NZ Entrepreneur Issue 9

NEW ZEALAND’S E-MAG FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS OWNERS

July 2013

Funding Lessons The Crossing Point

Advisory Boards What To Look For

10 Questions with

Lizzi Hines

of Spaceworks

Profile on #nzentrepreneur Brian Maclean The Incubator - ecentre Massey University

Plus heaps more inside!

case study: stray

“I’ve forgotten about reliability issues because there are none.”

Brett Hudson Operations Manager, Stray

Stray

Stray Limited is an adventure bus company taking travellers to out-ofthe-way places around New Zealand. We caught up with Operations Manager, Brett Hudson to talk about 2degrees and their business.

Adventure Travel 50 staff 41 mobiles Around NZ Joined 2012

Why does stray need mobiles?

Our tagline is “off the beaten track” so we’re not staying at your main destinations. We’re getting out there to the extremities of New Zealand and our sole way of being in contact with our drivers is through phone communications. We have changes happening all the time and we need to be able to contact our team in real-time.

What Was your old provider like?

There were large phone bills and if we had a problem like a phone outage it seemed they were either busy or they weren’t organised, and couldn’t get back to us. It was very frustrating and it became a constant problem within the business.

and What impact is 2degrees having?

It saved us $60,000 in the first year. In the second year, it’s going to save us that again. All this will go back into marketing campaigns or growing other parts of the business. The other impact is having an Account Manager I can get hold of to get solutions to my problems when I need them.

What difference do mobile devices make?

Our drivers are now able to use their smartphones and other mobile devices to show videos, photos and information about other tour packages and options available, like our operations in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. We couldn’t do that before and it has made a huge difference. Of course, they’ve now got email and internet access too.

“You need damn good partners for successful business, and 2degrees I put in that category.“ Brett Hudson, Operations Manager

hoW is the coverage?

The coverage is fantastic. Regularly, I’m on road trips across New Zealand and off the beaten track and haven’t experienced issues with coverage. With our old provider there were a lot of black spots around Auckland and I don’t get those with 2degrees. And the bus drivers could be at Cape Reinga, they could be at Stewart Island, they could be down the West Coast; so in all sorts of different coverage areas and 2degrees works well for us.

3 x $89 plan

37 x $49 plan

1 x $149 plan

hoW reliable is the netWork?

Since I’ve been with 2degrees I’ve forgotten about reliability issues because there are none. Previously I regularly had issues.

I would be on the internet and it would drop out and when I sampled a 2degrees SIM card in there, I was amazed at the speed, how much quicker it was. I would regularly be on the phone with the last network and it would just drop a call. I don’t get that any more. As I said, the word reliability has disappeared from my vocabulary because it is so reliable.

For video case studies about Stray and other businesses who have made the move to 2degrees Business, please visit 2degreesmobile.co.nz/business

better 0800 022 BIZ (249)

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2degreesmobile.co.nz

businesscare@2degreesmobile.co.nz

BUSINESS

Contents 4

From the Editor

6

Advisory Boards

8

10 Questions with Lizzi Hines from Spaceworks

12

Funding Lessons - The Crossing Point

15

Climbing The Ladder

16

Profile: Brian Maclean from Wingding Designs

18

Tomorrows’ Entrepreneurs

20

IP In Action: Stake Your IP Claim Early On

22

Entrepreneurial Intelligence with Sandy Geyer

24

The Incubator - ecentre Massey University

26 The Paddock 29

Parting Shot

Subscribe to NZ Entrepreneur for free!

ABOUT / Short and sharp, New Zealand Entrepreneur is a free e-magazine delivering thought provoking and enlightening articles, industry news and information to forward-thinking entrepreneurs.

EDITOR / Nick Harley ART DIRECTOR / Jodi Olsson GROUP EDITOR / Nick Harley CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER / Alastair Noble CONTENT ENQUIRIES / Phone Nick Harley on (021) 052 9770 or email nick@nzentrepreneur.co.nz ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES / Phone Jennifer Liew on (027) 4398 100 or email jenniferl@espiremedia.com

From the Editor

I

ADDRESS / NZ Entrepreneur, C/- Espire Media, PO Box 99758, Newmarket, Auckland 1151, NZ WEBSITE / www.nzentrepreneur.co.nz

ISSN 2253-5683

had some money, then I lost it all.

Then did it all over again.

Some entrepreneurs call them speed bumps, others will

affectionately call them ‘challenges’, but at the time, these periods can suck the life out of you. You wake in the morning and experience a brief few moments of ignorant bliss before suddenly realising yes, it really did happen. Ugh.

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!

Do you give up? Or try again?

Entrepreneurship is often about dealing with uncertainty. To take yourself out of the comfort zone and be at peace with the many different outcomes that could eventuate, whether good or bad.

If you have started a business or are thinking of starting one, NZ Entrepreneur is a great resource to find people doing exactly the same things as you are. Whether you are a regular reader of this e-magazine, a passive one, or take part in our meetup events, you’ll soon realise we’re all on the same journey, just some of us are at different stages. Some are at the start line, some are at the finish and others are somewhere between the two.

Just don’t give up.

Nick

Email nick@nzentrepreneur.co.nz LinkedIn http://nz.linkedin.com/in/nickharleynz

4

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5

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Advisory Boards

By Nick Harley

Knowledge is having the right answer, intelligence is the ability to ask the right questions. Every day we ask people to answer the questions that we simply don’t have the answers to. We ask strangers for directions, we ask mechanics what’s wrong with our cars or doctors why we’re feeling ill. By nature we seek out the people with the answers. Yet when it comes to business, for some reason we are not so forthcoming to seek help and guidance.

C

all them what you will, any mentor or advisor you can

Experienced

secure for your business can help you in many more

I’ve heard many people complain about their business mentors

ways than just answering your questions. Setting up an

only to dig a little deeper and find they’re just not suitable

advisory board seems more involved and complex than it is in

for the job. Some business mentors come from corporate

reality, so it’s something you should look to put in place in the

backgrounds, having lived their whole careers under the

early stages of your business.

umbrella of big and slow moving organisations.

