Yonder grabs big prize and looks to go further
A business helping tourism websites increase sales has walked away with $10,000 after winning a new Taranaki competition aiming to turn ideas into reality.
Yonder, run by Letitia Stevenson and James Donald, came out on top of Idea Summit Taranaki, which received 77 entries.
Stevenson said the competition had helped them to think about their business.
‘‘The connections we have made through Idea Summit and the experience we’ve gained at all stages of the competition have already made a huge impact. The prize will help us get in front of more customers as we launch and grow Yonder.’’
They help tourism businesses increase sales from their website by giving visitors a personalised chat tool that provides everything they need to book online.
The judges, Cathy Clennett, Ian Frame, Richard Shearer and Jo-Anne Short, said they chose Yonder because they felt it had the potential to solve a real issue for tourism businesses, and demonstrated an understanding of the market.
Yonder’s lead mentor Craig Oliver said they had the foundations of a great business. ‘‘I am super proud of them and the hard work that the put into the program. It really does have the potential to be a Taranaki-bornand-bred global success story.’’
The others finalists were Chester and Melissa Young of White Peak Creamery, which will offer plant-based dairy-free products, Paul Oliver with Water Warrior, which is a device that will give farmers early warning of water infrastructure failure, and Glenn Catchpole with Kit-neti, a flatpack soapbox racer for kids.
A further prize of $2000 credit at Massey University’s Food Pilot was awarded to White Peak Creamery, at last Tuesday’s event.
Interestingly all finalists hailed from Inglewood, south of New Plymouth, a town with around 3600 people.
‘‘The creative ideas shown across all the entries in Idea Summit Taranaki 2018 have been amazing, and even if they didn’t make the finals there are many that have the potential to do well,’’ Nick Field, of Venture Taranaki, said.