Move to 'new Silicon Valley' in Tauranga

Diana Foreman

Multi-millionaire businesswoman Diana Foreman sees Tauranga as a "new Silicon Valley".

In an interview after her address to a Tauranga Chamber of Commerce lunch last week, Ms Foreman said she knew a number of people who were relocating to the region from Auckland to start entrepreneurial businesses.

"The reason they're doing it is they're able to sell their Auckland house at an inflated price, get a decent house here, get some cash out and start a business, which is really exciting."

Tauranga had become a hub for entrepreneurs, with mentoring programmes for start-ups and a strong angel investor community.

Married at 18 and a solo parent of two children at 21, Ms Foreman could barely cover the mortgage. She is now worth an estimated $180 million, is acknowledged as one of New Zealand's most entrepreneurial businesswomen, and was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009. She was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business in 2011.

She first ascended to multi-millionaire status in 1996 when she and her husband, Bill Foreman, sold Hamilton plastics business, Trigon. Although she no longer needed to work, she decided to create a new business of her own, Emerald Group. The global food, property and investment business included ice cream brands NZ Natural, Movenpick and Killinchy Gold, which she recently sold to a Hong Kong-based multinational.

She is currently touring the country to promote her autobiography Diane Foreman: In the Arena, profits from which are going to charity.

"The book is about leaving the ladder down," she said. "It's actually a tool box for entrepreneurs. It's a how-to book."

Ms Foreman said she had tried to envisage most of the situations an entrepreneur would find themselves in - from talking to a bank or lawyer, to writing a business plan - and hung lessons off her autobiographical story.

"The biggest sharing is that it's important for people to decide whether they want to sell their time, or start a business."