FaceMe wins $100k Challenge

Ten of New Zealand’s top entrepreneurial businesses made it through to the final of the BNZ/Virgin Business Challenge, but only one could win the prize package which included $100k in cash and one-on-one time with Sir Richard Branson.  NZBusiness was at the announcement dinner.
It doesn’t get any better than this if you’re an entrepreneur with global aspirations. The prize package in the BNZ/Virgin Business Challenge included $100k in cash, one-on-one mentoring with Sir Richard Branson (no introductions necessary) plus a BNZ business education scholarship, mentoring from BNZ and Virgin executives, and flights around the world courtesy of Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand. To enter the Challenge you had to be a clever Kiwi company with passion and drive, creativity and innovation, and demonstrably the desire, plus the potential, to go global.
As it turned out more than 260 businesses entered the competition – 20 percent of which came from the Internet and technology sector. They were whittled down to 15, who submitted business plans. Then, following a rigorous vetting process, the top ten finalists, nine of which are based in Auckland, went on to pitch live to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style judging panel on December 15.
One member of the judging panel, Bill Buckley, president of BSL Enterprises, candidly stated at the award dinner that “nobody came less than second” – an indication that picking a winner was indeed an extremely tough decision.
This sentiment was echoed by Virgin’s head of strategy and corporate development and fellow judge Keith Roberts who stated that all ten finalists are already success stories.
“We set out to find one business that was built around a strong creative original idea; a business that had strong management teams, had demonstrated that they could succeed, and were passionate and proud of what they were doing. Virgin has long looked to New Zealand as a source of talent and ideas so I knew we would unearth some good companies. I’ve been really very impressed by the depth of talent uncovered.”
Another judge, Sarah Kennedy, CEO of RD1, said they were impressed by the fact that all the finalists demonstrated true scalability and had an international focus right from the word go. “I came out of the judging process incredibly enthused and humbled – these businesses have been birthed as international companies, with big global plans. That’s really exciting to see.”
BNZ director Partners and challenge judge, Anthony Healy, agreed that the high calibre of all entries was outstanding and an encouraging sign for New Zealand’s economic future. The eventual winner FaceMe exemplifies everything the Challenge is about, he said.
“FaceMe demonstrated it has what it takes to go global. It’s safe to say the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in New Zealand, with so many Kiwi companies ready to take the next big step.
“FaceMe impressed the judges with its compelling business model, innovative technology, strong early success and momentum in their home market, and a management team with a clear vision and well articulated plan for success in international markets,” said Healy.
FaceMe has developed a video conference system that is compatible with any device and allows anyone, anywhere to video conference with quality calls. Accepting the award, FaceMe’s Mark Christensen says the win is a great validation that their idea and the scale of opportunity that they possess has been recognised. Founder Danny Tomsett believes all ten finalists are destined for great success and said FaceMe came about through challenging traditional thinking. They’re already taking on the big market players, showing up the likes of Google and Microsoft in the video conference market space, he added.
The other ten finalists in the Challenge were 1Above, Rocket Lab, MiniMonos, Konnect Net, PowerbyProxi, WilliamsWarn, Sonar6, KlickEx and The Collective.