The Story of New Zealand's Internet

Transcription

Andrew Hamilton – CEO, The Icehouse Ltd

“The Icehouse was two years in the making. In 1999, there were a few people that got together around the University of Auckland Business School and said they wanted to make a difference for New Zealand. Then, in 2001, a bunch of corporates came alongside the Business School and said, “Let’s really actually help start-ups and help SMEs”. So they got together – it’s always individuals – and said, “Let’s do something for New Zealand”. So it was around the time of the knowledge wave, but it was in gestation before the knowledge wave.

There are two parts to how the Internet has impacted on our customers and us. For the aspirational, flexible start-ups that are really trying to grow into national markets, it’s been a godsend because it flattens the world for them. So it’s been pretty impactful and you’ve seen lots of innovation over these nine years of whether it’s pure software start-ups back in 2001 to more Web media, Social Media stuff, software as a service...”