NEW ZEALAND’S E-MAG FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS OWNERS
October 2015
10
QUESTIONS
with Libby & Ben Crawford
Keeping On Top Of Your Game - 5 Top Tips How to Get Past Ad-Blocking & Banner Blindness The One Skill Entrepreneurs Must Master www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
ABOUT / Short and sharp, New Zealand Entrepreneur is a free e-magazine delivering thought
CONTENTS
provoking and enlightening articles, industry news and information to forward-thinking entrepreneurs.
EDITOR / Jennifer Liew ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson GROUP EDITOR / Colin Kennedy
4
From the Editor
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER /
6
Taking Care of YOU!
CONTENT ENQUIRIES /
12 10 Questions with Libby & Ben Crawford
Alastair Noble
Phone Jennifer on 0274 398 100 or email jennifer@nzentrepreneur.co.nz
20
Getting Past Ad-Blocking & Banner Blindness
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES /
24
New Zealand Students Win International Business Competition
WEBSITE / nzentrepreneur.co.nz
28
Want Success?
Phone Jennifer on 0274 398 100 or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com
30 Entrepreneurial Intelligence 32
Breaking Down Barriers & Opening Doors for New Investors
36
Does Tall Poppy Syndrome really impact business owners in New Zealand?
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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!
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EDITORIAL
IN THIS ISSUE, we have the pleasure of introducing you to Libby and Ben Crawford. They have both been instrumental in helping Christchurch rise from the ashes through their contribution as entrepreneurs, right from the early stages of the Christchurch CBD rebuild phase. The stories from entrepreneurs in Christchurch which I’ve had the privilege of hearing recently are so inspirational and such a good lesson to us all that out of extreme adversity it is possible to create an even brighter future when
4 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
communities band together and make the decision to do so. Entrepreneurs are absolutely instrumental in making these positive changes, and the Christchurch entrepreneurial scene is a great example of that. It just shows how critical it is as a nation to nurture an entrepreneurial mindset in our youth and to provide entrepreneurs with a tonne of support because they have the potential to not only reshape their own futures but also those of the communities they live in, their nation and the wider world.
Jennifer Liew
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www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 5
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Taking Care of YOU!
As an entrepreneur your business is a reflection of you. You have the potential to be its biggest asset or liability. Investing in your well-being should be your number one priority. Jo from Great Spirit reminds us that our business was created to serve us (our vision, purpose, dreams), not the other way around and provides tips on how to keep ourselves on top of our game. BY Jo Hutchinson
6 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
AS ENTREPRENEURS, one thing that we have in common is we’ve all chosen the path of starting our own businesses as a way of fulfilling a dream, a passion or solving a problem. Whether it was a vision or a compelling purpose, it inspired us to take action and make it happen. Sometimes getting started is the easy part. The initial excitement creates the energy and momentum to carry us forward, to put in the hours and do whatever it takes to get going. And with each step we take, we learn new things, and we discover what we didn’t know or find obstacles that we didn’t expect. It’s all part of the journey. Whether you are a solopreneur or a small business, it is easy to get caught up in the busyness of being busy. There is always so much to do and often, we don’t have the luxury of having extra expertise or resources to help out like you’d find in a big company. It doesn’t take long before our business takes over our life.
It reminded me of a conversation I was having with Sally last week who has a successful public relations business. Her business was one of constant growth, unexpected PR emergencies with long hours, and she was supporting a team of eight people on the payroll. Her business had become her life. It was high pressure and high stress. Burn-out territory and, fortunately, she had the wisdom to see it and make some changes. I’m sure we’ve all been there pushed ourselves to the limit even when we know better and know it’s not sustainable we still do it.
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 7
Somewhere along the way, though, we usually end up paying the price for it whether we fall sick, or something else happens. Often, it serves an important purpose to help us stop and ideally recognise that it is time to make some changes. But knowing something isn’t always enough – it’s acting on that knowledge that counts because we always have a choice. So who is the #1 most important person in your business? It’s YOU of course. You, as the founder are an integral part of the success of your business. To succeed in making your dream a reality, it’s a step by step, day by day process and one of the keys is a commitment to self-care making your needs a priority. I don’t mean that in a selfcentered way, but rather as an enabler to achieve your goals, dreams, roles and responsibilities.
