Interesting highlights from UK pre budget

Some titbits of interest to those of us working with cleantech co's and investments..

• £160million investment in low-carbon projects and a doubling of investment in 'carbon capture' technology.
• £200million to improve energy efficiency in homes and completion of 'smart meter' programme by 2020.
• 'Scrappage' scheme for inefficient boilers.
• 50p a month levy on landlines to fund expansion of high-speed broadband.

Full report here:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr09_completereport.pdf

Sustainability something of a market driver for Food and Beverage in the USA

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) says sustainability is growing in importance as a market driver in some of New Zealand's food and beverage export markets. The October 2009 quarterly report on trends and issues in the United States is useful reading.

Long version - full report is here http://www.nzte.govt.nz/explore-export-markets/market-research-by-industry/Food-and-beverage/Documents/FandB-sustain-USA-October-2009.pdf

An edited short version:
Sales of organic and natural grocery items grew 4.6 percent to US$18.3 billion during the year ended June 13, The Wall Street Journal reports. Market research firm SPINS says overall organic food and beverage sales increased 15.8 percent last year to reach US$22.9 billion, ending a string of years with 20 percent plus sales growth.

Aquamantra says it has introduced the first 100 percent biodegradable, recyclable, compostable (non-PLA) plastic bottle. The California-based company says its water bottle completely biodegrades into organic material within 250 days.

Coca-Cola Enterprises says it will reduce its carbon footprint by 15 percent by 2020 as part of its “Commitment 2020” programme. The Atlanta-based company’s areas of focus are: energy conservation and climate change, water stewardship, sustainable packaging and recycling, product portfolio and well-being, and diverse and inclusive culture.

A “Know your Farmer, Know your Food” programme has been launched by the United States Department of Agriculture. The US$65 million programme aims to connect children to the sources of their food and to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity. It is also aims to reduce resources used to transport food domestically.

Watch out for this company... PINGAR

www.pingar.com

Differences between Europeans

On the wall of the (German owned) garage where I take my Mercedes for servicing. www.german-automotive.co.nz

PINGAR Remember the name!

Watch out for this company! http://www.pingar.com/ Very exciting stuff indeed.

Was invited along to an invite only launch event for Pingar in NZ, on the back of launches in Las Vegas at Microsoft's sharepoint conference and something similar in none other than the House of Commons.

Pingar is developing a new search algorithm with the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) that literally takes the browsing out of browsing. The dynamic Search and Publishing Application holds real value for information-rich industries and you have to see what it can do to believe it.

Pingar’s solution changes the face of mainstream search. I'M GOING TO REPEAT THAT AGAIN...Pingar’s solution changes the face of mainstream search. Google search gives you a list of links and you do the work. Pingar’s application goes inside data documents, finds the content the user is seeking and then places it into a dynamically generated PDF document.

I'm still buzzing. Watch this space.

More SMBs Use Online Media Than Traditional in the US

More SMBs Use Online Media Than Traditional : MarketingProfs

How to develop winning iPhone apps. Report on UK iPhone Strategies

"Winning iPhone Strategies" Report

9 Social Media Questions Answered

Some good stuff about social media here..

http://socialnomics.net/2009/11/02/9-social-media-questions-answered/

How to NOT market

Some will smile knowingly and some will grit their teeth at this.

Many of the companies that I work with are high growth. Or potentially high growth. If you've been around the traps for a while, you may have met or know someone in charge of such a co. And after an initial meeting its clear that they have been burned by a previous experience or two with a consultant of some kind that didn't quite deliver the results that they were expecting.

Sometimes, this is put forward as one of several reasons why they haven't quite got to where they were planning to be.
t to the point where it seems appropriate to start talking about what they could do. Sometimes its clear what they need to do after 10 minutes but you have to wait a few hours and meetings to get to the right point in the conversation when its your turn to talk...but then, 'the story' comes out. And anyone who has been in the consulting world will recognise this after the first 4 words....

"My business is different so that won't work for me and nobody understands it the way I do anyhow so when the time is right I certainly do plan on trying that but I'm not so sure it will work anyhow because we already tried it once and maybe there's something nobody is telling me that I need to know. And money is tight right now, we would need to see the value. We've definitely got our strategy worked out...we have a huge pipeline of (potential) buyers....its just the [substitute what you like here] product development / sales guy / marketing messages / slow conversion rate / length of sales cycle / lack of buyers / recession / cash flow issues that are holding us back...so we should probably wait (unless you want to take some skin in the game)...[err, no thanks] and by the way can you sign this NDA because I don't want anyone stealing my ideas. Maybe I can get a student in. A junior tech guy wouldn't cost much. They would like the experience of selling for us in the US. [err, to senior VPs?] Hmm. How much is your fee again.. expensive eh?..I'm not sure that I will be any better off if I do go for it but I'm definitely going to do that... someday."

Does this sound familiar? ...unfortunately, it can be. And if left unchecked it makes it very hard to help someone create a profitable business. Its so important to build trust and a relationship so that it is possible to point out, in the kindest way possible, that there may be good reason why some things ' just haven't worked out'. I believe that is what consulting is all about. That's part of the value added. Being honest, kind, fair, professional, a source of useful advice and expertise, a sounding board, an objective mentor or coach, and at times, someone who has to tell a few uncomfortable truths. The upside of helping someone through that kind of process, and seeing them experience an 'aha' moment and a surge of energy as they see a way forward, is well worth the ups and downs of the challenge involved in getting them there.

