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The Founders of Taranaki's Newest Virtual Venture Speak to Brittany

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The Founders of Taranaki's Newest Virtual Venture Speak to Brittany 08 Nov 2017 Taranaki Daily News, New Plymouth Taranaki Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 15,204 • Page: 2 Printed Size: 831.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 2,701 Words: 979 • Item ID: 870474147 PMCA licensed copy. You may not further copy, reproduce, record, retransmit, sell, publish, distribute, share or store this information without the prior written consent of the Print Media Copyright Agency. Phone +64-4-4984487 or email [email protected] for further information. Page 1 of 3 No boundaries in tech sector The founders of Taranaki’s newest virtual venture speak to Brittany Baker about how technology has let them break free of traditional brick and mortar constraints. hen James Donald hit Stevenson, who had been a stay- ‘‘I was like ‘yes that’s what we ‘‘launch’’ on August 2 at-home mum for the last eight need’,’’ she says. W to officially unveil an years, was heavily involved in the Initially their team comprised online adventure early childhood sector. six people with varying skills – two tourism booking site, he was The Inglewood woman tutored dropped out during the weekend, overseas on a family holiday. and facilitated play centres, and one left after the event concluded, But Donald happily admits and the last couldn’t commit the had previous experience as a Leap Booking is a Taranaki-based time. secondary teacher. business. Donald and Stevenson, who had But Stevenson was imaginative ‘‘My (Google) AdWord count is placed second at the event, carried and ‘‘always thinking up new stuck in Euro though, so that’s on. ideas’’, so her husband kind of funny,’’ he says. encouraged her to attend the ‘‘It was bloody hard work,’’ The online venture is most event. Donald says. similar to Booking.com but ‘‘I didn’t expect to get ‘‘I was still working and I had instead of accommodation, Leap something tangible, actually,’’ she an intense job.’’ Booking lists ‘‘adventure sports’’ admits. Donald put in his three month businesses offering equipment for And Donald, who had moved to notice but he was also planning a hire, tours and lessons. the region at the start of that year, three month family holiday The site currently has five sport was looking to network. overseas, expecting his second activities including kayaking and He had grown up in Auckland child and working out of a garage cycling, and hosts about 45 and then lived overseas for a while his house underwent businesses across the country. decade before an engineering renovations. Though it is too early to predict career in oil and gas pulled him ‘‘It was back and forth between the startup’s success, it’s poised to and his young family to Taranaki. ‘this is going to work’ versus ‘I help smaller businesses tap into But Donald was also wanting to need to give my notice to be able to the tourism market. branch out and start up something go overseas’,’’ he says. And co-founders Donald and new. Stevenson was also under her Letitia Stevenson expect it to ‘‘I got to a point where own pressures as her family become a global solution. motivations took me different awaited the completion of their The garage-born business is directions,’’ he says. new home. actually an unintended venture Donald’s business pitch had ‘‘We sold early and lived in a launched by a pair of two (one shed for four months with very time) strangers. been born from his time abroad, limited internet and three young Stevenson and Donald met last when he found it difficult to find girls,’’ she says. year at Startup Weekend Taranaki outdoor equipment for hire. ‘‘It pretty much left nights and – an event that teaches teams of And the idea ‘‘jived with a lot of weekends (free).’’ strangers with varying skills how people’’, he says. The two set up headquarters in to build a business. As soon as Stevenson heard it, a corner of a garage at the back of 08 Nov 2017 Taranaki Daily News, New Plymouth Taranaki Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 15,204 • Page: 2 Printed Size: 831.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 2,701 Words: 979 • Item ID: 870474147 PMCA licensed copy. You may not further copy, reproduce, record, retransmit, sell, publish, distribute, share or store this information without the prior written consent of the Print Media Copyright Agency. Phone +64-4-4984487 or email [email protected] for further information. Page 2 of 3 Donald’s Westown home, where a people around the country or even whiteboard, a stack of papers the world,’’ Donald says. And the business model is depicting early designs and a intended for a global market, he wardrobe with several thick coats says. still in it. ‘‘We’ve actually always ‘‘We worked all through winter designed ourselves to be global and it was so cold,’’ Donald says. from day one. We almost need to ‘‘Every night pretty much 8pm create a recipe. If we can work out to midnight, 1am, 2am – bloody how to solve it efficiently in New exhausting. Zealand, then we can almost ‘‘We’d do a bit of prep to utilise franchise it to other areas.’’ the time we had together because it was quite precious.’’ ‘‘We can open It started with wireframing – a visual guide that represents the ourselves up to skeletal framework of a website. people around the ‘‘We started with literally pen and paper – a piece of paper of country or even every screen,’’ Donald says. ‘‘Then we built workflows, like the world ... We’ve how the payment system is going to work and how people are going actually always to use it.’’ designed ourselves When they had a map of the site, they started using a tool called to be global from InVision, which stitches pictures together to mimic the look of a day one.’’ finished product. James Donald ‘‘It felt like a website – it was like a prototype that we were able to show people,’’ Stevenson says. DIGITAL ‘‘The first businesses that I went and saw, I’d take the prototype and from there we tweaked it based on their feedback.’’ This then became their specifications to take to developers. The pair hired a small development company in Auckland to build the website, ADVENTURERS which Donald explains is a better bargain for a startup. ‘‘It’s three guys who do different things whereas if we were employing, we’d only be able to afford one jack of all trades. ‘‘But they’re really hard to find or attract to us as a startup.’’ Stevenson and Donald then took on an Auckland-based business developer and a marketer based in Rotorua. It’s one of the major drawcards of the industry, they say, no boundaries in terms of staff location. ‘‘We can open ourselves up to If you’re into action sports Leap Booking is just the thing you need. 08 Nov 2017 Taranaki Daily News, New Plymouth Taranaki Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 15,204 • Page: 2 Printed Size: 831.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 2,701 Words: 979 • Item ID: 870474147 PMCA licensed copy. You may not further copy, reproduce, record, retransmit, sell, publish, distribute, share or store this information without the prior written consent of the Print Media Copyright Agency. Phone +64-4-4984487 or email [email protected] for further information. Page 3 of 3 James Donald and Letitia Stevenson’s online adventure sports booking business idea was hatched at a startup weekend. PHOTO: GRANT MATTHEW/STUFF.
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