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A few years back I met Bruce, who runs a small print shop. When I used to pop in to get things printed, he’d always be on the phone which rang continuously. The first time I met Bruce, I could tell he had a great relationship with his clients just by the way he was talking on the phone. Bruce is one of those people where nothing is a problem, and he’d always find a way to meet the deadline even if his clients had left it to the last minute. I’m not sure of the hours that Bruce actually worked, but I do remember that he knew how to take care of himself. He had a passion for fishing, and now and then he would let his customers know that he would be away, and he’d escape the city life for a long weekend away to have fun and recharge. At Christmas time, he’d be away for at least three weeks, camping somewhere with his family. If there is one thing I learnt from Bruce, then it would be that he had built a business that supported the life he wanted to lead.
Self-care is not a luxury; it’s a practice - a practice where you put your needs at the top of the list and engage in a daily ritual that works for you. There are little things you can do and also bigger ones depending on your preferences, schedule and commitments. I like to think of the little things as things that you sneak into your day like five minutes of focused breathing that enables you to feel calm, centred and grounded. Think of it like little pockets of time that give you a breather and bring you back to
a place of balance. Then there are the bigger things like how you start your day and how you schedule your time, so it includes down time or play time. By the way, play time is not just for kids - it’s fundamental to creativity giving us space to think differently, to innovate, explore ideas, relax and have fun. It allows us to access our intuitive right brain. Fun is good and like a barometer, it energises and refreshes the body-mindspirit. It’s one of the most useful tools I use to know if I’m on track (or not).
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 9
HERE ARE MY 5 TOP TIPS:
1 2 3 4 5
Start your day with a few minutes that is just for you. It might be with some exercise, meditation or five minutes of focused breathing that gets you in the zone of feeling centred, balanced and at ease as you welcome the day ahead. Take mini-breaks throughout the day. If you are in an office, get up and walk around. Go outside for a few minutes. It will re-charge your energy. Schedule something FUN in your day. Fun is like a barometer and the more fun you are having, the more energy you have. Be mindful of the Sea of Distractions and Demands. Ask yourself if this is moving you in the direction of your dreams and if not, say ‘no’. Create space to reflect, think, dream and explore ideas. Book some time-out to STOP and get perspective on what’s truly important. And if all else fails, then my #6 is - Get back to basics and ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing? What purpose does it serve? Taking care of You is a Must Do to achieve the life of your dreams. ■
Jo Hutchinson is a Personal Development and Leadership Coach who helps people discover their passions, purpose, expand their potential and get results that serve them. Find out more here www.greatspirit.co.nz
10 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
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www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 11
INTERVIEW
10
QUESTIONS
with Libby & Ben Crawford
12 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
There’s some incredible entrepreneurial success stories coming from the heart of Christchurch these days. Stories of inspiring entrepreneurs who have created something great where adversity was once. Brother sister duo Ben and Libby Crawford were one of the first to set up their business in the Christchurch CBD during rebuild phase and are without a doubt inspirational entrepreneurs we can all learn something from.
Tell us a bit about what Libby & Ben do, and why you deliberately set up a CBD presence early in the Christchurch rebuild phase. Libby & Ben is a creative advertising agency. We work with brands to strengthen their communications – whether that be developing and implementing a new brand strategy and identity, producing television commercials or creating websites. We are a full-time team of five and have two studios, one in the CBD of Christchurch and one in Auckland.
We chose to base ourselves in the heart of central Christchurch two years ago when there was barely anything here. We were one of the first businesses to move back to the CBD. We did so because we are passionate about the city and want to be part of its future. To work on the anchor projects defining the city and work with those companies helping shape the region. So what better place to do that than from the centre of the rebuild?
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 13
What changes have you witnessed over the past few years in the Christchurch entrepreneurial scene and what can Kiwi’s in other regions learn from entrepreneurs in Christchurch? Christchurch was always perceived as quite a traditional city. It feels like the ceiling has been lifted over the last few years, leaving opportunities wide open for fresh, dynamic thinking, new possibilities and innovative ways of operating. In particular, start-ups and temporary businesses have
14 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
been encouraged to breathe life into the city during the rebuild. We hope that this energy will drive the culture of the future Christchurch, not just the short-term focus for the city. Entrepreneurs anywhere can learn from this mentality. Taking that first step to set up shop, whether it be temporary or permanent, that addresses an immediate need. Then evolving, refining and building their business from there to become engrained in the longterm fabric of their town or city.
