Manzana Kaitiaki: Dil Khosa
We are in awe of Dil. She was launched into a “successful“ career that took her to California to work with Parrot Analytics. She has experienced “startups” from all sides, and she has an incredible network of people from all walks of the tech world.
That said, what we admire her most about is her modesty, the way she speaks out on the difficulties in her journey, and how she keeps questioning the status quo within the tech and startup worlds, where she strives to make it a more equitable and inclusive space. We are glad to have her on the team!
You have had a diverse career so far. How have your past projects and ambitions led you to founding Manzana?
Being such a problem solver, anytime I saw a gap or opportunity in the startup space, I often tried to fix it. For example, I started a project called Athena X to bring together a national and inclusive community of technology entrepreneurs. We did a lot with that project including bringing awareness to the issue of lack of inclusivity, wellbeing support, and funding to any founder that did not look like the ‘stereotypical Silicon Valley startup bro’. We also tried to share stories to inspire the next generation of women founders and investors, such as the Fireside chat we had with Arlan Hamilton at 2020 TechWeek! That was a highlight! Actually, another highlight was running the founder wellbeing programme with Goodstartups for free for a group of founders at the start of the pandemic. We measured results before and after it, and it showed a marked improvement in founders’ anxiety and stress levels.
However, as a solo entrepreneur who was still recovering from burnout and past startup trauma, and unable to give it the energy it needed, I sunset the project this year. We still have made some impact in the formation of the Women Founders in Tech Aotearoa group, which is a safe space for women entrepreneurs in tech to connect, ask for support, peer mentor and cheer each other on their startup journeys.
Manzana was a brainchild of conversations with friends, Ché Zara Blomfield and Rachael Peri. We identified challenges that women founders in particular faced in physical spaces required for starting up their ventures, and so called ‘incubator’ (often male-led) spaces. We also wanted to draw our creative sides into building a safe and inclusive space for women artists and founders, hence leaning on Ché’s global experience in the art world to curate the space. Beyond that, I think Manzana was made for us by us, to be ourselves surrounded by feminine energy to focus on the projects and startups we are building.
What (made and what) makes you passionate about working in startups?
What made me passionate about startups was its potential to bring useful solutions to human problems, and in turn, be a key economic driver for Aotearoa. However, for a while I was disillusioned by the technology startup space. It can be patriarchal, capitalist to the max, unethical, unregulated, and unaccountable to how it can hurt human beings in the process of building ‘visionary’ founders or tech.
What makes me passionate about startups now, is the possibility of change. And inclusion of all groups of our diverse population. While there is a lot of work to do, I have hope that we will see new leadership in our startup space, new investors and new supportive ecosystem players, who put founders and their (and their teams) wellbeing first, run ethical and fair investment processes and build with heart. Without damaging our home planet anymore.
What are your goals for 2022?
In 2022, while taking a sabbatical from the tech world, I am looking forward to spending time at Manzana and exploring my creative side to build my next project. I am also looking to learn about other industries, and learn from Manzana residents about their projects and how I can help at all. I am also super keen to read a lot, travel, go for long hikes, make some art, write, and make a difference in my community where I can! Lots to do :)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and story with Manzana Dil!
