NZ Entrepreneur Magazine - Issue 28 by Espire Media

NEW ZEALANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S E-MAG FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS OWNERS

March 2015

10 Questions with

Suzanne Hall founder of

Living Nature & BEIntent

We do it for the Love of it! Avoiding Co-Founder Chaos Clever Content Marketing Smarter Selling www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz

ABOUT / Short and sharp, New Zealand Entrepreneur is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles,

CONTENTS

industry news and information to forward-thinking entrepreneurs.

EDITOR / Jennifer Liew ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson

From the Editor

We do it for the love of it

Considering Co-Founders?

12 10 Questions with Suzanne Hall

GROUP EDITOR / Richard Liew CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER / Alastair Noble CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Jennifer on 0274 398 100 or email jennifer@nzentrepreneur.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /

18 Clever Content

Phone Jennifer on 0274 398 100 or

Dalson Foods

WEBSITE / nzentrepreneur.co.nz

Smarter Selling!

Young Enterprise students take next step with venture up

Dating vs Marriage

Banqer Wins Start-up Alley 2015

Parting Shot

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email jenniferl@espiremedia.com

ISSN 2253-5683 NZ Entrepreneur is a GREEN MAG created and distributed without the use of paper so it’s environmentally friendly. Please think before you print. Thank you!

EDITORIAL A BIG HELLO and welcome to all you entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs and supporters of the NZ Entrepreneur ecosystem. I’m Jennifer Liew and feel very privileged to be the new Editor of NZ Entrepreneur. Having been an entrepreneur in one form or another for the past ten years or so, I know entrepreneurship comes with plenty of challenges along the way, as well as its fair share of great rewards. It takes a lot of courage, grit and dogged determination to succeed as an entrepreneur. So, for those of you out there travelling this path, I want to congratulate and honour you all for helping better our economy and for providing opportunities for others to thrive and succeed. Please take a moment to

read my article ‘We do it for the love of it’. It’s a request and a challenge to all of us entrepreneurs and those who support the ecosystem. I’d like to say a big thanks to Justin Cunningham for our most recent issues. Justin will be continuing as an expert contributor in online marketing.

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Last but not least please don’t be shy, introduce yourself and let me know how (via NZ Entrepreneur) we can support you better on your entrepreneurial journey.

Jennifer Liew

NZ ENTREPRENEUR IS PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 3

LETTER

WE DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF IT An open letter to the New Zealand Entrepreneur community

ENTREPRENEURS HOLD THE key to the future wellbeing of New Zealand.

an important role in reflecting the stories and successes of Kiwi entrepreneurs back to themselves and For a thriving economy, and healthy, wealthy communities the wider public. with a high standard of This is why the demise living for all, we need more of Unlimited Magazine in ambitious New Zealanders December last year after 15 creating world-beating years supporting this niche, businesses that bring in was not just a blow to it’s mountains of foreign cash. publishers and publishing in While the Government can do little more than decide how to ‘carve up’ the pie, ultimately it is our wealth creators – our entrepreneurs – who are the key to ‘growing’ the pie. But entrepreneurship is hard. It is not the safe option. It is risky. And to get more Kiwi’s to take the risk we need to promote and celebrate entrepreneurship as a serious and viable career option and life choice.*

general, but a blow to our entrepreneur and business community. Regardless of whether you read it, bought it, liked it or didn’t care about it, it cared about you.

Similarly, early this year Jose Matthias, founder of the website NZE (not to be confused with NZEntrepreneur!) had to close it down after nearly two years in order to find a “more sustainable business model”. Again, one less Entrepreneurs and would-be third-party organisation out entrepreneurs need all the encouragement and inspiration there finding and sharing they can get, and media plays the stories of New Zealand

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entrepreneurs and helping give entrepreneurs a voice.

Since our launch, we have done our best, with what we have, to contribute to So as the new editor and publisher of NZ Entrepreneur I the energy, excitement and potential of our urge you, the NZ Entrepreneur entrepreneur ecosystem. community, to help us avoid As entrepreneurs ourselves going the same way. there are many other things If you’re an entrepreneur, we could be doing, but thinking about becoming an this is a cause we are truly entrepreneur or know other passionate about and we entrepreneurs, read us. Take hope there are enough a moment to subscribe. Take others out there who feel the twenty minutes once a month same way. to read our stories, tips and #nzentrepreneur - it says it all articles and reflect on your in the title really. progress. Encourage others to read us. Jennifer Liew If you’re a supplier to the industry and provide products or services that can help New Zealand entrepreneurs achieve their goals, join our awesome supporters and advertise. Let us help you communicate your value to the people you can help. If you’re an incubator, university, an investment group, not-for-profit or other organisation contributing to the growth of the entrepreneur ecosystem, tell us about it. Let us know about the good work you’re doing so we can shine the light on it.

