Innovation: Kiwis eye the bright opportunites of LA

Brett O'Riley, Chief Executive of ATEED.

Kiwi entrepreneurial companies will converge on Los Angeles in June for a high-powered innovation summit with counterparts from LA and Guangzhou.

It's the first major business summit since local government leaders from Auckland, Los Angeles and Guangzhou forged a tripartite relationship last November.

Ateed chief executive Brett O'Riley says the aim is to "showcase a different innovation ecosystem in the United States that a lot of New Zealand companies probably haven't considered as a landing pad for entry into the US.

"There's always been a natural connection in the digital media space between Hollywood and Auckland, but the opportunity extends much further than that," he says. "Making LA a first point of call for food and beverage is just one other natural fit and we've already got a host of successful Kiwi companies up there. Typically we've been very focused on Silicon Valley, and for good reason - but the development we're seeing happening in Los Angeles is incredible. The intensity of innovation happening and the broad range of industries it's touching could make it a better fit for some companies."

New Zealand is planning on taking a sizable delegation to the LA summit, with as many as 50 companies. They will be briefed in April at an innovation event hosted by Ateed in Auckland.

NZ technology companies have tended to target Silicon Valley - seen as the pinnacle of their industry. But in certain specialties - particularly where the likes of gaming, digital media and entertainment technology are concerned - Los Angeles very well could be a better fit and at a cheaper cost - while still offering world-class technological infrastructure and access to the entire ecosystem..

Los Angeles boasts three world-class universities focused on innovation and a City Government that incentivises overseas businesses to be based there. Plus there's access to a huge market.

San Francisco in itself is not an overly large market, but Los Angeles and Southern California through to Mexico is a significant market on an international scale.

If the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is sealed in coming months that will add to the potential for Auckland businesses in Los Angeles, says O'Riley.

He hopes it could spark an opportunity to start working on NZ's largest remaining barrier to entry; immigration.

"We're out of step when it comes to visas. Whenever we talk to New Zealanders, if they were to lose their job or things went pear-shaped, it can be extremely problematic."

Even compared to Australia, New Zealand is lagging behind in the apparent opportunities for our citizens to live and work in the United States. That's an issue New Zealand Ambassador Mike Moore has been flying the flag on.

Though it remains unclear what changes could be on offer for business immigrants, it's not uncommon for trade deals to ease the restrictions on movement of people - the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a pact often compared to the proposed TPP, being one example.