The ICEHOUSE - business growth centre
ICE Bridge (Education for Owner Managers) and Alumni News
ICE Accelerator
(Incubation for start-up businesses) and graduate news
ICE Angels
ICE Network Events
From our partners:
From the CEO - Andrew Hamilton:
March is always a busy month at The ICEHOUSE. This year our 20th Owner Manager Programme is underway, we start our seventh Agribusiness programme next week and have Growth Seminars in Tauranga and Auckland and BNZ University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneur in Residence Bill Payne has made presentations to over 1600 people around New Zealand. We’ve had our big annual bash as well – the 2010 ICE Network Event was attended by 200 people at the Floating Pavillion in Auckland. In addition, I went to Singapore with Joe Rouse, our ICEHOUSE Executive in Residence for Asia, to speak at the Asia Business Angel Forum (ABAF). We met up with angels and start up businesses from India, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and the US. The resulting exchange of investment trends, best practices, case studies and opportunities to collaborate has raised expectations about prospects for Kiwi early-stage companies and investors seeing fast-growing Asian markets as their first foray abroad.
Following on from that positive vibe, the buzz at The ICEHOUSE annual event was fantastic! You could just feel the power of the ICE Network in action. Speakers Bill Payne, Rod Drury and Tony Alexander gave us really useful insights into all the things that The ICEHOUSE is about – getting money for start up businesses, the discipline and focus needed to succeed in international markets and understanding the broad economic trends to which successful businesses must adapt. If you missed this sold-out event, we filmed their presentations for you to watch. If you were there, check out the photos and footage from the day.
Liz Wotherspoon, Director of the ICE Network launched our new ICEHOUSE League and welcomed the 28 Foundation members, 14 of them in person. This is an exclusive club designed to continue the ICEHOUSE experience for graduates of our journey programmes, such as the ICE Accelerator full incubation programme and our award-winning Owner Manager Programme. You can rub shoulders with League members at our Power Up for Growth Workshops around the country in May – a full-on day of business motivation for the new financial year. Re-invigorate your growth plans, re-commit to business best practice and re-connect with other business owners with growth goals.
ICEHOUSE gongs for March:
- Welcome to our new residents: Charge Communications and Points2Change
- FAST Pitch 2010 Winner and ICEHOUSE resident Chris White from Big Little Bang and new ICEHOUSE resident Charge Communications’ Jason Roberts and his LiveLinks product are two of the six finalists in the Planet 2010 Competition. They presented at the Conference over the weekend, vying for $70,000 worth of prizes, and we await the results at the end of the month.
- ICE Angels completed the first tranche transaction of a million dollar investment into our 15th investee company – KayaSand Limited
- Congratulations to League Foundation member and ICE Accelerator Graduate Denis O’Shea of Mobile Mentor who has signed a big deal with IBM
We love to hear your news – please email r.hopkins@theicehouse.co.nz with your press releases and gossip.
This month we farewell Amanda Monks, who has stamped her personality on the ICE Angels and the ICE Accelerator over the last five years. Her contribution to our success has been massive and we will really miss her. Thanks to everyone who came to farewell Amanda at The ICEHOUSE last Thursday. We wish Amanda all the best for her next adventure.
Cheers
Andy
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ICEHOUSE League
The ICEHOUSE League is an exclusive business owners’ club that gives you direct and ongoing access to ICEHOUSE knowledge, tools and contacts. It is designed for you to celebrate, connect and learn alongside your peers, continuing your experience with The ICEHOUSE. The League begins officially on 1 April 2010. We invite you to get involved early, join our 28 Foundation Members and get free registration to our Power Up for Growth workshops in May.
Membership is exclusive to business owners who have graduated from one of the ICEHOUSE journey programmes. If you are eligible, this is a brilliant opportunity to get in league with a powerful group of business owners with common aspirations - to grow themselves, their networks and their businesses. www.theicehouse.co.nz/league
HRH Princess Anne
Last Friday, HRH Princess Anne visited The ICEHOUSE and met with residents to hear about their businesses. This was part of the Emerging Pacific Leaders’ Dialogue project. HRH Princess Anne led a study group of 12 emerging leaders from Pacific countries where small business development is an area of great relevance. ICEHOUSE graduate Enlight Photo and Residents Nova Eco Tech and Podscape presented their business ideas to the group and discussed challenges around building new businesses.