How to properly assess risks..

Just read an interesting study all about how people define and perceive risk.

The results demonstrated that in general, people tend to regard propositions that they do not properly understand as more risky, regardless of their intrinsic risk, and to regard things that they do understand as less risky, again regardless of the intrinsic risk.

This explains why some people find it hard to seize relatively low risk opportunities placed right in front of their noses. Strange as it may seem, they may see these opportunities as risky propositions, even in the face of contrary evidence, simply because they do not fully understand how they came about, what they are based on, or what they mean.

Similarly, they may regard investment in predictable, understandable situations or pre-existing circumstances as 'safe', even when those situations are actually untenable in the longer term and may have high levels of instrinsic risk.

Obvious? Maybe.... Interesting? - I think so.

I wonder if it applies to other situations and circumstances beyond the business world?

As an old Yorkshire saying goes... "there's nowt so strange as folk"...

Would Medical Discount Plans work?

As someone interested in the modernisation of healthcare delivery, I try and keep abreast of new ideas and proposed changes in the US, the UK, in NZ and elsewhere around the world. An article by E.J. Alexander, who wrote recently on the state of healthcare in the US, asking "Why is it that in a country as affluent as the USA, citizens are struggling to afford such a basic necessity as proper healthcare for themselves and their families?" caught my eye.

According to the stats quoted, almost 50 million people (including close to 9 million children) have no health insurance coverage at all.. while a further 75 million are underinsured. Apparently the average working family pays over $1,800 every year in premiums in addition to over $1,700 in out-of-pocket expenses annually in health insurance expenses.

It's no wonder that Obama wants to try and make changes to the healthcare system when other stats that claim healthcare premiums are currently rising 3 times faster than the cost of inflation with projections of the cost of personal healthcare spending set to double over the next 8 years!

Mr Alexander points to Medical Discount Plans or Medical Savings Plans as a possible solution. These are plans that 'allow the average person to reduce their medical expenses by providing discounts on a wide range of services, from doctor's visits and dental exams to hospital stays and prescription drugs'.

Some of the benefits of the Medical Discount Plans: they typically require no qualifying physical exams or contracts. They usually feature easy online applications, affordable prices regardless of age or health with the ability to cancel at anytime and some even offer free 30 day trial memberships to test drive the program before committing to it.

The downside: Medical Savings Plans are not "major medical insurance" and therefore do not pay medical bills on behalf of the patient.

How they work: the company offering them will contract with the same large PPO Networks used by top insurance companies, which allows the Medical Savings Plan member access to the same low rates enjoyed by the insurance companies, in exchange for a reasonably priced monthly membership fee.

When the member uses a medical service, for instance, a Doctor's Visit which typically costs about $75.00, the member pays his medical bill up front at the Doctor's Office then the company immediately reimburses the member for their Doctor's Bill thus reducing the member's out-of-pocket medical costs.

This approach is claimed to reduce medical expenses significantly (especially for prolonged hospital stays) as some plans may reimburse members up to $1,000 per day for each day spent in the hospital up to 30 days per year including separate reimbursement for the Anesthesiologist, etc.

Sounds interesting. Right now it is hard to get a true picture of healthcare costs because there is a lack of transparency across the system - and to some extent, this is understandable...some of the participants are private businesses..so why would they want to open up their books?. On the other hand, we're talking about the lives and care of patients.....real people. Some of whom might struggle to personally stump up the cash to pay for the care that they need so badly. I've not personally verified the stats quoted above, but if they are about right, and if the Medical Savings Plan member does get access to the 'same low rates enjoyed by the insurance companies' , then that would seem to be a good thing, and something that does not require a great deal of reform or change to take place before it can come into effect. For those reasons, it seems like a reasonable idea, at least in the interim.

How to sell knee joints!

I'm fascinated by what is possible these days with artificial joints. This site (http://www.bonesmart.org/knee_replacement.php) provides a useful introduction into the various ways in which knee joints can be repaired or even replaced completely. According to the authors, total knee replacement offers the greatest quality of life improvement of all operations, has one of the highest success rates and one of the best outcomes...

The site itself is provides an interesting example of the type of information that potential patients might want or need before taking the decision to have an implant.

How Medicare and Medicaid work in ths US

If you want to know how these 2 healthcare programmes work, this great article by David Crumrine at the Caring Space sets it out more clearly than I think I could:

There are two main programs administered by the government that offer benefits to senior citizens - Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is available for all senior citizens age 65 or older. Those under age 65 with certain disabilities may also be eligible for Medicare. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must have entered the U.S. lawfully at least five years prior to receiving Medicare benefits. Medicaid is for people with limited income.

Medicare has two parts. Part A is the hospital insurance and Part B is the medical insurance.

Medicare Part A can pay for home health care if the patient meets certain requirements. Part A is set up mainly to pay for care in a hospital or skilled nursing facility, or by hospice. Depending on the amount of Medicare taxes paid by the patient and their spouse over their lifetimes, they may not have to pay a monthly fee for Medicare Part A. Otherwise, the patient may have to enroll and pay a premium.

