KEY POINTS:
Cameron Hart's determined recovery from bashing victim to successful businessman has amazed his colleagues in the IT industry.
Three years ago, the future of the one-man software development business he ran out of a Takapuna garage looked bleak.
A brutal, unprovoked street attack left him lying in a hospital bed - his pulverised jaw and chin was cradled in bolts and, inside his mouth, white bone flashed where gum and teeth had been punched away.
But yesterday, at his company's new offices in the Albany commercial centre, the 28-year-old was confident of a good result in the upcoming Westpac Enterprise North Shore Business Excellence Awards. The company, Flow b2b software, now has nine employees and is looking to expand overseas with its product, which is used by suppliers of most of New Zealand's big retailers.
Mr Hart's role in that success is admired by co-workers after such a setback. He estimates his injuries have cost him $100,000.
During three stints in hospital, part of his jawbone had to be cut out, leaving a sliver of bone to grow back, and his surviving teeth were wired together.
There have been bright spots. He has married and has a 7-month-old child.
"Life goes on ... I can now eat a steak."
He is also awaiting further surgery for a bone graft and replacement of teeth on one side of his mouth.
"It's been a struggle to keep the business running and growing, so I have not until now had the opportunity to sort out my health," he said.
"It's got to the point where I have to because of the headaches and the constant pressure in my head, which the doctors say is from not having the jaw properly aligned.
"There's been emotional pain, too. When you are off work for so many months and you are on painkilling drugs, you feel like you haven't slept for a month and there you are, trying to run a business and a life when everything is cloudy."
Mr Hart said the Accident Compensation Commission did not compensate him for lost earnings, because he had no income history before the attack. This was because he was spending 90-hour weeks on developing his Flow concept and contracting to make ends meet.
He said that during his time in hospital, he realised he must take the bold leap from being a one-man-band to an employer, so he could reassure clients that there was a stable company backing up the product.
He sold two-thirds of the company to investors to make it bigger. Business is now at a point where he can focus on leading software development.
Flow chief executive Steve Green said: "For Cameron to not only develop software but also to sell it, distribute and support customers out of a garage, is an unbelievable feat."