For those wondering, an advisory board is a selection of

Not to downplay their expertise, they have a good

individuals that add value to your business. They help guide

understanding of ‘business’ in its general form, but they may

you, advise you, and are your support system along the lonely

not have personal real-life experience of the unique problems

and treacherous journey from startup to profitability. Later

new startup businesses face. If they haven’t built something

on in the company’s life it’s likely you’ll set up a formal board

from nothing, it’s hard for them to really appreciate the

(highly likely if you take outside investment as your investor

sacrifices, the sleepless nights, the lack of money and the

may require a seat on the board) but an advisory board fills in

problems that can inevitably crop up. Building out your ideas

the gaps for the early stages. Selecting an advisory board is the

on minimal funds, dealing with founding team issues, making

tricky part. It’s important to get it right and do it well if you’re

quick and decisive decisions and simply coping with the

going to get the maximum value from it.

A great advisory board should be...

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pressure of early stage businesses are all things that require first hand experience if people are going to be dishing out advice.

Relevant Your advisory board should include people with experience in your industry. Having an advisory board member from a banking background for example would not suit a food and beverage manufacturing business. The best advisory board members have already been and done what you are about to do.

They have trodden your anticipated path previously and can tell you the things to watch out for along the way. It sounds simple, but it’s amazing how many people get it wrong. Finding people that are well connected or known in your industry helps boost your credibility and also opens the right doors for you.

Diverse Advisory board members should complement each other and the business. There is little point in having people with the same expertise all giving their opinions on the same subject, as it only leads to conflict. Your board should cover three main areas at a minimum. Financial, business strategy and legal / commercial skills are all in demand in the early stages of a business. Your financial member should help you get your pricing and cash flow projections documented and organised.

They’re who you go to when you need to talk about money.

Your business strategy member should be working closely with you to decide on the best course of action to take, to be a sounding board for any problems you are having and to help make decisions when you just don’t know what to do. And your legal / commercial member can review and help decipher any complicated legal work you need to take care of rather than spending a fortune on lawyers. So they can be a good person to have around. You’ll also want to increase the size of your advisory board with any members that have complementary experience in your chosen industry, it’s all about adding value.

Independant Whilst it can be tempting to lean upon existing connections, are they really the right people to be on your advisory board?

Would you select them if you were not already acquainted?

Advisors that have personal connections to individual or multiple team members often offer more hindrance than help.

You need guidance from your advisory board. They are not there to be your cheerleader. Advisers may not be able to speak freely or tell you when you’re wrong, or in some circumstances side with one member of the team out of allegiance to the individual. If your advisory board member is also a supplier of services for your business it can lead to extra hassle should the relationship breakdown. It’s far better to secure advisory board members who are going to speak up and stand up to you if you’re making bad calls and sit independently from the critical business operations. For this to work effectively the relationship needs to remain a business one in the first instance.

Local The best advisory boards work when the members are local to you and your business. Nowadays we can get away with long distances using video calls and cloud based services, but there

“

The best advisory board members have already been and done what you are about to do.

really is no substitute to a face to face meeting once a month to talk about progress. Your advisory board should know your business intimately. They should be able to answer simple questions about the business and not have to be updated only when a problem arises. Long distances make it harder to communicate effectively. Try and get your board members to commit to a monthly advisory board meeting. If any of them can’t be there they may wish to join in via a video call. I’ve done it both via distance and locally, having regular face to face meetings is certainly the best way to go if you can and a defined monthly meeting is key to both scenarios.

Willing How much do you pay advisory board members? If someone is going to give up their time for you, they should be compensated right? Well no actually. Advisory board members should be willing to be a part of your business for free, certainly in the first year or so. Many people enjoy helping others and it’s actually enough for them just to be involved. If you have chosen your advisory board members wisely you should also have them in mind to join your formal board when the time comes, so you can compensate them for their efforts this way if they have been of significant use to you.

In the United States, many companies offer small equity allocations to their advisory boards, but that doesn’t really happen here too often. Your advisory board members should be excited by the opportunity and willing to join your adventure.

There’s a lot to like regarding advisory boards if you implement them correctly. You should talk to your lawyer about a simple advisory board agreement or produce one yourself outlining their roles, responsibilities, compensation expectations and scheduled meetings, or check out the First Boards group on Linkedin for support www.linkedin.com/groups/FirstBoards-4511522/about

Nick Harley is editor of NZ Entrepreneur e-magazine and has been involved with multiple startup businesses over the past six years.

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ISNETC ER W T VI IOE N

10 Questions with

Lizzi Hines of Spaceworks Great businesses are started every day when people act upon an opportunity. We talk to Lizzi Hines about design company, Spaceworks.

Hi Lizzi, tell us about Spaceworks, how did the idea come about and what’s the story behind the business?

In 2004 I started working for Jane Eyles-Bennett who owned Spaceworks. I started as a Junior Designer/Office PA. Whilst I had had a design degree and worked previously as a residential designer, I was a total newbie to the commercial sector. I worked for Jane for about 18 months before she decided to sell. Freaked at the thought of earning a Junior Designer’s wage for a construction company (that was who was looking to buy us), I put in an offer. I had no idea how I was going to find the money – I had one month before the settlement date. I found a great banker at ANZ who was prepared to listen to my story. I was a banker’s worst nightmare. I had no assets, I didn’t have any cash and I was buying a service based business which was based mostly on goodwill. Everyday for a month he said ‘no, go and try again’.

Each morning I would escape for an hours walk and come up with another plan. On the last day of the month, he finally said yes. Even last year at our Christmas party, I said to him, “Would you have still loaned me the money if you knew there was a global financial crisis on the way?” He said yes – mainly because of the passion and determination I had, he just had to ensure that he satisfied the banks criteria in terms of loaning me money.

Starting a business is a scary thing that puts off a lot of people.

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The first year of a new business is often the hardest financially. How did you survive that startup period and keep growing the business in those early days?

