Good partners a valuable asset
Tales of well-chosen partners a common theme in EY 2019 Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists.
A business collaboration can make your business fly or it can bring your company to the depths of collapse.
The importance of choosing good partners on their journey emerged as a recurring theme in the stories from the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 finalists.
The founder of HMI Technologies, Mohammed Hikmet, enlisted the support of Christchurch Airport, Canterbury University and the Ministry of Transport among others, as he sought to bring in the first commercial delivery of an automated vehicle to the country. Grant Taylor from Rascal + Friends nappies decided to partner with Foodstuffs alone rather than all the country’s retailers, to launch and distribute his brand and he has still managed to become the number two brand in the country, he says.
When done well, what does a good partnership provide? According to Darren White, EY partner and director of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, when it works, a partnership might lead to growth in revenue or an introduction to overseas markets. The angel investment community is a good source of mentoring relationships which startup businesses will benefit from, adds White. Business incubators and accelerators will regularly bring mentors on board to help guide companies.
Investors are obviously key to work with at certain times and can bring not only capital to the table but also some sound business and governance advice, adds White.
The EY partner believes that sometimes New Zealand entrepreneurs can be too self-sufficient and fail to share business ideas with others in their industry which could accelerate progress for all.
Overseas, White sees more collaborations and alliances happening at early stage businesses, these entrepreneurs proving less precious about sharing their business ideas, he says.
Callaghan Innovation’s strategic platforms and operations manager, Rosie Spragg, agrees this can be the case.
“I think in general terms, we take some pride in doing it all ourselves but it can be harmful,” she says. Entrepreneurs need a broad skillset and people don’t know what they don’t know if they are not forming partnerships. We try to encourage people to share more and be more open.”
Callaghan Innovation launched a new platform in April to help businesses scale up (www.new-zealand.globalfinder.org/)through partnerships making it easier to find connections with people, capital and others. Around 100 have formed so far.
Partnering with government trade organisations such as New Zealand Trade & Enterprise is another common path for companies looking to take their product or service overseas.
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist, Trademonster’s Gavin Yang, says he has found working with NZTE a valuable partnership for his business which is successfully helping New Zealand brands navigate the complex but alluring Chinese market.