Meet the People's Choice Finalists
Five exceptional founders building innovative solutions to real-world problems. Learn about their businesses and how your support can help them grow.
PEOPLE's CHOICE FINALIST
Kate Ricketts
ISPY NITS
About the Business
ISpy Nits makes lice eggs visible – a world-first biofluorescent powder that glows them green under UV light, turning one of parenting's most stressful problems into something families can actually solve.
The Problem
Head lice affect 1 in 3 children, but "check your child's hair" is near-impossible advice since eggs are 1mm, translucent and glued to the shaft – leading to missed infestations, failed treatments, reinfection and unnecessary school absence, compounded by stigma and difficulty checking neurodiverse/sensory-sensitive children. Their Glo-Powder (a world-first biofluorescent corn-starch powder) makes eggs glow green under UV so any parent can detect them, with detection framed as an equity issue for Māori and Pasifika tamariki.
How Funds Will Be Used
Fund a return trip to the US to work in person with champion pilot clinics – deepening retail strategy, observing how clinicians present the product, gathering market validation data for the investor story, and identifying long-term US advocates.
PEOPLE's CHOICE FINALIST
Serena Sharma
KIYOME
About the Business
Kiyome's Japanese Beef Tallow is the New Zealand natural skincare brand making a $180 billion industry answer one uncomfortable question – why does your moisturiser need 25 ingredients when we can prove it only needs four?
The Problem
The average moisturiser contains 25+ ingredients (mostly water, synthetic emulsifiers, silicones, preservatives) that disrupt the skin barrier, while "clean beauty" claims are largely vague or misleading (53%+ of green claims). Women cycle through products as their skin and confidence worsen. Kiyome offers a minimal four-ingredient, tallow-based alternative – the only NZ/AU brand sourcing grass-fed tallow from Kobe, Japan, paired with NZ Manuka honey and beeswax.
How Funds Will Be Used
Scale proven product-market fit into consistent revenue – paid advertising, inventory, creator gifting/collaborations, community wellness events, and charitable giving.
PEOPLE's CHOICE FINALIST
Amelia Godfrey
PELVY
About the Business
Pelvy is a digital health platform helping people manage pelvic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, prolapse, sexual dysfunction, and pregnancy and postpartum concerns. By bringing exercises, education, reminders and treatment plans into one place, Pelvy helps people stay on track and get better outcomes from their care.
The Problem
Pelvic health conditions and pelvic floor dysfunction affect 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men, yet support between appointments is often limited. Patients forget advice, lose handouts, struggle to stay motivated, or cannot access ongoing specialist care because of cost, location, or long waitlists. Pelvy bridges this gap by bringing exercises, education, reminders and clinician advice into one place. By supporting patients between appointments, Pelvy helps people stay on track with treatment, improves adherence by up to 5x, and makes pelvic health support more accessible to those who need it most.
How Funds Will Be Used
Fund two highly requested clinician features: the ability to upload educational handouts and custom exercise videos/images. These additions will help accelerate adoption across clinics, allowing Pelvy to scale faster and bring evidence-based pelvic health support to more people, regardless of where they live or whether they can access ongoing specialist care.
PEOPLE's CHOICE FINALIST
Maxine Lindsay
TAP. HEALTH
About the Business
Tap. Health creates evidence-informed wearable pain relief products and education designed to help people with pelvic pain feel more supported, capable, and able to participate in real life.
The Problem
People with debilitating pain – particularly pelvic pain – are expected to cope with support options that are generic, inaccessible, impractical or dismissive, often being told their pain is "normal" and left to manage alone. Pelvic pain impacts quality of life, work, study, relationships, mobility and mental health. Tap. Health makes evidence-informed wearable pain relief (Tap 2.0 TENS) that is scientific, body-inclusive and designed around how people actually live.
How Funds Will Be Used
Enrol in a business mentorship program (to address imposter syndrome) and hire a part-time nanny so her husband can help with financials and day-to-day operations – building the foundation to spend less time in operations and more time with family.
PEOPLE's CHOICE FINALIST
Seshnie Taylor
VOCARE
About the Business
Vocare is a CareTech platform that uses AI & ML-powered speech analysis to help aged care and NDIS ESL (English as a second language) staff improve spoken clarity, linguistic confidence, communication, and compliance outcomes.
The Problem
Communication breakdowns between frontline aged-care/NDIS staff – many from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds – and the people they support. Issues with spoken clarity, pronunciation and confidence in clinical English create misunderstandings, safety risks (missed medications, incomplete documentation, unreported incidents), and compliance/turnover risk. Vocare uses AI/ML speech analysis to identify clarity gaps and deliver targeted, measurable training.
