UK 2009

Having recently entertained John Beer in NZ, Jacqui and I will be packing our bags mid January to head off to Blighty. It will be an interesting trip.

There is currently significant partner opportunity there and the name Wales is cropping up with ever more frequency.

I am particularly interested in understanding the economic pulse on the ground. At the UK T&I Xmas reception in Auckland earlier this week, I experienced a slightly more downbeat assessment of the UK economy than I had expected. I know the economic situation there is challenging. The online Telegraph and Times, which I read daily, confirm that. It was interesting though to hear it directly from Her Majesty's local representatives.

In my previous post, I talked briefly about recruitment intentions for NZ. Those talks will be mapped in the UK next month. From here it looks as though there will be no shortage of potential candidates on the ground. That I suspect is the result of the downbeat assessment delivered on Wednesday.

The Welsh Connection

Identifying target markets is one thing. Identifying locations to base yourself within those target markets, is another.

Pingar currently has an office in SOHO in London's West End. Looking longer term, we have had good discussions with both the East of England EDA and more recently, the Welsh Development Agency. Central London is not perhaps the best location for all our back office and UK-based market development resource.

The Welsh connection has been aided by having Gareth Davies as Australasian Head of International Business Wales. Although Gareth is based in Sydney, he travels frequently to New Zealand so dialog has been straightforward. Additional support from UK Trade & Invest in Auckland has further reduced the miles between Auckland and Cardiff.

Discussions on the ground are of course being managed by John and Tim. They are in the best position to identify exactly what resources Pingar require, where and when. That process of investigation though is symptomatic of the way that Pingar will be approaching other global target markets. It's not just the generic market location. It is identifying the specific location that will best aid and assist Pingar's market entry and growth strategy. That process requires research, research and research. And not a little patience.

Local Engagement - Global Markets

NZTE has arranged a meeting in Te Puke this afternoon.

I have been to one of these before. They provide a great opportunity to catch up with other Bay of Plenty companies engaged in offshore sales and expansion. Given our own move into the UK market at this time, shared experiences like this are totally cool.

Tomorrow sees me in Auckland for another day of presentations. It is also giving me the chance to catch up with John Waugh, Head of UK T&I in New Zealand. As clients of the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Program, I want to find out more about UK Government input into this program at this time.

Leveraging the support of Government agencies in our target offshore markets is a key part of Pingar's market entry plans. That is one lesson I intend to share with BOP partners in Te Puke this afternoon.

The other is to listen. For the past almost 5 years now, I have had a tendency of trying to apply UK solutions to NZ problems. Sometimes it has worked, but in truth the two trading environments are quite different. Running a business out of New Zealand has a quite different set of challenges from running one out of London. There are a number of great case studies of NZ businesses doing well globally whilst operating from the Bay. I hope to therefore learn, as well as listen, when I meet my peers later today.

Crossing that Divide

Last week, I received an email advertising the $Unlimited Investment Challenge 2008. This is an event jointly organised by UK Trade & Investment and Unlimited Magazine.

Last year, Pingar was shortlisted. The experience we gained was substantial. It focused us on a number of issues around our own investment readiness. I would recommend any New Zealand business looking to raise investor funds to take part.

Over the past few weeks, I have been at the sharp end of a number of investor presentations. Certain parameters have emerged and these have been consistent.

According to the professionals, despite the global 'credit crunch', there is a lot of liquidity in the NZ investor marketplace at present. There are also a number of good investment opportunities. That's all positive. On the flip side, the number of deals actually being completed is very small. That's not so positive. It's all a bit tad confusing.

NZ investors have never been big on risk. The recent fall in property prices and the ongoing collapse of confidence in the finance company sector appears to have increased the aversion to risk. 'De-risking' an opportunity is now 'de rigour'. The problem is this can also devalue the potential upside. Bland is not always good.

It would be interesting to get a better take on the deals that have actually been completed this year in the ICT sector. Do they have any themes in common? The problem at present is not just a lack of data in this space. I guess the lack of actual deals does not help.

Securing investor funds is no easy task. The lessons learnt at the upcoming $Unlimited Investment Challenge 2008 can only help.

Six Million Thoughts

It is now several months since the effective conclusion of the NZ$6 Million Investment Challenge, organised jointly by UK Trade & Invest and Unlimited Magazine.

I do not know the outcome for some of the other companies that took part and believe lessons can be learnt from this first format.

For Pingar however, the Challenge achieved its objective. It has certainly made the company more 'investment-ready' and this is paying off. Not perhaps though as the organisers intended.

