. The best founders I’ve seen have big ideas, stay curious, seek feedback, and aren’t afraid to iterate. Progress beats perfection every time.
Collaboration is a big theme this year. How do you see SQL strengthening partnerships across the ecosystem?
Our focus this year is on connection - not just between founders and investors, but across the wider community of people working to build a more diverse local economy. We’re mapping the regional ecosystem, identifying where our efforts align with groups like Technology Queenstown, Queenstown Tech Social, Women in Tech, and the Mountain Club, and exploring ways to share tools, coordinate support, and co-host events. True collaboration can be messy, but that’s often where the real breakthroughs happen.
Fast-forward 10 years. What do you hope the startup landscape in our region (and beyond) looks like?
I’d love to see Queenstown Lakes recognised as one of New Zealand’s most vibrant startup hubs - a place where ambitious founders choose to live not just for the lifestyle, but for access to talent, capital, and collaboration. If we do our job well, the region will have dozens of scalable ventures that started here, employ local talent, export globally, and give back to the community that supported them.
And finally, outside of startups, what inspires or recharges you?
I draw energy from the people and places around me. My friends, family and the wider Queenstown community. Whether it’s a Sunday afternoon skiing up the Remarkables or sunbathing at Homestead Bay, being outdoors and surrounded by this landscape always helps me reset and refocus.
Written by Startup Queenstown Lakes.
Find out more about the team at Startup Queenstown Lakes Team here