Photos>
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Leading & Managing for Growth programme
Many of you will know that we have shortened our Leading and Managing for Growth Programme. Following a successful programme with the new format we will continue with the shortened time period. Without compromising the objectives and outcomes of this proven programme, we have responded to the challenge of having key staff out of the business by condensing our Leading and Managing for Growth programme to 6 days over two residential blocks of three days.
This programme has been designed to support our owner-managers by empowering your senior business managers to drive your business forward.
The next programme dates are as follows:
Leading and Managing for Growth 9
Block 1 September 1 - 3, 2010
Block 2 October 13 - 15, 2010
This is a great programme for developing your managers for the busy times ahead.
More information>
A message from Leith Oliver...
This year’s University of Auckland Business School MBA cohort are looking for approximately 15 companies they can do some FOC consulting for in a foreign city.
The ideal profile would be a company already operating in a foreign location (suggest Americas, India, other Asian city). The students would work in groups of 3 for each company, carry out some preliminary work here in NZ and then spend 1-2 weeks in the foreign location completing the project.
If you are interested in your company being considered for this, please email Raewyn Goodwin on r.goodwin@theicehouse.co.nz and she will compile a list of interested alumni companies and pass these on to Leith.
Tony Whiting from Whiting Power Services
As a result of attending the Owner Manager Programme (OMP 16) Tony Whiting from Whiting Power Services has successful sold the business with a good multiple. Tony will be involved for the next 3 years - his daughter is still involved at management level. The company name will remain the same and the company will continue to grow the business in New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Gilpin Travel Update from Keith Sumner
After a tough 2009 we are anticipating a much stronger 2010/2011 year. Corporate travel was hit hard in the recession and all of the Icehouse teachings and more were required to survive the year in good shape. Key lessons which really stood us in good stead were the need to keep our bank onside with proactive advice, to keep investing in our key staff and marketing initiatives and to ensure when the market turned we were well placed to profit quickly.
Already this year we have seen the benefits of continuing to push forward while others were pulling back with the awarding of a major contract with a blue chip NZ company (still commercially sensitive!) and ‘official travel partner’ status with the Middle East Business council and the Trade Mission to the Middle East at the end of April. Our travel partner association with Ernst Young and their Entrepreneur of the Year programme has been a real winner for us and opened many doors that conventional marketing wouldn’t have.
We are currently recruiting for more consultants, we’ve formed a strategic partnership with an Australian Travel company and are feeling very confident and excited about our future.
One benefit the recession has bought for us is the serious discussions we are now invited to participate in – Financial Controllers, Purchasing Managers and CEOs all want answers to their travel woes and we are no longer getting tripped up by junior gatekeepers!
Special offer on Villas in Vanuatu - from Diarmuid Ruddle
Diarmuid Ruddle from Owner Manager programme 16 has recently built 3 beautiful 2 bedroom self contained Villas in Vanuatu. In addition to the villas is a fabulous infinity edge swimming pool, poolside lounge, kitchen and dining area. Absolute waterfront!
As a special introductory offer he would like to offer friends of The Icehouse a heavily discounted price of $390 NZD per night. If you would like to take up this offer please contact Kerry Woods on relax@villasvanuatu.com and mention The ICEHOUSE. Check out our website>
Pavlovich Coachlines - Bernard Pavlovich is preparing for a leave of absence
I guess the planning started 18 months ago. The Icehouse course was an inspiration.I always said, the hardest decision was deciding to go, after that it has been easy.
I decided that my absence could happen at any time any way, illness, accident etc etc
Our culture in this organisation for a number of years has always been to “not contact the boss when he is out of the office”. I can go away now for 2 weeks, and not get a call from work, its just “the way we d it here. 6 months is a logical extension. I have a very quiet cell phone, compared to other OM that I met at OMP16!! Now I am planning to go away for 6 months.
