Not a startup, but starting up

Starting Up in Australia for International business

One of the business startup structures we like the most is where a highly successful US or European based technology business decides to open an office in Australia by hiring a Country Manager and renting some office space.

In many cases this is amazingly successful as the US and Australian markets are similar, and the benefit of having a large US based organisation to solve the really challenging product issues can be a godsend.

The team at caret and stick has been part of a number of US expansion projects and is very familiar with the issues which pop up regardless of the technology, service or industry. Managing time zone differences and the currency conversion rates can be tricky enough, but connectivity back to the US based intranet, distribution decisions, channel partner training, channel partner programmes, lead generation, documentation localisation and getting a .com.au website up can just overwhelm the local resource seriously impacting the all important ‘selling time’.

caret and stick have done all this before and can help. We can structure a number of packages which provide the US or EU management team with a predictable and structured approach to initial expenses, providing the local team the infrastructure they need to get out there meeting prospects.

Packages are custom designed for each organisation, but a typical startup package looks a little like the following:

  • Company registration, registered office, ABN, GST registration and bank account creation
  • Telecommunications and Internet access; including direct dial international numbers and fixed cost outgoing call solutions. Site to site VPN and head office connectivity solutions
  • High level market analysis; competitors, market maturity statement, localisation recommendations
  • Presentation analysis, case study workshops, role play workshops
  • Localisation of company information, data sheets and website
  • Laptops, phone hardware, office space, incoming physical mail solutions
  • Press launch, conference attendance, introduction to local relevant associations
  • Lead Generation options, marketing plan and PR milestone plan

Cost approximately $15k AUD per month for three months.

 

 

Technology Solutions

ISP and telco : 3rd Base Networks

3rd Base Networks (3BN) can provide simple ADSL2+ to residential end points, exceptionally complex multi site Layer2 connectivity and even point to point between Sydney and San Francisco. Relying on some of Australia’s most successful tier one and tier two wholesale telecommunications companies, 3BN can get you connected where you need it.

Mobile data, wifi data and wifi-mesh solutions are also available.

So how does our pricing compare with other providers?

We’re competitive in the market but key to 3BN’s offering is the depth of knowledge about business connectivity and the requirements of new businesses. In this world of borderless corporate networks signing up for Internet access with a Telstra, TPG or Optus is great for simple access but randomly assigned IP addresses and a Layer3 only service is very restrictive.

Perhaps you want your office DSL, your home DSL and you mobile data plan connected to the same private network with access to a specific virtual server hosted in the 3BN data centre? This isn’t something out of the ordinary for us and we can quickly and easily make this a reality.

Another requirement might be a dedicated private IP connection between your Sydney office, your developers in Auckland and your financiers in Perth. We’ll arrange and manage the initial setup, work with the providers involved and deliver you a service with a single monthly fee. Easy.

 

Technology Solutions

Compute hardware and tablets

caret and stick have established a number of relationships with both local and international suppliers of server hardware. We find interesting combinations of hardware controllers, ultra-dense server clusters, build super-compute platforms and can do all kinds of power and management interfaces.

Laptops and tablets come in many varied shapes, sizes and operating systems. We can help source units for prototyping, manage bulk orders and connect with the manufacturers to establish future direction dialogues.

We can also provide off the shelf hardware from Acer and ASUS to Samsung, Supermicro and VIA Technologies and everyone in between. With a high level of technical understanding caret and stick may even suggest a hardware platform which will assist with accelerated development at a reduced cost.

Do you have to use caret and stick for all hardware? What about components?

Sure! Ask us and we’ll find it. A number of the world’s most innovative vendors are not trading in Australia and caret and stick can identify, purchase and import anything (within reason!).

 

 

Creative Workshops

Workshopping IT

Lots of organisations run workshops to help you get started. They follow the same structure and probably come straight from a book on how to startup a new business (in the USA).

We talk to you about what you want out of a facilitated day with your key personnel and go from there. There are structures we rely on but the key focus of your startup business might suit a location with a view, may involve a hike or require a visit to a museum. Or we might start the day by mystery shopping a potential competitor.

What’s most important is that by the end of the day we can deliver you a document with something under the headings Testing the Target Market, Validating the Offering, and Barriers to Launch. Over the day we’ll use methods like Memory Mapping, Group Brainstorming and Situational Selling.

Some startups want to workshop their Business Plan v2, others want to nail down their presentation for a big meeting. caret and stick can help review budgets, provide gap analysis reviews and even bring together startups with collaboration potential.

Our workshop rates depend on the activities you want to run, the experts who need to be involved and the time of our consultants. As a guide caret and stick training is from $3k AUD per day.

 

Who are you really?

Who holds the stick?

caret and stick has grown from a successful IT security and advisory business based in Sydney called 3rd Base Networks (3BN).

Offering security advisory and short term consultancy contracts 3BN’s main requirements to get started were nothing more than a website, a phone number and business registration services. After spending two weeks writing contracts, five days registering the business, countless hours investigating web based accountancy applications and hiring then firing three logo designers 3BN was finally in a position to produce an invoice.

THAT’S JUST TOO HARD!

Frustrated by the difficulty of getting the business started and having to establish multiple relationships just to operate, the founder of 3BN Stephen Gillies decided to use his experience to help startup businesses in Sydney Australia.

Over the last 17 years Stephen has held senior IT positions in the publishing, ISP, vendor technology and finance industries. He enjoys working in highly secure corporate and federal government environments deploying simple, manageable and repeatable solutions.

Stephen is a contributor to industry response papers on Internet Filtering and has presented on data security, next-generation Internet infrastructure and behaviour based Reputational Security. He holds strong views on usability and privacy, and has helped a number of organisations review acceptable use policies in relation to Internet use.

Stephen is based in Sydney Australia but spends most of his time online. Recently searching on the Internet for himself he found seven embarrassing photos, over three hundred references to his rarely updated blog and twenty references to Internet forum posts he’d rather forget from the early nineties.

Most people who know Stephen call him Max, a nickname he picked up in high school.

What are the benefits?

All the plusses

It can be difficult for start up business to find reliable suppliers.

Whether it’s computer hardware, software or dvd media the number of options can be mind boggling. Providers of services, like VoIP or Internet, have carefully constructed a minefield of options and decision points – even just the choices of business grade wifi ADSL modem can waste a day of investigation, pricing and phone calls to make sure your new business gets what it needs.

Managing multiple suppliers can also be complicated. Dealing with one organisation for phones, another for Internet, yet another for domain name registrations, more for company ABN registration, hosting, mobile phone hardware, logo design and another to copyright the corporate brochures…. madness!

caret and stick offers completely flexible yet straight forward start up packages which can provide all the things you need to get your business going. Regardless of the service, product or desire caret and stick can find, purchase and deliver what ever it is directly to you. We can also consolidate a number of different services onto the one invoice.

Need to get connected to the Internet? We can sort out your Internet access, domain name registrations, cloud email hosting, PC anti-virus protection, mobile Internet and office connection onto the one invoice. Suddenly you’re dealing with one supplier, not six.

Need to have your suppliers vetted by your financiers? Easy- caret and stick are happy to provide high level justifications for each recommendation and provide multiple invoices if necessary. It’s like having your own business buyer, waiting for you to ask for something hard to find.

Got a question? Register below and ask away, we’re not shy about how we operate.