Grow Wellington - Case Studies

From Cotton Buds to iPhone Apps As extremely busy makeup artists and business women, Hil Cook and Ange Duncan have worked on numerous film sets, run their own salon, have two products on the go and on top of that are both full time mums.

PAPERKUT makes paper receipts a thing of the past While on the train discussing the pain of GST returns with his wife, Drew Broadley saw an ad shell for the Bright Ideas Challenge, which led him to take the first step in the development of his company PAPERKUT Paperless Receipts.

Education goes digital Educa is about bringing education into the digital space. The online portal is designed for early childhood teachers to record, organize and share updates about each child’s education and development.

How Much Could You Save? For Helen Joronen, her ‘lightbulb’ moment which led to the development of her business Greenkeeper Systems, came after the birth of her daughter in 2007.

Designer QR Codes a truly Kiwi Invention Ollie Langridge saw the black and white QR codes weren’t particularly pleasant to the eye, and all looked the same.After 4 years of development the ‘designer QR codes’ were perfected and so their company SET QR and SET QR NZ was born.

Making a Dash in Entertainment Ticketing Wellington is home to an exciting new business which is aiming to take ticketing in the entertainment industry to a new level.

Wellington Entrepreneurs' App 'Fast, Fresh and Tasty' to Number One Entrepreneur Karin Grices’ amazing start up journey began in 2008 as a Grow Wellington Activate participant. She has now launched the first recipe app ' Fast, Fresh & Tasty', dedicated to NZ users with her business partner Emily Loughnan. Fast, Fresh & Tasty reached number one in the lifestyle category on its second day in the app store.

IntuitionHQ IntuitionHQ are one Wellington company who are proving that starting out small doesn’t hinder the opportunity for global excellence.

8interactive 8interactive has published more than 100 talking books, in the app called “Read Me Stories”, aimed at three to seven-year-olds.

Disaster Intelligence Will Save Lives Disaster response and emergency management gains a new quantum of capability from the recent partnership of emergency information experts Intergen, a Gold Certified Microsoft Partner, and Wellington’s front line info-capture specialists TacPlans Ltd.

77 Pieces James Cameron’s movie Avatar brought New Yorker Sebastian Marino to New Zealand two years ago but now his focus has turned to his own invention. He’s invented a software tool for the fashion industry that can be applied to pattern making and design.

Collaborative approach works wonders for Kapiti Vintage Kapiti Coasters are known for their ability to get in behind good ideas, so when Graeme Harris from Kapiti Olives saw an opportunity for local food lovers to create an event for Visa Wellington on a Plate, he had no trouble getting people to pick up their knives and forks.

Here Comes Bollywood Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor

Best Little Capital in the World In its first recognition of a New Zealand city in the annual collection of the world’s best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences, the publication refers to Wellington under the banner of “coolest little capital in the world”.

Rugby Challenge Rugby Challenge for console and PC has been developed by Sidhe. The rugby union based title seeks to capture the attention of a growing number of rugby fans around the world.

Intense Geography Internationalisation is the name of the game for cartographers David and Beryl Pimblott. Since starting in 1987, Explorer Graphics Ltd has expanded into America and India and has offices in Queenstown and Auckland.

Colouring Wellington and Beyond. A leading force in the South Pacific paint market, Resene has operations in Australia and Fiji and local production plants in Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, Tauranga and Auckland. It has over 55 company owned colour shops and over 20 franchised outlets around the country.

2010 Bright Ideas Challenge winner, Im-Able going from strength to strength The company have developed a games system designed to help stroke rehabilitation.

Curds are the Whey Forward A lifelong love of cheese and a desire to share her passion with others saw Wendy Adams throw in her day job and head to the hills, Putaruru to be precise.

CHOCOLATE, GLORIOUS CHOCOLATE The Whittakers story begins in 1890 when James Henry Whittaker arrived in Christchurch from Macclesfield, England, where he first got a taste for the sweet stuff while working in a confectionary factory.

Family tradition turned business opportunity "We’ve exposed many people to the joys of limoncello and realised there was a potential business opportunity there."

Interactively attracting tourists Imagine if you could take a virtual 3D interactive journey of your next holiday destination before leaving home?

Start Up Revolutionises Breast Screening Matakina has a vision for helping the millions of women who are screened for breast cancer every year.

Down to Earth Success Inspiration can strike at the oddest of times, as Kareen Holland found.