They entered as one of the more established companies, bringing existing revenue and customers with them, and it paid off. Cloud Cannon pitched for $450,000 at the showcase day and though the exact figure they received has remained confidential, it sounds like it was comfortably north of what had been hoped for.
CEO Mike Neumegen said with money behind them, the company was ready to take the next step and dip their toe in American waters - but it still took a bit of a push.
"I had a ticket bought for me three days in advance - I was told on Sunday night and on my way Wednesday. I had no time to prepare, I didn't know anyone in the US and I was thrown in the deep end."
Getting into California the first time was focused on investigating the potential of the market for Cloud Cannon and meeting with savvy investors and companies in the region.
As long as you are here and are doing something that could be vaguely interesting to these companies, they'll give you the time of day.
"I've always thought in New Zealand it was really easy to access people you want to meet - particularly the start-up community was very accessible and eager to help where they could. Surprisingly, I found the same thing when I got over here.
"As long as you are here and are doing something that could be vaguely interesting to these companies, they'll give you the time of day. Google and Dropbox were two of the big meetings I had and people who I really wanted to talk with. I had to really hustle to get some of those meetings, but it's been eye opening."
Just being on the ground in California has unearthed a host of new opportunities for Cloud Cannon -- both planned and serendipitous. Neumegen says he's met clients, developers and investors completely by chance in bars and Uber pools.
"It just makes all the difference being here because there's no way I'd be meeting all of these people at really big companies in new Zealand - you kind of have to be there to have those experiences.
"The big milestone from our trip last time was starting to get some enterprise customers and beginning to appreciate the needs of some of these big companies. Initially, we couldn't figure out why some of them were signing up to our service - it was difficult to get a real understanding over email and we prioritised meeting these clients face to face early in our last trip.
"My big goal this time around is to understand enterprise better and get some sales under our belt, from there we hope to get some big companies signed up which we can use as case studies and testimonials for Cloud Cannon."
Getting some enterprise customers signed will be the first step on the way to Cloud Cannon establishing a permanent American base. Though it's firmly on the to-do list, it's about getting on the right side of the cost-benefit equation first.
"Hiring out here is just too expensive for us at the moment. At the moment it's just me over here - all of our developers are in Dunedin. We are going to have to have more presence here to succeed and grow and it's something we can start looking at seriously once we land a few enterprise deals."
"We have a US company and at some point I'll start working for that, after which we'll hire out here. That's probably still more than six months down the track, however. We're taking it one step at a time."
"We've been working on a new offering which is what is attracting a lot of interest from potential enterprise customers all of a sudden. That will be launched while I'm in the US and will be a big step for us."
Neumegen says the Kiwi Landing Pad has been a great help during their trips to the US - with a plug and play working space and the advice of Kiwi companies who have been in the same position before.
"It's great having New Zealand companies around you who are going through the same experiences and can offer a word of advice. Having issues with getting a visa, securing investment ... because none of the US investors understand the NZ legal environment, even something as small as when I get homesick."