Editor

NZ Entrepreneur Magazine

PS. While I know many of you already, please feel free to get in touch and let me know what you’d like to see more of in NZ Entrepreneur. Email me at jennifer@nzentrepreneur.co.nz or phone me on 0274 398 100 *PPS. Young Enterprise Trust are doing a fantastic job of helping create this cultural change amongst our young people. Go you guys! ■

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Considering Co-Founders? What to look out for when choosing business partners BY NICK HARLEY

WORK TO YOUR STRENGTHS, partner with people who are strong where you’re not. But where to start? Nick Harley shares some hard earned wisdom on the CoFounder front. I like to think I’m a decent footballer, a better than the average golfer and through

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my experience in the building trade, I can turn my hand to anything practical. I’m also a terrible chess player, I get bored halfway through a game and go on an all out suicidal assault. Computer games are not my thing either, and I’d expect a small fiveyear-old girl to give me a severe beating at tennis.

Nobody is good at everything We all have different skill sets, interests and things we suck at. So why should this be any different when starting a business? One person might be good at marketing and sales, the other might be happier doing the website or the branding. One person might want to do both, but is that where they will be the most useful? If you are a single founder, you can do it on your own initially but you’re making it very difficult for yourself. You can’t be everywhere, you can’t do everything and eventually you WILL need a team to grow further. If you’re scared about giving up on control or equity, then read on. In my opinion, founders or early stage companies should only have a team of two or three people. Two people with opposing skill sets are the ideal scenario, not just for the company, but for investors too. Recently I came across a start-up with six founders. This will never work. Even if everyone gets along, puts in equal amounts of effort and the company succeeds

in raising a seed round (they were hoping to raise an early seed round so they could work on it full time), if the investor were to take 40% of the company they’d be left with 10% each. They’d have to cover six people’s full-time wages. So when they need further funding, they’ll be down to 6-8% each. Not much return if they eventually sell out for $10 Million one day, so what would happen to their motivation along the way knowing they own so little? If you have more than three founders, I believe you have a problem.

What to do when you can’t find a technical Co-Founder It’s a common issue. Why should a well-paid developer give it up and come and work on your start-up? Well, they won’t unless you can sell them the dream. Ideas are free, and a lot of the best ideas have already been done. If you have a good business idea and you can convince a technical co-founder to join you then you’ll be in a good position, but it’s not easy and I promise it won’t happen unless you make it happen.

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There are plenty of meetup groups for start-ups and entrepreneurs, which you can find at http://meetup.com.

I’ve had this problem myself. My first start-up was a web based software system, and I had limited technical experience. I thought I could do everything myself and outsourced the development to a company in Romania through a freelancing website - mistake!! If you are planning on doing this, I strongly advise you don’t choose this route. Building an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is relatively cheap. After you have validated your idea and studied your market (which costs next to nothing), you can build screenshots or a

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very simple demo. Using a freelancer for this is fine, but if you let them build your final product, you’ll regret it. You can use this market research and MVP to show potential customers and also try to hook yourself a developer. Go to networking events, start-up events and meetups and talk to people. There are plenty of meetup groups for start-ups and entrepreneurs, which you can find at http://meetup.com. The biggest thing to note here though is that they won’t come and find you; you have to go and find them!

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Sometimes technical people have a cool idea and product they’ve built. As they have the skills to do it themselves they can often just get on and build it, but need help in order to market it and turn their idea into a business.

It’s likely that you feel as though you can handle the business and sales side too, and get someone else who is also technical in to help you cover the load. That’s not the best scenario though. You should always try and match your skills with a cofounder who has opposing skills and focus on what you are good at. Maybe your business has no technical aspect at all? If you have a physical product or are offering a service, you might not need a technical co-founder at all, but you still need help. Look for someone with opposing skills.

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What to do when you can’t find a non-technical Co-Founder

Are you good at branding, sales and marketing but struggle with financials and the day to day running of the business? Find someone who can help you in other areas so that you can focus on your strengths. Again, there are plenty of meetup groups for startups and entrepreneurs which you can find at http://meetup.com.

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Have a trial period and see if this cofounder is the right match. Are their skills complementary to yours? Do you get on well? Put the right things in place should things go wrong like Shareholders’ Agreements and Vesting Schedules.

Are they right for you.. Once you find someone willing to help you, don’t jump in with both feet straight away. It could be that you will be spending more time with this person over the next few years than your friends/family/ partner. Do they have the same motivations? Do they have the same goals? It’s ok to be different in personality, but you’ll need to work alongside this person. If you argue, can it be easily sorted out? You’ll have arguments, it’s like a marriage at times. There are several things you’ll need to put in place, and I encourage you to spend your earliest funds on legal

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work rather than blowing it building your product. There are things you can put in place to protect you when things go wrong, and you don’t want to leave it until things are too late. Many friendships have been lost, and many lessons have been learned due to arguments between founders. Have a trial period and see if this co-founder is the right match. Are their skills complementary to yours? Do you get on well? Put the right things in place should things go wrong like Shareholders’ Agreements and Vesting Schedules. Luck will find you if you’re in the right places when opportunities arise! ■

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INTERVIEW

BEIntent 10 Questions with Suzanne Hall

How many businesses have you started prior to your current business?

projects have been creating the BE Intent Technology Platform, then BE Intent Business and now our latest I started Living Nature at 22 years old, and during the start- business BE Intent for Youth. Each of these are different up phase did a few smaller business entities with their businesses to help fund it. Then our biggest business own markets and teams.

