Master of events

When Scott Rice graduated from Albany’s Massey University in 1999 with a degree in business studies, majoring in sports management and coaching, he had no idea that one day he’d be the man behind some of the country’s most successful ‘mass participation’ sports events – the likes of the State Beach Series and State NZ Ocean Swim Series.

But the road to launching his business Quantum Events at the end of 2003 would feature numerous twists and turns.
Born and bred on Auckland’s North Shore, Scott was a nationally-ranked swimmer at high school and competed for New Zealand in freestyle at the Pan Pacific Games
in Sydney. He was a competitive swimmer for around 13 years and loved sport.

While he made some contacts at university that would eventually help him take the step up into serious business, it wasn’t going to happen overnight. Like a lot of school leavers and graduates, he had to go in search of his niche. First there was the café he opened and ran for six months at the Glenfield Leisure Centre, backed by his dad. “Definitely a learning experience and luckily it didn’t cost me too much money.” Although he admits to not paying himself much of a wage the whole time. He also admits coming away from that experience not ever wanting business responsibility again. “From then I just wanted to do one single job,” he recalls.

That job turned out to be a sales rep position for Wrigleys, where over three years he says he rediscovered his entrepreneurial mojo. “I got used to wearing a suit, being smart and being responsible,” he says. It was also a chance to see how big multi-national corporates operate, to test his customer relations skillset and brush up on “the analytical aspect of selling”.

“Such as finding creative ways of positioning chewing gum stands close to cash registers.”

He also enjoyed travelling around the country. “At that time of my life it was the perfect job.”

The big OE came next, although even prior to leaving New Zealand Scott had already discovered his knack for organising events – mostly large parties for friends. While overseas if he was asked what his occupation was, he would reply “I do events”.
“So I practically talked myself into it,” he recalls.

Quantum leap
Back in New Zealand at the end of 2003, Scott decided to get serious about ‘doing events’. He incorporated Quantum Events Ltd in December, with a view to running the King of the Bays event, the final of the Ocean Swim Series, in April 2004.

However, Quantum was still only a ‘hobby business’, so Scott took up a sales position at DB Breweries, giving him the flexibility to continue running his business project on the side. His boss was supportive, as long as he got the work done, and the job was excellent for honing his sales skills, he remembers – which would come in handy for acquiring event sponsorships later on.

After a year at DB, Scott had also created the ‘Harbour Crossing in Auckland’ event (now race one in the State NZ Ocean Swim Series), and now his income from both events exceeded his salary. Time to take the big step and cut himself adrift.

“Thinking back, I had no kids or mortgage; it was zero risk, and yet it was the biggest decision I’d ever made!” he says.

From 2005 Scott was fully employed by his own company; his well-rounded background would hold him in good stead.
Today Quantum Events runs a total of 27 events between November and April, covering three brands: the State Beach Series; State NZ Ocean Swim Series; and a new one called Run the Night (runthenight.co.nz) – with its inaugural staging at the Auckland Domain on March 27th.

Scott admits to being super-excited about Run the Night, which is a new direction for Quantum.
Billed as ‘The Ultimate Outdoor Party Experience’, Run the Night is a themed run for young adults based on an overseas concept; a five-kilometre fun run where the emphasis really is on fun, and with spectacular visual effects and ‘pumping’ audio.

“It’s truly mass market; it’s not competitive and requires no training,” explains Scott. “Anyone can do it.” Quantum’s target for the event is 10,000 people.

The long run
Quantum Events today has five full time staff (it outsources its PR, digital and social media expertise) – that’s a big business as far as Scott is concerned. GM Simon Brady is also on the payroll, whom Scott says has the skills he doesn’t have. Scott’s core skill sets are sales and marketing.

“The operational side of our events business I’d say I’m almost allergic to,” he says. “In the past I’ve had to do it out of necessity, but when it comes to logistics I can still get a little bit stressed.”

Scott’s grateful for the big influence his wife Natasha has had on the operation of the business over the years, and for the event managers she has employed. Nowadays she’s a full time mum bringing up the couple’s three young children.

While there have been some low points in the business (with the physical nature of such events, there have been one or two deaths), 38-year-old Scott says he’s proud of what’s he’s achieved since starting out from a Warehouse desk in his bedroom. Securing major sponsors such as Sovereign and State Insurance have been particular stand-outs.

His plan is to keep challenging himself – especially so on the sales front – and to keep evolving the business and building Quantum’s portfolio of events.
The success of the new Run the Night event will largely dictate the future direction and development of the business, he says. That said, the industry as a whole is still growing – with all manner of mass participation events being organised by all kinds of organisations around the country.

And there will always be challenges – around digital marketing, around securing sponsors and helping them engage with audiences, and many more. But if there’s one thing that fires up Scott Rice more than anything – it’s the prospect of a challenge. It’s just how he’s wired, and it’s the nature of the game he’s in.