Congratulate four winners ESTABLISHED – Geoff Cranko of Strategy Creative
Four businesses stood out from the rest, writes Nurture Change co-founder,
Owners of businesses focusing on fashion, tourism, lighting and brand strategy have scooped $20,000 worth of scholarships in this year’s Nurture Change business retreat competition.
Nurture Change and Fairfax chose the four winners from hundreds of entries who will meet some of New Zealand’s most successful business people at the special event in Fiji later this year.
It was a tough task for business coach Zac de Silva and Steve Pirie, the co-founders of www.nurturechange.com.
De Silva said: ’’The 12 shortlisted finalists were all really successful go-getters who had achieved great things.’’
And the winners are…
UNDER 25s – Jessie Wong of Yu Mei
Jessie was studying fashion at Otago Polytechnic and saw a Facebook advert showing an AMP Scholarship. She applied, won, and used the money to set up her business Yu Mei. Yu Mei is arguably NZ’s most successful fashion brand started in the past three years, and she now has 15 staff and sells her beautiful bags and accessories around the globe.
Jessie said: ‘‘If you don’t jump in, you risk not enjoying what you do.’’
INNOVATIVE – Mark Wallace of Fiordland Outdoors Company
Mark and his wife Christine and their team are showcasing all that Fiordland has to offer tourists from all over the world.
By identifying gaps in Fiordland’s tourism offering, the Fiordland Outdoors team built a business crafting outdoor experiences they hope visitors will never forget. They have expanded to have three separate businesses so that visitors can do great, fun, sightseeing and adventures with them three days in a row.
EMERGING – Gray Borrell of Novii
Gray and his family saw a massive opportunity two years ago with the emergence of LED lighting in the commercial market in NZ.
Their clients include some of the best names in the retail and office environment and their business is growing very, very fast. They have a team of 8 now in NZ and Shenzhen, China. Geoff has done a great job building his business Strategy Creative to over 100 people in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, Sydney and Tokyo. He loves being able to help progressive clients with award winning design and advice around how to stand out.
❚ The author of this article, Zac de Silva, is the co-founder of Nurturechange.com, the operators of Nurture Change business retreat. Nurture Change and Fairfax have given away four scholarships worth around $5,000 each in this competition. Each scholarship covers airfares for one person,
four nights accommodation, including breakfast, lunch & dinner (excluding drinks), access to the speakers, health and wellness and morning fitness sessions and question and answer sessions with business leaders.
The business retreat is hosted by its co-founders, business coach and columnist Zac de Silva and leisure entrepreneur Steve Pirie, and aims to give business owners the chance to take a step back, reconnect with family, friends and other business people to think about their company challenges and opportunities.
Competition terms and conditions are available at Stuff.co.nz/nurturechange.