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What are the two most valuable lessons you learned from your 20 years of experience starting, leading and then selling Living Nature? That your vision is what drives the outcomes. I had an audacious vision and didn’t know how I would achieve it, but if you hold the vision the pieces come eventually. That the ordinary thinkers can try and tear down something that isn’t built in the ordinary way. Don’t let them. Find people to help you achieve that are passionate and creative in their field, be that finance or production. You want people with fire in their belly about the vision, not their ego.

Your new venture BE Intent is completely different territory to Living Nature, what sparked the BE Intent idea and what’s it all about? One of my favourite parts of Living Nature was seeing people grow and develop and do things they never imagined they could. The essence of that is what Be Intent is about, how we help people create their own day, their own life, their own health and their own state of mind. Empowering, energising and moving past the unsurmountable. We used technology in a smart way to help people connect more to themselves. Apps used well enhance our lives so we can do more of what we love.

In the future, what are your hopes and plans for BE Intent? What would you like it to be globally recognised for? That is a great question. I see the BE Intent delivery system being on every smart device for every age group, in every organisation and every school. To be recognised as the tool you fall back on when you’re having a bad day and the tool you use when you want to get the most out of your day and your life.

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Weallhavedifferent measuresofsuccess; mineistobringan ideatofruitionand createsomething realandtangible.

Do you believe anyone can learn to be a successful entrepreneur? Why or why not? Hmmmm … yes and no. It depends on how audacious your business goal is. There are lots of entrepreneurs that have the courage to start a business. Different businesses have different risk profiles.

Having transitioned from one business type to another, what would you say are the You don’t have to be fundamental characteristics of creating a new idea to be an being a successful entrepreneur? entrepreneur; sometimes it’s We all have different measures of success; mine is to bring an idea to fruition and create something real and tangible. It’s also back to the vision, starting right from the beginning with the end in mind, and then navigating your way to that, even though you don’t know what paths you have to take, what roadblocks there might be, or what people will be joining you on the journey. One of the fundamental characteristics is to enjoy that journey and the unknowns. If it scares the hell out of you, you won’t bring your idea to into reality.

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looking at something and putting your own twist on it. They carefully bring a solid idea into sensible fruition. I tend to think fringe, new and global… Several people over the years have said “Suzanne you have balls of steel” when I was telling them about the next obstacle that was in front of us, or we’d just solved. They just couldn’t imagine what the constant stress must be like. But for me I can see where the idea will end up, even when it seems the terrain is unpassable. Then you get to go to new places.

What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs to deal with stress and keep going when things get tough? Use BE Intent, of course! But also know what changes your state, do you have an inspiring author or mentor you can go for a walk and listen to? Hang out with other entrepreneurs, who’s in your tribe? Have a repository of things that inspire you. Post your vision somewhere you can see it, record your wins, no matter how small. Allow yourself to give up for a day and start the next day refreshed. Be careful who you keep around you, and the type of questions they ask you. We all need to listen to good counsel, but we don’t have to listen to negative naysayers. Have someone in your life who just gives you hugs even when they think you’re possibly insane to keep going. If you don’t have anyone to do that, just pat yourself on the back and have a talk to yourself in the mirror like a kind wise friend.

You have to consciously have strategies in place so that you can get your brain in the best space to problem solve, and you need inspiring things to do that. No one else will give it to you, you have to seek it out or set it up yourself.

What do you do in your spare time to keep sane and on top of your game? For the first time, I’m training for a sprint triathlon and loving it. I’m working on my fitness as time out for me. Family and my partner live 3 hours away, so weekends are often juggling traveling, so I use the time to listen to inspiring books and catch up on the phone (hands-free, of course). I love painting, gardening and travelling, but while BE Intent is in its growth phase now, I’m just loving seeing it come to fruition. I am careful about who I spend time with and love hearing about friends business wins and challenges. For me, it’s the joy of my grandchildren. My daughter is a great sounding board.

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Knowhowmuchyouwillrisk,financially, emotionallyandspirituallyforanidea, andmakesureit’sanideaworthyof whatyouwillgivetomakeitwork.

