MORGO 2008, an annual conference led by Jenny Morel for execs and investors involved in high-growth companies will be held in Waitangi this year on 28-29 August. Speakers include Jeremy Moon (Icebreaker), Bill Day (Seaworks), Mike Riley (Endace), Brent Robinson (Rakon), and Helen Priest (Meridian). That’s certainly an impressive lineup, but the real value of this kind of event comes from intensive networking.
Last year’s MORGO generated some interesting blog entries.
Attendance is by invitation only, although they’re open to requests for invites if “you are the CEO, CTO, CFO or founder etc of a high growth company”.
See you there!
Computerworld NZ ran this article yesterday, saying that NZVIF is working toward the creation of an Angel Association, which would ” … act as a focal point for existing and new investors facilitate standard investment practices and operate as an advocate for the investors, looking at issues like tax …”
That’s a very interesting development, and could be of real benefit.
Todd Vernon at Lijit wrote an interesting piece on Angel Financing in his False Precision blog. He talks about types of Angel Investors, typical sizes of investments, valuation, investment mechanisms, and liquidity. Some choice quotes:
“My experience is you need to raise between $500K and a $1M to do almost anything.”
“If you aren’t ready to sell equity in your idea [at a valuation that will be interesting to an Angel], finance it yourself.”
“Almost without exception, I don’t want to own your dream, I want to make money and have a little fun along the way. If you never sell the company, I never realize a gain.”
It’s well worth a read.
Dunedin-based TracPlus has developed some really sexy technology that lets you track nearly anything, anywhere. Recent high-profile examples include those poor Aussie kayakers who nearly didn’t make it to New Plymouth earlier this year and a team climbing Mt Everest. But the same technology is being used by the military, rescue services, and commercial aviation all over the world, including Antarctica.
They’re ready to expand rapidly now, and are looking for investment to make this happen.
The Pitch:
TracPlus is a global tracking service that allows you to keep track of your aircraft, vessels and vehicles, no matter where they are in the world.
TracPlus is a proven, secure and mission critical tracking solution that seamlessly integrates global tracking data from diverse land, sea and air assets in real time, and delivers that information to wherever it is required. TracPlus delivers a single, comprehensive and real time “big picture” view of all relevant mobile assets and external data sources, to enhance safety and dramatically improve overall mission effectiveness.
TracPlus is hardware, network and software independent, allowing customers’ complete freedom of choice in how they use TracPlus and how they share their data with the world. TracPlus is now a proven technology in the aviation and emergency management and coordination markets.
Accomplishments to date:
- Initial Product Launch in August 2007
- Secured excellent set of customers including US Department of Defence, Resource Coordination Centre NZ, St John Ambulance, Australia Search and Rescue, Coast Guard NZ, Dallas Aviation
- Currently operating in 12 countries including Antarctica
- Mission Critical infrastructure, only NZ provider to guarantee 99.999% server uptime
- One of only 14 NZTE sponsored companies for CEBIT Hannover 2008
- $100,000 NZTE grant approved for US market development
- NZ country winner of the Technium Challenge, the Business Planning Competition for High Growth Technology Businesses
Development plans:
- Formally establish US office and support resource Develop high quality North American and Australasian map sets
- Develop strategic relationships arising from trade presence at CeBit Hannover 2008
- Launch officially in North America at National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 2008 trade show in Orlando, Florida in October
- Scope revenue and operations model for other potential channel partners
- Develop TracPlus™ 2.0 to secure a market leading position
- Create significant new sales growth in the North American and Australian markets
- Finalise strategic relationships currently in negotiation
- Pay for IP purchased from Daestra
Target markets are:
- Commercial aviation tracking and flight following;
- Commercial and recreational maritime tracking;
- Commercial terrestrial tracking;
- Rescue operators and coordination services;
- Military support (Naval and Air & Surface elements)
Key Challenges:
- Achieving traction in overseas market, especially USA
- Absorb hardware centric competition by supporting their hardware and “complete their package” with software and service
- Absorb solution-centric competition by replacing their Iridium/Satamatics providers so they can retain margin and improve their offering
- Develop recurring revenue stream from software and services
Principals & Previous Experience:
Chris Hinch: CEO/CTO and Founder – BSc (ComSci) Held key technology positions with Dunedin City Council and Animation Research Ltd, securing national and international Innovation awards for those companies and their customers. Qualified pilot and published aviation photographer.
Mike Hanning: VP Sales and Marketing – spent the last 15 years in Australasia, holding senior positions with Bridgestone (Japan HQ), Sportstec Ltd, and his own company MPN Kaimanawa Ltd.
Harlan Hamlin: President, TracPlus USA – private instrument, multi engine rated pilot with over 5,000 hours of flight experience. Held senior positions with Satellink Technologies, AT&T Wireless, and Verizon Wireless.
Patrick McLauchlan: Regional Manager – twenty years experience in business development, sales and marketing in offshore markets including USA, Asia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, UAE, and Iran. Experience and expertise in dealing with Fortune 500 customers and Governmental agencies.
What they want from investors:
NZD 2,000,000 in this round. Chris Hinch says they’re particularly interested in “shareholders who bring passion and experience to the table” who will become engaged.
Dave’s Commentary:
These guys seem to have a lot going for them: world beating technology, the right kind of awards, a seasoned management team with extensive international experience, established international market demand, and a reliable first-generation product. $2M might seem a lot for the Angel market, but they’re under no illusions about how much it’s going to cost to make this product fly globally, and they claim to be able to achieve a revenue stream of $30M without further capital. So it might be time to pick up the phone my friends, and start aggregating …
Contact details:
Chris Hinch
read the disclaimer.
The Business Centre is hosting a free Boot Camp in Wellington for Technology Companies later this month, run by Melissa Clark-Reynolds. This evening course will be run over six weeks covering:
- The Tech Market Place 14th May 2008
- Leading Sales Thinking 28th May 2008
- Getting the money – best Business Models 4th June 2008
- The art of Pitching 18th June 2008 (full day sales pitching training)
- Meet the Dragons 25th June 2008 (pitch your business to the Dragons)
In order to qualify for the course, the following criteria must be met:
- Have a NZ registered company or be a sole trader
- Are officially trading
- Have under 50 full time staff
- Complete a capability assessment
Free sounds good as a potential value-add for your investments …
For more info, email Gabby at The Business Centre on gabby@thebusinesscentre.org.nz or give her a ring on 04 494 0990.