Medicare Part B is the medical portion which helps pay for medically-necessary doctors' services and other patient care. Part B can also pay for some preventative services (like flu shots) or some services to keep certain illnesses from getting worse. The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B was $96.40 in 2008.

You have two main options in how you get your Medicare coverage.

You can choose traditional Medicare coverage, which is managed by the Federal government. This plan provides Medicare Part A and Part B coverage. The recipient can choose to have either Part A or Part B or both. There is a mandatory deductible, and usually coinsurance charges for each time one gets service. A Medicare supplemental insurance policy known as "Medigap," can also be purchased. This helps pay for some of the "gaps" such as co-payments, coinsurances, and deductibles.

Medicare Advantage Plans, offered by Medicare-approved private insurance companies (called Part C) is another option. They generally provide services in addition to Part A and Part B services. Co-payments, co-insurance, and deductibles are likely to be less, but you pay a monthly premium.

Medicare Part D is available for senior citizens with limited income to help pay for prescription costs.

Medicaid

Medicaid is a health insurance program designed for people with low-income. It is funded by both the Federal and state government. Each state administers the program for its residents. Rules for eligibility include the potential recipient's income and assets. Each state may have slightly different rules for determining financial need and other eligibility requirements.

If the senior citizen you are caring for has limited income, you should apply to find out if he or she is qualified. Find a qualified caseworker in your state to help you with the application process. You may have to pay a co-pay for certain medical services, depending on your state's policies.

Medicare and Medicaid will pay for most of the medical expenses, including nursing home care, for those who qualify.

PS: A little more on The Caring Space - they are an organization that connects caregivers and care seekers, providing an easy and affordable resource for families seeking care for friends/loved ones and caregivers seeking employment.

Will Clean Tech provide an Economic Revival in the US?

See post here http://davidhorneroncleantech.blogspot.com/

Life is no “brief candle”

Great quote. Are You a Clod of Ailments or a Brightly Burning Torch?

This is the true joy in life: The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. The being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die - for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

George Bernard Shaw

Tech transfer in Space

Watched a great lecture by an MIT professor yesterday - the subject "From the Moon to Mars - implications for Space Suit design". The main discussion was around the challenges that astronauts face in travelling to and from Mars over maybe 3 or 4 years! [although in theory the journey can be done in 130 days, Earth and Mars are only well aligned and near each other once every 26 months. So to go and return - with a little exploring thrown in - is a major trip. No popping into the BP gas station for a coffee either!!]. So astronauts face challenges in terms of radiation exposure, changes in muscle tone and bone density, nutrition and mental health.

Although the speaker talked a little about all of these challenges, the main thrust of the lecture was on the design considerations for space suits in the future, given that astronauts will operate in much lower g for much of their journey, but then will be expected to explore, lift objects, and work in about 3/8th Earth's gravity (on Mars) and vice versa on the return trip.

That lead to an interesting discussion about how the brain learns how to adapt in zero g - throwing objects, use of muscles etc is all different. Lots of neck and upper body movement, more like a lizard or snake, much less use of the torso and legs. Intelligent exoskeleton type suits were discussed...and it was here that some of the technology transfer ideas came to light.

For example, the speaker highlighted how the same technology that was being used to simulate the learning expriences of astronauts in zero g, and the ways that their motor-coordination could be trained and assisted, could also be used to help people suffering from the effects of celebral palsy here on Earth.

And how examination of how our skin is layered and built up at a molecular level helps us to understand how to build spacesuits that can cope with the flexing and wear that our skin copes with so easily...and how changes in bone density and shape in lower gravity has learning implications for bone fractures amongst people here on Earth...and how novel engineering designs to create lightweight transport vehicles for use on the surface of Mars using (mainly) upper body strength and arms had direct implications for high performance tricycles that partially disabled people were using to compete in marathons here on Earth. Great stuff - and not something that immediately comes to mind perhaps. I'm already a fan of space exploration, but suddenly some of the spin-off benefits became clearer.

Which leads on to one other point that stuck in my mind that the speaker made: innovation (and I suggest, the tyoe of technology transfer that has really significant impact) only happens in great leaps and bounds when creative minds that are prepared to challenge the status quo are allowed to play and try new things out. Imitation or step by step incremental improvement rarely leads to 'a great leap forward'. The speaker, an academic, went on to say how important it is to maintain that creative, playful dimension in research - and I agree - even though this perhaps goes against the grain of research programmes that often take someone elses work a little step further.

I was reminded of all of this during a conversation with someone from an economical development agency earlier in the week. What can these agencies do to encourage investment, R&D and technology transfer?. A logical approach might be to develop databases of common research topics, build labs, and commercialisation teams. But maybe we need a few artists, and some creative types too. I think it would be interesting to give a disparate group of individuals from a range of different backgrounds some pointy research problems to solve, give them a time limit, the freedom to play, and see what happens....after all, Penicillin, X-rays, the principal of vaccination, the atomic nucleus, and Teflon were all discovered 'by accident' in some way or another...so why not give some creatives a shot?

A further question..for another post..might be around the attributes of an ideal team to commercialise said newly discovered technical wizardry....