Are there any other entrepreneurs with their own ideas. that inspire you? Who and why? I’m inspired by two of our I get inspired by people all the time. I joined Co of Women, and it’s full of entrepreneurs with amazing stories, young and old. I get inspired when I’m in India and see small merchants eeking out a living in some small entrepreneurial way. Big icons like Richard Branson are always inspiring. The things The B Team are doing in trying to change how the world does business. Was recently at Vend and came away hugely inspired. I’m inspired by some of our team who, as well putting in lots of creativity into BE Intent, are at the beginning of their lives and are playing

team that are over 60 and have changed careers and taken a walk on the wild side, offering creativity and amazing experience to the world. To me, everyone has a little piece of entrepreneurship inside them and whenever I see that little spark it ignites something in me.

What is the most important piece of advice you’d like to give Kiwi entrepreneurs or people who are considering entrepreneurship? Know how much you will risk, financially, emotionally and spiritually for an idea, and make sure it’s an idea worthy of what you will give to make it work. ■

Suzanne Hall is a serial entrepreneur that likes to create things that make people feel good. She’s really proud of her three grown up children who all follow their own passions and create their own businesses. She loves NZ with a passion and loves having businesses that show case how special this country is. BE Intent is the fruit of a life of wonders and hard roads, the good, the bad and the ugly. Suzanne lives with an intensity and a calmness that seeds and idea.

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MARKETING

Clever Content Making content marketing work for you. Colin Kennedy shares seriously valuable advice on how to approach content marketing in New Zealand and improve your chances of getting results that matter - increased customer engagement, conversion rates and more. This is a must read!

THE NATURE OF A good content marketing strategy is to target buyer personas with good quality content that adds value to them, and helps them make better decisions. By publishing helpful, valuable and relevant content, a company vastly improves search engine rankings, customer engagement and

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conversion outcomes, as in leads, sales and loyalty. Content that is developed with a clear understanding of customers, their needs and behaviours, also offers opportunities to develop an active database of a well qualified and receptive audience.

By knowing your customers needs and in particular, the questions that they are asking – of Google, of your sales and support people and their friends and colleagues – as well as understanding the current and future socio-economic and political environment your business operates within (and how that impacts your customers), we can create and curate engaging content in the correct format for best distribution. Content formats may range from tools (calculators, apps, checklists), to videos – such as a ‘step-by-step guide to getting your house ready for sale’ and features articles like ‘How to implement the paperless office in a New Zealand context’. The content should also draw on research and experts from within your company as well as recognised industry influencers and experts outside of the company. By drawing on independent comment or input, you will automatically begin to develop high quality, detailed and helpful content – from the

simple to the very complex. And you don’t need the experts to write it either. A competent freelance journalist, or content marketing agency like Iron Road, can interview the experts and create the content on your behalf. For example, a content piece for a catering company involved filming one of the chefs preparing the food while we chatted to him about why catering was such a vastly different art from ‘on site’ dining. In this way your company will have an endless source of content – directed by your clearly articulated strategy – which allows you to go on and build a market position as a thought leader. Companies that meet a customer’s information needs and which helps them solve problems with objective, non-commercial value-added information, is more likely to attract traffic, build awareness and convert followers and customers than other companies stuck in the self promotion paradigm.

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THE CONTENT CREATION PROCESS

1 Identify and create good quality, informative content pieces (video, podcasts, articles) based on your understanding of the target market, but ensure that where possible it is inextricably bound to current affairs. For example, what is making news in your industry at the moment? High house prices, for example, informs content ideas for financial advisors, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, insurers, maintenance companies, property investors… and speaks to their customers concerns.

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Interview company stakeholders and experts (try to include external experts) to create articles, podcasts, videos and other pieces dealing with relevant or newsworthy subjects, for example: • Real estate agents tells us the 7 things buyers most want from a home • How Facebook is changing trademark property rights

Curate quality content by third parties – expert, but independent market commentators – that is making news right now. But don’t just re-tweet or repost their content as is. Add your comment or interpretation to what is being said, rather than just promoting third party content. For example, You may want to use the third party piece to inspire your own blog post (while referring back to the original piece).

Curate and or re-purpose existing company content. For example is their a presentation that somebody has given at a sales meeting or seminar, that can be repurposed into informative content? Consider even filming the presentation and posting it to your website and to YouTube. Most importantly however, is to remember that the type, quality, format and nature of your content ultimately depends on the questions your customers are asking, and their needs and their problems.

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Type, quality, format and nature of your content ultimately depends on the questions your customers are asking, and their needs and their problems.

Content syndication One of the primary objectives of publishing content is to help your company cement ‘ownership’ of its thought leadership position by: • Expanding the company’s communications and digital footprint beyond that of the competition; • Engaging, communicating and converting target market customers over a defined period; • Increase discovery by achieving top organic search results; • Capture a growing number of good quality prospects; • Achieve independent endorsement from third party media, bloggers and commentators; • Deriving benefit from word-of-mouth, including social media shares and likes. To succeed at this, it is important to attribute as much importance to ‘search authority’ as you do to content creation.

