All over the world, Lean Startup Circle communities are getting together to share knowledge, experiences and build networks. It’s about time that Christchurch’s startup entrepreneurs and investors had a place to get together!

What is “Lean Startup”?

“Lean Startup” is a system for developing a business or product in the most efficient way possible to reduce the risk of failure.

It is an approach for launching businesses and products that treats all product and business ideas as assumptions (or hypotheses) that must be validated by rapid experimentation in the marketplace.  The approach relies on scientific experimentation, iterative product releases, and customers feedback to generate validated learning, see here for more info.

If you would like to participate in the very first Lean Startup Circle here in Christchurch then register your interest here.

Ben Reid from startup coaches Memia will be talking about practical experience applying lean startup methodologies and giving a quick overview of lean methodologies and how these can be applied to your startup.

PIZZA AND BEERS PROVIDED

First meetup is June 20th in the EPIC innovation building.

I had a great time last week talking with Rob Lawrence from CECC and Gary McIlroy on Christchurch’s Plains FM last Wednesday morning (3 April)
. A free ranging conversation covering New Zealand’s tech industry, the EPIC centre in Christchurch, Canterbury Software Cluster and the pace of change in tech.

Take a listen: http://plainsfm.org.nz/on-demand/mornings-chamber-apr3/

Memia Growth Framework for Tech Businesses

Description
- Software and technology businesses need special strategic planning focus to stay on track to high growth
- Introducing strong strategy, planning and measurement practices early on will help to ensure success through constant validation, evaluation and focus
- This course introduces a practical framework for introducing rapid strategic planning focus into your tech company

The course involves one-to-one or small group training for tech business founders spread over a period of 1-2 months with follow up coaching provided if required. The training format is part-course, part-workshop applying the course material to the business in question.

Areas covered:

Strategy and Operations Planning:
- Vision & culture
- Market definition
- Technology strategy
- Measurement
- Funding
- Internal systems
- Advisors
- Risk analysis

Technology and Product Planning
- Product conception
- Technology & architecture
- Customer Development
- Market validation
- Design values

Talent and Team Planning:
- Structure
- Roles definition
- Talent attraction
- Team culture
- Team composition

Outcomes:
The business will have run through a broad-based strategic planning framework designed specifically for high growth technology businesses and have produced a strategic roadmap with clear metrics and milestones and decision points defined.

Course location:
Courses can be delivered at the customer’s site, or at Memia’s purpose-designed workshop space at the EPIC Innovation Centre, Central Christchurch.

Course duration:

Approximately 4 8-hour training and workshop days with follow up coaching as required

Pricing:
Exact costs of course delivery are unknown until exact requirements for each business is ascertained.

Throughout the centuries entrepreneurs have struggled with funding based on geography – hoping for local investors to understand and believe in the startup’s particular market segment to the point of them being ready to part with their money.

The same used to be true about the market; with very few products or services aiming for worldwide markets a century ago, companies built up their local market presence first and then they expanded.

Now we have witnessed the shrinking of the world as communications technology breaks all barriers, and people are no longer surprised by a small startup with world domination goals. Markets spanning tens of countries and over a billion souls are at everyone fingertips, and all you need is the right idea, right?

This in itself is wonderful and gives wings to the entrepreneurial spirit in all of us. What is often forgotten, though, is that almost all ideas will at some point need an influx of capital to drive continued, faster growth. It is the terrifying rollercoaster of keeping up with demand/requirements versus actual income, and will result in sleepless nights among founders as they not only worry about if they can get investment, but also if they should!

Comparing global tech investment scenes

While I was living in Seattle it was interesting for me to see how freely startups would go for angel investment, often only touting a half-baked idea lacking most of the ingredients to make an edible cake. There it is the accepted norm that a good idea needs real cash to become successful. There is a formal process in place, open to all that are willing to get out and actively network, with set guidelines and structures for both entrepreneurs and investors alike. But, ONLY for businesses targeting the domestic US market. To get funded in the US you have to prove yourself in the local market first and non-US-centric startups find it difficult to get traction.

In China, my experience would be similar in the sense of investors only investing in their local market. The investment process there is less structured and often works to the great disadvantage to the founder. Entrepreneurs in China go to their families and borrow money before trying investment, as that is often close to the same as selling your company and just finding a new boss! The interesting thing though is that in my experience Chinese startup businesses and investors look at their own market and have little interest in investing in ideas that are meant for the world market right away.

So, we have startups all over the world with founders that do not think in terms of countries or their local market but look at the world as the opportunity. Their success is however restricted by the size and willingness of their local investment market to invest in big ideas.

