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Let's kickstart our knowledge economy

I've been thinking about this whole issue of helping NZ lift its ability to compete in a hi-tech world while being hog-tied by a lack of vision and commitment from successive governments.

I've bitched and moaned about the way our politicians have been full of talk but lacked the testicular fortitude to back up those words with action for long enough. Now it's time to accept the fact that NZ's budding entrepreneurs and would-be hi-tech innovators are simply never going to get the kind of support that their peers in other countries do.

We're either going to have to jump-ship to countries such as Singapore, the USA or even Australia -- or we're going to have to just consider government policy (including the lack of tax parity for R&D with our peers) as just another hurdle which needs to be vaulted on the road to success.

So how can smart Kiwis get their ideas off the ground and to a stage of commercial viability without the support of government or any real form of venture capital?

Well I'm thinking of one word: cooperation.

Even within the ranks of Aardvark's readers I know we have a lot of very, very clever and highly motivated people whose expertise covers a wide range of disciplines in the hi-tech area.

There are software developers, hardware engineers, mechanical engineers, mathematicians, marketers, analysts, chemists, and many others who are all very clever, very knowledgeable people.

The problem is that turning a good idea into a commercial reality is often something that requires either a lot of money or a lot of people.

A lone hardware engineer can build a wonderful widget but, without the help of some software to drive it, a website to promote it and some savvy marketing to properly present it to would-be customers -- success will still be hard to come by.

Likewise, the best lone-software developer in the world will find the road to riches far easier to negotiate if he has skilled testers, tech-writers and marketers at his side so that he can focus on the thing he's best at -- designing and cutting code.

The big problem in a country like NZ, where capital is all but non-existent and government seems to favour those who are already successful, is that of being able to secure the support and assistance needed to enable bright individuals to get their product to the market and start turning it into cash.

So here's what I'm proposing...

I'd like to start The Aardvark Collective (TAC).

Let's bring together all those skills, experience and "smarts" so that we can provide each other with the missing links in our own chain to success.

The concept would mean that a savvy software developer who was looking for some help in testing, documenting or marketing their product could approach others who may have those skills and negotiate a swap of equity for services rendered.

Few of us have the money to invest in funding other people's projects (or parts thereof) but I'm sure most people could find a few hours a week to invest some sweat-equity in return for a stake in the product.

The benefits of the TAC would be manifold...

Those seeking expertise and skills outside their own domain would have access to the right people without having to fork out valuable capital they may not have. Instead, they'd trade a few percent of the venture.

Those who have skills they wish to trade could find themselves with fingers in many pies and small shareholdings in many different projects -- any one of which could make them very "comfortable" a little further down the track.

Of course this could also be a recipe for disaster - with squabbling over who promised what to who and whether the services delivered were up to scratch so perhaps the first "expert" needed would be a lawyer or two who could create the necessary forms and contracts (in return for a share of the pie).

I've given up simply asking government to honour its promises to support a KBE in this country, it's now up to us to do the job for ourselves. Let's see if, as individuals and members of the small KBE that already exists, we can do what 120 bureaucrats in Wellington couldn't.

Is anyone keen to give it a go?

If so, drop me a line with your contact details and a brief outline of what skills and experience you might be able to bring to the TAC. And, if you're an entrepreneur looking for some skills or services to get your project off the ground and to the market then also drop me a line with an outline of what you need and how much you're prepared to give away in order to get it. Maybe we can hook up supply with demand and get some balls rolling.

Of course if there's no interest or everyone thinks this is a lame idea, we'll just leave it up to government to provide the promised KBE kickstart. Unfortunately it looks as if governments are still long on promises of prosperity and woefully short on delivery.

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