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However you approach your content creation process, it is essential to write with the needs of your audience in mind, to be current and topical, and choose your distribution, or publishing channels, with your end objectives in mind The three primary channels for publishing and promotion of content include: 1. Owned media e.g. your website and your blog; 2. Earned media e.g. having your content published on digital news sites because it is newsworthy and interesting. It’s difficult, but can be done with content that is informative, memorable and distinctive enough that people want to read it and share it. Look to establish a network of high authority third party sites that will publish your company’s content.

3. Bought media e.g. this is where you pay a company to publish your content (sometimes referred to as native advertising). This content should still add value and be newsworthy. Anything less is advertorial and nobody reads that.

Colin Kennedy from Iron Road is a thought leader in content marketing strategy and communications in New Zealand. Visit his website at www.ironroad.co.nz

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MIKI SZIKSZAI CEO, SNAPPER

NEW ZEALAND’S SMARTEST BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE SWITCHING TO 2DEGREES. “We were saving between 35% and 40% off our telecommunications bill right off the bat. It also has opened up the opportunity for us to potentially reduce our reliance on landline phones in the office, which we’re now exploring. And again, that will probably take another 20% to 30% off our comms bill.”

MC2527A

To see the full story about Snapper, and hear about other companies who have made the move to 2degrees Business, visit: 2degreesmobile.co.nz/business.

Talk to one of our Business Consultants today and we’ll help drive your business forward. Call 0800 022 249 or visit 2degreesmobile.co.nz/business www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 23

TAKING THE PLUNGE

DALSON

FOODS

Jayson Buckley and Dallin Crouch from online Paleo supermarket, Dalson Foods, shared their startup story with us

Tell us about Dalson Foods and exactly what it is that you do? Dalson Foods is an online Paleo supermarket and New Zealand’s only Paleo supermarket. We hunt out some of New Zealand’s best produce and products and sell them via our online supermarket, delivering all over the country and internationally from time to time.

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What’s the story behind the business, how did you get started and why? Like a lot of good ideas, Dalson Foods was founded to help solve a problem. I [Jason] had been suffering from ill health for a number of years and was constantly feeling tired and unwell, but conventional doctors and medicine proved of little help to me.

So, I sought the advice of a natural health practitioner, Dallin, in the hope of regaining my health and improving my energy levels. During my consultation with Dallin, I discovered how big an influence my diet had on my health and that good health starts with providing our bodies with the right building blocks to thrive - real whole foods! Dallin told me that the sad reality is a lot of the food choices available to us today can barely be categorised as real food. It’s more food-likeproducts which contain high levels of sugar and have next to no nutritional value. I had never thought about food quite like this before, but it seemed to make a lot of sense. Dallin then suggested I go on a Paleo diet to improve my health and also prescribed a number of herbs for me to take on a daily basis. Although the word Paleo was foreign to me at the time, and such a big change to my diet was all a bit daunting at first, I was committed to improving my health so began my Paleo journey with Dallin’s guidance.

I’m so glad I did; my health has since improved dramatically. Getting started was a challenge, and although I found some useful advice and good Paleo friendly diet plans and recipes online (as well as some questionable ones), supermarket shopping was another challenge altogether. I was sick of spending crazy amounts of time reading the back of packets, cans, etc. I started Google searching Paleo supermarkets in the hope that someone had already done the work of choosing and stocking Paleo friendly foods but I couldn’t find anything here in New Zealand. So, after plenty of research and a desire to help others by providing them with a place to get Paleo ingredients, trustworthy advice and recipes, Dallin and I joined forces and created Dalson Foods, New Zealand’s only Paleo supermarket. Since the launch of Dalson Foods, we feel so privileged by the support of our growing and loyal customer base, we wouldn’t have achieved what we have without them. (JB)

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Many people put off starting a business because they don’t have enough surplus cash to get going? Does it really take money to make money? Is having no initial capital an excuse for not getting started? No doubt it can be a daunting task starting a business. I was always told to make money you have to spend money. Now, I don’t disagree with the

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statement but I don’t entirely agree with it either. We started Dalson with a very minimal cash injection. We’ve put a lot of time into getting to know our customers and ensuring we have exactly what they need. It’s important to note that in order to make money you really must map out your customers journey and truly understand your customer’s needs. (JB)

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So, in a nutshell, my advice is, if you suck at something, find someone who’s good at it and start a business with them!

Have you ever doubted yourself in building your business? If so what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who have periods of doubt about whether or not they’ll make it? I always doubt myself but having a business partner with some experience and a positive attitude has helped. Not to mention not having much to lose, with starting on a minimal cash injection. My self-doubt I feel comes from my introverted nature. Not something treasured in the entrepreneurial or business worlds of today. Not having a lot of social or any business sense was at first a little worrying and made me doubt whether I could accomplish anything in business at all.

