Mowbray will represent New Zealanders at the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award in Monaco next June and says he is looking forward to the incredible networking opportunities.
"I am a competitive person so I want to try and go to win," he says. "It would be pretty cool to be the first New Zealander to win."
Mowbray knows the ZURU story is unique. "We have done it without any outside investment."
He won the New Zealand title ahead of Merryn and Grant Straker of Straker Translations; Elizabeth Barbalich, Antipodes; Aaron McDonald, Centrality; and Chinthaka (Chin) Abeywickrama, Netlogix.
The toy manufacturer ZURU has brought the world iconic toys including Robo Alive, Bunch O Balloons, Xshot, 5 Surprise, Rainbocorns and Smashers.
But this is just the beginning of the ZURU Edge manufacturing empire, says judge Bill Day, a former EY winner himself. "If it can be done with automation, he will do it."
At 18, Mowbray had the vision of creating a $20 billion company and he is well on his way there, says Patel. From the very beginning, Mowbray thought big. He wanted to work with the biggest manufacturers and retailers in the world.
Darren White, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Director, notes: "what strikes you is the enterprise and resilience demonstrated by someone as young as Nick. He will have added even more to his story by the time of EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2019."
It was clear throughout the judging that Mowbray wants to build one of the largest manufacturing businesses in the world, says judge Vaughan Rowsell. He adds: "he has started on building a significant and remarkable global company."
Mowbray's huge global vision stood out to the judges, says Day. He is doing big things in a big way. If anyone can leverage automation and global macro trends to succeed, it will be Mowbray, he adds.
"Lots of people have big ideas but don't execute well. Nick has huge ideas and executes perfectly from the macro level right down to what makes the difference at customer face. We don't see that very often. Every detail is managed."
Day predicts Mowbray will be as famous as many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. "We are talking that kind of level." However, the judges commented that Mowbray was motivated by the challenge before any monetary reward.
They also noted that the business' success was the work of all the Mowbray siblings, not just Nick. "They are all equally as impressive," says judge Linda Jenkinson.
She says that in great companies, there are at least two or three great people running them. Anna Mowbray builds amazing teams and is an operations expert. Brother Mat is the engineering genius who is also a great visionary.
Following the win, Mowbray thanked his siblings, the 5000-strong team of ZURU employees and his mother and father, whose belief in their children gave them the confidence to do what they do. "There was no such word as 'can't'," says Mowbray.
Building a business in China hasn't been easy and Mowbray talked about the deprivation entrepreneurs have to go through to succeed. At one point in the early years of the business he slept in his showroom, rolling out a mattress at night.
Then Mowbray lived in a hostel where he had to sneak out the back so as not to be seen by customers who were staying in the posh hotel across the road.
Mowbray describes "getting in trouble with the triads", going to jail, and "problem after problem after problem.
"That's what entrepreneurship is about," he says. "It's about sacrifice."
In addition to business, Mowbray has branched out into benevolence, building orphanages in China and sponsoring 500 Tibetan women to get an education.
