While scouring the internet, I was elated to come across a YouTube clip showcasing the ‘rollercoaster ride of the entrepreneur’. It really resonated with my frustrations, victories and celebrations along the way to creating a product and it was nice to know that others feel the same way.

And what a rollercoaster ride it is. On the first day of designing Epic Writer, I sat on my child’s bed with an A5 pad, drawing features, sketching graphics and noting ideas. Unleashing my creativity felt unbelievably good.

But then there are the challenges. One of my biggest challenges has been describing to my web designers what I want, down to the minutest detail, which is harder than you’d think and can at times be very frustrating. My designers and I have a great relationship though and such a project would never have happened without it – they share my passion, which is just vital.

I now use a website called RealtimeBoard, which allows me to upload my sketches, photos, graphics and notes. While I’m not a software specialist, I somehow ended up as a software entrepreneur through my love of teaching. I’m not your typical software entrepreneur – you only have to take a glimpse of my 27” Mac with its glittery rim decorated with hearts to see that – yet I am changing content on the front end and redesigning features on the back end of the website daily.

Having access to the site now and upskilling has been a huge turning point for me and I’m really enjoying having this control, redesigning it myself as I experiment with my vision and add valuable feedback accordingly.

Magical moments are a driver for me. A recent one was having my car sign written with our branding and a few graphics. Children stop and point at my graphics now as I drive past. My biggest moment was watching children write a story with Epic Writer for the first time. One child who hated writing stories wrote and didn’t want to stop.

However, Epic Writer is new software and naturally with that comes functionality issues. Now we have the first version up and running, it’s much easier to fine tune the functionality.

Other people can see my vision more clearly now too, which helps, but also puts it in the firing line for more criticism. I have to keep up my vision, listen, and view all feedback as helpful, however hard that may be sometimes. I have grown so much in confidence over the last 12 months but I’ve also become very thick skinned too – you have to be; being in business can be harsh.

In the early stages I was terrified that someone would steal my idea, even when entering Innovate 2014. I now believe the biggest risk is not sharing. Business is about people and every child, educator and parent I interact with shapes Epic Writer’s development. The idea I took to Innovate has become so much greater, which is due not only to the input from others, but also to my own drive, passion and vision. I now have confidence that is continuing to grow with every step we take along the way.

Technology and innovation for the rural sector continues to advance as BCC works with increasing numbers of enterprising agritech startups and entrepreneurs.

“Our role is to support them,” says BCC startup manager James Bell-Booth. “We work closely with this new breed of agritech entrepreneurs who are developing solutions to help farmers improve production.”

With BCC being located in the lush farmlands of Manawatu, agritech innovation was always going to feature prominently in their work, but in the past two years they have noticed growing activity in this area, both locally and globally, and are reacting to that trend. Each year, BCC looks at 400 new ideas and more than half of those come from the agritech arena; last year, roughly 60% of the organisation’s work was in agritech.

Businesses such as BioLumic’s UV plant growth research, Varigate’s irrigation system, CalfSMART’s automated calf feeding system and Polybatics revolutionary Tb testing programme are just some of the agritech startups that have worked with BCC.

Agritech is a broad term, used by different people to describe different things. From BCC’s point of view, agritech encompasses on-farm technology and agrifood refers to processing and products.

“There are many ways to gather data and take measurements and that was probably what the first iteration of tech companies focused on agriculture offered,” says Bell-Booth.

“But the global agritech trend – and one we are wholeheartedly embracing – is to push that further and work with companies and technology that analyses data and develops actionable insights.

“It’s not enough, for example, to tell a farmer what the level of nitrogen is in a paddock or how much a calf weighs. What we need to do is take that measurement and prescribe the action to improve the paddock or, as in the case of CalfSMART, gather data on the calf and deliver the exact amount of feed that individual needs to most efficiently gain.”

Not only does BCC seek out relationships and cultivate contacts in the sector, it is also developing tools to benefit those in it. For example, it is currently developing a business accelerator programme that is customised for New Zealand agritech.

“Most business accelerators are designed for software startups,” says Bell-Booth. “We’re developing a new agri-focused accelerator based on the Lightning Lab digital accelerator model. We’re adapting it to work with agritech companies that are developing products based on the wider context of agritech; for example, hardware, testing or clinical trials.”

Accelerators, says Bell-Booth, offer fixed length, industry-specific mentorship and training that is designed to accelerate the development of a highly scalable business plan. At the end of the programme, the entrepreneur will be ready to pitch to industry-specific investors.

