RADAR SMART PEOPLE DOING SMART THINGS - NBR
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RADAR SMART PEOPLE DOING SMART THINGS
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Contents
INNOVATION IS CRITICAL
EDITORIAL
Duncan Bridgeman & Hamish Coleman-Ross 04
TO OUR FUTURE
Named as one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial universities under
CYBER-SECURITY challenging conditions1 and ranked the most innovative university in
Andy Prow RedShield Security 27
New Zealand2, the University of Auckland is, together with Auckland
EDUCATION UniServices, committed to supporting the creation of innovative new
Craig Smith Education Perfect 30
industries for New Zealand and high-value employment opportunities for
FINANCIAL SERVICES future generations.
Sam Stubbs Simplicity 34
WE DO THIS BY:
FOOD ■ Creating entrepreneurial-minded graduates
Jennifer & Garth Boggiss Heilala Vanilla 10
Jane Clifford & Mike Sproule Original Foods 13 ■ Creating new technologies and taking them to market
Peter Cullinane Lewis Road Creamery 16 ■ Working directly with over 500 businesses, from our own start-ups
Simon Eriksen Neat Meat 18
Bruce ‘Pic’ Picot Pic’s Peanut Butter 26
to major multinationals, to help them grow and prosper
Cecilia Robinson My Food Bag 28
HEALTHCARE
Peter Butler HealthPost 11
Bruce Davey ARANZ Medical 16
Sam Hazledine MedRecruit 22
aucklandinnovation.ac.nz
GAMING 1
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Skoltech Initiative http://
Mario Wynands PikPok 35 www.rhgraham.org/RHG/Recent_publications_files/MIT%3ASkoltech%20
entrepreneurial%20ecosystems%20report%202014%20_1.pdf
2
Reuters Top 75: Asia’s Most Innovative Universities http://www.reuters.
com/article/us-asiapac-reuters-ranking-innovative-un/asia-pacifics-most-
RETAIL innovative-universities-2017-idUSKBN18Y24R
Steve O’Connor Flick Electric 25
SOFTWARE
Jenene Crossan Flossie.com 15
Anne Fulton & Jo Mills Fuel50 21
Tim Norton 90 Seconds 23
Vaughan Rowsell Vend 29
Shareena & Don Sandbrook Frogparking 27
Grant Straker Straker Translations 32
TECHNOLOGY
Ryan Baker Timely 07
Peter Beck Rocket Lab 08
Doug Hastie Syft Technologies 21
TOURISM
Russell Alexander Hobbiton Movie Set Tours 07
John Wikstrom Magic Memories 34
Welcome to NBR Radar:
NBR RADAR 04
Smart people, doing smart things The Sky-Dweller
Duncan Bridgeman The revolutionary watch for world travellers,
Editor blending watchmaking ingenuity with simplicity of use.
It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.
CONGRATULATIONS to the first group of NBR have developed and grown to where they are words: “Smart people doing smart things.”
Radar members. today. There are many more of these people and
This is the beginning of an indispensable list It is also a resource for investors and those companies on our radar and NBR will highlight
of fast-growing, established companies that we wanting to keep tabs on the next generation of them in future instalments.
identify as significant future contributors to New successful businessmen and women. We hope you enjoy this collection of short
Zealand’s business and economic success. To qualify, they needed to demonstrate global stories. For video interviews with the NBR Radar
The individuals behind these companies have potential or national significance in size and members please visit www.nbr.co.nz/radar. If
an entrepreneurial spirit and a never-give-up scale. We looked beyond start-up companies you are not an online subscriber, either sign up
attitude that deserves recognition. for businesses that have established revenue or take out a free 30-day trial by clicking on any
NBR Radar is a celebration of their success streams and a realistic growth trajectory. paywalled story and following the prompts.
and provides insight into how these businesses Underpinning that criteria were five simple Enjoy!
From the field
Hamish Coleman-Ross
NBR View content director
PEOPLE are products of their own environment. In return, regional entrepreneurs welcomed there continues to grow into a truly vibrant
In the context of NBR Radar we thought it us with open arms. array of innovation.
was crucial to make sure that video interviews The folks of HealthPost in Collingwood, And those hearty Cantabrians in
with individuals, and all the particulars that go Golden Bay, for example, were impressed that Christchurch showed that even an earthquake
with that, were conducted on their own sites, no we had made the effort – lamenting how most or two can’t stop their international growth.
matter where they were located. news is so Auckland-centric they long ago It soon became clear opportunity and
It was a seemingly simple idea that, even turned off the 6pm TV news. innovation aren’t limited by location; they are in
in our small country, proved to be a challenge Companies in Dunedin encouraged us to fact supported and strengthened by it.
given all forms of transport being used. come back again as the technology sector
Publisher: Todd Scott Art director: Antonina Elliott
Editor: Duncan Bridgeman Graphic designer: Samara Wylie oyster perpetual SKY-DWELLER
Radar chief reporter: Owen Poland Ad coordinator: Michael Hickmott
Reporters: Chris Keall, Fiona Rotherham Photos: Hamish Coleman-Ross &
Content director: Hamish Coleman-Ross Jerry Yelich O’Connor
Technical manager: Michael Bach Photo editor: Brian Ng
Director of Strategic Partnerships: Salim Khan Office manager: Jackie Scott
RADAR
RUSSELL
ALEXANDER
NBR RADAR 06
NBR RADAR 07
Hobbiton Movie Set Tours
TOURISM
YOU DON’T HAVE TO worship JRR Tolkien to
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
enjoy Hobbiton. In fact, more than 50% of the
600,000-odd people who visited the hobbit-
sized tourist village in Matamata last year
haven’t even seen the movies.
This is one of the things Russell Alexander
talks about when he says the idea of
Hobbiton Movie Set Tours was to build a
tourist attraction that carries a brand well
beyond the actual movies made here.
“I think the key to it is being absolutely
RYAN BAKER
authentic in everything we do,” says
Alexander, whose family runs the business in Timely
partnership with Sir Peter Jackson’s family.
