The quiet achiever

Yet another successful start-up business has been born out of the frustration of the corporate world. Kevin Kevany meets Niche FM’s Ryan Peni, who’s now loving his new business life.

It takes more than drive and ambition to start a small business, especially when one of your key pillars of support is apparently suddenly pulled from under you. 

Ryan Peni, the 32-year-old CEO of property and facility management company Niche FM, which expanded its ‘Christchurch and regions’ operation to Auckland and the central North Island just before Christmas, knows what a ‘kick in the guts’ is all about.

“I had been considering a start-up for some time,” says Peni. “But it wasn’t until a holiday in Queenstown in July 2015, with my fiancé Rebekah that we decided ‘let’s do it’. 

“She’d said to me, ‘you’ve got what it takes – all you need is a new mobile.’ So I walked into Vodafone, purchased an iPhone and at the end of August 2015 I had walked out of my employment on a Friday, and [the following] Monday started off with two contracts. One in the health sector and one with a significant property investor in Wellington.

“There I was, buoyed by the confidence and total commitment of my fiancé, when I got the call from my sister saying my Dad, who had recently been very sick, had been rushed to hospital. Days later I was told he would have just three months to live – and would likely be dead by Christmas. Thankfully, some two years later, he has been cleared of cancer,” says Peni.

“I was initially shocked and then thought, ‘no, we can handle this.’ With hindsight, I can now say it was the best thing that could have happened. It taught me that to survive I needed to work out how to work smarter not harder.”

If you’d looked up the Niche FM website near the end of 2017 you’d have assumed John Nicholas, the recently appointed executive manager to lead the North Island operation was the boss. A huge photograph and his CV was plastered all over it. To find Ryan Peni you’d have to have gone to the team profiles further on.

The company specialises in “Facilities, Asset and Project Advisory and Management Services”. They target property investors or organisations which “want to make a positive difference within their property and facilities teams and enhance their building efficiencies through smarter management solutions”.

Creating building functionality, linked to operational needs and cost-efficiencies are the essence of their role.

“We are the ultimate building organisers,” explains Peni. “We do the lot, from building compliance to facilities management; contract and contractor management; overall building performance; management procedures, such as quality assurance and health and safety; commissioning; building handover processes; and asset management. 

“That goes right down to fit-out, relocation, plant and machinery upgrades, and even assistance and management of day-to-day operations.”

Given that’s such a broad canvas, what has made Niche FM successful so quickly? 

“Our point of difference is rather simple,” says Peni. “We turn up. We deliver what we promise. “We don’t overpromise and we are very aware of our limitations and communicate these very clearly. 

“This business is about providing solutions and removing as much ‘noise’ as possible,” he says. 

“We are fortunate to be Kiwi-owned, with a strong, experienced, professional team which is growing, and a client base which we are very proud of. 

“In 2017 we had our first client sign us on as facilities and project advisers on a three-year agreement upfront.” 

Born out of frustration

While previously working in large corporate facilities and real estate companies, Peni was exceptionally frustrated by the lack of client-centric solutions, and the inability to make change quickly without going through heavy, dirty, corporate processes. 

“We would miss opportunities because prospective clients didn’t get results quickly. Property and facilities management is not hard. People make it hard,” he explains. “So our job is to peel back the layers of complexity which have been created and make any process – planning or even operational delivery – smart, simple and as easy as possible to maintain. Don’t over-complicate something that isn’t. 

“We provide knowledge and expertise, ensuring the project/task/client is in a much better position when we leave, and the necessary resource is either recruited or upskilled sufficiently to manage what we put in place.

“There’s no point in doing all this work and then walking away with no handover to a competent person to ensure it succeeds,” Peni says. 

Another aspect of their attention to detail in achieving cost-efficiencies for their clients involves what Peni calls ‘the WOL (Whole of Life) approach’, not widely used in a lot of NZ businesses.

“That’s not just the here-and-now. We look for the best possible scenario we can adopt to really optimise performance throughout the life of the asset. Add checking the supply chain; contract documents; health and safety issues, as well as a lot of other factors to build a picture and develop and implement
good practice. 

“But we don’t stop there, we don’t want ‘good’ to be the benchmark, we want ‘the best’ to be the outcome.”

Quiet achievers

So how does he explain or sell Niche FM to his target market?

“I tell them we are quiet achievers. We just get on with it and make no fuss. We are upfront and not virtual managers; we cut through all the noise and make things easy to understand. And most importantly, we do what we say we’ll do. You’d be surprised at how many people overpromise and underdeliver. 

“[I tell them] we have achieved some challenging and rewarding projects in a short time, working across health, education, local and national government, and, of course, the private sector. 

“And then there’s our people. I reckon I’ve assembled the best team in the game – but you’d expect me to say that. We have a blend of energised talent balanced with very experienced professionals who all clearly enjoy being part of ‘our movement’, as we call it. And all committed to making our clients winners and getting the best return on their investment.

“Looking to future innovation, I’d tell them we want to increase our mentorship for professional groups, teams and individuals to assist them to excel in careers in this ‘niche industry’ by providing them with the necessary tools. 

“The bigger the pool of talent the better for all of us in the industry,” says Peni. 

His challenging start to business is now long forgotten.