Entrepreneur opens the door to tech companies

Ben Rickard, who recently returned to Tauranga after a stint overseas, has set up a website to attract businesses.

His site, www.taurangatech.co.nz, aims to profile local technology companies and promote Tauranga as a top destination for technology businesses.

"I want to ensure that the message gets out to the rest of the country and the world that Tauranga is a great place to set up your tech business," said Mr Rickard.

Annie Hill, communications manager for Priority One, which is supporting the non-profit project through its networks, said the agency had been focused since 2003 in growing the local ICT sector, which now had more than 600 members.

"Ben's website provides a showroom for those IT companies," she said.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to promote Tauranga as the go-to place for technology."

She noted the website also linked into the recent announcement by Wharf42 of a new Tauranga-based partnership with Silicon Valley incubator Plug and Play to help tech companies get started.

Mr Rickard said that in his experience, while Tauranga had a well-developed tech sector, a lot of it was under the radar with numerous smaller firms of one to five people, as well as a handful of larger ones that helped raise awareness by generating their own press.

The website idea came about after the first meeting earlier this year of the Welcome Bay Business Network, where Tauranga City Council CEO Garry Poole spoke about the advantages of setting up shop in Tauranga.

Mr Rickard recently joined the family business, Builtin, which specialises in insuring the construction industry, as marketing manager after living in the UK where he worked with brands including Nestle and Campbell Soup.

He also recently set up Gift of Skill, an online service where customers can buy gift vouchers to learn new skills such as driving and dancing.