What enabled me to overcome that life hurdle was pairing up with Jason; someone who exemplified those traits which I felt I lacked. We were able to work synergistically, relying on one another for what we were both good at. I was able to bring my knowledge and confidence in natural health and food, and of all things Paleo. Through observation and communication, my understanding in those areas has been greatly enhanced, and I feel much more confident (even on my own). So, in a nutshell, my advice is, if you suck at something, find someone who’s good at it and start a business with them! (DC)

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Are there any books or biographies you would recommend, in particular, that have helped you on your entrepreneurial journey? One book that always stands out to me is – ‘Start with why’ by Simon Sinek. The guy is a legend and breaks down some pretty interesting business techniques and gets you thinking about why you do what you do? How some businesses succeed more than others, even though they have access to the same technology, suppliers and talent. It’s worth a read. (JB)

What’s next for you? Where do you see yourselves and the business in five years’ time? I see us selling worldwide from many different local companies based around New Zealand. To really get into it, it would be nice to be working with the government to feed hungry kids healthy food, that will not only give them energy for their PE class, but the right nutrients and fats for them to be able to focus on maths and science, and proteins so they can last the day. (DC) ■

Dalson Foods was founded in October 2014, by Jason Buckley and Dallin Crouch. Dalson Foods was all about creating an online revolution and filling the demand for a Paleo food store. Jason has worked in various industries such as Retail, Insurance, Telecommunications and Global Sourcing. Dallin has worked in FMCG and Natural Health Industries and is currently studying and due to graduate in 2015 as a qualified Natural Health Practitioner. Website: www.dalsonfoods.co.nz

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SALES

SMARTER SELLING!

11 Great Tips For Mastering Sales. Want more results for your sales efforts? Read these tips and take this great advice from Jeff Thull on board.

Every sale is not a good sale

About 35 percent of all sales are bad sales. In one way or another, they leave the customer disappointed or the seller with excess costs and diminished returns. Often salespeople are so concerned with ‘getting the order’ that they write business that is not good for themselves, their company or the customer.

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Walking away from a situation that is not profitable for anyone is the right thing to do

It requires that the salesperson become comfortable with both hearing and saying “no” and moving on to the next opportunity. When professionals move on, they open themselves more quickly to higher levels of opportunity and success.

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Understanding the customer’s critical issues and dissatisfactions and recognising the business opportunities that arise from them takes research time and dedication.

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Spectacular success is always preceded by an unspectacular presentation

Traditional selling maintains that if the salesperson is clever enough to say all the right ‘sales stuff’, he or she will be successful. This is far from the truth. Sales professionals know that the preparation put into understanding the customer and his or her industry is vital to success. Understanding the customer’s critical issues and dissatisfactions and recognising the business opportunities that arise from them takes research time and dedication.

Do not allow the customer to self-diagnose

This is not to say that the customer isn’t intelligent; it’s just that he or she doesn’t make a decision regarding your products and services very often. A customer may only make such decisions once a year or even far less often. Sales representatives, on the other hand, continually diagnose customers with similar situations. The successful sales professional takes on the role of valued advisor or business consultant.

You have competitors. Your customers have options

When you’re with your customers, don’t refer to your competitors as competitors; for example, by asking a question like “Who are some of our competitors you’re considering?”. It conveys a very traditional sales image of concern about the competition in the sales process versus concern over the customer’s situation. A better question would be, “What are some of the options you are considering?”.

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7 Never ask for the order

If you have to ask for the order, it should be clear that your customer has missed something, and it’s your fault. If the diagnostic protocols have been followed, and the customer has recognised problems that can be eliminated by the solution you offer, the decision to buy will come as the next step in a well-executed quality decision process. The armwrestling of the traditional selling process is replaced by the acknowledgement that a mutually beneficial business relationship is developing.

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You will gain more credibility through the questions you ask than through the stories you tell Every prospect expects salespeople to say good things about themselves and the products they sell. Thus, the stories you tell are rarely taken seriously and are frequently discounted. What is taken seriously is the concern and knowledge you display in learning about the customer’s situation. Ask thought-provoking questions which will help you to understand the customer’s unique situation and will help you and the customer to manage quality decisions. When the customer hears your question, he should say to himself: “She wouldn’t be asking that if she didn’t understand our business.”.

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Always be leaving

Customers have learned through annoying experience that a traditional salesperson won’t take no for an answer. They hang on to their customers like a bulldog on a postman’s leg. Consider that the customer’s view could be valid. Displaying a willingness to accept the customer’s view will greatly reduce the tension and cause the customer to be more comfortable in expressing his or her real feelings. This relaxes both of you and helps build an atmosphere of cooperation and trust.