How did you get Libby & Ben off the ground? We were lucky to have the opportunity to announce our new business on national television during the live final on The Block NZ, which gave us some immediate awareness. However, a lot of it was misguided, believing we were a renovation or interior design business.
were now in business. Ben literally set up the Auckland studio at the end of his bed, and Libby established the first Christchurch studio in her spare bedroom.
While opening some doors, The Block didn’t provide us with any business on a plate. We arguably had to work harder to prove our professional capability. Through a lot of hard work, It was a huge punt to quit our jobs beforehand, as we didn’t focusing on providing our know if we’d win any money. clients with exceptional Fortunately, we did, and that service, producing the highest provided us with a safety net, quality work and always saying allowing us to work full time on yes to potential opportunities, the business and have enough we’ve been able to create a income to fall back on. successful advertising agency in three years that’s continuing The next day we looked at to grow very strongly. each other and realised we
“Through a lot of hard work, focusing on providing our clients with exceptional service, producing the highest quality work and always saying yes to potential opportunities, we’ve been able to create a successful advertising agency in three years that’s continuing to grow very strongly. ” www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 15
Based on your experience what key tips would you like to share with budding entrepreneurs who are keen to make their own start? The biggest hurdle is starting. Once you take that leap, you have no other option but to make it work. Of course, you shouldn’t just blindly leap into business, ensure you have done your homework and know it is a viable opportunity. We’d recommend a one-page business plan, stating your mission, vision and values along with your 1, 3 and 5-year goals. We still use these to base our decisions and planning around. Finally, use Xero. It’s an amazing tool, reduces your admin time massively and gives you amazing transparency into your business.
16 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
What has been your biggest challenge to date and what have you learned from it? Going from two people working at home to then having two studios and staff was a massive leap for us. On one hand, our overheads went through the roof, and we were not only responsible for our own livelihoods but our staffs’ as well. And on the other, we had to relinquish some of the control over to other people which at the time was concerning – whether other people could work to the level we expected. Making this leap was the best decision we made. Our work is so much stronger now as we have a variety of perspectives and skills beyond our own capabilities. We also have more time to work on developing the business.
Some people might say working with family can be tricky. As a brother-sister duo what’s your opinion on this? We don’t think so. As siblings, you inherently trust each other and can be completely transparent. You can also ask a lot more of each other.
You were winners of the inaugural season of The Block NZ. Do you think the challenge of working together on The Block NZ has helped you in any way be better entrepreneurs, if so how? Yes, firstly it gave us an appreciation of what you are capable of doing if you put your mind to it. An insurmountable challenge is actually achievable if you disregard the notion of ‘normal hours’. There have been plenty of times where we’ve been working into the small hours together to meet deadlines or to put together pitches for new business. Secondly it also highlighted that you should say yes to every opportunity as you never know where that will lead you.
Looks like you’ve built a fabulous team around you. What’s your secret? What are the most important attributes you look for when choosing people to join the Libby & Ben team? Our guys are brilliant. We’ve consciously built a team that has diverse perspectives, styles and skills so we can offer our clients the widest possible responses to their briefs. So we spend a lot of time looking at the opportunities and pinchpoints for our business then defining the ideal candidate before we even advertise a position. As well as raw creativity, personality fit is massive for us.
What’s the future plan? Your big audacious goal for Libby & Ben is to: Apart from taking over the world? Our vision is to be the most well regarded independent advertising agency in New Zealand. We don’t aspire to be the biggest, but we aspire to be regarded as the best when it comes to service and the quality of our work.
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 17
Is there a specific entrepreneur that springs to mind that you admire? If so, who and why?
Virgin brand from music to publishing to air travel.
Locally, Peter Cullinane, who Internationally Richard Branson. started Lewis Road Creamery, and is a founding partner Love the stories of how he in Assignment Group and began, saying he could do Antipodes Water. Peter is a something when he had no magician at creating a brand idea whatsoever, and then set about figuring it out. Combined that adds value to products vs. creating a commodity product with his understanding of competing on price in a race to the power of brands. He’s been able to transfer the the bottom. ■ Libby & Ben – The Creative Agency was established in 2015 by siblings Ben and Libby Crawford. With studios in Auckland and Christchurch, the agency has clients across New Zealand including the AA, Cure Kids, Christchurch Airport and the Arts Centre of Christchurch. Visit www.libbyandben.co.nz for more information and to view some of their work.