I decided the best thing I could do for the business is to go away, and test the structure. Emergency drills never get taken seriously, so the “plan in case the boss is away” attitude, was never going to work either. They just have to manage without me.
Have an interim CEO coming in for 2 days a week to cover and provide back up. He is also the company financial consultant for the company, so will overview the financial requirements.
Bernard Pavlovich I Chief Executive I Pavlovich Coachlines
PSI 2000 Ltd transition to a new model, by Warren Bird
Like all things that you have owned for many years it gets into your pores and becomes a huge part of your life. This is a good thing, but the downside is when you are so passionate or evangelistic about your company it is difficult to see a dark side. By that I mean when the business starts to fail. First reaction is, it is temporary, a blip on the screen, an easy fix, or, it will come right. Many times this is correct and many times it is not.
But recognizing that the issue is far deeper than what you think, and that perhaps the business model is becoming out of date is hard to recognize, if not to accept. When a business model has reached its course there is nothing that can be done other than to change the model.
I have just been through this situation and I was fortunate to recognize at the last minute that our model was gone. I recognized it after I went through all the traditional remedies to only find that more money was lost and the business went deeper into the death spiral.
Simple answer here is to have absolute clarity and visibility of what your company is, and what it means to your customers and the market. Make your model suit the market, not try to get the market to suit your model.
We turned PSI 2000 Ltd from an importing company of 20 years to an export company based in Beijing. The reason why;
1. Customers saw little, if any value from an importer.
2. Customers wanted China prices, not NZ $ prices.
3. Customers needed to feel they were getting the best price.
4. Customers still wanted the NZ service.
5. Customers wanted FOB terms.
So the short answer (that is if I was to stay in business) was to move all the heavy costs to China and to operate a sales office in NZ. This gave customers, CN prices; FOB terms, USD buy price, and NZ front face service.
They got what they wanted on all fronts. I am happy to say business has improved with the new model.
Remember, customers will not tell you that your business is now out of date………you need to see that for yourself.
The company is now called FOB BEIJING GARMENTS LTD, with a sales office in NZ called FOB DIRECT LTD.
Warren Bird
Director
What has been happening in the ICEHOUSE incubator?
While the weather outside may be cooling, the ICE Accelerator is heating up. Over the past six weeks, the ICE Accelerator has welcomed seven new start-ups, launched two new initiatives, and seen a couple of our start-ups achieve incredible milestones.
Our new start-ups span wildly different industries but they all share the characteristics we look for in start-ups: enthusiasm, ‘coachability’, and growth potential. The entrepreneur behind Virtual Holidays, one of our newest start-ups, has through incredible footage and composition opened our eyes to how beautiful New Zealand truly is. He plans to combine his skills and New Zealand’s scenery to capitalize on tourists’ irresistible desire to take home a bit of New Zealand’s beauty. Charge Communications, led by Jason Roberts, is a new e-marketing company with an innovative “pick and send” 1 to 1 email campaign solution called LiveLinks. In addition they have released LiveResponse, a unique 1 to 1 email tracking solution For more information, visit www.charge.co.nz.
Two of our start-ups have had particularly exciting months. Chris White, of BigLittleBang, made a great pitch to the ICE Angels. So far, feedback has been great and we are hopeful his pitch will prove fruitful. Gordon, of Nova Eco-Tech, began his month with a business development visit to India, a presentation to the ICE Angels, and, most excitingly, a new son. As if that were not enough, he was also presented the opportunity to share his business plans with Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, during her visit to the ICEHOUSE.
Finally, we would like to like to offer a fond farewell to Amanda Monks, the Relationship Manager for the ICE Accelerator and ICE Angels. Amanda is leaving the ICEHOUSE at the end of the month in order to pursue a new direction in her career (we suspect that direction may be towards Waiheke!) Amanda has been a valued member of the ICEHOUSE team for over five years and will be dearly missed.