How Funds Will Be Used
Scale impact by hiring a machine learning engineer to fast-track the proprietary speech-analysis model; achieving ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications to unlock larger enterprise/government contracts; and early team expansion across delivery and customer success to onboard providers at scale.
What is the Moodi Female Founder Fund?
As the founder of Moodi, Kate Gatfield-Jeffries knows how hard it is to get an idea off the ground - and how much the right support at the right time can change everything.
The Moodi Female Founder Fund is a $15,000 cash grant for early-stage female founders across New Zealand and Australia. We don't take equity. We don't ask for anything in return. We just want to back women who are building something they believe in.
How is the $15,000 distributed?
There are four recipients:
Selected by a judging panel based on business vision, traction to date, and potential for growth.
Two runners-up selected by the same judging panel who stood out from the applicant pool.
After the top three are chosen, up to five finalists are put to a public vote. The applicant with the most votes wins.
Are you eligible?
The Moodi Female Founder Fund is for founders who:
How to apply
-
Check the criteria
Make sure you're eligible and understand what we're looking for. -
Submit your application
Tell us about you, your business, and what you'd do with the grant. It should take less than an hour. -
We review applications
All submissions are reviewed, and shortlisted applicants may be asked to share further information. -
We notify the recipient(s)
The Fund recipient(s) are notified via private email. -
We announce the recipient(s)
The Fund recipient(s) are announced via LinkedIn, potential media channels, and celebrated with the Moodi community.
Meet our past recipients
The Fund launched in 2025 and has supported founders across consumer goods, fintech and healthcare.
1st place
Hannah Killgour
What the business is: Māori-designed clothing and essentials that bring Te Ao Māori into everyday life for pēpi, tamariki, and whānau.
What the fund was used for: Scaling inventory and switching to sea freight to improve margins as the business grew.
“Winning the grant didn't just allow us to grow our business into sea shipping - it gave me the confidence to believe that our business could truly succeed, and that I could too. Having someone like Kate believe in me has been one of the biggest blessings for myself and my whānau.”
2nd= place
Lucy Kough
What the business is: A fintech platform that turns everyday spending into superannuation contributions, helping women close the 28% retirement savings gap.
What the fund was used for: Covering legal costs to navigate the highly regulated fintech space.
“The Moodi grant 2025 gave me the belief that anything was possible. At a time I was running low on energy and resources, Kate’s kindness, faith and incredible network not only opened doors, but allowed me to dream bigger and back myself 100%.”
2nd= place
Grace Toombs
What the business is: Australia's first at-home cervical cancer and STI screening service, making women's health testing stigma-free and accessible.
What the fund was used for: Funding bold marketing campaigns to reach more women.
“Kate was the first person to truly believe in the June mission, and that early conviction meant everything. The Moodi Grant gave me the confidence and resources to move from cautious experimentation into intentional, data-driven marketing, allowing me to test and scale campaigns I would have previously avoided. It shifted my mindset around risk and make bolder decisions that are accelerating June’s growth.”
Got questions?
We've got your most common questions covered. View the full Terms & Conditions for more information or contact us at hey@moodiblends.com.
Applications open 10am NZT 9th April 2026 and close 11.59pm NZT 24th May 2026. We announce winners via emails and socials – sign up and follow us to stay in the loop.
The Fund for 2026 is $15,000 NZD across four recipients:
- 1st place - $8,000
- 2nd place (x2 winners) - $2,500
- People’s choice winner - $2,000
Note: all amounts are in NZD.
Yes! All applicants who have not been recipients previously can apply.
Any type business in any industry that meets the applicant requirements and is solving an interesting problem or has a purposeful mission.
We are looking for founders or co-founders who are building a business in the early stages, and have launched with an idea they're serious about bringing to life.
You will see a thank you page when you complete your form. Seeing this screen means we have received your application. We will then be in touch directly after applications close regarding the status of your application
Shortlisted applicants will hear from us by mid-June 2026. This will consist of Moodi’s three selected winners, as well as anyone shortlisted for the People’s Choice voting.
Once Moodi has selected our top three, we will select a top 5 to put to a People’s Choice vote. Voting will take place over the course of one week, and the People’s Choice winner will be announced along with the Moodi winners before 30th June 2026.
Actively trading in means that you have registered your business, and are currently at any of the below stages (or further along):
- You have an MVP, or live product or service that you are actively working on
- You've signed deals, partnerships, or LOIs – even if nothing has paid out yet
- You've hired staff or brought on contractors, or engaged suppliers to build your product or service
- You've secured funding, pre-orders, or commitments from customers or partners
- You're operating – spending time and resources actively building
