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Road to Riches.
Road to Riches.Four Christchurch students are going places with the invention of a GPS tracking device.
by Sara Goessi.
Nigel Salmons and Thomas Veitch are in year 13 at St Thomas of Canterbury College in Christchurch. They're also managing director and communications manager, respectively, of their own company, set up with two fellow students, Jordan Adams and Stuart Jackson, under the Youth Enterprise Scheme. The four got together at the end of 2005 with their economics teacher, David Ivory, to develop a business idea. Between lessons, after school and in the weekends, they started brainstorming - the programme being an extra-curricular one.
The solution turned out to be obvious. "We thought: teenage boys. Cars," says Nigel.
They came up with a GPS tracking device, which they named Accilink (as in accident link). You install it in your car, and through a Bluetooth connection, it sends information - where you've been, where you're going and at what speed - to a home computer. So if you're heading out on a Saturday night with your friends, your parents can track your movements from a computer.
Most people they've shown Accilink to have been positive, they say. What do boy racers think of it? "They think it's awesome!" laughs Nigel. "You get the odd smart comment but you'd expect that. Parents definitely think it's a good idea."
It was as a boy racer prevention device that they entered it in the YES competition last October. They didn't win, but did pick up a national prize. From there, they were encouraged to enter the Bright Sparks Awards the following month and won first place in the original computer program category. It was an unexpected award, says Nigel. "We got selected from Young Enterprise so we were focused on winning that. This was a side entry and we won that one as well. One thing just sort of led to the next. We've also found that if you've got a good idea, people will throw money at you. There are so many different scholarships and different things that you can apply for. It's just knowing the right people to apply to."
Next up was another national competition, Realise the Dream, where they won top prize and trips overseas. In March, Nigel and Stuart travelled to Beijing to the International Technology and Science Fair for ten days. And in June, Stuart is going to Perth on another scholarship.
Talk to the right people
They've decided that fleet management is the way to go and are now approaching taxi companies to sell their idea. Christchurch businessman Mark Stuart has been a major help in the company's development. Mark has worked with them from the beginning, pointing them in the right direction during weekly meetings.
"Being a top businessperson he knows all the right people to go and see," says Nigel. "So if you want to do a bit of marketing or a bit of research, whatever you want to do, he'd point us towards the right person to see."
One of those people has been Auckland developer Greg Bacchus, the company's technology partner. After coming up with the idea of Accilink, the boys briefed Greg, who narrowed down the concept and completed the product to a working stage. The hardware is the most expensive component - an off-the-shelf product from Advance Mobile. The students make the software themselves. As far as teenagers go, they say, they're pretty good with computers, but Stuart, who is production manager, is the "technology nut" in the team. Jordan is marketing manager, Nigel managing director and Thomas, communications manager.
"I'm intrigued by technology," Thomas says. "I don't really understand it. I enjoy cutting-edge technology but I've got no idea how it works."
Pitch practice
Naturally, Accilink has been through a great deal of testing. "We've had a lot of different stages in the development where a new bit of software would be released that would add more features to it," says Thomas "We're happy with where it is now."
They've also had to learn how to present their product to potential investors, which is an essential part of the YES experience. "We've had presentations where they've had us sitting on one side of the table, and other people sitting on the other side," say the students. What was it like? "Daunting. Intimidating!"
And the pair freely admit to making a lot of mistakes - and learning a lot from their mistakes.
"Before you try and introduce something into a market you really need to fully understand the entire market and understand competitors and things like that," Nigel says. "If you just try and jump in and think you're going to be top dog from day one, you get smashed."
Price has also been an issue. They initially priced it at $999, but say the feedback has been that's too high. The New Zealand GPS market is fairly small, but the Accilink team have their eye on exporting. "Overseas is the ultimate goal," Thomas says. "It's the most lucrative market."
Adds Nigel: "And the hardest to get to." In the meantime, they're still meeting lots of potential shareholders - among them businesspeople and politicians. "We keep getting introduced to new people who want to come on board - new shareholders, things like that. It will continue to get bigger," Nigel says.
Into the future
"No matter what I do, I want to end up owning my own business," says Thomas. "All the people we've been introduced to from Mark onwards have really opened our eyes. We've definitely seen some things that kids of our age haven't seen. I think we've got a much broader idea of the real world."
Nigel also sees himself owning his own business some day. The two say entrepreneurship is highly thought of at St Thomas of Canterbury, which has a history of awards in the Young Enterprise competition. Teachers are mostly pretty understanding about students being pulled out of classes to work on their projects, they say. And Accilink is inspiring younger students, in the same way that these students were inspired by past YES winners at the school. As Thomas says: "Kids see other kids winning and think 'That looks like fun. I'll give it a go'."
Links
Young Enterprise Trust
Bright Sparks
Realise the Dream
St Thomas of Canterbury College
photo credit: Philip Peacocke
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