That partnership was originally fostered TECHNOLOGY
back in 1998 when Sir Peter advised the
Alexanders that he’d like to use their farm as GOING GLOBAL WITH A remote work model has
a film set for Lord of the Rings. become a competitive advantage for Dunedin-based
DUNEDIN
Alexander immediately thought of tourism Timely, which sells cloud-based business management
and began showing tourists around the set software to the beauty and wellness industry.
in 2002. Co-founded by Ryan Baker and Andrew Schofield in
After the Hobbit movies he and Sir Peter 2011, Timely employs 47 staff and has about 8000 business
set up a joint venture to build a permanent customers in 95 countries who generate annualised recurring
version of the Shire’s 44 hobbit holes and
Quick facts: revenue of $6 million.
Green Dragon Inn to attract film tourists. Timely Having previously created the tourism booking engine
Since then the business has exploded in BookIt, which was sold to Trade Me, the duo saw an opportunity
popularity, from 20,000 visitors a year to an ■ Recruitment to make life easier for small businesses and Baker says that
estimated 620,000 this year. disrupter, being in New Zealand was beneficial. “It ends up being an
In peak summer they employ 320 staff, founded advantage being at the bottom of the world in the cloud and
with Hobbiton tours running every 10 in 2011 by SaaS ecosystem because you have to think about the global
minutes. Ryan Baker marketplace from Day One.”
Alexander says the company will turn over and Andrew Despite concerns that they might throttle growth without
$45-50 million this year. Schofield additional funding, choosing to run Timely “on the smell of
MATAMATA Hobbiton is now the most popular an oily rag” for the past 12 months has been a smart move
international tourist attraction in the country ■ 47 staff and according to Baker. “It’s meant we’ve had to really understand
and among the very top places to visit 8000 business the unit economics of the business, understand the drivers for
Quick facts: globally. customers the growth and what we can optimise.”
Hobbiton Movie Set tours “A lot of the visitors coming here say this Timely is unique in adopting a ‘garage phase’ approach to
is one of the reasons they are coming to New ■ Targeting recruitment by shunning a conventional workplace and having
■ Tourist attraction founded by Russell Zealand,” he says. annualised staff work remotely or from shared work spaces. “We all need
Alexander in 2002, now in partnership The phenomenon has taken film tourism recurring to accept technology has really changed the landscape around
with Sir Peter Jackson to a new level and is something the rest revenue of $20 what a workplace looks like,” Baker says.
of the world is only waking up to now with million Boosted by a $7 million funding injection from Movac, which
■ 620,000 visitors a year Ireland looking to do something similar with implies a post-money valuation of $43.75 million, the focus now
the Game of Thrones television series. is firmly set on larger markets including the UK where Timely
■ Annual turnover $45 million Hobbiton may have reached capacity as recently won a request for proposal from the Hair & Beauty
far as visitor numbers go – “in peak season Association which has about 30,000 members. “In the next three
we are turning people away” – but Alexander Watch years we see the company taking more of a global expansion
Watch the full interview: the full
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-russell-alexander says the family will keep investing so visitors interview: track and growing to about $20 million in ARR.”
get something new each year. As for an exit strategy, Baker says that good companies are
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-
“When we talk about the word authentic, ryan-baker bought and not sold. “Being relatively young in our journey, the
it’s about providing real experiences that best thing we can do is focus on making sure that we’re building
people enjoy and then it’s word of mouth.” a really great company.”
We are biotechnologists doing food I am an innovative and passionate
innovation via fermentation. As academic and the CEO of Tectonus.
co-founder of Green Spot Technologies, We’re creating ingenious and resilient
we developed the world-first range of fermented seismic solutions that are simple to install in
flours that are low carb, high protein and fibre, a building, that minimise the economic impact
gluten free and nutritionally balanced. and empower people to live and prosper in
earthquake prone zones.
NINNA GRANUCCI PIERRE QUENNEVILLE
CO-FOUNDER OF GREEN SPOT TECHNOLOGIES FOUNDER AND CEO TECTONUS
NBR RADAR 08
PETER BECK
Rocket Lab
TECHNOLOGY P H A N TO M
AS THE FOUNDER AND chief executive of Rocket Lab,
Peter Beck is the first to admit that his plan to build a
ONE OF ONE
globally successful aerospace corporation might have
seemed a little bit improbable. “I was a Kiwi coming The world needs icons. For those whose presence inspires greatness
to Silicon Valley to pitch a rocket company from a there is only one choice. Unmatched. Unrivalled. This is Phantom.
country that doesn’t build rockets – to take on the
giants of the world.”
Likening business to a game of chess where you
need a clearly laid out plan, Beck gave himself three
weeks to “come home with a cheque or be run out
of town.” Fortunately, he garnered the support of the
high-profile Khosla Ventures and has now raised a
total of $US200m to make the venture fly.
Rocket Lab was conceived in 2006 when Beck
identified a “choke point” in getting assets into orbit
from traditional US launch sites. Significant regulatory
hurdles had to be overcome, but his Mahia Peninsula
site has a licence to launch rockets every 72 hours
AUCKLAND
Quick facts:
Rocket Lab
■ Space flight company founded by Peter Beck in
2006
■ Two-year backlog of orders to launch satellites
■ Raised $200m of capital
Watch the full interview:
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-peter-beck
for the next 30 years. According to Beck, “We own the
only private orbital launch site in the world and we
have the highest available launch flight rate.”
The company is now in the final stages of a test
flight campaign for its purpose-built Electron rocket,
and has a two-year backlog of orders to launch
satellites at a starting price of $US4.9m each.
However Beck says it’s not about the rocket. “What
we’re trying to do is create access to space for
incredible things to happen.” That includes launching
new weather satellites that will take “the pulse” of the
planet.
Married with two children, Beck hails from a family
of Invercargill engineers. Acclaimed as a scientist and
engineer, the 40-year-old was New Zealander of the
Year for Innovation in 2015 and describes his rapidly
growing team of more than 200 employees in New Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Auckland, 7-15 Great South Road, Newmarket, Auckland
Zealand and the US as the best of the best. “You can’t Contact Ruwan Siriwardena +64 2195 2064 Ruwan.siriwardena@rrmc-auckland.co.nz
do extraordinary things by being ordinary – that’s the
Tel: +64 9969 3351
reality of it.”
© Copyright Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited 2017. The Rolls-Royce name and logo are registered trademarks.