A number of NZ-based angel and VC investors were lined up to assess the finalists' business plans. It would be unfair to identify them in this blog. Harsh call perhaps, but I wonder just how 'investment ready' some of these funds are, or were? Given my experience of similar UK players, there appeared to be a much more 'domestic' approach to 'global' thinking. It was almost as though global aspirations were outside the scope of the funding available.

I guess this view has been reinforced by my recent visits to the UK. The UK Technology, Innovation & Growth Forum in March supported the theory. Investor engagement was much more familiar to me and the outcomes more positive. More about that later. Those lips remain zipped!

What also struck me, particularly on this last visit, was the presence of other NZ ICT businesses in London seeking to raise finance. Their take on the current NZ investment environment mapped mine. I met them through different channels.

NZ innovation compares with the best in the world. Unless more significant opportunities to raise capital locally are put in place however, the exodus of companies seeking offshore investment can only increase. Time I think for the other side of the NZ$6 million Investment Challenge coin to look at their own 'investment readiness'. The expected 2008 version of the Challenge can only benefit.

NZTE + UKTI = Success

Reflecting Historic Ties

Once upon a time and not that long ago, the challenges facing Kiwi businesses looking to expand into the UK were enormous. In June 2004, a historic event changed all that. A Memorandum of Understanding was drawn up between UK Trade & Invest and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise to help New Zealand technology companies set up in the United Kingdom and to support NZTE’s UK Beachhead program.

In March 2006, the Agreement was amended to enable both agencies to widen the scope of the original MoU to include companies in the biotechnology, creative industries and specialised manufacturing sectors.

Over the past three weeks, I have seen this Agreement in action. Pingar has benefited from the active support of both agencies and this has been absolutely key to our current UK market entry strategy. In blunt terms, we could not have remotely achieved what we have done in such a relatively short time without this support.

I leave for NZ one week today. Yet the work of this Agreement goes on. In Tauranga, I will be meeting up with NZTE on the ground...Hi Lionel...and in Auckland with UK T&I. This is one inter-Government, inter-Agency Agreement that has achieved for us what it set out to do. More NZ companies should engage.

The Elevator Pitch - Day 2

It finally happened at 12.35pm today. Tim delivered the Pingar elevator pitch to approximately 100 delegates attending the UK Forum.

It's fair to say that the delegates we recognised represented a multiple of the VC investment available in New Zealand. It was a sobering thought. The reaction however was not and the focus is now on closing our first funding round.

We were joined at the presentation by Sheetal Mehta and other leading members of the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Team. It was also great to meet Catherine Tlapek, Senior Investment Manager with NZTE in London.

I have said before that our presence at the UK Forum was always more than just a fund raising exercise. It was about introducing the Pingar brand to the UK market and building networks for the future. That process started yesterday and continued today. Early days yet, but we have identified potential content providers for our service we had not met before. My diary over the next two weeks is testament to that.

During Tim's elevator pitch, he highlighted the importance of our relationship with Microsoft. The significance of this relationship really cannot be exaggerated. So it was good to meet up with Bindi Karia, VC/Emerging Business Lead, Microsoft this morning. Jacqui and I met Bindi on our recent trip to the UK. With Pingar building its presence in the UK, that relationship will only get stronger.

Tonight, it's black tie and tuxedo for the UK Forum 'Gala Dinner & Awards Ceremony'. Tim, John and I have all been invited to join the Global Entrepreneur Team for this event. It is designed to recognise achievement in the UK Technology sector and promises to be a mix of networking, entertainment and the odd glass of something.

It will round off what has been a very successful two days for Pingar. We achieved our key objectives and will now focus on closing them down. That will be the interesting bit!

Introducing the Forum Foursome

Two weeks today, Pingar presents at the UK Technology Innovation & Growth Forum in London. As previously posted, we are one of only four global companies selected by the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Program to showcase our technology to the assembled analysts and investors. So who are the other three?

Ceram Polymerik is an advanced materials company with patented ceramifying polymer technology. Its inorganic additive blends enable functional plastic articles to seamlessly transform into a cohesive, self-supporting and dimensional stable ceramic during a fire, providing a protective barrier to the movement of heat, smoke and toxic gases. This offers cost-effective and technically superior solutions for existing and emerging applications in the Passive Fire Protection (“PFP”) market. Ceram Polymerik is based in Victoria, Australia.