Getting the most out of Economic Development Agencies

Went to a very pleasant forum on Wireless Technology out of Canada, organised by Canadian consulate http://bit.ly/bghGY + NZ Wireless Community http://bit.ly/MmmFo
part of the wider NZICT group http://www.ict.org.nz/ which was formed in December 2008.

After a visit to Australia, NZ was a calling off point to the trade delegate and representatives from 3 of the 4 orgs on the trip, prior to an onward trip up to Japan. I met Sabrina Chan from their Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, who talked about Ontario's offer www.ontarioexports.com and we heard from:

- Wavefront (wireless commercialisation centre - not for profit - quite interesting - the usual incubator offer PLUS a mobile wireless testbed for US and European networks - avoids the need to fly there to test things!). Good location in Vancouver, close to Seattle where AT&T and Microsoft and.... etc have large R&D facilities.

- Redline Communications who didn't speak. (Their speaker had the 'flu and so was not able to attend - its not that they were shy!). Provider of fixed and mobile wireless broadband solutions.

- Fieldworker Products - mobile data solutions..for businesses with 'field workers' funnily enough. Probably have some competition here in NZ, but seem to be doing very well in Canada.

- SandVine Inc who ' protect and improve the quality of internet experiences'. Meaning they have kit and software that helps ISPs manage broadband traffic. Very interesting presentation from the point of view of the graphs showing the breakdown in type of traffic (P2P, web browsing, email, tunnelling etc) and time of day. Those damn P2P networks chew through a lot of brandwidth!. Very thoughtful and well paced presentation by Richard O'Halloran who spoke.

Anyway - the point of the post..how useful are trade organisations like this for NZ companies going overseas?. I think I'm reasonably well qualified to talk on the subject having also represented UK Trade and Investment in the past.

Well, I think they can play their part. But you also need to know what you want in advance. Often you get presented with a range of assistance and services along the lines of cheap office space, legal advice, visa assistance, introduction into local networks etc. I think the last 2 are probably most helpful, especially local networks. And this is where you really need to know who you want to be introduced to in advance. Which means you have to do some homework first, and then figure out if the representative that you are talking to is well connected or not-or if not, willingly to go search on your behalf.

Ideally if you are looking at a location where NZTE also has a presence, then you may be able to get support from the local NZTE trade / investment rep as well. This can be helpful in some countries since the local NZTE rep + in country inward investment contact can put on a bit of a show and tell event and roll out the red carpet for delegations. They ARE often well connected and are known for providing good networking opportunities as well as a good spread..which helps.

I think one of the challenges for NZ companies is that typically an initial presence in an overseas country might be fairly small by world standards - 1-3 people lets say. Whereas many of the performance criteria that the development agencies have to work to measure things like 'jobs created', ' factories built' etc. Perhaps a little out of touch. But we cannot poke fun at the Government statisticians and corporate performance measure developers too much..they want continuity in order to demonstrate progress and that a difference is being made...and they want to compare themselves with other countries, who use similar measures. What's that? we should poke fun anyway? Ok. Fair enough. Flipping pencil and paper pushing out of touch number crunchers..what do they know?. Ha. : ) I can only say that because I may have been part of that infrastructure once, briefly, in a former life, for a short period of time...etc etc. (And I was part of a team that was changing the way performance was measured). Honest.


Seriously though, the point is that for NZ companies to break through that ' oh..you only want an office for 1 person' moment, and to secure help from said agencies, I think you have to have a pretty strong proposition formulated before you approach them for help. And it is possible to make a good case: my results, those of my predecessor and the guy now in the job at UKTI demonstrate that many NZ companies can do well on the international stage, even from an initially small beachhead. Just be prepared to have to argue your case, and point to examples like Metra, Orion Health, Jade, 42 Below, A2, Xero...

More than a great quote

Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

Learn as if you were to live forever.


Mahatma Gandhi

What is Microsoft® BizSpark™ ?

Just stumbled upon this in an early sunday morning pre-coffee random net surfing exercise..

According to the blurb, Microsoft® BizSpark™ is "a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing key resources when they need it the most".

At first read, it looks quite interesting...the key resources being..

• Software. Receive fast and easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions. There is no upfront cost to enroll.
• Support. Get connected to Network Partners around the world — incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies and hosters — that are equally involved and vested in software-fueled innovation and entrepreneurship who will provide a wide range of support resources.
• Visibility. Achieve global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners

To qualify you need to

• be fairly young and small ish (your company that is!) " most privately held software development startups in business for less than 3 years that are generating annual revenue under USD $1 million can join"

• "Connect with a BizSpark Network Partner or a Microsoft BizSpark Champ to get your BizSpark enrollment code"

Enrollment is free, you just pay a 'USD $100 program offering fee at program exit'...whatever that means?!

Going to have a dig around further and perhaps Tweet on this to what the experiences of others have been..

Market research and market validation...easy as..?

For my sins..

(which, for the record, might include setting up the original Unlimited Investment Challenge with Julie Gill of Unlimited Magazine, and, initially, before he left the organisation, Ian MacDonald from what was Connect New Zealand, now KEA New Zealand to promote investment and overseas expansion of companies into the UK with support from UK Trade and Investment through the local British Consultate office in Auckland)

..I've been asked to speak at the 3rd Unlimited Investment Challenge http://unlimited.co.nz/unlimited.nsf/investmentchallenge which kicks off with a series of seminars and other information sharing events in Auckland next week in Auckland.

