Tauranga startup targets global DJ market

Zak Meyers (left), ceo of Onesixone, which has developed a product called Soundswitch which allows DJs to integrate lighting with live audio. Co-founded with Matt Watkins (right) and Callum Jamieson.

Tauranga startup Onesixone, which has developed a product integrating DJ audio software and entertainment lighting systems, has launched its latest funding round.

WNT Ventures chief executive Carl Jones says Onesixone was one of the first companies added to the tech incubator's portfolio, and would be the first to go out for a capital raising.

WNT Ventures was funded under a programme starting in 2014, which allows potentially high-growth, early-stage tech firms to access repayable Callaghan Innovation grants.

Onesixone's capital raise includes funding from the Bay of Plenty's Enterprise Angels, EA Fund 2, the Seed Co-Investment Fund, as well as WNT Ventures itself, and some of the incubator's limited partners.

Onesixone's current cap raise is the first that has received participation from angel investor groups.

"It's absolutely a positive step for what we are doing," said Mr Jones. "It's great to see that Onesixone has built up to a point where they can now raise extra capital."

Enterprise Angels executive director Bill Murphy said it was encouraging to see companies beginning to emerge from the tech incubator and able to find funding in the angel space.

Onesixone's core product, SoundSwitch, is a software-hardware package that allows DJs to seamlessly integrate digital multiplex lighting with live audio. The company says the technology is easy to use and gives DJs greater creative control and superior performance capabilities in multiple environments.

The product formally launched in July/August. Onesixone has a close working association and strategic partnership with Serato, an Auckland-based company, which has been a pioneer in developing specialised software for DJs which allows digital audio files to be manipulated using traditional turntables.

Mr Jones said Serato was one of the leading companies in the European and US DJ markets.

"Onesixone has a very strong partnership with Serato to roll out and market SoundSwitch to their global user base," he said.

Onesixone was co-founded by Tauranga locals Zak Meyers, the chief executive, and chief product officer Matt Watkins, who has a DJ-ing background, together with software expert Callum Jamieson, who relocated to the Bay from Dunedin.

"The genesis of the idea was to bring the music and lighting systems closer together and put all the creative control in the DJ's hands," said Mr Meyer.

SoundSwitch had been designed to work with Serato's software to get the appropriate timing information needed to synch up the lighting and music, he said.