Spark Lab re-powers NZ business
Business insights help others achieve a ‘helicopter view’ of success.
New Zealand needs its home-grown businesses to thrive, to grow and, whenever possible, to take their products and services to the world.
But for small business owners, navigating local and global markets is difficult, requiring skills that many local businesses lack.
Strategy, technology, branding, leadership, channels to market and more need to be understood and aligned for maximum impact.
Getting that right can seem incredibly complex but, as many successful New Zealand businesses have shown, it’s doable if you get the right help and advice. And in the era of the internet, free, relevant, local advice is at hand.
When Spark Lab began over 12 months ago, many of the topics covered were “very niche”, says Richard Sandford, Spark’s head of business customer and marketing.
Spark Lab has now changed its focus to support New Zealand businesses from home office up to the corporate business. It’s about delivering practical insights from its nationwide event series in short two- to three-minute online videos.
It isn’t Spark telling the story either, it’s business owners and experts.
“Business owners listen to other owners,” says Sandford. “We are just facilitating a platform where they can be inspired and which gives them another perspective on their business.”
Over 70 business people and experts
“We all know that business is pretty dog-eatdog, so anything that gives you a leg-up helps you to be more competitive.” RICHARD SANDFORD SPARK
have now shared their war stories, failures and successes in warts-andall presentations around the country, creating a hefty library of valuable content.
The new website at sparklab.co.nz makes that content more user-friendly and searchable, Sandford says.
Colart Miles, co-founder of Velox Innovation, was an early contributor to the Spark Lab event series.
“I’m passionate about helping New Zealanders find their way and I see Spark Lab as a forum for tabling some of those questions and getting a few answers on the table.”
While full event videos are available, Miles is a fan of the way the content is mainly delivered as light bites.
Sandford says the premise of Spark Lab was, and remains, that there’s a gap in technology adoption by local businesses threatening to put them behind the competitive pace.
“Technology is generally at the heart of most of the topics we are talking about, whether it’s accounting software or design thinking, technology can make you think differently about business” Sandford says.
“We know businesses that embrace technology grow faster, and we’re passionate about helping that happen.”
Find out more about how Spark Lab can help your business at www.sparklab.co.nz.