As the Talent Unleashed Awards almost close for 2014 we sat down with Candace Kinser to discuss what it takes to be a great entrepreneur, her big breaks, and the next big trends on her radar.
1. What do you think are the most important qualities in a great entrepreneur?
I think that resilience is the important quality for an entrepreneur. Handling setbacks gracefully, having boundless enthusiasm, courage in the face of disaster and the ability to give others credit for their achievements makes for a great entrepreneur.
The best entrepreneurs and CEOs I’ve met give much more than they take and they don’t give up.
2. What’s the best piece of advice you were given and by whom?
Many years ago a manager shared two invaluable pieces of advice. She told me are that people are capable of doing a lot more than you, or even they, may think they are, and hiring for cultural fit in business is often more important than actual operational skill (which can be taught on the job).
In real terms, this means that if you give people the opportunity to really shine or prove themselves through ‘ownership’ of a part of the business that applies to their role; you will often see amazing fortitude and willingness to go the extra mile and obtain exceptional achievements.
Equally, if you actively seek out personality types that a business needs, like high achievers perhaps former athletes or people who have done some tough jobs early in their career – you will most likely get a great fit.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the start-up and high growth area, so hiring for mental toughness, exceptional stamina and a great sense of humour are hugely important traits that I look for.
3. Tell us about your big break?
I suppose I’ve had a few ‘big breaks’ in my career, or perhaps several medium ones that I’ve tried to make the most of.My first real opportunity was getting hired as a sales-rep for a science supply business in 2000.
I was given the opportunity to help build the e-commerce platform for the company. It was a major investment back then! We were one of the first Biztalk implementations in the southern hemisphere, we had no less than 20 consultants on site and at the age of 26, I was the second in charge of a multi-million dollar build. This is how I was brought in to the IT industry – sink or swim!
It launched my career and I was given some great opportunities to sell Sun Hardware, Vignette – all sorts of great brands.
In 2005, I was also given the opportunity to lead a start-up. It was a scientific software company called Biomatters. It was an uphill battle; funding was required, we had to hire highly-skilled staff in a tough market, build a hugely complex genetics software system and sell into offshore markets. Every day was a survival test!
But we did it. We won all sorts of amazing awards including a United Nations Award for Contributions to Science and we were the Emerging Company of the Year for New Zealand in 2012. We landed incredible contracts and hit our sales targets quarter after quarter, year on year.
In the past three years I have also been given incredible opportunities in my current role, running the NZ Technology Industry Association and working closely with fantastic companies, government leaders and the education sector.
I learn every day, and enjoy the people I meet and challenges I face because I know they are for a great purpose, to grow the wealth and future of New Zealand. Who knows what the next big break will be!
4. What was your biggest failure?
This is a difficult question. I have never really considered myself to have had major failures, a few significant setbacks perhaps! I like to think that no one was ever born an expert at anything, and that we all have to discover our strengths as we make our way through life.
Not choosing the right path every time, or making a decision that you might regret, is all a part of the journey. If you make the best decision you can (with the information you have at that time) and it doesn’t work out in the end – it shouldn’t be classified as a failure. At the end of the exercise, you have two options: pick up the pieces and chalk it up to experience and walk away, or rebuild what you can and keep going until you make it. Thus, failure is not an option.
5. What role will technology play in the future of your business and business in general?
For many years technology has fought for a seat at the table of core-business planning and budgets. It’s traditionally been considered a cost line and the domain of geeks and seen as hurdles that get in the way of the business rather than enabling it.
Finally, after several decades of proving itself, technology, and in particular software, has earned the right to be considered a cost saver, employee enabler and customer engager. In other words, it now spans right the way across finance, HR and sales – and of course into all other facets of the business.
I believe technology will continue to link all aspects of business together, and create a highly personalised experience to employees and customers through its evolution.
Businesses that embrace technology will gain competitive edge over those that don’t.
6. What’s the next big trend on your radar in technology?
I’m a big fan of geospatial data integration into all sorts of software, hardware and applications. Users expect to have the ability to track just about anything in terms of its location, distance from point A to B, trend analysis for customer data and so forth. I think that this will move rapidly into other more integrated areas such as warehousing, programmable robotic-forklifts, wearable technology and health monitoring. It will also be applied in all sorts of vehicle tracking systems for reporting to insurance companies, speed analysis, tyre wear and so forth.
Humans are obsessed with knowing where things are and how to navigate with ease. This natural tendency will only be enhanced through technology.