When I purchased the business it was already established with two staff members. I did not experience the same sort of difficulties others have in their first year. My first challenge was more to do with finding my business feet, in doing that you make mistakes and learn from them. I did however have my fair share of financial struggles, I had a major client fall over, owing us six figures. I thought it was going to break me, not only financially but the burden of our suppliers and staff that were also caught up in this. Then only 18 months after buying the business we hit the global financial crisis, doom and gloom is a definite way to upset things both from a moral perspective and a reassessment of where the money/ work is coming from. Sheer faith, determination and a love of the business is what kept me going. When I first bought the business we completed design work for offices only. Very shortly after I took over I undertook a plan to diversify into all design that related to commercial interiors – including retail and hospitality. This was our saving grace during the recession as the bottom fell out of the office design market, work was far and few between with very small projects rather than large scale jobs.

One of Spaceworks’ many office design projects

Do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

Absolutely. Both of my parents have their own business and I am involved with three other businesses other than Spaceworks. Before Spaceworks I had my own business doing residential design.From In fact, than Spaceworks, I have leftother to right: John Banks, Tim Alpe, Dan Alpe only had one other boss – it’s in my nature. I always knew that I would own and run my own business, even my friends at school and University knew it too. I would not have called myself an entrepreneur until recently, I’m just me and this is what I do.

What was the most painful lesson you’ve had to learn in business?

So many! I think I learn painful lessons regularly, and the most painful ones are the financial ones. If you learn from them however they can all be opportunities.

After we had the major client fall over, I realised the hard way that you should not have all your eggs in one basket.

This client would have provided us with 80% of our monthly turnover prior to their failure. Nowadays, I have not, and will not, let any client be more than 20% of our business at any given time.

What are the three most important business skills you would advise up and coming entrepreneurs to develop?

Retail design

Learn your numbers! You must know where the cash is and how to read a balance sheet and cashflow forecast.

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“

SECTION

Another of Spaceworks’ many design projects

I always knew that I would own and run my own business,

Don’t take drawings, pay yourself a wage and pay PAYE. The business is not an extension of your personal bank account.

Get clear on the big picture and your direction – where are you headed, what’s the goal you want to achieve?

What achievements are you most proud of during your career?

Our client relationships, we have great clients. We have completed some big name fit-outs that I would have only ever dreamed of when we started. I have followed Google’s fitouts worldwide, and have always admired them. I never in my wildest dreams expected to design their New Zealand office. A super cool opportunity. Other than that it would be my staff, the team of Spaceworks, we have such great chemistry, we are a good balance of personalities, we all love to design and bounce ideas off each other. I have managed to orchestrate a good team.

Were there times you doubted yourself in building your business? If so, what advice would you give to those who have periods of doubt about whether or not they’ll make it?

Yes totally, I think that is natural. The first thing I learned was to get out of my own head, stop the mind chatter and learn that I was instrumental in my own success and in my own failure. Doubt is a mind set, I have always found the best way to get past that is to surround myself with inspiring people who are doing it for themselves. What can I learn from them

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“

to improve what I am doing? Most entrepreneurs love to tell their story or give advice, so don’t be shy to ask for it. You learn so much not only from your own experiences but also from other’s experience too.

Why do you think you’ve been successful?

Is there a secret formula?

Believing in yourself would be the first thing, however I think that this truly happened about year five of being in business.

I now know that I have what it takes and I also know how to separate my mind from work.

I am also a big goal setter, I like to plan my year. What do I want to achieve? This is both personally and professionally.

80% of the time I achieve them, the other 20% is because I changed direction and made a new goal. Goals are really valuable, I encourage everyone, including my staff to do them.

Lizzi is now looking to expand her business internationally

What do you think are the things New Zealand needs to improve upon when it comes to creating more successful businesses?

I’m not sure it’s New Zealand that needs to improve as much as New Zealanders themselves. We are a proud bunch and not always that great at asking for help and advice. Support is so important in business, I was very lucky to have my parents who have great business sense to give me good advice, I’m sure many don’t have that. As the saying goes , “you don’t know, what you don’t know.” I think it’s important to continually upskill, educate, get knowledgeable, go on courses that encourage business or personal development.

You’ve already achieved so much in terms of business success. What’s next for you?

More of the same, just bigger and better. We now have permanent offices in Auckland and Wellington; and we are looking for space in Christchurch. We will continue to grow our presence in the retail, office and hospitality markets in these main NZ centres with a view to also opening an office in either Sydney or Melbourne in the next 12-18 months. A number of our clients have offices in both NZ and Australia and we wish to service both sides of the ditch. Additionally we are looking to expand into hotel interiors and are currently working on a strategy with a partner to make this happen.

To find out more about Lizzi and Spaceworks, visit their website at www.spaceworks.co.nz

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G SE etting C T I O N I t D one

Funding Lessons

The Crossing Point To attract outside investment in your business, you may need to radically alter some of your thinking in regards to your business and also the nature of outside investors.

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hile banks may require financial statements

The owner does not want to give up control

and keep a close watch on your progress, the

investors is likely to be far more intense and their scrutiny

New Zealand small businesses tend to be run by owner operators and founders, which has encouraged a particular culture among small business owners. they tend to:

more thorough. Another basic difference is that banks are

•

Be self-reliant, with the owner/operator responsible for most aspects of running the business. Consequently they do not take kindly to being given advice or being told that they need help.

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Total control. They hate giving up authority to anyone, which is why they wanted to be self-employed in the first place. Having two people make decisions is just not in their make-up. It’s either their way or no way.

•

Find it difficult to delegate. They want to be involved in everything, and find it almost impossible to give up some of their involvement to an investor or employee.

•

Dislike debt. If they need any money, they tend to borrow it from a bank, and then focus on paying this back as quickly as possible. Owner operators typically try to stay away from banks or being in debt to anyone.

•

Confuse ownership of their business with management control. They think that if they do not own 100 percent of the company then they do not have 100% control.

•

The chances of these types of small businesses ever accepting equity funding are remote, as by its very nature equity funding requires some trade off between ownership and cash.

level of intrusion in your business from outside

not interested in taking an equity stake in your business, whereas most outside investors require this. On the other hand, outside investors can offer many advantages to your business beyond the money investment.