Codilink is a new media company that provides technology platforms to advertising agencies and blue chip brands. Its main product focus is on coupon, ticket and loyalty card distribution and redemption, providing a method to eradicate the current paper trail required for coupon reconciliation. By issuing unique two-dimensional barcodes as coupons via any medium (paper, email or mobile phone), redeeming them via low-cost hardware installed in the point of sale, and performing all reconciliation and payments to merchants, Codilink is becoming the world’s first digital coupon clearing house. Codilink is based out of Barcelona, Spain.

Netcat , Australia’s largest Web Content Management Software (WCM) company, has launched SWIPE (Simple Website Import & Processing Engine), its unique Web 2.0 software that allows everyday users to auto-generate fully navigable mini-websites from large desktop-formatted documents (or folios of documents) and vice versa. A 500page policy manual can be converted into a fully navigable website in around 10 minutes. Netcat is based out of New South Wales, Australia.

So there we have it: The four global technologies that will represent UK T&I GEP at the Showcase event. For an overview of ALL the companies who will be showcasing their technology in London, the Forum organisers launched a Showcase site yesterday. You can view it here.

London Ahoy

Heathrow - Next Stop

Yesterday's NZTE Beachhead Conference in Auckland allowed me to catch-up with any number of contacts in NZTE, UKT&I, and beyond. As a networking event, it surpassed any other I have attended in New Zealand. And as per my posting yesterday, the atmosphere was optimistic and uplifting. In terms of global engagement and export achievement, there are some great NZ success stories to be told.

Much of my talk with others was focused on Pingar's immediate plans in the UK. It was a discussion that continued when I met Julien at JML Communications later in the afternoon.

My next trip to London is only two weeks away. The UK Technology Innovation and Growth Forum is set for March 18th - 19th and thereafter a raft of meetings are scheduled until my departure mid-April. I still have some GBP left on my Oyster Card and cash remains from the last trip. Sitting here this morning, replying to a slew of emails that arrived overnight from London, the UK and my upcoming visit does not seem that far away.

NDA Galore

Is that Steve?

There is soooooo much I want to say after last week's meetings, but I am so NDA'd, I would have to shoot myself if I did.

We are now at the 'business end' of this UK visit. I say 'this', because I can already sense a return visit happening anytime soon. That is the way my meetings in London are turning out.

I guess it is all about 'opportunity'. I have discussed this before in previous postings, but there are opportunities I can identify here that do not exist in New Zealand. It is both a number's game and a legacy one. There is a scale here that would simply not justify similar investment in time, resource and cost back home.

I had hoped to catch up with a number of in-bound NZ companies this coming week. Unfortunately however, the planned UK Market Visit for the $NZ6 Million Investment Challenge, organised by UK Trade & Invest and Unlimited Magazine was cancelled earlier last week.

No matter. This is the last week of this trip. A number of significant meetings are scheduled which will really determine where Pingar is headed over the next few months. Behind all this, Jacqui and I still need to firm up our route back home. Hong Kong or LAX? That is the question.

Working with UK Trade and Investment

Pingar is recognised by the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Program as a 'Technology of Enormous Potential'.

I had a meeting with them this morning.

The Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) was set up in 2003 by UK Trade & Investment. Their aim is to create high profit sustainable global companies from pioneering start-ups, using the UK as a strategic base for international expansion. GEP is essentially a business accelerator. So the meeting this morning had important long-term objectives for Pingar.

Most start-ups - and Pingar is most certainly one - do not perhaps engage enough with government and non-private sector organisations. Perhaps it is the inherent distrust many entrepreneurs have for all things 'government'. I cannot however think of a more appropriate way for a start-up to engage - particularly when entering a new offshore market.

Most inward-investment organisations want their own investment to provide a decent ROI. Helping their clients to succeed is the best and most effective way of ensuring this.

A Week in Review

The Office on the Deck. Home again.

I have returned to Tauranga having spent 8 days on the NZ road. It has been a long journey. The flight from Wellington last Sunday gave Jacqui and I just two hours to pack the car to head for Auckland. Since then, it has been non-stop.

On Monday, we met a number of great NZ Entrepreneurs looking to expand globally in Westhaven. Then in the evening, it was off to the British Consul General's offices for a reception for the visiting UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Team.

On Tuesday, we had the chance to sit down with Derek Goodwin and Sheetal Mehta in a one-2-one meeting with the Team. We discussed Pingar's own market entry plans for the UK and how we could engage more directly with the Global Entrepreneur Program. Since Pingar had been given 'Greenlight' status by the Program in February, it was great to have the opportunity to meet face to face in NZ.

Tuesday also gave Jacqui and I the chance to engage with NZTE on one of my pet projects of the moment: Creating an environment which will allow NZ ICT businesses to 'soft land' in the UK to expand their business globally. The response was good, so hopefully that is one more box ticked off and one more opportunity gained.