University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs' Challenge
After a great launch in 2009, we are looking forward to another successful year for the University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneurs’ Challenge. Selecting three winners out of last year’s 100+ applicants was challenging but also offered the Business School and the ICEHOUSE the unique opportunity to meet and learn about some of New Zealand’s most innovative entrepreneurs. Following a motivational and eye-opening strategy meeting with the Entrepreneurs’ Challenge founder, Charles Bidwill, we are excited to see this years’ challenge progress. For more information or to register, visit www.entrepreneurschallenge.co.nz.
ICEHOUSE graduate Mobile mentor signs deal with IBM
IBM New Zealand is expanding its range of service offerings to include mobile managed services.
The national business review>
Orbis on telly: Kiwi photography product gets global acclaim
A new product invented in Auckland which helps photographers take better pictures has been met with global acclaim.
The Orbis, which is a type of ring flash, was the brainchild of James Madelin from Enlight Photo.
3News - Kiwi photography product gets global acclaim>
Bill Payne - BNZ University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneur in Residence 2010
Over his 25+ year career of angel investing Bill has learned to reduce by half (or more) entrepreneurs’ initial predictions of growth and sales. Unfortunately for his plans to play golf, this rule did not apply to our initial estimations of his New Zealand time commitments. Our advice to Bill: stop doing such a great job! In his first six weeks Bill has mentored 14 start-ups, presented to nearly 1000 entrepreneurs, business school students, and investors, advised organizations including BNZ, the New Zealand Venture Investment Firm, the Angel Capital Association, the New Zealand Venture Capital Association, and Investment New Zealand, trained more than 50 angel investors, and has been interviewed nearly 20 times including live interviews on TV3 and TVNZ. The ICEHOUSE team is proud to see Bill making such a widespread and positive impact on the New Zealand business ecosystem.
Breakfast with Bill
Throughout his time at the ICEHOUSE, Bill will be hosting a “Breakfast with Bill” series where he will share his knowledge of entrepreneurship and angel investing with small groups of entrepreneurs. The first “Breakfast with Bill” will be 7:30-9:00am, on Tuesday, April 13th at the ICEHOUSE. Please see www.theicehouse.co.nz/billpayne for more information and to register.
NZ Young Company Finance - Angels invest nearly $50 million in 2009
More than $50 million was invested by angel investors into 63 young companies in 2009 – a 72 percent increase on the previous 12 month record of $29 million invested in 2008, based on data collected by Young Company Finance...
Young company finance - Issue 8 - February 2010>
Angel Forum Puts New Zealand on the Asian Investment Stage
By Joe Rouse
The New Zealand angel investor network took a giant step north this past week, as Kiwi angel investors, incubators and related economic development offices attended the Asia Business Angel Forum (ABAF), held in Singapore March 8-9. Created and put on by the Business Angel Network South East Asia (BANSEA), ABAF attracted angels and others from India, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and the US. The resulting exchange of investment trends, best practices, case studies and opportunities to collaborate has raised expectations about prospects for Kiwi early-stage companies and investors seeing fast-growing Asian markets as their first foray abroad.
"The objective was to connect and begin a dialogue with like-minded investors across the Asian and Australasian region," says ABAF speaker Andrew Hamilton, CEO of The ICEHOUSE and Chair of the New Zealand Angel Association. "While the prospect of joint investment is still off in the future, we established a solid basis from which that can be possible. For now, it's about getting to know each other's interests, strengths and investment environments."
Unlike venture capital or private equity funds, angel investors make investments entirely with their own funds, and typically get actively involved with some aspect of the company, often in the area of business development and networking with customers, partners and future investors. New Zealand angels have been very active over the past year, despite the impact of the US financial crisis on the broader world economy. In fact, as visiting experts such as Bill Payne (currently BNZ University of Auckland Entrepreneur in Residence at the ICEHOUSE in Auckland) relate, an economic downturn is the best time to angel invest, as the cream of start up businesses rise to the crop and angels' investment dollars can enable companies to advance further than during boom times, when prices rise and labour availability falls. Kiwi angels have seized the recent opportunity, investing a record number of angel dollars across the country.