While we were finding our way with the first event, and very lucky to get support from people like Andy Hamilton from the IceHouse, and from other incubators around New Zealand, from government run schemes such as NZTE's Escalator Service, from professional service firms like James and Wells IP lawyers, Ernst and Young, FCM Travel Solutions and from some well known faces like Sir Stephen Tindall and his investment firm K1W1 , as well as many other angel investment firms and business growth advisors, it's been great to see The Challenge growing year on year...hearing the feedback, seeing a few companies get funded, and many more entrepreneurs getting something out of participating. This year I see that there are several other 'challenges' taking place - Auckland Uni has one going..and there is also a Health Innovation Challenge too..


Anyway, back to the subject of my 20 minutes of fame..I've been asked to speak to being 'Market Validation'. Dry as old boots! Well, it could be...but I won't let it be.

In my mind, I could make market validation a huge discussion piece...or summarise it down into a sentance or two. Now I only have 20 minutes..so I'm going to have to be reasonably succinct. I've waffled on enough here, so I should give just the summary now...and post separately on the longer version - perhaps when I've actually composed the slides! : )

So Market Validation in a sentance (or two)...Making sure that there exists, and that you have a viable business model and sales / marketing approach to go after, the right early and later markets (or niches) that will allow you to MAKE SALES and build a sustainable business, given the existing macro conditions, and likely responses from curent and future competition...

Open to comments on whether that hits the nail on the head or not ?...

Time management

Where did it go?

2 months have passed by since I last found myself here. Wow. Its been a busy 8 weeks - several consulting projects have come to a happy conclusion; others have started up. I've had a productive and refreshing trip up to the UK in the height of summer for a family wedding. Brilliant. Nothing like attending a wedding on the north east coast of the UK, in a village that dates back to Roman times, and being able to walk around (and on top of) the ruins of a former Roman villa and spa to set things in perspective. Where the stone steps are literally worn down to half their height by the footsteps of thousands who passed that way many many many years ago.

What also struck me from that trip to the UK was the general sense of well being. Yes, well being. Not depressing recession. The tide is starting to turn. Mortgage rates at an all time low, loan to value ratios increasing back up to 95%, real estate sales improving, GOOD start ups ARE securing investment (admittedly in smaller chunks, with more levers attached, but still, it's happening). Generally there was a buzz in the air - quite exciting actually.

August has been very busy, with several unexpected, very positive surprises. Long may it continue. Things are looking up..up and up.

Finding a mentor or business coach : Part 2

Mike has had some great responses to his question on his blog which you can read here

The best one is number 10 : )

Having read through the suggestions people have made, I still think that the key thing is to make sure that you very clearly understand, in your own words, what it is that you are going to ask a mentor or coach to help you with.

I think it is easy to pass over this point, in the excitement of finding and discussing your business with other interested parties. It can also be tempting to wait to let someone else who has already been in your position to simply ' tell you the answer" if there is such a thing.

I don't think this helps you - certainly not in the longer term. You want someone who has experience in your area for sure, but more than anything else, you want someone who believes in you. Sufficiently to keep you on the straight and narrow. Sufficiently to put up with your objections, excuses or other reasons why you don' t think their advice is sound, the first time you hear it...but then later, the penny drops, and it does make sense.

How to find a great mentor or coach

In previous posts, I've mentioned the blogger Mike Michalowicz, otherwise known as "The Toiletpaper Entrepreneur" and more specifically his blog which you can find at http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/blog/index.php

He posed a good question recently which I have written a contribution for. The question being - how do you find a great mentor to help you in your business? Perhaps more specifically, Mike asked - "while people who carry the title guru, coach, mentor, etc. seem to be a dime a
dozen....So the question is how do you find the truly extraordinary one to direct you?".

Good questions eh?

My quick thoughts on this are:

1. You need to have at least some sense of your short and longer term goals and sticking points. Ask yourself - do you know what they are? If not - then that is where to start. This informs what kind of coach or mentor you need, and what to work on. Revisit this question and recognise your needs will change over time.

2. You need to decide what kind of mentoring or coaching arrangement you want. One-off, for a specific problem, or ongoing, as a sounding board. You might benefit from spending time with different people at different times. This is easy: mentors can be found on mp3 tracks, DVDs, in books, and in person, over lunch.

3. Often, on reflection, you will realise there is someone suitable in your immediate network. Do not be afraid to approach and ask for their help. But be committed to be totally honest, open to new ideas, and time sensitive. Their reward is often simply seeing you grow. Their time is precious; use it wisely, and find ways to give back something.

The new look TradeMe sucks

At least, that's the impression you get if you browse through the comments on the 'community' page of Sam's old auction site which earned him a nice amount of pocket money. Last night TradeMe had their standard website layout up - this morning it has all changed, with adverts way more visible across the site, and several changes in layout.

It's only 9am and there are already 485+ comments on the community noticeboard for the site of which I would estimate 90% + are saying "why change what was already great?" ..or much worse, using language I do not want to replicate here.

Interesting example of how easy it is to disenfranchise your user base by fiddling about with things that they want left well alone thank you very much. That's assuming the comments already made are representative of the 50,000+ people who visit and log into TradeMe at any one point in the day.

