12 April 2006

Creative HQ businesses proven winners

Wellington business incubator Creative HQ’s reputation for producing fledgling high-growth businesses has been further strengthened, with the naming of the finalists for this year’s 2006 Gold Awards.

Three of the finalists are recent graduates of Creative HQ.

The Emerging Gold section for businesses with 10 employees or fewer contains two of these companies – Optimum Usability and Spikefin.

Innaworks Development Limited is a finalist in the Cyber Gold category for innovation, leadership and sustained growth in the information and communications sector.

Creative HQ is an initiative of Positively Wellington Business (PWB), the regional business agency that aims to identify and facilitate high-growth businesses.

Creative HQ general manager Mark Robotham says: "With a 60% success rate for creating high growth companies, we are expecting a high demand for the vacancies created when these recent gold companies have left."

“We are actively seeking new entrepreneurs to join up to the incubator programme."

Each of the three companies has already won industry recognition for its products.

Optimal Usability was named start-up of the year at the 2006 Telecom New Zealand Incubator awards. The company was started by co-directors Trent Mankelow and Sam Ng in 2002, and specializes in making websites more user-friendly.

Spikefin has won a KiwiStartUp award and a Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ) Interactive Award, headed by co-directors Andrew Mayfield and Tony Rule.

“Being selected as a finalist provides the recognition that Spikefin is fulfilling its ambitions, and we aim to continue flying even higher as time goes on,” said Spikefin chief executive officer Jon Beverley. “The mentoring and assistance provided to us during our time at Creative HQ helped prepare us for the day when we spread our wings and flew the nest.”

Mr Ng said: “For us, this nomination is a great encouragement. Being in business is hard work, and it is great that we have events that can celebrate local successes and encourage each other to greater things on the world stage.”

Positively Wellington Business Chief Executive Philip Lewin described the three business’ successes as proof that PWB’s work was reaping rewards.

“I’m delighted that these businesses are really thriving, and we hope that the current residents of Creative HQ follow in their footsteps,” says Mr Lewin.

ENDS

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