To start with, here’s a thought for you: outside investors, particularly at the venture capital level, are more interested in the business than the product. Another way to put this is that there are many ‘brilliant ideas’ in the world, but far fewer business teams capable of executing those ideas. If you’re at the much earlier stage where you’re just a person with a ‘great idea’ and a rough prototype, you need to look at other ways of growing your business. Look for your funding elsewhere, or contact the organisations that specialise in early stage help.

Encouraging small businesses to receive outside capital There are many New Zealand small businesses that, if funded properly, could compete effectively in international markets. Many small businesses have brilliant ideas, products or services but cannot grow sufficiently due to lack of capital. Or worse, they go to market too late and fail to exploit the potential of that brilliant idea. However availability of capital is not the only reason why these small businesses miss out. The real reasons more commonly include the following.

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Owners are reluctant to share their secrets Confidentiality is a key limiting factor. Innovative companies controlled by very independent and autonomous founders are typically reluctant to share their ideas with anyone. To encourage these businesses to seek assistance a trust factor has to be established and a certain level of confidentiality guaranteed. Small businesses who do not reveal the whole story because they fear breaches of confidentiality will also find fund raising difficult.

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Accepting capital from outside your business can be a complex and tricky operation

Small businesses don’t know how to be ‘ready’ Being ‘ready’ involves having your business in good shape.

Small businesses requiring capital are often unaware of what’s involved in raising capital. They don’t understand the process, or don’t know where to go with confidence to discuss their ideas and seek assistance. Additionally, many of the business owners have excellent development and innovation skills, yet weaker business management and planning skills.

This makes them an excessively high risk for any investor.

Investors are interested in the business as a whole – not just the product.

Small businesses can’t afford the high fees Small businesses find the cost structures associated with venture capital prohibitive. Many are used to either not paying for advice, doing the work themselves, or getting a poorer quality consultant. If you are serious about raising capital then you must be prepared to meet some costs.

Professional hourly rates can start at $200 an hour, but of course these fees can be great value for money.

Approaching the wrong investors Many small business people don’t understand that most venture capitalists and many angel investors are often simply not interested in smaller deals or loans. The investment risk is extremely high, and the transaction costs (the time it takes them to research your proposal) often mean that highrisk ideas requiring relatively small capital inputs (under $500,000) won’t get looked at.

So what do you really want?

However, there are organisations and other sources of funding that are interested in smaller deals, ideas, and the possible opportunity to help commercialise an idea or prototype. Your chances of success will increase if you approach the right investor for your stage of development.

It is highly unusual to get all of these. what are you prepared to give up? Look at the list, only control is expendable, the others are not. Remember, there’s no limit to your business, if you don’t mind who has ultimate ownership (not necessarily day-to-day control).

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So what do you really want?

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Wealth.

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Personal growth.

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Career satisfaction.

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Control.

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Eventual exit.

Accepting capital from outside your business can be a complex and tricky operation. If you do it correctly, the rewards can be beyond your wildest dreams. But traditionally small businesses are very bad both at receiving and managing outside funds. Be well prepared for your business to come under scrutiny (and possibly criticism). Try to remain focused on your overall long term objectives and consider what you are really prepared to relinquish to help you achieve them.

Find out more on the www.business.govt.nz and check out the NZTE Investment Ready Guide.

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SECTION

One simple search and I’m in business!

Get your business off to a great start Securing a business name is simple with the new ONECheck online tool from Business.govt.nz Simply enter your proposed name, hit search and you’ll find out immediately if your name is available as a company name, website address and trademark.

It’s quick, easy and one of the most valuable things you can do for your business.

Check it out at www.business.govt.nz/onecheck 14

ONECheck

Climbing the ladder A corporate perspective on entrepreneurship in NZ

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hen it comes to building a successful enterprise, there has always been the age old question of whether one is born an entrepreneur or

whether they become one.

However, business mentor Josh Kilimnik, whose career is centred on motivating and driving the growth of small company owners, believes it is a combination of both.

“Running a successful business must begin with an innate passion for producing an innovative product which can enrich the lives of the mass consumer market while also generating jobs,” he says.

“This will encourage an investment from the public and staff alike, helping to steer your company towards success.

But it takes more than natural passion – you have to be prepared to work up a sweat. I don’t know a single businessman who started a multi-million dollar empire with a stroll down Easy Street.”

However, the hard work involved doesn’t seem to have put Kiwis off. Entrepreneurship is alive and well in New Zealand, with 17% of the total Kiwi businesses being individual proprietorships last year*.

This translates to 79,056 Kiwis owning their own business, with 13% of those boosting the NZ economy by generating nearly 26,000 jobs.

Kilimnik, who is the General Manager for Domino’s Pizza in New Zealand, says that Kiwis’ creativity is made for entrepreneurship.

Kilimnik’s insight comes from his rich experience of the value of hard work and perseverance. The father-of-two has spent the past two decades working his way up the corporate ladder, attaining almost every position there is within his company.

Kilimnik started out making pizza dough after school at a

local pizza outlet at the age of 14. He then honed his skills by learning the inner-workings of the quick service food industry, before attaining his current role.

“Bringing excitement to a brand must start with stimulating it in those behind it,” he says. “Encouraging customers’ belief in and commitment to a product needs to begin with spurring those feelings in staff. Everything you achieve will be with the help of your staff.”

This is what colleague, Sam Cable, says he has learned from Kilimnik – that rousing the passion of employees is essential to business success.

“Josh has taught me that empowering staff is crucial in succeeding as a company,” he says. “I’ve also learned that if no restrictions are put on what staff can achieve, this will drive them to perform to their potential.”

It’s important for entrepreneurs to select employees whose work ethic is in line with how they want consumers to see the business, Kilimnik says.

“Your staff are an extension of your brand – a physical embodiment of what the brand represents,” he explains.

“That’s why it’s important their approach complements how you want your company to be perceived.”

However, the buck will always stop with the business owner – literally, says Kilimnik. After all, who better to ensure the company continues to get bigger and better than the person who stands to profit or lose the most.

“You should always have an ongoing commitment to the evolution of your brand; continuously re-imaging what ‘success’ means to your business, and planning how you will achieve it,” he says.