Will be interesting to watch as this develops and see if and how TradeMe responds..

What are you waiting for? Get on with it !!

"One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry decorum"

Sir Walter Scott





Well said Sir.

Feeling 'alive' and building an entrepreneurial team

I've just got back from the most amazing run. Yes, I did write this at 9pm, meaning I've just been out for an hour or so running in the dark. I am BUZZING.

For those of you that haven't been taken by the night-time running bug, bear with me. This has relevance to business, and entrepreneurship, I promise.

First, let me paint a picture. Imagine the favourite road that you like to drive along, or a riverside walk. A view you are familar with. On a sunny day there is an uninterrupted view across the landscape, a mixture of vibrant colours, hues, smells, noises. Beautiful. Now imagine that scene at night, without the yelow/orange glow of street lights.

Instead, what was colour is now black and white. In fact, more different shades of grey. Its hard to see the horizon, or make out those distant hills. But you can see dark shadows, the glint of moonlight on metal and water, windows, and the paint markings on the road.

This is what you experience if you run along a country road at night, along a ridgeline, taking in the view below, with thousands of stars above, the road partially lit by moonlight, as I have just done. Now fade in the soundtrack of your favourite album, and close your eyes slightly, so some of the lights in the distance turn into vertical bands of light, mini laser shows in front of you, and relax as you trot along, breathing easily. Ahhhh.

Your mind can play tricks with you when you are in this kind of zone. The central road markings appear suspended about a foot off the ground, because you cannot actually make out where the ground is. They just float, like something out of a futuristic sci-fi movie in front of you. Or maybe that's a 'special thing' that I imagine : )

"Great" you say. Nice scene, but what the hell has this to do with business and building teams.

Well, two things.

(1) actually experiencing that feeling of being really alive, in a flow state. Its wonderful. Orgasmic. A rush, a thrill. Unbelievable.

(2) recognising when you are in that state, and when that is a good thing for you business, and when it is not.

Bear with me! Think of it like this - if, when in your business, you are not, in general, happy to be there, working all hours in the early months and (hopefully not too many) years, living off of the adrenaline, and then later, when established, taking pleasure from the thinking time you now have as a result of building a solid business so that you can now focus on the Next Big Thing, then I would take that as a possible sign that you are not really doing something you enjoy enough. It might be time to do something else. Now I know some days are good and some bad; I'm not saying quit after the first bad day, whenever that comes. I'm saying if you never ever get a feeling along the lines of what I have described above..then maybe, just maybe, its worth asking "am I doing the right thing here...is this business really for me?". That's really my point (1) above.

Secondly - point (2) - I'm thinking here about what you might be focusing on, when you feel ' in flow' and really alive. Especially if you are a technical person.

After some reflection, you might come to realise that you love thinking about the next feature you are going to build into version 3.2.5 for Fred McSmith, and then there is that tweak that you promised Marge at A&B Inc to do. You are in flow, you feel most alive when inventing, tweaking, engineering, building the new product or software solution.

That's great, you need that passion in a business. But you also need someone actually building the business!

Someone, or a bunch of people, driving the marketing, making the sales, building the capability, delivering on promises made. All while you are in the proverbial shed out back, inventing new things, happy as larry.

Now I don't want to be seen to be poking fun at technical people, for whom I have a lot of respect. But I do want to make the point that in an entrepreneurial venture, you do need to work out who in your team is absolutely passionate about what, and make sure you have the right people doing the right things.

The importance of focus. And Motorbikes.

I love motorbikes. Specifically, fast motorbikes. With more bhp than kg's.

Mum had a moped before she passed her driving test. Growing up, my job every now and then was to fire it up and run it around the block, just to keep it active. Did that as a kid.

Then a friend at school had one - we were aged 15 at the time. We took it out across the field and rode like idiots with no helmets. It was only 50cc or something like that, but it felt big at that age. Then I got a 125cc. A 500cc. Rode a 750cc. Then a whole series of 1000cc bikes. My latest, and dearest crotch rocket is a modified ZX12RR.

Isn't that just a beautiful looking machine?

I've always liked the sensation of motion - running, cycling, swimming. That, combined with freedom to go wherever you like, especially when flying, whether motorised, in a glider or by hang gliding, is just a wonderful thing for me.

Motorcycling provides the same independence and freedom to act on the road as an aeroplane does for me in the air. A fast bike can take me from 0 to 200 mph and back in less than 20 seconds. Or I can be hanging half off said bike going around a corner at a huge rate of knots, defying gravity, changing direction by hardly moving my body at all. I can go around cars, dodge speed cameras, accelerate up steep hills, dive into hairpin corners.

Nothing gets in the way, nothing slows me down. Nothing can touch me. Not that I ride at 200mph everywhere; sometimes I do go slowly and take pleasure in very precise but loose, flowing riding.

If you want an adrenaline rush that is also calming, try taking a bike to 180mph+ and then closing your eyes for a few seconds (or better still ,be a pillion passenger!), so all you can feel is the wind pressure pushing against you, and the wind noise in your ears. It's a beautiful thing.

That may sound strange, written down like that, but in the moment, it is such an amazing feeling of 'at one'.

