Wellington
If all goes according to plan, in five years time
The Auckland-based company which makes Geneious proprietary software that places a robust, easyto use and graphical interface over the vast quantities of genetic data used by biologists, shouldbe a good target for such companies says chief executive Candace Toner.
A joint venture with alarger company or an initial public offering is also a possibility she says.
By then Biomatters will have sales teams in North America, Europe and Asia selling and servicinguniversities, research institutions and large enterprises such pharmaceutical companies.
As part of the University ofAuckland Business School’s Entrepreneurs’ Challenge 2010 , Biomatters is hoping that thefunding prize helps boost its market presence and “allow us to make more money, faster,” Tonersays.
“The original investors want their money out,” she says, “and I have a personal plan to doit all over again with something else. I have no problems about being a serial entrepreneur.”
Toner says that running and growing Biomatters since it formally started selling its Geneioussoftware in early 2007 has been a definite learning experience, “and it would be a shame to hangup our hats then.”
“We’ll look for opportunities,” she says. “New Zealand’s a fertile ground for ideas,and hopefully we’ll do it again.”
In the meantime the company is mostly protecting its intellectual property by being a goodcompany for its customers to deal with. Trying to patent or otherwise protect the software-based IPis an “exercise in futility,” she says.
“The real test as a company is how well you’re looking after your customers. What’s theservice and support IP that you’ve got in that space? We’re about providing a quality product ata fair price.”
The best advice Toner can give a start-up company is to keep the end game and market as a goal,and hire the right people at the right time. Too often Toner has observed start-up founders tryingto do everything.
From that point of view, Biomatters always targeted the U.S.A. first as its “low hangingfruit.” For that reason too it has always priced its software, downloadable directly from thewebsite, in $US.
“New Zealanders can cope with American dollars, but Americans don’t get our dollar,” shesays.