Photo: Jerry Yelich-O’Connor
NBR RADAR 10
Bringing
ideas to life
PETER
BUTLER For us at Auckland UniServices, bringing
Ideas to Life means bringing together the
talent, the science and technology, the
business model and the route to market
HealthPost required to bring some of the most compelling
ideas in the world to life as products and
HEALTHCARE services that make a real difference to
people’s lives.
The innovation and entrepreneurship
BEING TUCKED AWAY IN the ‘wop- ecosystem at the University of Auckland, of
wops’ of Golden Bay has proved to be no which we are proud to be a part, produces
impediment to HealthPost, New Zealand’s a rich source of talent for us through the
largest online retailer of healthcare thousands of students and staff who have
products. gone through development programs like
Boasting annual turnover of $30 million
and year-on-year growth of 30% for the We combine emerging
past decade, the success of HealthPost entrepreneurial talent with
success is testament to the customer- deep intellectual property
focused vision of Linley Butler who created by world-class researchers
founded the mail order business in 1988. and their students
Company chairman Peter Butler says
Velocity, the famous business planning and
he was shocked when his wife threw an start-up competition that has produced great
extra bottle of something into parcels companies like PowerbyProxi (which has
because he knew what the company recently been acquired by the world’s most
finances were like but says they got valuable company, Apple).
incredible customer loyalty.
“It’s very much a long play. We’re not “We can combine that emerging
trying to build a company up to flick entrepreneurial talent with the deep
it off.” intellectual property created by world-
JENNIFER
Tonga and, more recently, Uganda.
Fast forward to 2017 and the company now exports
TAURANGA
... MAKE Being socially conscious has class researchers and their students at the
University of Auckland to build great new
companies, like StretchSense; creating
HEILALA
to eight countries selling into three channels, including
jobs and global financial benefits for New
& GARTH
major supermarkets, the hospitality industry and food
Zealand.”
manufacturing. The company has experienced consistent
growth of 30-40% over the past three years, Jennifer Quick facts:
VANILLA GOLDEN BAY To help us bring these great ideas to market,
BOGGISS
Boggiss says. we have built another key element of the
However, nothing is ever straightforward and it took Heilala vanilla innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem
some experimenting to get their product just right,
despite the high quality of the raw material. ■ Vanilla-based ingredients business TO TONGA Quick facts:
– Return on Science. Made up of serial
entrepreneurs, early-stage investors and
Heilala Vanilla
WHAT FIJI
“In the early days it was like ‘how do you make vanilla founded by Jennifer and Garth Boggiss industry experts, the five Return on Science
extract’?” Boggiss says. “So we did a little bit on the and John Ross HealthPost Investment Committees (ICT, Life Sciences,
kitchen bench with a bottle of vodka out of the pantry Engineering & Physical Sciences, Agritech
FOOD and some vanilla beans.”
No doubt that first vodka was 42 Below, the brand
■ 30 staff and eight export countries
WATER IS ■ Healthcare retailer founded by Peter
and Linley Butler in 1988
and Momentum – our student investment
committee) have helped 100’s of new ideas
define and access the team, the market and
TO FIJI
WEATHER AND CLIMATE ARE crucial elements for developed by Boggiss’ brother, Geoff Ross, a handy man ■ Manufactures about nine tonnes of
■ Employs 85 staff in Collingwood, 20 in the investment they need to really come to life.
Jennifer and Garth Boggiss’ vanilla bean business but to have around a consumer brand start-up. dried vanilla product grown in Tonga
Auckland
ironically it was a cyclone that seeded their creation in Ross is one of a handful of high-profile angel investors
Tonga. with shares in the company, alongside father John, and DR ANDY SHENK
When Jennifer’s father, John Ross, helped clean up a the NZ Venture Investment Fund. Jennifer and Garth own
– Jennifer Boggiss ■ Annual turnover $30 million
CEO, AUCKLAND UNISERVICES
devastated Vava’u village in 2002 a local family gave him 34.34% of the shares.
a lease on some land on which he planted vanilla, a crop Heilala Vanilla is about to embark on a second capital
well suited to the island group. raising round for supply investment in Tonga due to price. Her personal mission is to empower
Three years later he got his first 45kg batch of vanilla increasing demand. people in Tonga.
beans and Heilala Vanilla was born. Boggiss is extremely mindful of maintaining a strong Watch the full interview: “Part of that is to create a global vanilla
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-jennifer- Watch the full interview:
Jennifer and Garth tossed in their professional careers relationship with the local community up in Tonga while garth-boggiss
brand and make Heilala Vanilla to Tonga what www.nbr.co.nz/radar-peter-butler
and set about building a manufacturing and exporting also expanding the growing operation into Uganda. The Fiji Water is to Fiji. I think we are well on our
business in Tauranga and boosting crop production from company pays its growers a premium to the market way.”
NBR RADAR 12
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
Giving students the
entrepreneurship
edge
The World Economic Forum predicts that 65%
of the jobs Generation Z (aged 5 - 19) will
do haven’t been invented yet. So how do we
ready students for a fast changing, uncertain
future?
JANE CLIFFORD At the University of Auckland’s Centre
for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, we
build entrepreneurial capability. Dealing
& MIKE SPROULE
with ambiguity, working in teams, creative
problem-solving, global views and courage
are the foundation of an entrepreneurial mind-
set – and what’s needed to thrive in this new
Original Foods world of work, whether in a large corporate or
an emerging start-up.
FOOD Crucially, we help students
build connections and
RUNNING AROUND FLOUR MILLS as a child and a network within the
having a mother who was a food scientist were the entrepreneurial ecosystem
CHRISTCHURCH vital ingredients that set Cantabrian Jane Clifford
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
on a path to operating one of New Zealand’s largest We teach cutting-edge frameworks and
privately owned bakeries. encourage a mind-set shift through learning
PETER BUTLER Original Foods had three staff supplying doughnuts by doing, partnering with businesses so
HEALTHPOST
Quick facts: to local fish and chip shops when it was launched in 1991 but students can solve real-world problems.
now it’s a multi-million dollar business that employs a team Crucially, we also help students build
Original of 100 manufacturing a range of sweet treats from a new $10 connections within the entrepreneurial
BUSINESSES DON’T
ecosystem.
foods million purpose-built facility in Wigram. “We’ve worked hard
and we’ve done the hard yards – it’s not been easy,” Clifford
also set HealthPost apart there next to you, you have to act ■ Bakery business says. An iconic home for all this is the University’s
from its competitors. The
company routinely donates
professionally and I think that helps.”