18 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
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MARKETING
Getting Past Ad-Blocking & Banner Blindness What we can learn from content marketers and why they don’t have to worry about ad-blocking BY Richard Liew
CURRENTLY THERE IS a lot of consternation in media and publishing circles about the growing popularity of ad-blocking software, which enable web users to browse faster, without being tracked, and without the annoyance of increasingly aggressive and garish web-based banner,
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search and pop-up ads. Really this should come as no surprise to marketers as it simply reflects what we already know as consumers, even if we refuse to believe it as marketers. We HATE ads! The trend in the online space is clear.
• Apple’s new iOS9 operating system allows ad-blocking for mobiles and as a consequence iOS ad-blocking apps have shot to the top of app downloads. • Google is now working on its own ad-blocking service that will enable them to make money by blocking the very ads they helped proliferate! But even if people don’t use ad-blocking software there is well-documented research that shows web users have subconsciously trained themselves to not even see ads. It’s called banner blindness, and eye tracking software shows we don’t even look at ads anymore. Is it any wonder that click-thru rates of 0.1% (one click for every 1000 impressions) for online display ad campaigns are the average?
“
“
• It is estimated that 30% of German Internet users use ad-blocking software, and that figure is thought to be up to 20% in the US and growing.
Web users have subconsciously trained themselves to not even see ads
For online advertisers, the problem doesn’t stop there as bot and competitor fueled click fraud, growth in adunfriendly mobile browsing, and rising bid rates due to increased competition for search based and display ads all further dampen the parade. But it’s not just on the web that consumers are looking for ways to avoid ads. Services such as Sky TV’s MySky and digital recording boxes such as Tivo enable viewers to skip the ads. Ad-free services like Netflix and Spotify Premium show many consumers are happy to pay to avoid ads. So what does all this mean for New Zealand marketers? Well, the trend towards content marketing overseas is clear.
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 21
For the third year running content marketing has been voted the most commercially important trend in digital marketing. It is amazing how often we meet marketers who continue to believe content marketing is a ‘fad’. On reflection, though, these people are often little more than glorified Google Adwords and payper-click buyers rather than marketers per se. Warm and secure behind their security blanket of keywords, CPM’s, PPC’s and programmatic buying, they have been able to reduce the art of marketing strategy to a single number – something they are not sure how to do when it comes to content marketing. We live in a time when our customers get to choose with whom they will engage when they want to engage and for how long they will engage. So if your marketing By Richard Liew, Founder, Espire Media
22 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
is not such that your target customers want to engage with it, and enjoy engaging with it, then you are destined to rely on traditional interruption-based advertising, competing for the ever-dwindling customer attention pool. This might be acceptable if you have deep pockets. But ultimately it is the brands who take the time to nurture and develop their own media streams, as opposed to hijacking the media streams of others, that will be getting all the attention. As marketing maven Seth Godin says, “the most valuable forms of marketing are consumed voluntarily.” Done well, your marketing becomes your customers destination, not an interruption on their way to their destination. And this is precisely why content marketers don’t have to worry about ad-blocking. ■
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Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs Wendy and Aidan
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New Zealand Students Win International Business Competition 24 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
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Two Auckland students have won an international business competition, pocketing $US4000 in prize money. They qualified for the competition by setting up their own small business through The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.
WENDY LEE AND Aidan Scott are the 2015 Asia-Pacific champions of the FedEx Express Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge. They won the title in Singapore recently, beating students from nine other countries to take the title.
Wendy says the time pressure was intense. “It was crazy - I’ve never had so little sleep! I was surviving on adrenaline and iced coffee, and I genuinely loved the competition.”
Wendy and Aidan’s winning idea was called Casa Cuba. Their plan was to develop The International Trade small home-based restaurants Challenge was run over three to help small companies days. Working in pairs, each grow. Aidan and Wendy also team was given the same brief: planned to contract local to “create a cohesive market farmers in order to guarantee entry strategy plan for a fast a consistent supply of food, a food restaurant chain, which major issue in Cuba. also addresses an economic “Our core target market issue in Cuba”. Students had was people who already less than 48 hours to research and create their answer to the had an established ‘Paladar’ restaurant - a small family-run brief, before pitching to the restaurant operating from judging panel on day three.