Because of the nature of agritech, the new accelerator will be offered remotely. “We’ll use the internet and telephones for mentoring and then, every six to eight weeks, we’ll hold executive-MBA-style block courses. Over a 48-hour period, we’ll have workshops and face-to-face mentoring.

“Our goal is to help farmers. To do that, we work with entrepreneurs and startups in the agritech space. It’s an incredibly exciting area to work in and we know there will be dozens of new ideas and companies to support.”

Want an entrepreneurial culture? Get kids involved. It’s never too soon to start learning and students in year 10 are taught business as part of The New Zealand Curriculum. In years 12 and 13, students can participate in the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES), where they set up and run a company that creates and sells real products. Notice a gap? Yep, in year 11, business doesn’t get a look-in. Could that be part of the reason that some kids and schools don’t get involved in YES?

2015 is the second year that BCC has been the facilitator of YES for the Manawatu -Whanganui region.

“After YES last year, we reflected on how to get more kids and schools involved,” says Dave Craig, BCC marketing manager.

“We wondered: if we can jazz them up a bit during year 11, would that reflect in more interest and enrolment in YES?”

To test that theory, in March BCC offered a ‘5 to 5’ business bootcamp to year 11 students at Palmerston North Girls’ and Boys’ High Schools.

About 65 students participated in the bootcamp, basically an accelerated version of Startup Weekend. Friend groups were split up and students were divided into mixed gender teams. The fun started with that old team-building favourite, the Marshmallow Challenge: build a tower in 18 minutes with only one marshmallow, 20 sticks of spaghetti, one metre of string and one metre of tape.

“Startup Weekend is about kicking off a new idea and growing it into a new business in 54 hours. For the 5 to 5 weekend, we only had 24 hours, so to give the teams a boost, we threw a bunch of ideas on the board. But the teams all came up with their own ideas, which was really great,” says Craig.

On Friday night, the teams worked on their value propositions, identified their customer base and consulted with mentors. On Saturday morning, BCC introduced the concepts of market validation and how to pitch an idea. Half of each team worked on the group pitch and the other half hit the streets and surveyed people about their idea.

“They asked people on the street basic market validation questions, such as ‘is this a problem you have and would you pay money to solve it?’ Doing this is really outside of most kids’ comfort zones but by doing it with friends, it becomes fun,” says Craig.

On Saturday afternoon, teams integrated what they learned on the streets and practiced their pitches to mentors. Feedback considered, the final pitches were made to the judging panel, other students and parents.

“I’d have to say that about half of the pitches were better than the ones we get at Startup Weekend,” says Craig.

“It was a great weekend and I’m really enthused about offering it again next year. This was a pilot and only schools were invited but next year, we plan to offer 5 to 5 to all the high schools in the area and add to the level of competition by picking the top two teams from each school and running a 5 to 5 showdown.”

This year, four new schools are participating in YES but Craig isn’t stopping there. “There are 17 high schools in the Manawatu-Whanganui region and we’ve got 12 enrolled in YES this year. We’d like to get them all.”

Will 5 to 5 be enough to spark the interest of more kids and the remaining five schools? Hard to know, but Craig says it was pretty obvious by watching the kids interact and the sound levels in the room that they enjoyed the weekend.

And if it’s any indication that the students want more of this kind of activity, consider this: the winning team has already entered their idea in Innovate.

   

   

Run by CEO Ben Neal, CalfSmart is an intelligent, automated system for calf rearing. Neal’s system identifies each calf through an ear tag and is able to customise individual nutritional feeding plans for each one. All the data gathered by the system is delivered to a touch screen on the feeder, as well as to any computer or smart phone, making it easy and efficient to use. Since BCC’s last news update, CalfSmart has acquired several customers around the North Island and installed their automated feeders.

The company closed their most recent round of fund-raising, successfully achieving their half million target from MIG Angel investors. “Our successful funding will mean the ability for us to start building products and secure the procurement of parts from overseas,” says Neal. “Now we should be ready for our next installation period which will be between Christmas and March.”

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Biolumic has also been having a run of successes lately, especially with their North American trial customer. “We are coming to the end of the first stage of our iceberg lettuce trials with our US trial customer, and so far they have been a success,” says Biolumic CEO Warren Bebb. Biolumic is an especially ground breaking organisation, developing the world’s first UV crop enhancement system. The company, using technology developed by Massey University researcher Jason Wargent, applies UV treatments to young plants, priming them to thrive and survive. Trials in New Zealand and Australia have shown a 26% increase in total yield.