HealthPost is Golden Bay’s largest JUST EXIST IN A owned by Jane
Clifford and Mike
The family connection to baking traces back to her great-
grandfather, Thomas Fleming, who was famed for his rolled
new innovation hub, the Unleash Space,
which includes a state-of-the-art makerspace
kitted out with everything from 3D printers to
VACUUM. IT’S
about $15,000 a month to charities employer with 85 staff working from Sproule oats and Creamoata’s Sergeant Dan brand. Despite significant
sewing machines, and spaces for networking
and recently teamed up with the its Collingwood base and another 20 scaling up over the years, Clifford says “we still run it as a and brainstorming. In its first two months it
Department of Conservation to create in Auckland to serve a sometimes ■ 100 staff family business – we care about the staff.” There’s even a Ten attracted 550-plus members.
a 900ha eco-sanctuary at Farewell
Spit.
“Businesses don’t just exist in a
fickle ‘boom/bust’ Chinese market.
It operates as a low-margin
business in a cut-throat online
NOT JUST ABOUT manufacturing
products for
Year Club for long-serving employees who enjoy an annual
dinner every year. We’ve seen many successful start-ups birthed
through our programmes – among them
MAKING OUR
customers in New Breaking into the supermarket trade has been critical.
vacuum,” says Butler. “It’s not just environment and Butler admits Zealand, Australia “They provide volume and it’s a great distribution point for PowerbyProxi, Stretch Sense, Kami, and
about making our family wealthier, there’s always a tradeoff between and the Pacific consumers to be able to purchase our product,” Clifford says. Parrot Analytics – proof that we can teach our
FAMILY WEALTHIER,
it’s also about being good in the profitability and growth but says “I’m Having a recognisable brand is another key factor. “Our wee students to be successful entrepreneurs and
community.” more excited to see good growth ■ New $10 million monkey has been key to a lot of people recognising the brand to leverage their university career.
With son Abel as chief numbers than to have a yacht in the plant at Wigram and also to acceptance of the brand in the market.”
executive, and daughter Lucy as
executive director, Peter’s dream
harbour or drive a flasher car.”
Competing against much bigger IT’S ABOUT BEING produces
thousands of
Original Foods has a modest export trade but has struggled
in Australia for a decade, and lost hundreds of thousands of
WENDY KERR
DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR INNOVATION
GOOD IN THE
is for HealthPost to become an rivals has also forced HealthPost to doughnuts, cakes dollars. “Our product isn’t cheap,” says Clifford, “so there are a AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
intergenerational business. differentiate by specialising in natural and muffins a day lot of manufacturers over there who are high volume and low
As with any family business they’ve health products with no ‘nasties’. margin and we can’t compete with those.”
had their share of dramas, and as the
company has grown they’ve taken on
two independent directors.
“That’s really going to put us in
good stead for future growth. We can
hold our head up and say ‘Yeah, this
COMMUNITY Watch the full
interview:
The company employs three food technicians on product
development, but Clifford says that “listening to what people
want” is also critical in a highly competitive industry. That’s
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-
“If you’ve got professional directors is what we do’.” – Peter Butler jane-clifford-mike- why the company has a test kitchen and café to develop and
sproule
showcase products with its customers. “Since the day we
started, it’s continual growth and improvement.”
NBR RADAR 14
Working with
businesses
The University of Auckland works with
businesses in a number of exciting ways,
offering research expertise and facilities –
people and “kit” – to improve business growth,
efficiency and future-proofing. From research
consulting to joint-supervision of doctoral
research, to research collaboration, linking
University specialists to business experience
can help solve real-world problems.
Not sure where to start? UniServices can
help link you to relevant researchers or for
some sectors, there are specific programmes
to consider. For example, the Innovative
Manufacturing and Materials Programme
provides a single point of contact to over 100
researchers in almost 40 different areas.
The creation of positive
change and value to New
Zealand industry beyond
academia using this capability is a
JENENE
concept launches in Australia. “It’s growing very, key focus
very quickly. We haven’t missed a target in the
past 18 months. It’s been month-on-month 20% “As a comprehensive university we have a
CROSSAN
growth. It’s a good time.” unique ability to integrate and leverage multi-
disciplinary expertise from across a really wide
As a 20-year-old, Crossan launched nzgirl.
scope. The ability access key knowledge to
co.nz, the country’s largest social magazine, and
solve a particular problem and pull together a
in 2016 she was recognized as the Most Inspiring talented team to feed into complex decision
Flossie.com Individual at the NZ Innovation Awards. Like making is a real strength of the University. The
START, GROW,
many entrepreneurs she’s had her ‘walk away’ creation of positive change and value to New
SOFTWARE moments, but nothing that wasn’t cured with a Zealand industry beyond academia using
short break. “Have a breather, get some sunshine this capability is a key focus for our research
EMBRACING THE MOTTO ‘START, grow, change, and vitamin D, and come back refreshed.” strategy. “
morph, fail, start again and hopefully succeed’, Her advice is to get over the ‘pity-party’ – fast.
CHANGE, MORPH,
digital entrepreneur Jenene Crossan is about to “Get yourself up and dust yourself off and keep Locating a business or team near (or potentially
escalate the latest in a long list of startups. going.” within) one of the University’s campuses
Describing it as the Uber for beauty, Flossie. facilitates collaboration, and ensures that
business is up-to-date with cutting edge
com is a mobile app that connects beauty salons
research and can enjoy direct access to
with spare capacity to consumers who want
FAIL, START AGAIN
University experts and a range of specialist
appointments on demand in a cashless society. equipment.
AUCKLAND
As a “next generation” retailer, Crossan says
Flossie is designed to maximise the use of The Newmarket Innovation Precinct works
consumer data. closely with businesses, offering the research
AND HOPEFULLY
“Knowing who the customer is, what they want, Quick facts: capability and expertise in engineering and
and market to them before they even know they smart manufacturing. They host a number
want that, that’s where technology manifests in Flossie.com of research centres including the Centre for
our business.” Advanced Composite Materials and the New
Crossan says building a two-sided marketplace ■ Mobile beauty app founded by Jenene Crossan Zealand Product Accelerator.
