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Kiwi start-ups begin their journey on TV
9:04AMFriday Nov 14, 2008Ben Young
The 'cast' of upcoming reality show Start-UP TV, which gives new companies achance to make it big in the web world.
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In the modern era of television, the viewing public is often inundated with mindless"Reality TV" series that appear to serve no purpose other than to provide somethingto watch.Where is the creativity and the relevance? It is refreshing, then, to know that a newseries is on the cards from the Start-UP media that is not only thought-provokingand locally-made but has also been developed for the sole purpose of nurturing andencouraging emerging online start-up businesses to make the world their oyster.Not an easy task! We speak to the finalists of the upcoming Start-UP TV series.Using a business accelerator format and a resident panel of experts, Start-UP TV laysdown a series of challenges for the participating companies in order to get them to"go global". With the barriers to global expansion diminishing every day, there is afalse perception - both within and outside the online community - that breaking outof New Zealand is easy.Sometimes the biggest hurdle is a company's ability at the outset to outline theirstrategies, discover the gaps in their strategic thinking, make valuations, createmetrics, and decide how they are going to achieve their goals.That is probably why, from a pool of 86 applicants with international aspirations, only20 were shortlisted. The five companies profiled below have had to continue the day-to-day running of their businesses, while putting their heart and soul into completingthe unique challenges set before them.Allow us to introduce: AliveWorld, Litmos, Mob.co.nz, Nexx and SameSpeak.
AliveWorld
AliveWorld is a Web 2.0 site created to provide practical support to people wanting tomake a sustainable, positive change in their lives. From quitting smoking to de-stressing your life, losing weight to reworking your career whatever the
 
change,AliveWorldprovides support through three main components: experts,friends/family and an online community.Founded in 2002 by Mark Feenstra and John Allen, AliveWorld started life as PalmPilot software, transitioning over the last six years through desktop applications to itscurrent online platform (currently in beta phase until 2009).Operating with a global team of 21 people, Allen says it has been a challenge tryingto facilitate the smooth running of the business. Communication has been vital fordecision-making and this has been tricky with a virtual team. However, this virtualenvironment has allowed a unique culture to evolve within AliveWorld, whereeveryone is passionate about the concept and their contribution.Initially seed funded by the two co-founders, they later applied for angel investmentand venture capital. Allen cited "funding, funding and funding" as the three majorchallenges they faced throughout the development of AliveWorld, which is notuncommon for an online start-up.It was important to partner with investors who held the same view as them and werepassionate about making the idea big. Allen's advice when communicating withfuture investors is to ensure all communication is clear and concise around what thebusiness does and how it is going to succeed.With that in mind, the Start-UP TV process has proven incredibly helpful toAliveWorld, enabling the organisation to focus on their product and their process. Italso created urgency around achieving business objectives. Prior to participating inthe Start-UP TV series, AliveWorld had a relatively unknown local presence. Sincetaking up the challenge, they have found that the networks and exposure providedthrough the process have been fantastic.The challenges ahead for AliveWorld will be around their ability and agility to scalequickly while operating as virtual teams. Will they have to redevelop theirorganisational model?
Litmos
Litmos is an "on-demand platform to deliver training to a wider audience" saysfounder Rich Chetwynd. Trainers can upload existing materials or build new materialsfor their courses online. They can then monitor their trainees' progress via areporting suite. Operating on a SaaS platform allowsLitmos"the ability to supply ahigh quality service at low cost to the end user".Chetwynd says the idea was created from a solution he and friend Dan Allen puttogether for a specific customer, Telnet. It continued evolving while they were awayon their O.E., with further development creating it into the platform it is today. Rich'swife Nicole joined the team while they were overseas and Litmos operated remotelyfrom both the UK and Canada. Getting sick of "fielding calls from the slopes," theydecided it was time to take the business seriously and move back to New Zealand.As they were following the classic bootstrapping self-funding model, the financial juggle has been a huge challenge for Litmos with Nicole working fulltime to supportthe venture. Initially the team decided they preferred to bootstrap in order to focuson organic growth.
 
Being part of Start-UP TV "has really got the ball rolling for Litmos" says Chetwyndand participating in the series has created a fundamental shift in their approach. Theprocess has forced them to focus on their business and justify all the decisions madeto date: why did we take that approach? What is our marketing strategy? What isour core value proposition?Litmos has now found they are better equipped with a fresh strategy and tactics."This is our model, our product and the path we have defined to reach our goals,"says Chetwynd. Litmos is one to keep an eye on - they have picked the narrowestsliver in a niche market to deliver value.The question is: can they maintain their organic growth to keep it viable?
Mob.co.nz
Mike Rishworth, founder of Mob.co.nz, says he "stumbled into business, almost byaccident". Prior to the official 3G iPhone launch by Vodafone a few months ago, theonly way to get one was through importers likeMob.co.nz.Through a string of events Mike found himself at the launch of the iPhone in the USlast year and, after arriving back in New Zealand 48 hours after the launch, he wasone of the first Kiwis to own one. Subsequently he made another trip to the US for aconference and bought a further 15 iPhones to pay for the trip, selling them throughMob.co.nz. Rishworth eventually quit his job and focused on Mob.co.nz, however, thelaunch of iPhone 3G, saw sales stall, as he then had to compete on price.Since then, Rishworth has focused on developing an iPhone application of his own.'Open Home' is a location-aware application designed to solve the problem of researching places to buy or rent in your area.When he initially pitched to Start-UP TV, Rishworth didn't actually have a product sohe had get cracking and deliver one as fast as possible. Being in front of the cameramade him do what he said he was going to do, although developing the applicationhimself has been tough. "It's a moving target," shared Rishworth.Rishworth cites motivation as one of the challenges he has faced to get up and keepgoing. Mike's advice to others who are on the cusp of leaving their job to go out ontheir own is: "make it as big as possible as fast as possible".
Nexx
Two Auckland University mates, Ben Milsom & Glenn Riddell, decided they wanted toenter the Spark entrepreneurship challenge. However, they didn't feel they hadenough life experience to create something new. Despite their initial misgivings, theirbusiness,Nexx, grew out of their investigations into emerging industries, of whichthey settled on peer-to-peer lending, and they entered it into the Spark challenge.So what is this concept all about? Peer-to-peer lending allows everyday people toloan money to one another. This is done through utilising an online platform wherelenders and borrowers meet directly. This way both parties' overhead costs arevirtually zero, in glaring contrast with utilising a bank. This then equates to morefavourable rates for both parties.
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