Don’t get emotionally involved

Salespeople don’t have problems; their customers do. As you perform your diagnosis and lead the customer through a quality decision process, ‘yes’ is not a problem and neither is a ‘quality no’. The customer who is losing $1 million in sales due to an inability to get a finished product passed by quality control has a problem. It is only when you feel the need to get the order now (when you come across as too hungry) that you run into problems. The professional operates with an objective and clear mind and methodically unravels the customer’s challenges so both the salesperson and the customer can come to a mutually beneficial understanding of the problem and the alignment of the solution. Being emotionally involved is being defensive and biased toward your needs.

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By the time you present the solution, there should be no surprises to anyone.

You can’t sell a group

A guaranteed prescription for failure is to present to a group People never say what without having first identified they mean...at first and appealed to the critical People learn from a very perspectives of its members early age that saying what on an individual basis. By the is on their minds can have time you present the solution, negative consequences. As there should be no surprises a result, they are cautious to anyone. to express their real feelings Everyone should be aware until they feel safe enough of how the proposed with another person. solution will impact them, The professional salesperson and enough support ‘peels the onion’ to allow should exist to guarantee the customer a feeling of that the group decision safety, which allows for the will be a mere formality free expression of thoughts, prior to implementation opinions and feelings. of the solution.■

Jeff Thull is a leading-edge strategist and valued advisor for executive teams of major companies worldwide. Visit his website at www.primeresource.com

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iP is about igniting passion Great ideas shape our world if they are harnessed and protected in the right way. At AJ Park, we work with you to understand your business and where you want to take it. Our experts specialise in helping you identify, protect, commercialise, and manage your intellectual property. If you’re looking for clear IP advice, call us today. 0800 257 275 I www.ajpark.com I New Zealand + Australia

AJ Park is about iP • intellectual property • igniting passion • ideas pervading www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 35

Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs

YOUNG ENTERPRISE STUDENTS TAKE NEXT STEP WITH VENTURE UP The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme has been operating in New Zealand schools for over 30 years. The year-long programme supports students as they create a small business for the first time. In this article, Young Enterprise CEO Terry Shubkin answers our questiosn about Venture Up, a new six-week accelerator programme for Young Enterprise alumni.

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Venture Up is a six-week accelerator programme which was created and run for the first time in 2015. It was run by CreativeHQ and based on their Lightning Lab startup accelerator programme. The key difference between Venture Up and Lightning Lab is that Venture Up is aimed at young entrepreneurs who have taken part in our YES programme.

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What is Venture Up?

Many students want to continue their entrepreneurial path. We didn’t have anything formal in place to support such students, and that’s why we worked with Creative HQ to create Venture Up.

Why did you create Venture Up?

How many people were involved?

Over 2,500 students take part in the YES programme each year and they create 600 new businesses. Most of these businesses are wound up at the end of the school year, but many students want to continue their entrepreneurial path. We didn’t have anything formal in place to support such students, and that’s why we worked with Creative HQ to create Venture Up.

We had 28 YES alumni accepted into Venture Up 2015, and they created a total of seven new ventures. Each group was mentored through Venture Up, and there were more than 30 mentors and speakers who spent time with the participants. Guest speakers included Claudia Batten, Dave Moskovitz, Vaughan Rowsell and Rachel Taulelei.

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What business ideas came out of the programme?

to suit the audience. Trials are underway with Victoria University.

The ideas ranged from digital solutions to farm bike hardware • Tribe Energy Drink has created a new energy drink and social enterprise around with no sugar and caffeine. affordable housing, They are prototyping at the for example: moment and hope to be • Flatpak sells a safe and launching soon. sturdy storage solution for • Sohler Homes is a new quad bike operators. The social initiative which aims team is currently running a to support families living in PledgeMe crowdfunding overcrowded houses. campaign to raise funds for They supply standalone their first production run. cabins as extra rooms to • Notifr is a feedback app people who need them. designed for the education The duo is currently in space. Teachers and lecturers talks with Housing New get instant feedback on Zealand and mobile their teaching and adjust home suppliers.

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There were benefits on a range of levels. Throughout the programme, participants regularly talked about the importance of key concepts like market validation, resilience and the Lean Startup methodology. They were also grateful for the chance to grow their own business networks. 22 of the 27 participants said they’d recommend Venture Up to other YES alumni. 19 said they were either ‘more likely’ or ‘much more likely’ to run a business as a result of going through Venture Up. Half of the participants are actively changing their plans in the coming year based on what they learned at Venture Up. These are all positive outcomes.

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What did the participants get out of Venture Up?

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Will you run Venture Up again?