SUCCEED
from scratch in 2011 has been “a really hard in 2011
road.” Included among her 39 shareholders are PROFESSOR NICOLAS SMITH
heavy hitters like Sir Stephen Tindall’s K1W1 and ■ Dubbed New Zealand’s first “vanity club” DEAN, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Peter Cooper but it’s taken 10 rounds of capital
raising to bring in $3.5 million. “There have been ■ Forecasting annualised income of $23 million
a lot of proof-points that we’ve had to provide to next year
– Jenene Crossan make them feel really comfortable that this was a
business worthy of investment.”
Watch the full interview:
Crossan says Flossie’s annualised income www.nbr.co.nz/radar-jenene-crossan
is now pushing $4 million, with expectations of
reaching $23 million by the end of 2018 once the
Photo: Jerry Yelich-O’Connor
BRUCE
NBR RADAR 16
DAVEY
ARANZ Medical
HEALTHCARE
CHRISTCHURCH TAPPING INTO A US wound
care market estimated
to be worth $US50 billion
is the name of the game
for Christchurch-based ARANZ
Quick facts: Medical, which leads the world in the
ARANZ development of 3D scanners that help
custom-fit orthotics and prosthetics
Medical more accurately.
PETER CULLINANE ■ Medtech
company co-
“It has been a 12-year journey
and part of that has been educating
the market as well as developing the
founded by Rick technology,” chief executive Bruce
Lewis Road Creamery Fright and Bruce Davey says.
McCallum in 2005
Finding there is no ‘Department
FOOD of Wound Care’ in the hospital
■ 40 staff in
Christchurch,
environment, ARANZ identified an
IN TALKING TO FORMER ad man October for an undisclosed sum, with sells 3D scanning opportunity in “a forgotten part of the
turned premium dairy brand owner plans to lift it to 50% within three years. systems to 35 healthcare system,” he says.
Peter Cullinane, words like imagination Lewis Road has an annual turnover countries ARANZ Medical’s 3D scanning
and collaboration dominate rather than of about $25 million though growth was and information solutions for skin
the typical business parlance of profits a more standard 15% this year than ■ Targets the US and wound assessment transforms
and costs. the 340% achieved when a frenzy for as its biggest clinical assessment processes,
He set up Lewis Road Creamery in its chocolate milk in 2014 outstripped market, which improves quality of care, and makes
2012 following experiments in his home supply and helped establish the brand. is estimated to healthcare more cost-effective. And as
kitchen because he thought New Zealand Its range now encompasses butter, worth $US50 health systems come under financial
billion
needed a butter he liked eating. On a organic, premium and flavoured milks, pressure to improve efficiencies,
deeper level, he believes New Zealand plus ice cream, cream, sour cream, bread, Davey sees huge growth potential.
Watch the full
has a wrong focus on chasing scale and chocolate cream liqueur, and the latest interview:
“The market is really just in its
producing commodities when it should addition – cider. infancy.”
be intent on quality, and added value. Lewis Road has collaborated with www.nbr.co.nz/radar- Describing the FastSCAN
bruce-davey
“Part of the mission with Lewis Road other Kiwi companies – Whittaker’s for
was to demonstrate, if only to me, New chocolate milk and chocolate butter and
Zealand’s future is much more in quality Pic’s Peanut Butter for peanut butter
rather than quantity.” ice-cream.
Luckily for him, that vision is shared In both cases, the combination was
by his new cornerstone investor, a hit with consumers and Mr Cullinane
institutional farmland fund Southern thinks collaboration will become more
Pastures, which took a 25% stake in important for future brand development
for startups than we’ve seen in the past.
He rates the year-long capital raising
as depressing and distracting because
AUCKLAND of what he dubs unimaginative private
equity investors focused on the
company’s past achievements rather
than future plans. “It’s something I’ll do
Quick facts: only once.”
Under a new board and additional
Lewis Road Creamery capital, Lewis Road will execute its long
talked-about plans to export, with UHT
■ Consumer dairy brand founded milk it’s launching early next year likely
by Peter Cullinane in 2012 to be a front-runner.
Mr Cullinane has no regrets about
■ New cornerstone investor self-funding the business early on as
Southern Pastures took a 25% private equity investment then would
stake this year have meant “more agonising and slower
decision-making.” As long as he was
■ Annual turnover of $25 million prepared to write the next cheque, he
could make the next decision but “the
Watch the full interview: downside is you start running out of
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-peter- money.” Risks and costs have reached
cullinane
a stage where that approach can’t work
anymore, he says.
LOOK FOR
NBR RADAR 18
NBR RADAR 19
SOMETHING IN
THE MARKET
WHICH OTHERS
AREN’T DOING
AND IF THEY ARE
DOING IT, DO IT
BETTER
– Simon Eriksen
system as the “gold standard” for top end data
collection, Davey says ARANZ is about to launch
a third generation product using smart phone
SIMON they are doing it, do it better.”
Starting with AngusPure beef, Neat Meat
embarked on a brand journey that now
Neat Meat’s growth has been
largely organic and self-funded,
and while it sells some product to
export when there are so many
opportunities at home. The
biggest challenge, says Eriksen,
ERIKSEN
technology for the lower end of the market. includes Silere merino lamb, Razorback Singapore, Japan and the Pacific, is to continually create products
ARANZ employs 40 staff in Christchurch and has wild boar and Harmony Foods, which the company is in no hurry to which are first to market.
enjoyed 30-40% year-on-year revenue growth, 15% of provided a strong retail presence. “The
which is spent on R&D. introduction of brands has really given us
One of many breakthrough moments was signing up Neat Meat a place in the market – we have become
one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies. brand creators,” says Eriksen.
“That really got the company established as FOOD With brothers Tim and William as fellow AUCKLAND
a credible player in this sector,” says Davey who directors and shareholders, Eriksen initially
counts the US Department of Veterans Affairs and BEING ABLE TO SPOT opportunities and operated from his old Subaru Legacy but Quick facts:
the UK’s National Health Service among its blue-chip convert them is a key driver for Simon Neat Meat now has wholesale and retail
customers. Eriksen, founder of the Neat Meat gourmet businesses in Auckland and Queenstown Neat Meat
As for keeping ahead of the competition in the US, business that continues to expand its and recently added a processing plant to
ARANZ has the competitive advantage of being the presence in the wholesale and retail food provide vertical integration. ■ Gourmet food company founded by Simon Eriksen in 2001.
