The Private Training Establishment (PTE) provides training and qualifications in scuba diving, business management, bicycle mechanics and workplace numeracy and literacy, and has its origins in Scapens' long-time love of fishing and diving.
"Mark is very entrepreneurial," says Sharon Hanson, who served as business and financial manager for Big Fish for 11 years and still consults to the company. "I think you either have the entrepreneurial gene or you don't, and he has it in buckets."
Born in Otumoetai, Mr Scapens went to school and college in the suburb, then on to teacher training, but dropped out after two years to head for the Coromandel, where he spent a couple of years working as a commercial fisherman and a builder.
"By the time I was 22, I was self-employed in kiwifruit and horticulture," says Scapens.
He set up his own horticultural contracting business in Waihi during the kiwifruit industry's initial boom years in the mid to late 1970s, doing everything from post-ramming and spraying to grafting kiwifruit.
He and Shaz also had their own small kiwifruit orchard, but sold it in 1989 after the 1987 market crash, and he got into fishing tackle and dive equipment retailing.
He went into partnership with a friend who had a fishing tackle shop in Mount Maunganui, they opened a second shop in Whakatane, and took over the Dive Shop on Cameron Rd. They also set up a factory making fishing rods.
When the partnership ended, Scapens finished up with the Dive Shop, which he sold to buy another dive shop that was going broke in Christchurch, which he ran for the next seven years.
The dive business provided his introduction to training, and he picked up the American agency for Scuba Schools International in 1990, which he ran for almost two decades.
He set up Adventure Education as a PTE in the mid-1990s, using scuba diving, rafting, kayaking and other adventure sports as a medium for second-chance learners.
"It's particularly good for people who didn't like school, didn't do well at school and have never achieved very much, but really get fired up by what we offer," he says.
"It allows them to go on to the next stage in their life with confidence, feeling that they have passed something and they are worth something."
The next three companies were acquired through acquisition and currently teach about 1300 students. Big Fish is doing due diligence on two more potential acquisitions in the trade training space.
"In the PTE environment, there is little scope for organic growth," says Scapens. "That's because most of the government funds are capped. For us, acquisition is the growth strategy. We are keen to diversify, which helps mitigate risk."
The name Big Fish reflects the concept of swallowing up smaller fish, he adds.
The change of name from Adventure Education to Cornerstone Education comes after combining the four training companies in January.
"But Adventure Education was the wrong name to be teaching literacy and numeracy in the workplace. This is the evolution of the brand."
Persistence is the hallmark of 'business success'
Mark Scapens says that for anyone starting a business, persistence is important - a lesson he learned the hard way when he founded QJumpers eight years ago.
QJumpers, a tracking system that employers use to manage job applications, now has momentum - but it was a slow, hard grind to get it up to scale.
"We started it because we wanted to connect our students with employers," he says. "What we had found is that if you didn't have employers, then training providers didn't want to book their students into our system. And if you didn't have graduates, employers didn't want to come into your system, so we had a bit of a chicken and egg situation."
One of the things Scapens has learned in business is that his successes have been a result of having a distribution channel lined up.
"But with QJumpers, I said: 'here's a great idea, let's sell it.' And we tried to smash our way into the market and that took a long time."
In hindsight, he believes it would have been better to partner with a recruitment agency, labour-hire company or accounting firm that had an existing distribution channel. And the distribution partnership model will be used once he takes it offshore as planned in a couple of years.
"Persistence is really important. When you know you're on to something that will work, you just have to keep doing it. I have had the luxury of being able to afford to keep driving QJumpers because I had other businesses that were more successful. But to try and do something from start-up is difficult."
Long-time business colleague Sharon Hanson says Scapens takes a long-term approach to business.
"One of things I find inspiring is that he's always thinking about the 50-year plan," she says. "It's not the one-year plan, although that's important to him as well. But there's longevity to the actions that he takes."
Partner support can be 'critical'
Having a partner who believes in you and buys into what you are doing is critical, says Mark Scapens, who has been with his partner, Shaz, for 37 years.
"When I look at all the businesses I've been involved in - because we've also run franchise businesses - having a supportive partner was one of the key points of difference between those who have succeeded and those who didn't. So I'm very fortunate."
However, Scapens says Shaz is less keen on his passion for boating.
The couple recently sold an offshore yacht.
"We cruised to the Pacific, including Fiji and Tonga," he says. "She wasn't particularly keen on the sailing, but she loved going to those places."
Scapens remains an avid fisherman and scuba diver and has recently begun to learn to fly a fixed-wing aircraft.
Mark Scapens
Role - Founder and chairman of Big Fish Group.
Age - 57
Born - Tauranga, New Zealand.
First job - Commercial fisherman.
Currently reading - Architectural and design publications.