Not wishing to be a mere talkfest, ABAF also attracted fifteen companies pitching for angel investment from the region, across a broad variety of sectors. New Zealand was represented by Wellington-based supercomputing company InterGrid. An additional ten companies demonstrated their wares via a mini trade show.
Another outcome of this first ABAF was a formalized commitment to work on a pan-Asian angel network with participation from New Zealand and Australia. This follows on a memorandum of understanding put in place by BANSEA and the NZ Angel Association last November. Andrew Hamilton will represent New Zealand.
Joe Rouse is the ICEHOUSE Executive in Residence for South East Asia and BANSEA board member. He is based in Singapore.
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ICE Network Event
The 2010 event for the ICE Network was a great success. The Floating Pavilion in Auckland’s viaduct was buzzing with conversation among the 200 guests. Presenters Bill Payne (BNZ University of Auckland Business School Entrepreneur in Residence), Rod Drury, Founder and CEO of Xero and Tony Alexander, Chief Economist at the BNZ gave a variety of insights into funding, growing and keeping your business on track. Feedback has been really positive about the people, the presentations, the food and the wine.
If you missed the event, you can view the video or if you were there, find yourself in the photos below>
Power up for growth
A full day of motivation, learning and planning for business owners:
- Re-invigorate your 2010 growth plans
- Re-commit to business best practice
- Re-connect with business owners with growth goals
Session 1: The disciplined entrepreneur - getting good advice! (Presented by Chris Woods/Deb Shepherd)
Session 2: Leading People and Building Capability (Presented by Jo Clayton)
Session 3: Finding Competitive Advantage and Profits through Innovation (Presented by Leith Oliver)
Session 4: Creating and Maintaining Customer Connectivity in Competitive Times (Presented by Dave Lewis)
When: Christchurch Thursday 6 May
Palmerston North Friday 7 May
Auckland Monday 17 May
Further information>
Owen Glenn Intimate Dinner
Owen Glenn addressed an intimate audience of ICEHOUSE alumni and partners at a recent dinner at Vinnies Restaurant in Herne Bay, Auckland. Owen, who the week prior had participated in a NZ Business Roundtable retreat attended by prominent NZ business people as well as John Key and other members of Cabinet, began his presentation with his reflections from that retreat. He openly shared his opinions on the role government can play in assisting and supporting business but clearly expressed a view that business owners and entrepreneurs need to take control of their own destiny and get on with driving their businesses to realise their growth potential. Owen went on to discuss starting his own business, OTS Logistics Group, in 1978 with just $2,500 capital and building it into a major global provider of logistics services including ocean freight consolidation. OTS now has a turnover in excess of $650 million per annum and operates through multiple brands worldwide with 177 offices and agencies in over 105 countries. He candidly shared with the group his own personal journey from his birth in India to his immigration to NZ as an 11 year old to his role as Founder and Chairman of OTS and the Glenn Family Foundation. Owen, although not domicile in New Zealand, is a proud Kiwi and a true success story and a great ambassador for New Zealand business. Those in attendance felt privileged to be in his company and thoroughly enjoyed Owen’s engaging style and refreshing frankness.
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International business payments made easy at BNZ
BNZ have recently launched a new online International Payments facility for their business customers. When designing this service, BNZ had a particular type of client in mind – New Zealand businesses that regularly make or receive international payments and make international transfers.
They also had a particular type of offering in mind where both domestic and international transactions can be made seamlessly and conveniently within the same online system. This will save companies time and paperwork leading to great productivity and efficiency. The end result speaks for itself.
Some key features and benefits of the new international payments service include:
Flexibility: You can use International Payments in Internet Banking for Business to send telegraphic transfers and transfer funds to and from your Foreign Currency accounts.
Live market rates: You’ll have access to real time exchange rates directly linked to the foreign exchange markets, giving you the most current rate for your nominated currency.
Streamlined administration: The service eliminates the need for manual processes, reducing the time your staff spend preparing international transactions.
Transactional history: You can track the last 13 months of your international payments and transfers in this one service.