Brothers Tim and William also own shares and work in the
only FDA approved provider in the wound care area. sectors. Partnerships have also played a
business.
The quality of its 3D data and ability to interface with Although he was taught how to kill lambs strong hand in the growth story. A 50/50
medical records systems is also far ahead of other on his father’s Gisborne sheep station, partnership with celebrity chef Josh
■ Supplies My Food Bag
providers. and has an agribusiness degree from Emmett in Chef Series – a range of slow-
A true engineer, Davey tends to downplay Massey University, Eriksen had no previous braised, heat and eat meat – provides ■ Estimated annual turnover of $50 million
achievements. However, a proposed capital raising is experience in New Zealand’s commodity- valuable retail cut through. Supplying the
designed to accelerate sales and marketing activities in driven meat industry when he founded Neat rapidly expanding My Food Bag business
key markets. Meat in 2001. “The key thing is to look for has also become an integral part of the Watch the full interview: www.nbr.co.nz/radar-simon-eriksen
“We’re the dominant player now creating solutions a point of difference, look for something in business. “That’s helped us get things
internationally.” the market that others aren’t doing and, if happening much faster, which is good.”ANNE FULTON
& JO MILLS
Fuel50
NBR RADAR 20
SOFTWARE
AS CO-FOUNDERS OF THE global career engagement business, Fuel50, Auckland business
partners Anne Fulton and Jo Mills have had to learn a few lessons about the subtleties of
capital raising to realise their dream of being world-leaders in the next frontier of human
resources.
Originally established as the Career Engagement Group in 2003, the software development
company morphed into Fuel50 in 2014 and is now used by 75 Fortune 500 companies in 33
countries that are looking to boost employee engagement, retention and productivity.
Having identified the US as its target market, Fuel50 has so far raised $US4.8 million to help
build the business with a goal of delivering benchmark world-leading career management
software to one million employees.
“When your client portfolio includes the likes of eBay, Citibank, Mastercard, Texas Health
and many more, you’ve got to be pretty happy,” Mills says.
Having Fulton and key members of the board based in the US has also been pivotal, and
Mills pays tribute to her business partner and best friend.
“We operate a divide-and-conquer strategy, leveraging each other’s strengths and really
trusting each other to do an amazing job and that’s paid off in terms of the relationship with
each other and with our investors and staff.”
Over the past two years Fuel50 has chalked up annual growth of 300% but profitability
remains elusive. To compete on a global scale, Mills says companies can’t wait until they are
profitable “so you have to invest for the curve.”
When it comes to capital raising, she says it’s important to understand venture capital
“sweet spots” and “passion points” and she’s grateful for the financial support from local
angel investors. “It’s been incredible to have that support from New Zealand and to see our
business grow from New Zealand and battle up with the big guys overseas – and come out
winning.”
AUCKLAND
Quick facts:
Fuel50
■ HR consultancy firm founded by Anne
Fulton and Jo Mills in 2014
DOUG HASTIE
■ Clients include 75 Fortune 500 Syft Technologies
companies in 33 countries
TECHNOLOGY
■ Investors include US venture capital
firm Bonfire Ventures
FIVE YEARS AFTER TAKING a “punt” on Syft manufactures high-tech instruments
reviving the fortunes of Christchurch-based Syft costing upward of $300,000 each to ‘sniff’ air
Watch the full interview: www.nbr.
Technologies, Doug Hastie now heads a business quality but the business had burned through
co.nz/radar-anne-fulton-jo-mills
ANNE FULTON (LEFT) valued at $85 million on the Unlisted market. $29 million for no return when Hastie was
WITH JO MILLS “At first I couldn’t think of a worse idea. The parachuted in as chief executive. Looking
company was bankrupt when I started and I’m behind the numbers, he saw a company
still here now.” with some good people at its heart butPhoto: Hamish Coleman-Ross
NBR RADAR 22
NBR RADAR 23
he trimmed the workforce from 25 to 15
because “you can’t have naysayers.”
At his first staff presentation Hastie
declared, “we’re here to make money, it’s that
simple.” An initial sales trip took in seven countries
in five days, sleeping at airports along the way. QUEENSTOWN
“Another belief of mine,” he says is, “Just go and do
it.”
A strong believer in sales and marketing, Hastie
says the key is to get a foot in the door and over Quick facts:
deliver so much that customers never go anywhere
else. Samsung, Ford and Colgate-Palmolive are MedRecruit
now part of Syft’s customer base. “I don’t think
there’s any company in New Zealand that has a
■ Medical staffing company founded by
TIM NORTON
Sam Hazledine in 2006
who’s who list like ours,” Hastie says.
Syft employs 70 staff and exports to 20 ■ 70 staff managing 45,000 doctors
countries. Sales are forecast to increase by 50% to
about $12 million in this financial year but Hastie
projects revenues of $100 million and a net profit
■ Targeting 40% market share in
Australasia
90 Seconds
of $50 million within five years.
Describing himself as a cross between an SOFTWARE
Watch the full interview:
engineer and an accountant, the “boy from
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-sam-hazledine
Gisborne” has had a colourful career. After LIKE MANY SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS 38-year-old Tim
working on a toll road in South Africa and a bridge Norton has tried and failed at least once but he also refused
in the Channel Tunnel, he completed an MBA at to give up.
Yale and worked at Goldman Sachs in New York. Now the latest of his seven businesses is proving
Back home, he founded – and still runs – the a winner.
Chanui tea business. “You’ve always got to believe
the story and believe it with passion,” he says.
SAM HAZLEDINE
Included in the Deloitte Fast 50 for market.” AUCKLAND
four consecutive years, Hazledine Another achievement has been his
CHRISTCHURCH
says the business suddenly “fell off successful international campaign,
a cliff” and was losing six figures a spearheaded by MedWorld, to
Quick facts: MedRecruit month. include the health and well-being Quick facts:
His biggest lesson was throwing of the doctor in the modern day
Syft technologies time and money at symptoms rather Hippocratic oath.