“Then, as long as you work deliberately; relishing every day as an opportunity to grow your company, there’s nothing stopping you.”

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T SAEKCI NTGI OT H NE P L U N G E

Wingding Designs Brian Maclean Profile by Nick Harley

Brian Maclean with one of Wingding’s furniture designs Each month, we talk to up and coming New Zealand entrepreneurs who have set about turning their idea into a real business.

Briefly tell us about your business. How did you first come up with the idea?

I had known how I wanted the business to look for some time. Having been inspired by books such as the Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss and various other blogs, the key was to create a business that was flexible, fun and not location specific (i.e. we weren’t tied to one place). My interest in designer furniture has really grown in the last few years, and it finally dawned on me that I could combine this passion with my long held dream of running my own business. After some research I discovered that there was a niche for high quality replica furniture online in the NZ market, so I set about filling that gap.

The key for us was being able to bring classic designs to customers at prices that traditional retail stores couldn’t offer sustainably. We needed to therefore keep overheads down, and this pointed directly to an online business. The great part about starting an online business these days is it’s a very low capital outlay. If we had been looking at opening a physical store, with staff, warehousing etc it would have

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been a far bigger outlay and risk for us.

You can now set up a professional looking online store on Shopify for $70 per month. There are so many apps (some completely free), social networking sites that you can tap into to etc that you can be up and running for a few hundred dollars, and in no time at all. The barriers to entry can be minimal depending on your niche.

What is the big goal for your business?

We want to bring great quality products, with more options, to customers that love this style of furniture – all at a great price. It’s not about making a fortune for us; it’s all about the freedom and the choices a successful online business can offer us. By avoiding a traditional retail store our business can be managed from anywhere that has an internet connection. I could be answering these questions from New York just now! (I’m not!). We love to travel and it is our intention to do far more of this, so having a business that will allow us to be overseas (or anywhere) and still manage day to day activities is ideal.

What inspired you to take the plunge?

Fear primarily! The realisation that I could be working for a big corporate for the rest of my working life was a pretty scary thought. I have always dreamt of running my own business, it just took me a long time to work out exactly what I should be doing. Once I worked that part out, turned forty (had my small crisis), and realised how disillusioned I’d become working in a big corporate the decision was pretty simple.

I had been working on the business idea for a few months, researching the market and suppliers etc so I knew the business could work. Once we had looked into the financial aspect of it (i.e. the set up costs, and how long we could last on a reduced income) and had made ourselves comfortable that the big risks were covered, the next step was easy.

Taking the plunge is quite liberating by the way! If you are in a job just now, leaving it to start your own business is a something you should experience!

What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of building your business so far?

It is very easy to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of starting your own business. Unless you have done an awful lot of research prior to starting you probably won’t appreciate the number of areas you need to become expert (or at least competent) in asap. In our business we had to get up to speed with importing, customs, dealing with suppliers outside NZ, creating a website from scratch (ourselves) etc. If you then add in the sales and marketing, accounting, legal and the customer interactions you would expect with a new business it keeps you relatively busy!

It’s easy to find yourself working to all hours on your own business, which isn’t really sustainable especially if you have a partner/young family as we do. However, if you focus on doing the stuff that really matters and do that first the rest can wait a bit.

The whole process has been a massive learning experience, and one that you just can’t get as an employee or from a book.

You need to get out there and give it a go.

What keeps you going when you feel like giving up?

I can honestly say that has never entered my mind once!

I knew before I embarked on this venture there would be good days and bad days, and I’d get more of the latter if I didn’t focus on the important stuff. Accepting that you are going to have crap days (sometimes two or three on the trot) made a huge difference to me. It doesn’t mean your business or idea is a lousy one, you’re just hitting a bit of a speed bump that will pass. At times like these getting away from the office for a while can have a massive positive impact on my attitude, my thinking and my ability to resolve the issues. I find going for a swim or a walk works best for me. It’s a bit clichéd but the fresh air and exercise really do seem to make a huge difference to me.

Having someone else to chat things over with is also hugely beneficial. Whether you have a mentor, a colleague or just some poor person who happens to sit near you in the cafe

sharing your ideas and concerns is worth its weight in gold.

Getting off the dance floor and standing on the balcony, even if it’s for an hour a week, can give you a far better perspective and insight into the issues you may be having or if you’re feeling a little bit lost where to direct your efforts next.

What advice would you give to any people reading this who are thinking of starting a business?

The first piece of advice would be to start. You can procrastinate indefinitely, or plan until you are blue in the face but until you actually start your business it will never really take off. I found that trying to do a few hours on my business idea in the evening after my 9-5 job meant that progress was painfully slow. By the time the kids were in bed it didn’t leave a lot of the evening to make much headway at all. The solution for me was simple – quit my 9-5 job. You suddenly find that you have quite a lot of time to focus on your business, and you better be quick about making it work as you don’t have an income anymore! I found this really makes you focus on what’s important.

Accept early on that you will mess some things up, and unless they are fatal you will get past these and progress.

The key is to make mistakes, learn from them and then move on quickly. Speak to as many people in your chosen industry as you can and take notes. You’ll be amazed by the number of useful tips you can collect by just speaking to a few people who have been around a bit longer than you or your business.

Shortly after I quit my 9-5 job I was lucky enough to be introduced to a gentleman who happened to own and run one of the largest furniture chains in the US. The next thing I know he is buying me lunch and sharing 50 years of industry knowledge with me! If you don’t tell people what you’re doing and show some passion about it you miss out on these sorts of opportunities. Don’t be shy – get out there and tell everyone what you’re business is all about and you’ll suddenly find all sorts of doors opening to you.

Finally, enjoy it! You have the opportunity to build a successful business from scratch. You get to make the decisions, choose the hours you work and ultimately determine the success of the business. You also get to help customers who are as passionate about your industry as you are which is hugely rewarding. As with so many new business owners I wish I’d done this years ago!

Find out more at: Website: www.wingding.co.nz Facebook: www.facebook.com/WingdingDesigns Twitter: @WingdingNZ Are you a New Zealand entrepreneur that has recently “taken the plunge?”

