Upstart to help inventors

With funding drying up and investors hunkering down, times are tough for the Kiwi backyard inventor. But Dunedin business incubator Upstart hopes to sidestep this lack of funding and maximise our inventive No 8 wire mentality through a new entrepreneur- inventor matching programme.

Due to launch next month, Upstart Den will provide a forum for local inventors to dust off their inventions and get together with entrepreneurs looking for new business ideas.

‘‘A lot of people come in with great inventions or ideas, but they are not the people to actually run the business,’’ says Lisa McCarthy, Upstart’s general manager for entrepreneurship and marketing. ‘‘What they need are entrepreneurs who are prepared to help them scope out the opportunity and how it can be taken to market.’’

International research has shown New Zealand to be one of the most inventive countries of the world, but one of the poorest for wealth creation. A New Zealand Trade & Enterprise study by economic researcher Tony Smale last year showed that while our No 8 wire resourcefulness mentality is great at making us inventive, it holds us back when it comes to making money.

‘‘Our relatively high egalitarianism, when combined with our low assertiveness [among the lowest of the nations studied], and high harmony-seeking [among the highest], we exhibit a profound reluctance to give, receive and act upon feedback,’’ Smale wrote at the time.

Jason Rogers of patent lawyers James and Wells says it’s company policy to ask inventors to think about how they intend to commercialise their invention, as the expense of patenting an idea could be wasted if an inventor has no idea how to get their idea to market. ‘‘Inventing something is just the first part of the journey, but a lot of Kiwis think it’s the end part.’’

Upstart CEO Norman Evans says he’s frustrated by the extent to which business opportunities are lost and startup businesses fail because founders insist on trying to do everything themselves, including running the business long after the time is ripe to bring a professional CEO or skilled entrepreneur into the team.

So far several entrepreneurs and inventors have agreed to attend the inaugural Upstart Den next month, with ideas ranging from more efficient waste disposal systems to an alternative to the crutch for people with foot injuries, to a potential medical breakthrough that could revolutionise the way cancer patients are monitored.

McCarthy doesn’t expect any money to change hands, but she hopes deals can be done in exchange for sweat equity, licensing or partnership agreements. Once a partnership has been formed and the inventor and entrepreneur have agreed how they want to proceed, McCarthy hopes to tempt others like designers, financial advisers and marketers to give time to help startups grow in return for a slice of the action.

Landlords too, are being asked to put forward offices rent free for six months in return for having a vacant office filled by a potential lease-paying tenant further down the track. ‘‘We’re trying to pull together all these resources in a creative way so that lack of funding or experience is not a barrier to building a business. We’ve just got to think outside the box.’’