Wearable tech reaches out
Kiwi innovators in wearable technology are quickly paving their path to global domination.
Co-founder of StretchSense Ben O’Brien said although the major customer base for his start-up is in America, it is also quickly gaining traction in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
StretchSense develops stretchy rubber band sensors that can be stitched into clothing to measure body movement – particularly valuable for tracking athletes’ performance, coaching and rehabilitation.
The Auckland-based firm’s focus is almost exclusively abroad, with over 200 clients in 28 countries.
O’Brien advises other Kiwi businesses to also look overseas for a larger, more diverse market.
He said raising smaller amounts of money for the initial stages of building a business isn’t difficult in New Zealand but raising serious venture capital here can be challenging due to the small number of players in the market.
But the process of seeking the right investors overseas can be a long one, O’Brien warns.
After more than $100,000 in travel, legal and accounting costs, forty-odd rejections and 18 months around the world meeting with venture capitalists, StretchSense finally clicked with StartToday, a multibillion-dollar fashion e-commerce company in Japan last year.
Co-founder Todd Gisby said a entrepreneurs generally default to the United States for opportunities because it was seen as a very small cultural jump and also because of the density of opportunity there, not necessarily the quality.
‘‘A big realisation for us was that a good opportunity can come from anywhere, it’s up to you to look for it.’’ . O’Brien said dealing with the fast-growing, large and diverse Asian market can have its challenges, but breaking down those barriers can be done simply through understanding and going beyond normal business practice in New Zealand.
‘‘Good communication when selling your business to overseas investors is so important. Language really opens up opportunity so taking measures like making sure our material is multilingual, accommodating brochures and pamphlets in different languages has opened us up to a lot of opportunities in conferences.
‘‘It sends a message that you’re trying, you value people from around the world and are willing to make things work.’’
Gisby said New Zealand’s multicultural background gave them a head start into expanding overseas.
‘‘We’’re quite well equipped to deal with other cultures. At the end of the day you’re dealing with people, they can come from anywhere. They may have unique cultural backgrounds, but people are people, there’s actually a huge amount of overlap with cultures all around the world so when you realise that you’d be less intimidated to seek opportunities outside.’’