This effect is not so apparent in larger countries like USA or China, where your local market is huge anyway, but becomes apparent when your idea does not fit the local market (think “real name” social network in China!). But in small countries this is very clear.

However in smaller countries like Iceland, where I am from originally, this is very clear. For a nation of 300K people it is difficult to market startup ideas and to get funding. The weird thing is that even though everyone realizes that startups have to market to the world, investors are not willing to part with their money based on that. They will invest in energy, fishing industry, buy shares in current companies and even invest in companies abroad, anything but invest in local startups operating outside the known markets. So Icelandic entrepreneurs are forced to look to government grants or simply move away from Iceland to a larger market.

From what I have seen of the New Zealand startup scene so far, the landscape here is very similar to Iceland in the terms of investment landscape. Startups have huge dreams and often world shattering ideas. Founders are energetic, intelligent, with experience often arriving from several cultures, and generally modest dreams and hopes. Operating in the tech industry here they find themselves hamstrung; with a small local market, a relatively small tech industry and few investors, most of which concentrate on known industries like farming and property development.

Two things could happen to change this. Option 1: New Zealand investors need to start understanding that tech startups are a real investment class (think Xero, TradeMe, Diligent, SLI Systems) and one that has a much higher potential return (when successful). Or, option 2: New Zealand Startups have to go global when asking for funds, with a concentrated campaign to bring in American, Chinese, Indian or even Japanese investors at a scale not seen before.

The problem with option 2? The money will leave New Zealand as fast as it comes in!

Well we’re back at work and ready to get stuck into 2013 with a bang!

After moving into our new offices in EPIC in 2012, for Memia 2013 is all about growing the New Zealand tech industry and seeing more success stories on the Kiwi venture capital scene.

This year we will continue to provide transformational consulting services for ambitious tech companies. Memia is working with some really exciting companies right now helping with growth strategy, operational planning and product development – and we’re keen to talk with other Kiwi software and tech companies who are at startup or early growth stage. If you’re at the point where you need to plan for rapid expansion in 2013 then get in touch and let’s talk about how we can help.

Here’s to a transformational 2013 for ambitious Kiwi tech companies!

We’re really pleased to announce that global citizen Sam Ragnarsson has joined the Memia team as Associate Consultant in 2013.

Originally from Iceland, Sam recently moved to Christchurch, New Zealand after working all over the globe for the past 20 years with the aim of contributing to the future of New Zealand Tech.

Sam is a software development and business consultant with senior management experience in all stages of development and implementation, specializing in process related optimization using Agile and Scrum. He has a passion for helping teams define their purpose and achieve their focus.

Welcome Sam! ]]> http://memia.com/blog/general/2013/welcome-new-memia-consultant-sam-ragnarsson/feed 0 http://memia.com/blog/general/2012/presentation-from-geeks-on-a-plane-epic-christchurch-13-dec-2012 http://memia.com/blog/general/2012/presentation-from-geeks-on-a-plane-epic-christchurch-13-dec-2012#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:20:39 +0000 Ben Reid http://memia.com/?p=906 Thursday saw the Geeks on a Plane roadshow in Christchurch where there were some great networking sessions and Entrepreneur and VC panel discussions.

I had the privilege of opening the session up with a brief overview of Christchurch’s tech sector: copy of the slides below. For me the best thing about events like GOAP is the opportunity for New Zealand tech companies to make direct contacts and learn from some of the leaders of Silicon Valley’s world class venture capital scene. This can only benefit our local industry – highlighting the investment opportunities, growing more NZ companies and encouraging investors to keep coming back!

Photo credit: Kirk Hargreaves, The Press

Today has been a great day of quiet celebration and looking forward to the future at the official opening of Memia’s (and 16 other technology companies) new home, the EPIC centre in Christchurch CBD: http://www.epicinnovation.co.nz . That’s exactly 1 year and 9 months since the devastating earthquake of Feb 22nd 2011 disrupted all of our lives and left so many businesses without a base and with a very uncertain future. Today’s building opening draws a line under the last 2 years and sets the foundation for building a leaner, stronger and better organised technology sector based in our fantastic brand new 21st Century New Zealand city.

Once again, great job Wil, Colin, the sponsors and to all the individuals who have put in huge amounts of voluntary time and effort to make the whole project the success it is already.

Here are some links to today’s media coverage:

TV1:

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/business-looking-up-in-christchurch-video-5233356

TV3:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Christchurchs-answer-to-Silicon-Valley/tabid/309/articleID/277739/Default.aspx

Stuff.co.nz:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/christchurch-life/7985547/Pair-win-battle-in-Silicon-Gully

…and no, Mayor Bob Parker, “Silicon Gully” is probably NOT a particularly apt description! Firstly Christchurch CBD is flat and there’s no gully (?!?) – and secondly “Silicon Valley” in California is so called historically because the whole silicon microprocessor industry based themselves there in the 60s/70s/80s. We don’t have any silicon here either!

