Cole Dallimore, 18, in his office. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Cole Dallimore, 18, in his office. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
Napier entrepreneur Cole Dallimore says school just wasn’t for him.
Dallimore, who recently turned 18, dropped out of school in 2023 and now owns and runs four businesses.
That includes a commercial water blasting company, called HydroGo, and three other companies – covering the likes of roof painting, unblocking drainsand building work.
He has a team of six fulltime staff, as well as a fleet of vehicles and equipment, and recently began leasing a large yard just out of Napier for his businesses.
His impressive rise has not been achieved alone, and he is hugely grateful for the support from his family, including his father and mentor Scott Dallimore.
His business journey started when he was aged 16 and attending Napier Boys’ High School.
He spoke to his father about starting some kind of business.
“I finished school one day, and I wasn’t a big fan of school, and he threw out the idea of water blasting and house washing.”
The companies have complemented each other nicely.
In 2024, he rebranded his water blasting company to HydroGo, which is now in Hawke’s Bay and Taupō.
Later that year, he opened up Merson Builders with a qualified builder as an employee, because “we wanted to be a one-stop shop for property managers”.
Early this year, they moved into a bigger yard just out of Napier as “there is a lot of room for expansion”.
Nowadays, much of his vehicle fleet and equipment is on finance, but he said he was very grateful for the early financial support from his father.
“You like the thrill of it,” he said.
“Like yesterday, we were short of work then this morning we had a huge job come through, which will take us three weeks, so you have things like that.”
He said he greatly enjoyed seeing the business grow.
Most recently, that has included the launch of HydroGo Drain Unblock.
He hopes to franchise HydroGo.
His advice for starting a business?
“If you are thinking about doing something, just do it, just start.
“Whether it is starting with a Facebook page [for a business], then you get ideas.
“Luckily for me I had Dad, but if you have someone that is happy to help you out take it while you can, and just work hard at it.
“Persistence is the biggest one. If you are having a s*** week you just have to keep pushing through.
“Yesterday was yesterday and today is today – that’s the kind of mindset you have to have.”
He said people don’t think he is the owner when they meet him, which was fine by him.