Wednesday saw another Cocktail Party - this time the British Consul General's pre-Xmas drinks reception. Good nibbles, good wine and good company. It was well deserved after Jacqui's heroic three hour meeting with the accountants in the morning. Talk about engaging with the 'dark side'!

And now it's follow-up time. I think I have more conference calls planned in the next 24 hours than I have had for some weeks. It's good, it's positive and we are back. And so hopefully is this blog.

Engage UK

Wellington Today. The sun actually shone....

I've blogged before about the need for greater engagement between NZ ICT companies and the UK. I prefer the concept of 'engagement' than the concept of 'export'. It is much more embracing and reflects the reality of working with a global mindset.

On Friday, I had the chance to meet up and discuss this briefly with Rod Drury in Wellington. Apart from doing great things with Xero Live, Rod is a Kiwi software entrepreneur who understands the importance of global engagement. He has been there, done that and is now doing it again.

I am in Auckland on Monday for a couple of days and will be taking up the case for a more formal 'Engage UK' strategy with UK T&I and NZTE. It is important to ensure that key agencies buy into the concept. The drive to make this work however will not come from government. It will and must come from the private sector. I believe that process will happen soon.

The Global Entrepreneur Program

The Global Entrepreneur Programme is an initiative of UK Trade & Investment.

Back in February, Pingar got 'Greenlight' status to join the Program as a 'Technology of Tremendous Potential'. Since then, John Beer has been liaising with the Global Entrepreneur Team in London. Next week, I get my turn.

It is great news that the Global Entrepreneur Team are in Auckland on Monday and Tuesday. It gives me the chance to update them on all things Pingar as well as find out what their plans are for the future. Other NZ companies can take advantage of the services that this initiative offers. I hope they take it.

Pingar and The Investment Challenge

The $NZ6 Million Investment Challenge has been organised by UK Trade & Investment and Unlimited Magazine. It offers New Zealand companies an opportunity to expand their business into the UK with the chance to secure $6 million in investment capital.

For more details about the Investment Challenge, you should check it out here.

Plugging Tauranga into the UK

During Jan Andrews visit to Tauranga yesterday, we managed to set up a meeting with local business leaders. Local representatives from Priority One, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and NZTE attended.

It provided a forum to discuss the support that East of England International can provide to Tauranga-based businesses wishing to export to, or set-up an office in, the UK. It was a really positive meeting and follow-ups are assured.

UK Trade & Investment and NZTE have good close relations. This is a real help for the two-way trade that is so important to both countries.

What was very clear from Jan's presentation was that the UK provides a great landing place for NZ businesses wishing to engage with the wider European market. That now accounts for over 400 million consumers. More talks between EEI and Tauranga are guaranteed.

EEI in Tauranga

Cambridge University, England

I am meeting Jan Andrews, Head of Asia Pacific, East of England Limited in Tauranga today. EEI are part of UK Trade & Investment.

Jan is visiting New Zealand this week and it is a good opportunity to talk about possible research initiatives in the Cambridge region of the UK. The region is very strong in ICT research and is known colloquially as 'Silicon Fen'.

Having spent some time with the University of Waikato in recent weeks, I am warming up to the need for closer links to the academic and research space. Today's meeting will demonstrate just how global collaboration might work from the Bay of Plenty.

The $6 Million Investment Challenge Update

The $NZ6 million Investment Challenge is being organised by UK Trade & Investment and Unlimited Magazine. Applications closed two weeks ago.

Together with other applicants, I have been invited to an Investment Challenge forum in Auckland on Monday. I have received the agenda and it sets out the first steps towards a road map for the Challenge.

I am not too sure what is public, and what is not, at present. So in the best interests of confidentiality (and safety!), I will now wait until next Monday's meeting before revealing more.

$6 Million Investment Challenge

I have just submitted a Registration of Interest for the $6 Million Investment Challenge.

UK Trade & Investment & Unlimited Magazine, together with a world-class team of investors, entrepreneurs, business experts and sponsors, will help Kiwi companies develop their business so that it is investment ready and able to expand into the UK market.

This is an exciting initiative. It will be fascinating to see the scope and range of NZ businesses looking to take part in the challenge. More news when I get it.

Auckland Calling

I am spending today in Auckland with John Beer. It is our only trip this week to the City of Sails.

This says less about Auckland and more about how much we can now achieve in Tauranga. Most or our key partners are based in the Bay of Plenty. Some still choose not too. So Auckland it is and meetings with Microsoft NZ and UK T&I are set.