Email notification: If you choose, BNZ can also send an automatic email notification to the beneficiary of the international payment so they know the payments is on its way.
For existing users of Internet Banking for Business the service is free and requires a simple registration to add the service. For those new to Internet Banking for Business, the standard monthly fee of $10 per month for the service applies.
And talking to Wayne Jolly, Head of BNZ Treasury Solutions, having the system source live market rates to the second enables Treasury Solutions to provide the keenest possible rates.
“We can offer the most competitive rates in the market, right from the sole owner operator through to the largest corporate”.
Want to find out more?
Call BNZ on 0800 269 4242
Bizzone - Event opportunity
If you have an offering for business and you are looking for new ways to grow, then data released by Forrester Consulting Services showed that face to face events such as the Bizzone Business Expo were a top 3 choice for advertising spend.
Forrester reports:
- 60.9% of marketers considered face-to-face exhibiting as the best means to effectively build brand image
- 62.9% indicated in-person events are considered the best tactic to generate qualified leads
Get your brand in front of 13,000 business owners who attend.
The Bizzone Business Expos:
Auckland Wellington Christchurch
2-4 June 2010 21-23 July 11-13 August
Book your site in March and go in the draw to have your offering included in the Bizzone Newsletter that goes out to 27,000 proactive business owners.
Email or call on 0800 249 966
Eastek is now your "one-stop-shop" for smart technology solutions
We've come a long way since the early days, when we provided security services and became known as "Eastek Security". Here's an update from Diarmuid Ruddle.
Since then we have diversified into integrated digital technology solutions for home and business. Simply put, we can now offer a whole raft of products and services - so thought it was time to make sure you knew about them!
Eastek http://www.eastek.co.nz is the only company in Hawke's Bay dedicated to technology integration.
Here's a brief rundown of the solutions we offer:
<http://eastek.securedomain.co.nz/uploads///service-list.png>
"Integration" is the word these days and this is where we really come into our own - we can bundle control of these products together so you are not juggling remotes and cluttering your walls with multiple switches. And what's more, while installing into new homes and offices is a piece of cake, we can come up with a solution for existing situations just as well.
And we promise not to confuse you with "tech-speak". Our team will assess your needs, come up with a range of solutions with extremely competitive pricing, and then explain it all in easy-to-understand language. In fact we can demonstrate most of our products in our new Hastings showroom so you'll get a hands-on feel for how it all works.
Eastek Special Offer - Fujitsu Hi-Wall Premier Package
Eastek is an accredited Fujitsu installer<http://eastek.securedomain.co.nz/uploads///Fujitsu-aircon.jpg> Fujitsu produces New Zealand's favourite air! The Hi-Wall Premier Inverter range are all Energy Star qualified. They offer whisper quiet comfort with additional special filtration options, latest features and technology. As you would expect from Fujitsu, the inverter system has the capacity to heat the room quickly, then automatically adjusts capacity to maintain the set temperature.
With 6.2kw of heating and 5.2kw of cooling, the ASTA18 model is perfect for family and living spaces. It has a whole range of features and programs including automatic air flow adjustment, auto re-start and full timer and sleep modes. The unit comes with an infra red remote control.
Special Eastek Price - fully installed
$2456.00 plus GST or $2763.00 including GST, installed back to back. *Conditions apply.
So email us <mailto:solutions@eastek.co.nz> now or phone 06 877 1360 for more info or to arrange a FREE CONSULTATION or QUOTE.
Or visit our interactive showroom at 500 Karamu Road North, Hastings - where you can feel for yourself the future of smart technology.
Global Expert Service
If you've got technical questions, need to find the right expert or partner, or are looking for new suppliers and distributors, Global Expert can help. A special search service offered through TechNZ, Global Expert connects and identifies the best people with the right skills to help companies solve their innovation challenges during design, development and delivery.
As a special offer, the first 50 companies who use Global Expert by 30 April 2010:
- Receive fully funded expert fees up to $2,000
- Can apply for more expert funding on a matched 50/50 basis
Find more details on our website. Companies must meet TechNZ funding and search criteria.
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