Ep13 - Sasha McLeod (DoseBuddy) on "Building in Public", getting funded in 3 hours, and her masterclass in authentic marketingisode

On this episode of the Funding Files we’re interviewing Sasha McLeod who recently raised $20k in three hours to fund the first production run of her re-usable liquid medicine syringe.

Sasha, a mother and digital marketing professional, created DoseBuddy because of her own shitty experiences using single-use medicine syringes. She partnered with a product developer found on Instagram to design and prototype the product. Initial funding came from personal savings from her and her husband, followed by a successful loan from Kiwibank after preparing a detailed business plan. 

Sasha recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on PledgeMe, raising over $48,000 so far, supported by a strong pre-launch marketing strategy including building a 4,000-person waitlist and authentic storytelling on social media. The product is currently only available in New Zealand due to medical device regulations, with plans to expand internationally after obtaining the required approvals. 

Sasha chats about the emotional journey of entrepreneurship, the importance of focusing on marketing alongside product development, and advises founders to build a supportive crowd before launching. She’s a huge supporter of “Building in Public” and shares a masterclass of how to launch a crowdfunding campaign.

Her campaign is still live on PledgeMe until 4 November 2025, so check it out here: https://pledgeme.co.nz/projects/8602-a-syringe-that-doesn-t-suck

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Kia ora and welcome everyone to THE FUNDING FILES, where we explore the highs, lows and cashflows of funding a business in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Huge thanks to the founders for sharing their stories, to our board for inspiring us to make this pod, and to Rory Harnden for making our design and intro string.