CDC Hi-Growth Launch Programme

Posted on 29 June 2017

In February this year we received the news that Stratos Technology Partners was one of ten Canterbury businesses selected to join the Hi-Growth Launch Programme, run by Canterbury Development Corporation.

Stratos has grown from strength to strength over the past six years. We have often been pushed outside our comfort zones and had many challenges on our journey so far. Everything from when to employee a new person, to building leasing, you name it, we’ve had to do it. We’ve learned things the hard way many times and so having the benefit of someone else’s hindsight is a very valuable thing. This is what the Hi-Growth Launch Programme gave us.

Over 12 weeks we covered topics including:

  • Business strategy
  • Innovation as a Growth factor
  • Commercialisation of innovation
  • Branding and Marketing
  • Personal branding
  • International marketing and distribution
  • Sales
  • People, Growth and Leadership
  • The Power of Connections and Personal Relationships
  • Changing Gears and Preparing for Growth
  • Governance and Advisory Boards
  • Working 'on the Business'

I came away from every session with ideas and insights that will help our business. I feel that I have grown a enormous amount through this programme and gained a great network of people that I can tap into when the need arises.

One of the biggest learnings I’ve had from the programme has been how generous people are with their time. When you take the time to ask someone about their experience in business, they are often willing to share their experiences, good and bad.

At the graduation event, we presented our story to 100 representatives of the local business community. It was the culmination of three months of learning from people who generously shared their own stories with us. The improvement from the first ‘test’ run in May was enormous! Seeing the other businesses in the programme do the same thing, made me feel very proud to be part of this very special group.

Having the opportunity to tell our own story, was a lot of fun, but also had a serious side. We had to answer many questions for ourselves including “where do we want to get to from here?” and “how are we going get there?”.

Three cheers for our fellow participants!

  • Anteater
  • LWA Solutions
  • Orbica
  • McCord Forestry
  • Batch
  • Hire Access
  • Ed Potential
  • Data Genius
  • Virtual Medical Coaching

I would like to thank our mentor Alistair Coleman, Gill Dal Din, Mark Godenho, the CDC team and the amazing people who shared their insights with us. The learning was immense and the opportunity to share, learn and network has been outstanding.

Thank you.

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