The wind noise is a particularly weird thing. At about 80mph it sounds like a hiss. At 150ish it is a roar, literally. At 200mph+ it is more like a pouring liquid sound. Strange.

Anyway. FOCUS. : )

Whatever your pastimes are, or the biking or flying equivalent is for you, you'll know (unless you are a professional bike racer or pilot, lucky sod) that focusing is important and challenging part of being an entrepreneur. Especially if you would really like to be out riding a motor bike, or whatever.…

Well, good news if you are anything like me. Well known entrepreneur blog "The TP Entrepreneur" raised this as an issue… and included one of my tips ( number 13 out of 100) amongst a raft of other useful ways to stay on task and focus.. have a look here .....

Sparkbox 2 Ignite Fund

Some might argue that Sparkbox already have some sizzle..well here's more!.

This is really great news: Andrew Duff and Henry Tait are fund raising for a new $50 million fund that will target ICT, medical, bio tech and internet based technology companies worthy of investment.

Further good news - as if he hasn't already got enough on his plate - Xero founder Rod Drury is on the technical advisory board too. Also mentioned is Professor Tom McKaskill, author of several very useful books on the subject of investment and entrepreurship.

Read more on Scoop http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0906/S00659.htm

Random thought for the day

Actually this is not my own, but I like it, so I thought I would share:

If you think experts are expensive, think how much amateurs cost you in the long run.

Heard about an interesting fund to support New Zealand and Australian Biotechnology businesses today...

Apparently this fund has been around since 2003, according to FRST http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/Page____27632.aspx

So I'm at a loss to explain why I only came to find out about it today!....ermmm.

Anyway - NZTE says "if you run a biotechnology business and would like to open up new international markets by collaborating with an Australian counterpart, you may be eligible for funding from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)." And...

NZTE’s Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund (ANZBPF) is designed to support and speed up trans-Tasman collaborations in biotechnology, thereby giving companies in both countries better access to global opportunities.

Eligible New Zealand biotechnology companies can apply for four different types of funding through the ANZBPF, detailed below.

1. Bio-Market Development
2. People and Skills Development
3. Collaborative Trans-Tasman Projects (currently closed)
4. Market Acceptance Projects (currently closed)

Australian companies cannot apply for funding directly, but NZTE may be able to put them in touch with New Zealand companies seeking partners.

Looks worth considering, given the wider changes to other funding sources and grants like the Market Development Fund. More on those changes from NZTE due July 1st. But in the meantime, if you want more on the ANZBPF go here..http://www.nzte.govt.nz/anzbpf

A worthwhile listen: analysis of the impact of the American Economic Stimulus Package on Energy, Healthcare and Broadband sectors

IDC Executive Telebriefing

May 28, 2009 Dear Colleague: IDC Invites You to Attend an IDC Executive Telebriefing Capitalizing on the Economic Stimulus Package Opportunities in Energy, Healthcare, and Broadband June 18, 2009 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time The U.S. economic stimulus plan presents new opportunities for a wide range of technology vendors, service providers, government entities, and other stakeholders. With Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) to be released in June, many are expecting a surge in new spending on broadband technology, energy initiatives, and electronic records for healthcare. In this Executive Telebriefing, a group of IDC analysts will discuss the opportunities and challenges to be found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Topics to be addressed include the following: Broadband: How will the $7+ billion allocated to improving broadband communications in rural and underserved locations mesh with current broadband market priorities? Which market categories and companies stand the best chance to benefit from the stimulus spending? Energy: Which technologies (traditional IT and non traditional IT) will benefit from more than $40 billion in ARRA spending on the energy sector? What will the timing of these investments look like and how will utilities companies and regulators deal with the influx of new spending? Healthcare: Which technology categories will be required to facilitate the adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs)? How can we be sure these investments lead to a connective health information exchange infrastructure? You have to register here to listen https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=148274&sessionid=1&key=F09BBF3FE6C15288BF5203EA8DE0FF88&sourcepage=register

Errm...whoops. Time to update the CV methinks.

things to do before you sell up and out

more of a reminder to myself than anything else at this stage. I will come back to this subject - since it is a large one. The main point being that to exit successfully and at a high valuation, there are a number of things that you need to do to ensure that your business is well positioned and looks to have additional value that a new owner can readily see.

Things need to change as your business grows

Being CEO of a high growth company is exciting and challenging at the same time. Maybe that's why so many successful entrepreneurs do it again and again. Its addictive, thrilling, and fun (yes, fun - although at times, it may not feel like it). For those interested in their own self development, and the changes that they will need to make in their own style and focus as their entrepreneurial venture grows, then a quick thumb through "Leading at the Speed of Growth: Journey from Entrepreneur to CEO" by Katherine Catlin and Jana Matthews would be time well spent. Amazon have it here http://www.amazon.com/Leading-Speed-Growth-Entrepreneur-Entrepreneurial/dp/0764553666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245957296&sr=8-1

Its an easy read - not weighty - but has enough depth to make it worthwhile.

who do you want on your team?

You cannot think about who you need on your team soon enough. Now don't worry, I'm not about to launch into a fuzzy touchy feely post along the lines of "there's no 'i' in team" etc.

Although some sayings like that are worth sharing. One that I heard a long time ago now, but which still brings a smile to my face is "eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines".