90 Seconds
HEALTHCARE than strategically diagnosing the “We’re part of the solution now,
problem. we’re not just providers. But that was ■ Cloud-based video production company founded by
■ Listed technology company run by Doug PERFORMING A DRUNKEN BACKFLIP “We have real traction … and I want to “The cause was that we needed to never the driver of the change.” Tim Norton
Hastie from Christchurch and landing on his head in 2002 was take that position and grow it to a 40% fundamentally become better at our And when it comes to personal
a life-threatening and ultimately life- market share,” he says. core job of recruitment.” change Hazledine hasn’t held back, ■ 125 employees and thousands of contractors on its
■ 70 staff; exporting to 20 countries changing experience for Queenstown Having graduated as a doctor, Having never met a doctor who spending about $350,000 over the books
doctor, entrepreneur and author Sam Hazledine saw many in the profession was really good at managing their years on self-improvement including
■ Annual revenue of $12 million Hazledine. “It made me realise that for suffering from stress and burnout and money, Hazledine also created advice from US entrepreneur and life ■ $32 million gross annual revenue
my life to change, I had to change.” leaving in droves. His solution was MedCapital to provide wealth coach Tony Robbins.
Watch the full interview: Fifteen years on, Hazledine owns and MedRecruit, which places doctors in management services. “I really truly believe that the Watch the full interview:
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-doug-hastie operates MedRecruit – Australasia’s roles that best suit their professional and “It’s pretty exciting to have a biggest compounding investment www.nbr.co.nz/radar-tim-norton
largest medical staffing agency with 70 personal needs. “We’re like the Tinder for business whereby we can positively you’re ever going to get is when you
staff and 45,000 doctors on its books. doctors,” he says. impact every doctor in the target invest in yourself.”
The notion that University is just a place Solving complex problems starts with not
for study and academics is completely accepting the status quo and just giving
outdated. It is a vibrant ecosystem of things a go. The University of Auckland
people with fresh ideas and young entrepreneurs has taught me the fundamentals and together with
willing to turn those ideas into reality. That’s how my diverse life experiences, enabled the cross-
UVLens came to life. pollination of ideas and innovative solutions.
DANIEL XU DR. ANGELA LIM
CO-FOUNDER OF SPARK 64 DOCTOR, STARSHIP HOSPITAL
CO-FOUNDER, CATALYST POINTNBR RADAR 24
NBR RADAR 25
WELLINGTON
Quick facts:
Flick Electric
■ Electricity retailer founded by Steve
O’Connor in 2013
■ Employs 75 staff serving 23,000
customers
■ Raised $20 million of capital
Watch the full interview:
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-steve-oconnor
YOU HAVE TO BE Norton has spent the past six years building 90 Seconds,
STEVE O’CONNOR
HONEST, YOU HAVE
a business he describes as “the Uber of video production.”
Basically it’s a cloud-based service that customers
can use to hire a video crew in any one of 105 countries, then
collaborate on editing and post-production online. Flick Electric
Although his first clients were small businesses and
TO SELL THEM THE
individuals, Norton has succeeded in moving up a level – a big
level. RETAIL
In fact, 80% of 90 Seconds’ 150 global customers are Fortune
500 companies. Clients include Airbnb, Air New Zealand, ANZ,
McDonald’s, PayPal, Google and Uber. DIGITAL DISRUPTION RUNS THROUGH Steve O’Connor’s veins so it’s hardly
DREAM ... AND THEN
What started out as an idea to solve Norton’s own problems surprising that he runs Flick Electric, the Wellington-based electricity retailer
with video production has, in a short space of time, become a selling power to customers at wholesale spot prices.
global business offering services to the biggest brands in the Established in 2013, Flick has signed up 23,000 customers, employed 75
world. staff and generated revenue growth of 4890% over the past two years. As the
Energy Retailer of the Year at the 2017 Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards,
QUICKLY SWITCH
“I had a vision for what it might look like online but the service
didn’t exist,” Norton says. O’Connor says “We’re being recognised as doing things differently and doing
Having originally self-funded the company with help from well which is great.”
fellow Kiwis Tim Williams and Jonathan Hendriksen and later Flick came about after O’Connor surmised that most electricity consumers
some angel investors, the company needed venture capital to were “completely disengaged” with a product that powers their lives. “There
TO ALL OF THE
grow. had to be a better way of buying electricity and engaging with the product,”
Enter Silicon Valley heavyweight Sequoia and a bunch of other he says.
big-name investors who put in $11 million 18 months ago. Having worked for a large digital company overseas, O’Connor saw “real
Norton was able to pay off his debts and reward his angel scale” from an international perspective and understood how broadband
investors while investing in the pillars needed to build the enabled digital disruption. Back home, he got to know the electricity from
RISKS THAT YOU
business globally. the inside at Meridian Energy and learned the value of innovation and
Working with investors like Sequoia is like a marriage, Norton entrepreneurship at Wellington’s Creative HQ and Lightning Lab.
says. Initially, Flick’s founders weren’t sure whether it would be a niche or mass
“You have to have so much trust upfront. How do you build market play within New Zealand’s $7 billion energy sector. “As it turns out,”
trust? You have to be honest, you have to sell them the dream, says O’Connor, “we think we’ve got a mass market proposition, which is
ARE FACING
get them excited, share the vision for the partnership and then really cool.”
quickly switch to all of the risks that you are facing. Almost $20 million has been raised so far to get off the ground, build
“Investors want to see you are living and breathing those every early product and scale the business. With a 22.5% stake, Gisborne-
day. If they can see that, they start to gain confidence and trust.” based Eastland Energy Solutions is the cornerstone shareholder and, says
90 Seconds has gone from 17 employees to 125 in about O’Connor, a valuable partner to pilot new stuff. “There is real strategic benefit
– Tim Norton 30 months and gross sales are now above $30 million a year, in having those sort of investors.”
maintaining a 100% annual growth rate. Remaining innovative and agile – and staying close to the customer – as
Norton shies away from talking about profitability but says the scale is built in a regulation-bound industry has been a key challenge. But
company has gone through its biggest loss and is heading back up O’Connor believes the concept has potential beyond New Zealand where
again. electricity consumers are also disengaged. “We think there are really good
“We are very close to break-even, put it that way.” opportunities for our model and for the company offshore.”ANDY PROW
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
RedShield Security
CYBER-SECURITY
NBR RADAR 26
NBR RADAR 27
Photo: Hamish Coleman-Ross
SHAREENA & DON
SANDBROOK
WELLINGTON Frogparking
NELSON SOFTWARE
Quick facts: FEELING SORRY FOR A parking warden chalking tyres in the rain was the
RedShield Security inspiration for Frogparking, the parking sensor and carpark management software
Quick facts: business created by Palmerston North entrepreneur Don Sandbrook that’s tapping
■ Software company founded by Andy Prow in 2009 into a global parking industry worth an estimated $100 billion annually.