Would like to tell our readers your own story? Get in touch with Nick at nick@nzentrepreneur.co.nz

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T o m o r r o w s ’ E nt r e p r ene u r s

Young Enterprise Terry Shubkin, CEO Young Enterprise Trust

I

’ve been lucky enough to travel to many parts of the country recently to see our Lion Foundation Young Enterprise students in action. There are over 500

companies that have been formed this year through the programme, and each company was asked to pitch their business idea to a panel of local business people, much like the TV show ‘Dragons’ Den’.

It’s been both fascinating and inspirational to watch these events. Often the Dragons’ Den takes place in front of an audience including fellow students, teachers, supporters and sponsors. Each company has just five minutes to pitch their business idea, and they must explain their

business practice, operations, marketing, finance and points of innovation.

This would be a daunting experience for any business person, but I’m so proud of the way students rose to the challenge. Most students run these businesses as well as balancing their school studies, part time work and other extracurricular activities such as sports teams and cultural groups – taking multitasking to the extreme!

As if that wasn’t enough for them to do, last month we brought 80 of the best and brightest Young Enterprise students to Auckland to take part in Enterprise in Action 2013. Check out how well they did in the article below.

Students shine in global competition

E

ight New Zealand students have won the Asia-Pacific title in a global business competition, narrowly missing on the world title as well.

The Global Enterprise Challenge is a 12-hour event which features competitors from 17 countries. In New Zealand, the students are chosen by Young Enterprise Trust, a charity that works with schools throughout the country.

Team New Zealand was made up of: •

Chance August, Springbank School, Northland

•

Emily He, Macleans College, Auckland

•

Jack Hulbert, Kingsway School, Auckland

•

Aimee Jones, Avonside Girls High School, Canterbury

•

Ashley Mckenzie, James Hargest College, Southland

•

Darren Ritchie, Mt Hutt College, Canterbury

•

Connor Skeens, Westlake Boys High School, Auckland

•

Marieke Vercruyssen, Takapuna Grammar School, Auckland

The Global Enterprise Challenge was released to them with a 12-hour deadline. The challenge was: “To develop a business proposal to increase tourism visitation and income for a national, regional, or local tourist attraction, which you will present to a panel of venture funders.

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These investors are particularly interested in business ideas where you need to apply science and technology to manage the environmental issues. You will need to balance the revenue needed to sustain profitability, against the cost of preserving and improving the attractions environment for future generations of tourists.”

The competition was broken into three timezones, with a regional winner announced after the international judges evaluated each country’s entry. Team New Zealand won the Asia/Pacific title with Team USA announced as the global winner.

Team New Zealand created a business idea based on wreck diving at the Rena site in the Bay of Plenty. Divers would then use innovative coral transplanting technology to individually transfer fast-growing coral stems from the sea bed into damaged coral beds, thus re-establishing the coral reef.

“These students were incredible,” says Young Enterprise Trust CEO Shubkin. “In only 12 hours, they have created an amazing business concept. It has the potential to create huge economic benefits for New Zealand while balancing environmental sustainability.”

Team New Zealand submitted their entry after fending off fierce competition from nine other teams. Young Enterprise Trust brought 80 students from around the country to Massey University’s Albany campus to compete for the right to represent New Zealand in the challenge. Each student

1

The eight students who made up Team New Zealand were mentored by volunteers from Warehouse Stationery.

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is already running their own small business through the Trust’s flagship programme, The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.

The 80 students were broken up into ten teams, and were mentored through the challenge by leading corporates including Telecom, KPMG and Xero. The winning team was mentored by Shari French and Blair Delaney from Warehouse Stationery’s head office.

Young Enterprise Trust is dedicated to growing 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.

Young Enterprise also runs the Fairfax Media NZ Business Hall of Fame, which recognises New Zealanders who have made outstanding contributions to business and the community.

Support Young Enterprise Trust at Give A Little

Aimee Jones, Ashley McKenzie and Connor Skeens from Team New Zealand plan their answer to the Global Enterprise Challenge.

I P / I nno v a tion

Stake your IP claim early on IP IN ACTION

By Anton Blijlevens

This year, the US Patent Office received 576,763 applications - 100 times the number filed in New Zealand.

And New Zealand sees little IP litigation

B

ut there have been several cases of New Zealand companies running succesful businesses here, only to find out that expansion into the US is not an option due to

the potential for infringement of registered intellectual property (IP) rights held by incumbents in the market.

So, when selecting a new brand, commercialising new technology or even launching an old product or brand into a new market, it’s vital to formulate your IP strategy as early in the process as possible.

Here are four simple steps to consider: Start by knowing your IP position IP protection can take the form of both registered and unregistered rights. Knowing what IP your business owns and is creating is an important first step in understanding the best way to protect and enforce it.

Take steps to capture your IP early All too often IP rights aren’t captured because simple commercial agreements or policies aren’t put in place early enough in the process. A confidentiality or design commissioning agreement that clearly identifies who is going to own what IP arising out of a collaboration, for example, may be all that’s required to set the stage.

Understand which IP rights to register If you have something worth copying, then it’s worth protecting.

But deciding on the right kind of IP protection requires a good understanding of the types of protection available, as well as the costs and benefits of each type of protection. A well thought-out IP strategy will pay dividends downstream.

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Some forms of IP protection are relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. For example, IT system firewalls help protect your trade secrets; non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) can ensure your know-how is not misused and copyright can protect your source code or manuals from being copied.

Trade secret protection may represent a good form of protection in some circumstances, but in others, stronger protection in the form of patents or registered trade marks may be more appropriate. If you are looking to license or sell your IP outright for example, registered rights are likely to be more valuable because they’re enforceable against a much wider group. In 2003, Kiwi wine-makers Kim and Erica Crawford sold their KIM CRAWFORD trade mark for $18m+. No stock or plant changed hands, just the brand.

Trade secret protection, on the other hand, is only good against those who know that your information is a trade secret and have obligations to keep it that way. But it doesn’t provide any protection against attempts to reverse engineer your idea or product. Nor does it ensure your confidential information won’t inadvertently or intentionally fall into the hands of competitors or disaffected employees. In a high profile case involving General Motors, an employee sold trade secrets costing the company an estimated $40m. This is just one example of trade secret theft that is estimated to have cost the US economy $300bn in 2012.