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 25
First place presentation
their own home,” says Aidan. “These were our franchisees, and as they were existing ‘restaurants’, it meant their setup costs were very minimal. We would offer training in business management and take a commission from their sales.”
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The marking criteria asked students to define clearly the target market and their demographics. Wendy and Aidan also had to explain their approach to marketing and distribution and creatively showcase their business concept in just seven minutes.
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Aidan says he and Wendy thought carefully about why families would want to become involved in Casa Cuba. “The benefits for the franchisees are that they would not only get training and ongoing support for their business, but they would also benefit from economies of scale. Our group of restaurants would have an increased buying power, and marketing economies of scale meant we would be able to launch international marketing campaigns targeting potential customers who were travelling to Cuba.”
the YES programme and the International Trade Challenge has changed his plans for the future. “I’ve now opened my mind up a lot more to the idea of Entrepreneurship. I’ve realised now how important it is to follow what you enjoy, rather than what is expected. For me, the idea of starting, maintaining and growing a business is something I seriously want to do with my life.”
Aidan says taking part in both
what Aidan and I did.” ■
Wendy agrees, saying the whole experience was significant for her. “I was never sure about wanting to study business, but I’ve enjoyed it so much. In life, there will be times when The International Trade you’re expected to perform Challenge is run each year by Junior Achievement Worldwide. under tricky conditions. It was amazing to experience that Young Enterprise is the New before I leave school.” Zealand representative of Junior Achievement and “There was such a strong selects the national team from focus on teamwork too – with students taking part in The Lion only two people in each team, Foundation Young Enterprise we really had to work well Scheme (YES). together. I’m really proud of
Young Enterprise Trust’s vision is to grow a more prosperous New Zealand through enterprise. Our aim is to ensure all New Zealand students participate in experiential enterprise education and financial literacy programmes. http://yetrust.co.nz/
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 27
SALES
Want Success? Then learning this one skill is non-negotiable for entrepreneurs BY Jeff Haden
I ASKED ABOUT twenty business owners and CEOs to name the one skill they feel contributes the most to their success. What did every one of them say? Sales skills. Each and every one felt success is almost impossible – in any field – without solid sales skills. Here’s why: To many people, the word selling implies manipulating, pressuring, cajoling – all the used car salesman stereotypes. But if you think of selling as explaining the logic and benefits of a decision, then everyone needs sales skills: to convince others that an idea makes sense, to show bosses or investors how a project or business will generate a return, to help employees understand the benefits of a new process, etc.
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In essence, sales skills are communication skills. Communication skills are critical in any business or career – and you’ll learn more about communication by working in sales than you will anywhere else. Gaining sales skills will help you lead teams, line up distribution deals, land customers, build important connections… in every stage of building a career, most of what you do involves sales. Understanding the sales process, and how to build longterm customer relationships, is incredibly important regardless of the industry or career you choose. Spending time in a direct sales role is an investment that will pay dividends forever.
HERE ARE A FEW OF THE BENEFITS: You’ll learn to negotiate. Every job involves negotiating: with customers, with vendors and suppliers, even with employees. Salespeople learn to listen, evaluate variables, identify key drivers, overcome objections, and find ways to reach agreement – without burning bridges.
You’ll learn to close. Asking for what you want is difficult for a lot of people. Closing a sale is part art, part science. Getting others to agree with you and follow your direction is also part art and part science. If you want to lead people, you must be able to close. Great salespeople know how to close. Great bosses do, too.
You’ll learn persistence. Salespeople hear the word no all the time. Over time, you’ll start to see no as a challenge, not a rejection. And you’ll figure out what to do next.
You’ll learn self-discipline. When you work for a big company, you can sometimes
sleepwalk your way through a day and still get paid. When you work on commission, your credo is, “If it is to be, it’s up to me”. Working in sales is a great way to permanently connect the mental dots between performance and reward.