BioLumic is in the process of raising a round of funding. The funding will help them progress customer acquisition, says Bebb. “It will also advance our development of UV treatments for other crops, diseases and seeds.”

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Lastly, PolyBatics has acquired a key partnership with Spanish based distribution company which will help them break into European markets. It could take them up to two years to complete the European regulatory process, but they are hopeful that their product registration will be finalised much sooner here in New Zealand where trials are nearing completion.

PolyBatics’ unique technology harnesses the natural power of cells to create polymer particles that perform specific functions. They have used this to create Assign-bTB, a bovine skin test reagent for tuberculosis, which is still a risk for livestock. The skin test continues to be tested and reviewed by end users in the UK, Ireland and US with very good feedback. Polybatics is currently in the process of planning their next round of fund-raising, which will go towards further testing and product development.

Building a community around health innovation in the Manawatu region got a further shot in the arm on 25 March when BCC and MidCentral DHB welcomed Otago University Professor Lyall Hanton to speak about his research and the path to commercialisation.

Hanton, who is a professor of chemistry, has helped develop a wound healing gel used in sinus surgery and told the audience of clinical staff, researchers, entrepreneurs and investors about his journey from idea to animal trials and on to human trials and commercialisation.

The event followed a September launch of the health innovation programme and was held at Te Manawa Museum of Art, Science and History.

“It was good for everyone to hear first-hand a successful story of health innovation,” says Jane Donaldson, BCC technology transfer advisor, “and it was also good to hear about some of the challenges along the way. For example, Professor Hanton’s team first sold the patent to Medtronic in 2011 and then bought it back for further development.”

In addition to this event, BCC and the DHB are running a series of workshops for MidCentral staff interested in innovation. The first workshop, focused on identifying good ideas and understanding how to protect and communicate them, was held in October. The second workshop, about using 3D printing technology in healthcare, is scheduled for the end of April. Two more workshops are being developed for the remainder of the year.

The workshops are sponsored by MidCentral DHB and are primarily focused on upskilling and educating staff in the area of innovation. For more information, contact Jane Donaldson on or email .

Some people seem to be born for business and others, maybe not so much. And then there are those who think, “I’m creative, I’m artsy, I don’t need to think about business”. Well, think again.

Starting this year, it is compulsory for all third-year students enrolled in UCOL’s Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging (BAVI) to attend BCC’s Startup Weekend, where, in 54 hours, you build a business.

Following graduation, says Rachel Hoskin, BAVI head of school, most of the photography students work as freelancers or they start a business; the design students might end up in an agency but even if they get work with a big gun like Weta Workshop, they’re hired as contractors.

“They need to have a business head. Completing a business class in their third year has always been compulsory, but we’ve found that a lot of the students tend to switch off when it comes to learning about business. They ask things like ‘why do we have to be here?’”

The answer is actually quite simple.

“You can be creative, you can win lots of awards for your photography or design, but when you finish at UCOL and get into the real world, you’re going to need to bill your clients. You’re going to need to figure out how to run a business,” says Dave Craig, BCC marketing manager.

“Most creative people don’t want to work for someone else, but even if they do, they can’t ride on someone else’s success. Everyone has to figure out their own worth and how to promote that.”

Startup Weekend gives the students the tools needed for setting up a business and it does so in a much more enjoyable way than sitting in a lecture.

But convincing the BAVI students to attend Startup Weekend on their own was an exercise in futility. Ever since Startup Weekend launched in 2012, Hoskin and the course tutors have tried to encourage the students to attend.

“We’ve said, ‘look, here’s a cool and creative thing to do’,” she says. “But that didn’t work. So we tried to appeal to their appetites. We said, ‘here’s a cool and creative thing to do – and you get fed for three days!’” Still no go.

Then she added a sweetener: “I even offered to pay their registration fee – so they could do the cool and creative weekend and get fed for free. Still, they weren’t interested. But it’s really important, so this year, we’ve made it mandatory.”

What students learn during the weekend meshes perfectly with their business class.

“Students coming out of a design (or any) degree need to understand their worth,” says Craig.

“By participating in Startup Weekend, they learn some basic tools and face some basic questions: how much do I invoice a client? How will I learn how to find clients? How do I market myself and figure out the right channels to business?

“I hate to sound like a televangelist, but the biggest thing most people get out of Startup Weekend is learning more about themselves. The weekend is about teamwork, collaboration and building something. Most participants need a day after it to reflect back on what they’ve accomplished in 54 hours.”

This year’s Startup Weekend begins at 6pm on Friday 22 May and wraps up at 8pm on Sunday 24 May. For more information and to register go to Startup Weekend.