Patents and trade marks aren’t just tools used to protect against those who knowingly misappropriate your IP. They can also be used to prevent or deter others from entering your market with very similar products, brands or inventions. But it’s important to get the process and the timing right. A patent application must be filed before an idea is publicly disclosed. An application for a similar invention that’s filed even a day prior to yours will cause issues for you.

In some industries there’s a race to file patents, especially when new legislation makes old ways of doing things obsolete or when other external factors, such as accidents, wars or disasters spur innovation. Since the Christchurch quakes, earthquake damage-related innovations have significantly increased spurring an increase in patent filings in New Zealand. Heightened levels of R&D activity and innovation can however increase the chances of similar inventions being independently created for the same thing.

So it’s important to be first to register and protect a new idea.

patents or not. If you do not carry out FTO searches, you run the risk of launching into markets in which you may infringe another’s IP.

Avoid infringing the IP of others

But it’s easy to see why FTO may not rank high on the list of risks that are considered by New Zealand companies looking to expand overseas though. We are quite immune from IP litigation cases because the volume of patents and trade mark filings made in New Zealand is very low compared to other countries. This year, the US patent office received 576,763 applications - 100 times the number filed in New Zealand. Even in China, where IP rights haven’t always been respected, 1.2 million patent applications were filed, and a staggering 48,000 IP litigation cases were commenced in 2011. This compares with the 6000 patents filed in New Zealand in the same period. The lesson is that having freedom to operate in New Zealand does not guarantee you have the same luxury in other countries.

Even if you choose not to protect your own IP, then avoiding the risk of infringing the IP of others can be equally as valuable to your long-term business sustainability.

New Zealand companies face IP infringement risks on a regular basis. A patent is technically infringed if just one unauthorised product is made that is covered by that patent.

Music and images downloaded from the internet and used to promote your own products, can infringe copyright protection - unless you pay for a license to use them. And if licensed, it’s important to know the terms of the license as they are often limited in duration, territory or in purpose.

A simple, yet effective way of avoiding IP litigation is knowing that you have freedom to operate (FTO). This is regardless of whether you are going to secure your own

A thorough patent search prior to entering a new market can quickly reveal whether there is the potential risk of infringing registered IP rights. It can also provide other, commercially useful information that may inform a different market entry strategy, for example, licensing or partnership opportunities. Most patent databases publish the name and address of the patent owner and the inventor, potentially leading you straight to the negotiation table.

Written by Anton Blijlevens. An edited version of this article was published in the Business Law feature of The National Business Review, 21 June 2013

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PS E ER C STOI O NN A L T RA I N E R

Entrepreneurial Intelligence with Sandy Geyer Should I be nervous about running a business?

By Sandy Geyer I believe there is room for a new cafe in our town and have been thinking about giving it a go for a year or so now. I am currently in my last year at Uni and my parents have said they would be prepared to loan me the money to get established if I was confident it could work. The problem is I have never run a business before and am very nervous.

What should I do?

Identifying a gap in the market is a key trait for an entrepreneur but your first question to yourself should be “is there really a gap or am I seeing one because I need a plan and this looks like a good one”. If, after some serious research you still feel that there really is a gap, then your next question to yourself is: how much do you know about running a successful café? Having the finance available is fantastic but should not encourage you to leap too soon. I would advise spending some time, if you have not already, in a café that you think is very well run and successful. I can’t see a café owner turning down an offer to work at his café for no payment other than his advice and guidance on how he does it so well, as long as you aren’t planning to open up across the street!

enough to find a café owner who will support your vision. In my experience, successful entrepreneurs are always willing to share their knowledge, especially if you are open to giving before you get. There are not a lot of people out there who understand that they need to make things happen and if you are one of those, they will probably enjoy working with you.

We often see young people offering to work for free in the movies to learn their trade but we seldom see it in real life, which is such a pity. Building an entrepreneurial mind-set is about learning to give before we get. The word “entitlement” simply doesn’t exist in our dictionary. Finding the right mentor in this sense will give you an excellent view of the reality of running a café and fast track your much needed knowledge and experience but you need to be willing to do what it takes to learn and to be persistent

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 nick@ 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

22

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23

E nt r e p r ene u r E cos y ste m

The ecentre provides help and advice to early stage businesses Inset - Brad Booysen from Storkk

The ecentre

Resident profile: Storkk

Each month we talk to one of New Zealand’s regional business incubators or co-working spaces to profile one of their residents and find out a little more about the services on offer to early stage businesses.

Tell us about your business, what is it that you do?

Storkk helps lawyers practice on the go by giving them secure access to their important client documents and emails anytime, anywhere. Lawyers can associate their data with specific clients and cases. This makes retrieval effortless whether they’re searching from the office or from their iPad at the local cafe.

What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of building your business so far?

The biggest challenge for me personally was learning to make decisions quickly and getting on with it. Decision plus action equals results. It’s very easy to over-analyze everything but a startup requires you to be fast and right… most of the time. It’s much easier to course-correct than be paralysed by indecision. Time is money in a startup.

Another challenge we face as a team is communication. If your team is not co-located, setup a time once a week, when the whole team gets together to discuss progress and issues.

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What advice would you give to any people reading this who are thinking of starting a business?

Just do it. It’s never been easier or cheaper to start a business. There are so many great tools and resources available to entrepreneurs that cost very little or nothing when you’re starting out. A friend and I ran an experiment to see how quickly and cost effectively we could get a business website up. The only rule was that we weren’t allowed to write a single line of code ourselves. Thanks to tools like wordpress and outsourcing, we had a fully functioning site up and running in less than 24 hours and it cost us $38. This is a perfect way to validate your business idea and if it doesn’t fly then you’ve only lost $38.

Also, get the right people around you. No founder can do everything themselves. I learnt this lesson the hard way in a previous startup. Surround yourself by smart people who can help drive your business forward.