You’ll gain self-confidence. Working in sales is the perfect cure for shyness. You’ll learn to step forward with confidence, especially under duress or in a crisis. Still not convinced? Think of it this way: The more intimidating or scary a position in sales sounds, the more you need to take one. You’ll gain confidence and selfassurance, and the skills you gain will serve you well for the rest of your business – and personal – life. So if you’re a would-be entrepreneur, set aside your business plan and work in sales for a year or two. If you’re struggling in your profession, take a parttime sales job. Part of the reason you’re struggling is probably because of poor sales skills. Successful people spend much of their time ‘selling’. Go learn how to sell. It’s the best investment you will ever make ■
Jeff Haden is a ghostwriter, speaker and LinkedIn Influencer. He has ghostwritten over fifty non-fiction books, including seven Amazon category number ones.
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 29
PERSONAL TRAINER
Entrepreneurial Intelligence
with SandyGeyer
30 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs making that are holding them back from success? 1. Perfectionism. We have to learn to move forward in an environment of uncertainty and “good enough for now” or we hold ourselves back. 2. An ego attachment to our product or service: we need to give the market what it wants and not what we think it wants or what we are good at.
3. Minimising success due to minimising risk. 4. Collaborating with the wrong people or tolerating under-performers. 5. Lack of investment in real know-how and professional development in business-building skills as opposed to a professional or trade expertise. ■
In each issue, Sandy will be answering commonly asked questions from new entrepreneurs. If you have a question for Sandy to do with entrepreneurship, building successful businesses or the challenges and difficulties faced by entrepreneurs, email the editor at jennifer@nzentrepreneur.co.nz
Sandy Geyer is an entrepreneur and mentor and teaches the principles of entrepreneurial intelligence (EnQ), to entrepreneurs in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. You can visit Sandy’s website at www.enqpractice.com
www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz • 31
Investment Corner
BreakingDownBarriers &OpeningDoorsfor NewInvestors BY Nathan Rose & Will Mahon-Heap
32 • www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz
Who can invest in startups? Many wealthy investors have long had exposure to venture capital in their portfolios, and now retail investors have the opportunity to add this asset class to their investment portfolios through equity crowdfunding. Until recently, retail investors (most of the public!) were shut out of early stage company investing. The rules said that, without a full initial public offering (IPO) on an exchange, early stage companies could only market to sophisticated and high-net-worth investors. The cost of an initial public offering is prohibitive for companies needing to raise money in the $250,000 $2 million range, thus effectively ruling out the possibility of bringing these companies to retail investors.
Real, cash-paying customers will also allow you to point to the track record of growth that you have already been able to achieve, which makes your future projections much more credible too.
Early stage companies had to rely on angel investors, venture capital and private equity for funding. High minimum investment sizes, typically of at least $20,000 per company, made early stage investing an exclusive domain. Such high minimum investment sizes meant ordinary retail investors simply didn’t have the cash to play the game without putting an unreasonable proportion of their wealth at risk, even if the rules had allowed them to.
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Equity crowdfunding has changed all that. Technology and a friendlier regulatory environment has enabled early stage companies the means to seek funding from retail investors
Who can invest? These lower minimum investment sizes mean that kiwis with ordinary, middleclass levels of net worth can realistically buy into several crowdfunding offers without putting a substantial proportion of their wealth at risk. While early stage companies are individually very risky, owning stakes in several of them means the risk is diffused across several opportunities.
How? What’s new about equity crowdfunding? Equity crowdfunding has changed all that. Technology and a friendlier regulatory environment has enabled early stage companies the means to seek funding from retail investors, and these investors are empowered to screen and compare a large number of opportunities to make their own informed decisions. Minimum investment sizes closer to the $500 - $2,000 mark now mean it is a realistic addition to the portfolios of mum and dad investors.
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Here’s how it could work – invest in ten equity crowdfunding opportunities at $2,000 each – an outlay of $20,000 (not an unreasonably large sum in the context of the amount we invest in property and retirement portfolios across a lifetime). Eight of these companies completely fail, one of them is a moderate success and doubles in value, one of them is a large success and increases in value by twenty times. This would see the portfolio rise in value to $44,000 – a return of more than twice the initial outlay, despite a failure rate of 80%.
This is the sort of outcome venture capitalists hope for – they invest in many opportunities, expecting most will fail, but that the successes will tend to be large enough to make up for the failures. The proportion of right and wrong does not matter - what counts is the accumulated payoff. It is also possible all ten could fail. That’s a risk, and a nontrivial one at that, which is why it is also important to limit the exposure to early stage companies to a small proportion of a total portfolio. To be clear, the vast majority of a portfolio should remain safe. Never be exposed to the possibility of losing everything. Nassim Taleb (author of Antifragile) talks about the merits of a ‘barbell’ strategy in investing – the numbers he uses are 90% in safe assets, while 10% can be put into high-risk venture capital, hoping for the big payoff. Crowdfunding makes this
strategy possible for mumand-dad investors.
