Recently, we received a request from New Zealand to repost a blog by Don Dodge. We discovered a cool company in New Zealand that is helping start-ups in New Zealand succeed in the global online space. It's interesting how many similar and also creative efforts are taking place around the world to help startups succeed.
The company, aptly named Start-UP Media, has taken it upon themselves to see that their country’s local online sector becomes a player in the international online space. Start-UP, formed by Patrick MacFie with partners Tim Norton, Tim Copeland & Nigel Lewis, is all about providing local online entrepreneurs with access to the right information, resources and networks that they need to succeed in the Web 2.0 world. In doing so, Start-UP hopes to drive growth and investment into the New Zealand online sector.
“We recognize that the online space represents an area of massive opportunity for the NZ economy. We have world class talent in the creative industries and a unique perspective on the world that when focused on the Web 2.0 space could very quickly put our small nation on the Web2 Map” says MacFie. That’s obviously a pretty big call when considering that on a recent trip to the O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference they struggled to find a single person who could name a successful NZ Web 2.0 company. “We were at the conference filming for our upcoming TV series and as part of each interview we conducted we asked the interviewee what New Zealand online companies they had heard of, and people were like “ummm, arrrrr I’ve never heard of any.” It was pretty damn funny to begin with but a little depressing after about the tenth blank-faced answer.”
Undeterred, the team launched their NZ based online site and magazine publication in December 2007. “Our trip to the Valley was invaluable in that we were able to demystify the whole process of taking a NZ company up to Silicon Valley and conducting a successful in market launch. We were then able to come back to NZ and share the experience with others in the local space through our various media channels.” The Start-UP founders point to free flowing knowledge exchange and collaboration between experienced online entrepreneurs and new or aspiring entrants to the space as being crucial to their country’s ability to make an impact on the international scene. They are now poised to launch a Y-Combinator style Web 2.0 Incubator from their nation’s capital. “The incubator is a natural extension to our business model, everything we do is about supporting the local eco-system. The incubator provides us with the means to ensure that we are consistently turning out a world-class product and we’re not sending guys up to the Valley under-prepared,” says MacFie.
The Start-UP team are currently in production on their first TV series that will screen on New Zealand’s leading TV channel and have just moved into full time production of Start-UP Magazine. “I’d say that most people around the world would look at our print and TV media channels as pretty old school but in an early stage online market like New Zealand we have to reach out and engage our community wherever they are,” says MacFie. “We believe that there’s some kid in front of a computer monitor at some NZ University campus about to create the next Facebook; we want to make sure he or she gets the support they need to make it happen.”
www.start-up.co.nz