“

“ Residents relax in the ecentre kitchen

How did you get involved with the ecentre and how have they helped you and your business?

I got involved with the ecentre through a previous startup.

The biggest value we get from the ecentre is in the network.

We have regular access to experienced mentors and entrepreneurs who have been there and done it all before. It makes a huge difference to have smart people around you.

Would you recommend other people join an ecentre program?

Definitely. The ecentre holds regular business idea workshops. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s got a business idea, to get along to one of those workshops. They’re free so the price is right too!

I am involved with the entrepreneur’s social meetup. We meet on a regular basis to socialise and have a bit of fun. It’s a good way to meet like-minded people and a great excuse to get out the office a little earlier. If you’d like to join our next meetup or want to find out more then send me an email at brad@getstorkk.com

About the ecentre Who are we? ecentre, the Business Incubator at Massey University, drives to increase the number of high growth technology based companies. We provide a supportive environment, flexible facilities and engagement with our networks and partners.

What we believe in?

We believe that entrepreneurs will bring significant prosperity to New Zealand by continuously creating & developing innovative ideas and taking them to market. We regard entrepreneurship as a profession and believe it can be learned through training, coaching and experience. By focusing on the entrepreneur and building their capability to create multiple businesses; we create a more sustainable ecosystem.

How we do it?

To achieve this we focus on building entrepreneurial capabilities and teach the necessary skills and tools for today’s ever-changing environment. The ecentre Sprint programme teaches entrepreneurs the skills they need to turn an idea into a successful, global company. During the 12 week foundation programme, entrepreneurs learn lean start up techniques such as the business model canvas in a group environment so collaboration and shared learning are emphasised.

Entrepreneurs validate assumptions around their market, value proposition and the problem they are trying to address. ecentre Sprint has taken aspects of successful programmes taught at universities such as University of California and Stanford University and adopted it for the local market. It is not an academic course but a pragmatic, practical programme complementary to a university degree.

How are we different?

We focus on the entrepreneur, build their capability and help build a successful team around them. We focus on early stage ventures and help aspiring entrepreneurs with ideas or their own business who have the ambition to be global. We also help those people who want to build their skills and work with a start-up venture.

Anyone can join the programme at the start of the month and we have made it very easy as sprint can be done full or part-time so entrepreneurs can juggle a full-time job while investigating a business opportunity. As a not for profit organisation, we wanted to make entrepreneurship available to anyone and with an investment of just $400 per month (+GST) lack of money is no longer a hurdle either.

For more information: Please contact Sabrina Nagel Sabrina@ecentre.org.nz.

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SE T hC e TpI a O ddoc N k

What’s on for entrepreneurs?

IBM Mentor day IBM Global Entrepreneurs IBM is providing an increased focus on mentoring to selected startups, giving them the benefit of coaching and feedback from industry experts, IBM leaders, and successful entrepreneurs in their community.

Date: Thursday, 8th August 2013.

For more information and to register visit: www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/servlet/ ContentHandler/isv_com_smp_startup_mentorisv_ com_smp_startup_mentor#events

Startup Weekend is where entrepreneurs, developers, and designers get together to form new businesses in a 54-hour marathon of inspiration, perspiration, collaboration, and fun!

We attract people with all skill levels in a friendly, welcoming, yet challenging environment.

Wellington - 16th August 2013 Massey University College of Creative Arts, Wellington For more information visit www.wellington.startupweekend.org

The Conference for Entrepreneurs

Palmerston North - 20th September 2013

Morgo is the annual get together for people actively engaged in building high growth companies into the world – CEOs, CTOs, CFOs, founders, very active board members etc.

For more information visit -

Universal College of Learning www.palmynorth.startupweekend.org

Date: 4th - 6th September 2013.

Where: Hilton, Queenstown For more information visit: www.morgo.co.nz

Upcoming ICEHOUSE Events First Wednesdays

IOD COcktail Functions

On the First Wednesday of every month, The ICEHOUSE opens up to ambitious entrepreneurs who are hungry to understand the steps to start-up business success. Access our knowledge, tools and contacts to discover how to turn your idea into a business success.

Dunedin - Monday 22 July 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Date: Wednesday, 7 August 2013.

Bay of Plenty - Wednesday 24 July 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

For more information visit: www.theicehouse.co.nz/first-wednesday

Canterbury - Monday 29 July 5:45 PM - 7:45 PM Auckland - Thursday 8 August 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM Wellington - Tuesday 13 August 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM For more information visit: https://www.iod.org.nz/BranchesEvents.aspx

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NZ Entrepreneur Club is a supportive community group for individuals who are currently in the process of building new businesses and startups. We get together on a regular basis, face to face (where possible) to talk about entrepreneurship, business, marketing and success in life. Come along to our next meetup!

Wellington

Wellington Organising Team

Next Event - Monday 5th August - 5:30 PM

Jono Rowe - http://nz.linkedin.com/ pub/jonathan-rowe-ca/28/54/b7a

Join this

Nick Harley - http://nz.linkedin.com/ in/nickharleynz/ For more information visit: www.meetup.com/The-Entrepreneur-Club-NZ

Auckland - Coming Soon!

Christchurch - Coming Soon!

If you are interested in helping to organise regional entrepreneur events in your area then please contact Jono or Nick for details.

Competition Time!

We’re giving away a free copy of Sandy Geyer’s new book “Path of the Lion” to one lucky reader!

This book is a must-read for entrepreneurs and offers a tried and tested step by step guide to building a successful and profitable organisation.

Sandy Geyer’s “Path of the Lion” is a brilliant read for anyone considering becoming an entrepreneur, or who feels like they’re tangled in the undergrowth or mired in the quicksand of the entrepreneurial jungle. Filled with wisdom that can only be learned and passed on by those who “walk their talk”, Sandy is the real deal and I have no doubt that this book will be a huge help for any entrepreneur with an open mind and the desire to learn.

How to enter: Simply email our editor nick@nzentrepreneur.co.nz with “Path of the Lion” as the subject line to be in the draw!

Enteries close 5pm on 5th August 2013 and we’ll announce the winner in next month’s issue.

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SECTION

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“

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.”

Steve Jobs

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