Phil Thomson and Tom Batterbury are the CEO and CCO respectively of Eyedentify, a cloud-based software platform that streamlines the crime reporting and evidence gathering processes to help retailers and police prevent crime. The Auckland-based firm has 10 staff, six of which are full time.
How did Eyedentify come about and how has it developed so far?
Tom: The concept for Eyedentify was born out of a Startup Weekend competition three years ago. Members of the team had experienced the problems shoplifters cause in retail and saw an opportunity to improve the information sharing process to reduce theft.
We were convinced of the potential of the idea, so we entered the Spark Entrepreneurship Competition, run by The University of Auckland, in 2012. That was a great way to explore and develop the opportunity and we were fortunate to come second and put the $15,000 prize money to good use, bootstrapping the business for over a year.
In early 2013, the company had reached a point where it needed our full-time attention, so Phil and I quit our regular jobs - me as a management consultant at Deloitte, and Phil as an IP lawyer at Simpson Grierson. Phil: At the end of 2013, we began a trial with a major retailer in 30 sites across Auckland and worked closely with the Counties Manukau Police.
That trial built some good momentum and we're now operating with many major retailers and Police across Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, and Christchurch. We've just begun exploring opportunities over the ditch in Australia and have some promising leads there. Earlier this year we also raised investment from Sparkbox Ventures, NZVIF, and family and friends to help us scale the team and push forward with expansion.
We also convinced our lead developer James Choi to come back from living it up in Thailand, and brought on J'aime Laurenson as product manager to round out our leadership team.
Tom Batterbury, eyedentify co-founder and chief commercial officer.
Why did entrepreneurship appeal to you?
Phil: I always knew I wanted to own and run my own business. You can be directly responsible for the direction you and your company will take, every day is different, and being part of a team that's doing good is an awesome experience. Eyedentify was trying to solve a problem I was particularly interested in - crime - and the team that was being put together was a pretty amazing bunch of young entrepreneurs, so to me it made perfect sense to commit and leave a safe career path.
Tom: From a young age I dabbled in lots of different enterprises and the more successful ventures left me feeling really exhilarated. I think this stemmed from being exposed to successful entrepreneurs early in my life; I found their passion for their businesses infectious and it really motivated me to follow their example. Now with Eyedentify it's incredibly exciting building a business from the ground up, that has the potential to positively impact the world in a significant way, with such a talented and motivated team.
Do you have any entrepreneurial role models or mentors?
Phil: I love seeing the success of the New Zealand tech scene at the moment. It shows it's possible to solve problems here and take your solution to the world. In particular, Craig Richardson and the Wynyard team have been really helpful. Outside of New Zealand, I take a lot from people that always push the envelope like Tim Ferriss, of The 4-Hour Work Week, and Richard Branson.
Tom: It's encouraging to see local entrepreneurs like Rod Drury build a disruptive business and successfully compete on the global stage. Further abroad, I get inspired by entrepreneurs that have an unshakeable belief in themselves - the likes of Elon Musk and Mark Cuban.
What's the biggest challenge you've faced so far as an entrepreneur?
Tom: The level of uncertainty you deal with on a daily basis across all facets of the business, and the length of time it can take to progress things.
But I've learnt this comes with the territory and I've become a lot more comfortable dealing with the uncertainty through trusting our team, our instincts and our ability to solve and evolve.
Phil: For me it's been deciding how to best allocate our resources when there are 1001 things to do in a startup. Unfortunately, we can't do everything at once and often have to make some big calls to prioritise workstreams and focus on certain aspects of the business. By creating a leadership team within the business, it's allowed us to spread the workload and make decisions on what should be done first. Everything else goes onto a list called 'backlog'. It's long.
What advice would you have for other young people looking to take the leap into entrepreneurship?
Phil: Make sure you have a great idea, a good team, and the passion to follow through. If you have those three things, then take the plunge.
Tom: I think Phil's advice is spot on. Success will ultimately come down to the attitude and pure perseverance of your team. And don't be deterred by the thought of 'failure', but always look to manage your downside risk. As Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon said: 'I know that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying'.