Ha ha. Not sure that is such a good business ethic, but I guess I like it because it pokes fun at those stomach churning phrases and glossy colour stock photo's that addorned office walls everywhere at one stage.

Anyway - I'm off topic already! Team. Think about who you need, before you need them. Because it will take time to find them. And get people who can grow into roles. They will be hungry. Don't be afraid to get people in who are smarter than you in some areas of the business - you need them - YOU CANNOT DO EVERYTHING. You may feel like Superman or Woman now, but after 2 years, you are going to be like the walking dead if you cannot hand things off early.

Much more on this to come..

building a great business takes time

I think the key word here is 'robustness'. Sure you can register a company in hours, get a website up, business cards printed (if you are a start up) or embark on a new direction with a 'skunk works' team (if you are a larger entity).

But the reality is that unless you have figured out your business model, channels, partners, how your technology will perform when stress tested, what the development pathway is, and how you will build capability as your business scales up, sooner or later you are going to come unstuck.

That's why i like the attitude of those running incubators like The Icehouse www.theicehouse.co.nz who say ' our job is to see if we can make (bad) companies fail faster'. Not because they are mean spirited, but because they know that if they do, a good entrepreneur will start something else, probably better, probably quicker. This is a good thing. Although we can all read about overnight success stories, if you look behind the story of most entrepreneurs, you find a common pattern - they have run many companies - often with a range of outcomes, good and bad - before they had their really major success.

So building a highly successful business may take time - in fact, you may have to build several!! - to learn the lessons that you need to learn along the way. But the sooner you accept that fact, and simply get on with it, absorbing, taking some advice, testing the validity of other views, the sooner you will have a robust business that delivers the kind of returns, financial and otherwise, that you seek.

where to go for help

Do you need help? You may think not. It can imply that you have done something wrong, or are about to. Maybe you don't. But I think all of us need a little help every now and then. Maybe just a nudge, or a friendly ear. Maybe more - some specific, tangible advice that addresses a particular issue.

I think there are 5 main groups that entrepreneurs and those building innovative ventures should consider approaching for help at some stage:

other entrepreneurs
business advisors
potential partners
policy makers and government agencies
holders of investment funds

I will write much more on this topic in future posts, since it is another of those wide areas that I want to come back to. For now, I just want to make 4 points:

1. There are lots of places to go for advice - real people, blogs like this, podcasts, books, DVDs, specialists, generalists, technologists, coaches. The list is virtually endless. There is a lot of information out there. Don't do the hard grind if you don't have to - use these resources. Most people are only to happy to share their experiences for a fraction of what it would cost you in terms of time, energy and financial resources to learn yourself.

2. The flip side to this being - make sure you have a fairly clear idea of what you want to find out - otherwise you risk being blown all over the place, much like a sailboat without a rudder!

3. Keep your end goal and purpose in mind. You are seeking information and resources to acheive something. Make sure you ACT on what you hear or see - take it on board, and run with it, or analyse and disregard it, and seek another view. But above all - ACT.

4. Give back. You do get what you put out there. Sooner or later, you reap what you sow. I don't know why it works like that. My experience say - it just does. So I don't try and figure it out.

how do you decide whether something is a good bet or not

Just a very short note on this for the moment. Not because this is unimportant - quite the reverse. I'm simply under some time pressure at present.

Don't believe your own PR. Ask yourself the hard questions. And / or get someone else's opinion too. The time to find out hard truths is at the begining of a venture, not after 2 years+ of hard grind, blood, sweat and tears.

So do the research. Analyse market needs. Ask yourself - is your team and your technology REALLY good enough?. Get a second opinion. And a third, if you are still not sure. Make sure it is independent advice. Consider the timing of the market, the dynamics, and the likely returns in the short and longer term. Does the venture still excite you - and others? Would investors be interested in this proposition? What should your Go To Market plan be? We do this at Concept to Market www.concepttomarket.co.nz all the time.

when to start planning for exit

finding the right investor

a subject dear to my heart. Actually the title should probably be - finding a match between invester and entrepreneur. Because it is a two way thing. And its a long term relationship, if it is to work properly. It's not, as unfortunately, many would-be entrepreneurs think, a case of turning up and presenting a wizzo j shaped series of graphs with a winning smile and expecting the cheque to be written there and then - its about two or more people (often it is more than two, since both the entrepreneur and investor come with teams attached - or as is sometimes the case - 'baggage'!). You have to get on with each other, and you cannot fake that. More on this later..

First past the post

Should that be first post the past?

The past: New Zealand was known for its high quality lamb, beef and other primary product which it shipped all around the world..but initially a fair chunk went to the United Kingdom.

Today: New Zealand is home to some exciting, high growth, technology rich companies who are growing internationally at pace.

Some of these IP rich companies are under capitalised. They can lack access to market knowledge, experienced executive team members and channel relationships necessary for success in domestic and international markets. This is particularly emphasised for New Zealand companies who, because of the small size of their local markets, must look to overseas expansion earlier in the lifecycle.

My commitment:
I am personally committed to make a difference here. I will make an effective, measureable contribution to the New Zealand investment and business venture community, building and matching good businesses to appropriate investors.

There.

Said it.

Now I had better get on with it : )

1 post down. Many more to come.