His time as a soldier has taught Grant Straker perseverance and problem solving that is paying great dividends in his business
Straker Translations is lining up to float on the Australian Stock Exchange next month, the Herald understands.
The float will aim to raise A$21 million at an A$80m ($83m) valuation - a little lighter than the company has previously talked-up.
Co-founder Grant Straker was not immediately available for comment, buthas previously said his company is on track to break even this year.
The former soldier has been talking up a possible ASX listing since early this year, when he anticipated a NZ$100m valuation.
Earlier this year, he said his company would move into the black this year on revenue that would come in above $20m, with 90 per cent coming from offshore sales.
Straker co-founded Straker Translations with his wife Merryn in 1999, after earlier spending six years in the British Army as a paratrooper before moving into sales. Its software uses artificial intelligence software plus, in places, human experts to translate text -- which the chief executive says gives it the edge over free solutions such as Google Translate.
The startup gained momentum in 2015 when Bailador Investments, run by ex-All Black captain David Kirk, invested $6m.
Today, Bailador is the largest single investor with a 20.36 per cent stake, followed by the Strakers with a 18.19 per cent holding.
Straker has used funds from Bailador and other investors to go on a buying spree over the past couple of years, buying up competitors in the US, Ireland and Germany.
The Auckland-based company has more than 120 staff in offices around the world. But while it's a large software company by New Zealand standards, Straker concedes it's just one of many players in a crowded translations market worldwide.
If the Australian listing does go ahead, Straker will be the latest in an increasingly long line of NZ techs who have opted for an ASX-only float over a local or dual listing - albeit with very mixed results.
The list includes Powerhouse Ventures, Martin Jetpack, Tomizone, Vault Intelligence, Volpara and Xero, which went ASX-only in the new year.