Last month, the Minister for Youth, the Hon. Nikki Kaye announced that Venture Up would receive $300,000 from the Ministry of Youth Development’s Youth Enterprise Fund. That funding will be used by CreativeHQ to expand Venture Up over 2015/16. ■

To find out more about Venture Up, check out www.ventureup.co.nz or contact Nick Churchouse at CreativeHQ - nick@ventureup.co.nz

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Investment Corner

DatingvsMarriage What’s the Difference Between Project and Equity Crowdfunding? Pledge Me founder Anna Guenther explains... ILLUSTRATIONS BY JEM YOSHIOKA

The best way to explain the difference We often get asked “what is the difference between project and equity crowdfunding?”. At first this question stumped us. The underlying motivations of making cool stuff happen and supporting awesome ideas is

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the same. For us, the biggest difference comes down to commitment. A project is ephemeral, it lasts for a short time and your relationship with pledgers or campaign creators is fleeting. Equity campaigns, on the other hand, have a different level of long-term commitment.

DATING I’ve got a bit of experience both at creating project campaigns and dating (I’m pretty good at the former, the latter is debatable — and thankfully, historical). There are similarities with going on a good date and running a good project campaign.

Which got us thinking The best way to explain the difference between a project and an equity campaign is like the difference between dating and marrying your pledger. If you’re dating your pledger, they’re in it for an experience. It has a set duration, and it may be a one-off or lead on to something more. There aren’t a lot of expectations of a future together; it’s a more specific and time bound interaction between the two of you. Like a well (or poorly) run date. If you’re marrying your pledger, you’re in it for the long haul. You’re committing to a long term relationship, with immediate rewards as well as potential for the future. There might be highs and lows, but you’re in it together, working to build something bigger than yourselves.

You have to prepare for a good date. You need to do a bit of planning: where will you go, what will you wear, are you going to go in for a hug or a kiss at the end? But, once the date is done, it’s done. You can meet up again if you want. One magical experience that finishes at the end of the night. We have serial campaigners who have crowdfunded four or more projects, playing the crowdfunding field. When it’s going well, a good date can feel like the easiest thing in the world. But the easiness can take a lot of preparation, work, time, and self-confidence. When it’s going bad, it feels clingy. Like it’s never going to end, and you just don’t meld. But that’s the beauty of it, it’s just a date. No obligation to support them in the future.

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MARRIAGE But if you’re marrying your pledger — AKA running an equity campaign — there’s a whole new level of commitment. And, the time frame for getting ready is entirely different. Speaking from personal experience, planning a wedding takes time. You have to take into account all of the expectations of your family. Or, in the case of an equity campaign, your team, shareholders, customers, board members and advisor, oh and your crowd. When you’re getting ready to launch, try and have the mix of something old (your family and professional networks), something new (getting new customers on board and media), something borrowed (your networks sharing their crowds with you too), and something blue (your campaign on PledgeMe, of course).

If you’re getting married, you need to remember all good relationships are based on good communication. It needs to be consistent, and you need to work together to solve problems and celebrate successes. By bringing shareholders into your company, you’re signing a contract to have them and to hold them until death (or a share sale) do you part.

What kind of relationship do you want? When you’re getting ready to create a campaign, you need to think: what kind of relationship are going to go into with your crowd? Do you want some short term support, or a long term commitment from them to you (and vice versa)? Both dating and marriage make sense for different reasons, at the end of the day — it’s up to you and your crowd to decide what makes sense for your situation. ■

This article is going to be appearing in The Crowd, PledgeMe’s very own hard copy magazine. Keep an eye out for it in April!

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Ecosystem

Banqer Wins Start-up Alley 2015 BANQER, AN INTERACTIVE tool aimed at primary school students which makes learning and increasing financial literacy fun and easy, took away top prize at this year’s BNZ Startup Alley competition. BNZ’s Start-Up Alley is an annual Dragon’s Den-style competition held at the

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Webstock tech conference. The competition gives small businesses the opportunity to pitch their business to a panel of judges and be in to win great prizes. BNZ’s Small Business team also works with all the finalists, helping them to nurture and grow their businesses.

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BANQER, AN INTERACTIVE tool aimed at primary school students which makes learning and increasing financial literacy fun and easy, took away top prize at this year’s BNZ Start-up Alley competition.

Overall winner: Banquer Banqer was one of the three up-and-coming tech businesses. They pitched their business idea to a panel of judges at the Webstock conference held in February this year and won the overall prize of $20k, a return trip for two to San Francisco to meet with Silicon Valley’s top web professionals, a place in the Kiwi Landing Pad, access to Icehouse programmes, and much more. Banqer was described by the judges as having “amazingly fast traction”.

Runner up and wild card: Ravebuild and Syngency

Runners-up Ravebuild, the creators of a system for managing construction and building businesses, won $10k and a return trip to San Francisco. Syngency, a cloudbased system for modelling and talent agencies, caught the judges attention who thought they would benefit from the networking a trip to the US would provide, and as a wild card awarded them return flights to San Francisco for third prize. The other finalists: • FactorFree • Moxiee • Trailblazer ■

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PARTING SHOT

“Whyhaveyounot brokenfromthepack? You’replayingitsafe. Safeaintgonnagetyou sh!tinthisworld” - Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE Superstar)

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