Let’s focus instead on what we do have: New Zealand’s burgeoning high-tech scene (to which today’s EPIC opening is a core addition) is developing a global reputation for producing niche solution innovation -  the realisation of  new customer value in new ways in many different deep market niches worldwide. Personally I think we need to highlight this growing delivery capability of  high-value specialist solutions to an international audience of investors, entrepreneurs and technologists – rather than spout clichéd phrases from a technology industry 20 years ago and half a world away.

Here are the underlying memes:

Christchurch /Canterbury / South Island /New Zealand
Technology / Software / Niche / Specialist / Innovative /Solutions / Value
 

…over to the branding specialists…!

How is the Canterbury software technology sector faring in 2012?

It’s certainly been a hard two years since the first quake shook in September 2010, and all our local companies had to dig deep and learn the art of business survival. There are lots of great stories of local tech firms improvising and co-operating on shared office space, equipment and other facilities – and now we’ve definitely made it through the worst. In fact, we’re starting to see clear signs of a healthy export technology sector emerging – leaner and stronger.

Established Christchurch-based technology firms like Tait, Jade (now including its Wynyard subsidiary), SLI Systems, Trimble, Sungard and Payglobal have been joined by a new wave of inward investment from firms such as Orion Health, Adscale, Diligent and HP. Trade Me has also expanded its software development team down south: welcome everyone!

In addition, we’ve seen a few companies change hands: Sungard acquired Asset Finance solution company Northern Arch, GE Energy bought Commtest and accounting software firm Acclipse is now part of Dutch-owned CCH Wolters Kluwer. It’s good to see confident investment in our local software companies, helping these businesses grow to the next stage as part of a larger parent.

Perhaps most exciting is all of the startup activity that’s bubbling away in Christchurch – there are lots of small software innovators with great ideas surrounded by commercial acumen.

Let’s not forget that as the Canterbury software sector grows, it generates a busy ecosystem of tech-industry focused recruitment, sales, marketing, consulting, advisory, legal and investment firms – which all provide added capabilities to the sector. The membership list of the Canterbury Software Cluster spans across a wide range of disciplines, not just technology.

Challenges facing the sector 
We currently face two main challenges: access to investment capital and access to skilled talent.

In New Zealand we have conservative investment tastes – but whereas in the past an investment in property or a finance company may have seemed less risky than a software business, now this isn’t necessarily the case. As a technology sector, we need to clearly demonstrate attractiveness as an asset class by continuing to deliver successful shareholder value. NZX-listed companies Xero and Diligent are great examples – we need more.

We also need to facilitate connections between investors and technology companies; there is an established venture capital industry in New Zealand, but the actual deal flow is tiny compared to other technology centres. We need to understand the vocabulary of international venture capital and present a polished face to investors worldwide.

It’s a similar situation with skills. There is increasing optimism around the future of the city of Christchurch: tech firms are working hard to fill vacancies, but the right skills are still scarce. We need to leverage the positive vision of rebuilding the world’s newest, safest and greenest city and attract talent from other parts of New Zealand, Australia and the rest of the world. Come to Christchurch, work hard, play hard.

An EPIC vision
In the next couple of months we will see the completion of Phase 1 of the newly-announced Innovation Precinct in the Christchurch CBD: 17 tenants, including my own firm Memia, move in to the EPIC Technology Campus building on Tuam Street in October.

EPIC is the result of many displaced firms getting together and initiating our own solution. Following months of intensive activity, EPIC has only been made possible with support from key organisations: NZTE, MSI, Christchurch City Council and BNZ, plus many other volunteers. In particular EPIC’s two principals – Colin Andersen and Wil McLellan – deserve singling out for their tireless work to pull the green light decision over the line.

EPIC provides a unique opportunity for Kiwi technology firms to congregate together and deliver stellar IT sector-led export growth for the New Zealand economy – driven by the colocation synergies that come from knowledge sharing, skills development and better business networks.

The tyranny of distance no longer applies to software in the age of mobility, cloud computing and SaaS: value in this industry is all about great ideas, sharp skills, fast pace, commercial nous and getting out there into your market to sell.

• Ben Reid is the chairman of the Canterbury Software Cluster. The Cluster is partnering with the University Commercialisation Offices of New Zealand (UCONZ) for the 2012 Canterbury Software Summit on Thursday October 4. This year’s theme is ‘From Startup to Global’, details at www.canterburysoftwaresummit.eventbrite.co.nz