Creative HQ

Creative HQ is a Wellington-based innovation hub that has supported more than 400 startups since 2003. Operating across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally, it works with founders, intrapreneurs, public sector leaders, funders, mentors, businesses and government to develop ideas into practical solutions. Its stated focus spans three areas: startup and entrepreneurship support, public sector and government innovation, and corporate innovation.

The organisation's work is structured across three named offerings. Build provides startup support, founder learning and accelerator programmes for ventures at different stages. Adapt delivers tailored innovation services, courses and programmes for organisations and public sector teams. Connect convenes the wider innovation community through events, mentoring and coaching.

Creative HQ describes its approach as ecosystem-oriented rather than transactional, with an emphasis on practical learning connected to real-world challenges. It supports both early-stage founders and established organisations, and its community is built around ongoing events, mentoring and coaching relationships rather than a single programme cycle. For those interested in the mechanics of founder development and ecosystem building across the New Zealand market, the organisation represents a long-running institutional fixture, active in the region for more than two decades.