Ok, what’s the conclusion? Of course there needs to be education and companies need to make clear that early-stage investing is risky – in fact, the equity crowdfunding platforms and the documentation in each offer makes this abundantly clear. So long as investors don’t put all their eggs in one basket, equity crowdfunding has the potential to be a great addition to investment portfolios.
A disclaimer: This is not investment or legal advice. It takes no account of your personal financial circumstances. You should consult a financial adviser before making any investment decision. The authors expressly deny any loss resulting from use of the general information in this article. ■
Nathan Rose is an experienced investment banker, and offers services in financial modelling, building great pitch decks, and capital raising analysis for entrepreneurs and small business. Find out more here. Will Mahon-Heap from Equitise. Crowdfund enthusiast, alternative finance follower, big data reader, internet of things watcher, escaped corporate lawyer. www.equitise.co.nz
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Ecosystem
DoesTallPoppySyndrome reallyimpactbusiness ownersinNewZealand? This is a follow-up from an article in our May 2015 issue which discussed results of interviews with high profile entrepreneurs and their experience of Tall Poppy Syndrome. Jodyanne Kirkwood & Tarja Viitanen from Otago University have now surveyed 217 business owners about Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) and how it affects them in their decision making in their businesses. Check out their findings and potential solutions below.
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AROUND THREE-QUARTERS of business owners believed that Tall Poppy Syndrome exists in New Zealand. Fortytwo percent of respondents believed that they had experienced TPS in their position as a business owner. Of those who have experienced it, around half believe it to be a mostly New Zealand phenomenon, while half have seen it in other countries as well. Friends, competitors and anonymous commentators on social media were the main sources of negativity. We were primarily interested to find out how business owners were affected by TPS. These business owners were affected emotionally by it (57%). This is rather concerning, but there is also quite a significant amount of financial (36%) and reputational damage (34%) that business owners have experienced due to Tall Poppy Syndrome. We also asked whether TPS
was considered when making business decisions. The good news is that only quarter of business owners considered TPS when making business decisions. Their visibility as a business owner is the key factor that they considered in relation to TPS (78%). This may be important as few business owners may be willing to step out from the radar and tell others about their success. Other factors were how much to grow the business (31%), where to locate the business (29%) and how much charity/ pro bono work they do (29%). The more pressing question is what (if anything) can be done about TPS to make it easier for business owners? We asked the business owners to explain in their own words what they believed could be done about TPS in New Zealand. Seventyone percent of the people in who had experienced TPS thought there was something that could be done to improve or resolve TPS for business owners.
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The three main things that could be done were:
1
Celebrating business success more and being proud of business achievements, and in a broader sense, being proud of being a New Zealander. This may be of more need in provincial towns and small cities as larger cities such as Auckland and Wellington often host small business/entrepreneurship awards events.
2
More education on what it means to be a business owner. Some business owners felt that those who did not own businesses had little idea of what owning a business involved. These are other adults who could be viewed as the main detractors (friends, those commenting on social media for example). The current primary and secondary school system was described as being an issue where some believed children are not taught extensively about real-life business. More generally, students should be taught that they can be anything they want to be and to be aspirational. Jodyanne Kirkwood & Tarja Viitanen from Otago University
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These first two suggestions are relatively achievable, and small steps can easily be made in this area by business owners themselves. However, it is a double-edged sword – as the results showed that business owners respond to TPS by limiting their visibility as a business owner. To celebrate success and educate people about business ownership, some business owners will have to step into the limelight and share their experiences. This was something that the highprofile entrepreneurs who were previously studied did well, yet by doing so it opened them up to a greater amount of criticism.
3
Cultural/values shift within New Zealand. This may be very difficult to change. Some business owners just accept TPS as part of life. Responses such as “it’s a sad fact of life”, “Its part of the New Zealand culture”,” change the culture? It’s a hard one” were common here. This shift in values may be able to make very small improvements over time if the first two suggestions are taken. ■
PARTING SHOT
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing -Walt Disney
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