Pic’s Peanut Butter No stranger to cut-through technology, Sandbrook revolutionised the
■ Employs 48 staff, maintains 200 global clients commercial horticultural market worldwide with the electronically controlled
■ Condiment manufacturer founded by
Pic Picot in 2007 seed metering system, Seed Spider. A private helicopter pilot, he also developed
■ Four international offices Spidertracks, the world’s first portable Iridium aviation tracking device.
■ 45 full-time employees in Nelson Parking guidance systems weren’t exactly new when Frogparking was founded
Watch the full interview:
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-andy-prow in 2011 but Sandbrook says “We researched the competition and thought we could
■ Annual sales of $50 million do a better job.”
Designing and manufacturing their own hardware was a “foot in the door” to
Watch the full interview: a software play that uses cloud-based data analytics on vehicle movements and
www.nbr.co.nz/radar-bruce-picot CYBER CRIME IS FORECAST to cost more than $US2 trillion customer demographics to offer clients a more tailored approach.
globally by 2019, and Wellington’s RedShield Security is “The critical drivers are growth and how we can apply technology and software
pitching for a slice of the rapidly growing cyber-security to maximise occupancy and deliver a better customer experience,” says Shareena
market. Sandbrook, the inventor’s daughter, managing director and fellow shareholder.
“I want us to become known as the most effective cyber- Frogparking employs 30 staff and has shipped 35,000 units to more than 300
security solution globally,” co-founder Andy Prow says. customers throughout Australasia and North America. Revenues are near $10
RedShield had humble beginnings in 2009 as a sideline to million but a multi-million dollar capital raise from a consortium of investors in
Prow’s Aura Software company. “We pivoted from software 2017 is expected to boost sales to $50 million over the next five years.
BRUCE ‘PIC’ PICOT WE’RE GOING
development to breaking software and hacking into it
ethically – that was the game,” he says of the business
that now employs 48 staff and has more than 200 clients
Apple is viewed as a role model for the business that builds high-quality
components and uses software that’s easy to use. A lot of energy is put into
customer service and support and, rather than a big budget sales and marketing
globally. approach, Frogparking prefers having happy customers “who speak very highly of
Pic’s Peanut Butter
TO BE THE Rather than get involved in the slow and expensive
business of solving security flaws, RedShield is the world’s
you,” Shareena says.
Despite the sacrifices of spending time away from her young family, Shareena
BEST-LOVED
FOOD first web application protection service to target 100% says “it’s about teaching them the value of hard work.” And yes, there is an exit
mitigation of known exploits. “We are a defensive business, strategy within the next five years. “We’ve got plenty of potential acquirers in
EARNING SOME WEEKEND POCKET money and I got to see the people who liked to buy it.” we sit in front of things and try and stop them getting mind.”
was the initial aim when Bruce ‘Pic’ Picot
started selling homemade peanut butter at
Nelson’s Friday farmers’ market in 2007.
Interestingly, there was no initial marketing
strategy. Random pictures of chickens and
lawnmowers adorn labels made from plain
PEANUT hacked.”
Two international re-seller agreements were signed in
2017, and the company also beat off stiff competition from
A decade later his ambition has changed.
“We’re going to be really famous, we’re going to
brown wrapping paper to make it look “real.”
Educated at Auckland’s St Kentigern
BUTTER some of the world’s largest cyber-security vendors to win a
proof-of-concept contract with a US Fortune 500 company.
PALMERSTON NORTH
be the best-loved peanut butter makers in the
world.”
Thanks to enthusiastic consumers prepared
College, Picot says he failed an architecture
degree and tried his hand at various business
ventures before failing eyesight from macular
MAKERS IN “We won that deal through fast effectiveness, because our
message was – if you’re not fast and you don’t work, what’s
the point?” Quick facts:
to pay $7 a jar for a quality product, Picot’s $200
a week little earner has become a $20 million
a year export business. Expanded capacity will
degeneration forced him to give up a sailing
school and turn to making peanut butter.
He now has 45 full-time employees in Nelson.
THE WORLD RedShield was valued at $31 million in late 2016 when
Sage Technologies paid $6.2 million for 20%, and Prow
says the immediate aim is to triple the team, double the
Frogparking
■ Software company founded by Don Sandbrook in 2011
enable Pic’s Peanut Butter to churn out $50 “The reason this company has grown is because – Bruce ‘Pic’ Picot customers and 10 times the revenue. The ultimate goal is to
million worth of product in 2018. I delegate and I trust people to do what they do defend one billion people online “and if we can make a billion ■ 30 staff and 300 customers
“Once I got over my issues of keeping it small and they respect that.” dollar business on the way – well that’s great.”
and beautiful and decided to find out where it Pic’s exports to Australia, Asia, the UK and Among the finalists in the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the ■ Annual revenue $10-50 million
will end up, we just expanded and we’ve had US and Picot says it’s a huge market with Year Award, British-born Prow says any smart business has
continual growth” says Picot. phenomenal upside. “We’ll just be a massive an exit strategy from Day One but the current focus is on
Looking back, he says the farmer’s market peanut butter corporation, like a multinational maximising RedShield’s growth potential. Watch the full interview: www.nbr.co.nz/radar-shareena-don-sandbrook
was an ideal launching pad. “It gave us if you please – and have a whole of fun. I “We’ve certainly got many plans for what we hope could
immediate feedback on what we were doing wouldn’t be doing it if I wasn’t.” be an incredibly high value exit.”You can also read
