Welcome to Achaeus

When Steve Cranitch signed up for the Achaeus program he was working from under his house on a very good idea. He wanted to develop software that would take letters and other documents from a number of software applications and ‘post’ them for customers.

His vision was to connect businesses directly to the Australian postal network. Through his software businesses could send their letters electronically and have them delivered as hard copy mail. Steve saw this as a valuable service to save companies the hassle of printing, folding and posting letters internally.

He had a great idea but the software was at early prototype stage and he also needed to work on his approach to the market and the financial aspects of the business.

On the Achaeus program Steve recruited another participant, Louise Broekman and together they worked on developing the business. During the program they looked at every possible angle and the impact of their various options. They also carefully assessed the fi nancial needs and the resources required to build the business.

During the program, they worked on market entry strategies, a sales process, promotional activities, budgets and potential alliances to get the business moving.

They did an excellent job. Steve and Louise were both State and National winners of the EDIA Business Strategy Competition.

Shortly after the program Easymail had:

• Raised grant funding of $245k and an R&D Start Loan of $945k
• Raised signifi cant private equity
• 3 offers of equity from venture capital companies
• 2 offers of equity from private investors.

In just 3 years Easymail has had tremendous success. Their achievements include:

• 100’s of customers including market leading companies in areas as diverse as manufacturing, wholesaling, accounting, recruitment and debt collection
• 11 patents granted or pending
• Easymail employs 17 staff in Brisbane and 5 in Sydney
• They are now undertaking research in the US and the UK for the next growth phase.

Easymail is well on the way to being a major player in its market niche. Achaeus is proud to have played a part in the success of this company.

When Ordyss signed up for the Achaeus program, they were facing a number of challenges to do with direction and clarity.

“The company focus was being split into too many directions. Our limited resourses were not being used as well as they could be and profi ts were suffering.” commented Michael Cooke.

Ordyss wanted to launch a new product. The concept looked good but the feasibility had not been tested in the market.

During the program, Ordyss conducted some great primary market research. This helped them to drill down and test if the Managed Services concept really was a profi table opportunity.

As Michael puts it, “the FIG program gave us the opportunity to pilot in a controlled environment.”

Within 6 months of doing the program Ordyss had:

• Doubled the revenue of the Managed Services product
• Achieved profi tability 4 months ahead of budget
• Hired a senior consultant
• Undergone staff restructuring
• Established 1,200 users of their new product

The business plan Ordyss produced gave them so much confi dence that after 8 months they hired a dedicated general manager solely for the Managed Services product. Two of their customers include Coffee Club and VIP Pet Foods.

Through the opportunity of presenting their plan to the judging panel and Achaeus network, they also attracted a new board member, John Hummelstad.

Ordyss is defi nitely a company on the move. Achaeus is delighted to have helped Ordyss in their journey.

Alchemia entered a team on the Achaeus Program. At the time Alchemia was based in Fig Tree Pocket. It had 17 staff -16 scientists and 1 accountant. The
organisational focus was very much on the scientific aspects of the product.

Their objective was to develop the management skills and processes to enable them to commercialise their research. This commercialisation would involve the need to raise $4M in venture capital to establish a pilot manufacturing facility for the production of Xenocarb.

The Alchemia team thoroughly researched the markets for their products, identifi ed a signifi cant opportunity for Xenocarb and developed a strategic plan to exploit this opportunity. They raised $4.1M in venture capital within 2 months of completing the program.

In the 18 months following this initial capital injection, Alchemia has grown to 55 staff, raised an additional $8.2M VC, has partnered with US pharmaceutical giant Dow Chemicals and has opened an offi ce in the US.

Michael Bishop is managing director of Alchemy Cordials. Alchemy produces and markets a range of gourmet cordials.

Alchemy started in 1995 with an old family recipe for chilli cordial initially selling in the markets. The company began to grow and in 1998 and 1999 was a fi nalist in the Telstra Small Business Awards.

Michael did an Achaeus program to develop a strategic focus.

“We felt our products had tremendous potential, but we didn’t quite know the best way to grow the company”.

On the Achaeus program Michael developed key strategies in distribution, cashflow management, positioning and branding that helped him to grow Alchemy cordials into an internationally distributed, highly regarded business.

Over the past 2 years Alchemy has achieved 100% pa growth. Importantly, the company has been able to self-fund this growth. In addition the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources identifi ed the company as one of 8 Australian Entrepreneurial Heroes.

On the role that Achaeus played in the growth Michael Bishop said,

“It accelerated our learning. I have no doubt we would have been successful working on our own but the Achaeus program speeded up our learning process. We knew we had a good product and plenty of enthusiasm, but sometimes that’s not enough to get what you really want - a really great business. The Achaeus program has been the cornerstone of running and growing the business more strategically and achieving the lifestyle we want from our business.”

Their software is available in 25 countries and has been translated into 10 languages.

Shortcuts recently announced the acquisition of its UK and US distributors, a deal which has seen the company grow from 30 staff to 60 staff.

With 50% market share in Australia and distributors in France, Malaysia,
Portugal, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Greece, and Cyprus
Shortcuts is well on its way to dominating the salon market worldwide.

From its market entry in 1994, the software gained market acceptance. In
1996 the Stefan chain adopted the software. Shortcuts won the Channel 9
Small Business Show “Business Software Awards” in 1999 and in 2002 they
won the “Best Business Plan Award and Overall Winner” on the FIG Program,
a program strongly supported by the Queensland Government.

“The Achaeus program was an ideal business planning exercise undertaken within the early stages of Shortcuts’ lifecycle giving senior management a real insight into what drives the venture capital market, in-turn greatly assisting us with our successful capital raising.”

Jason Seed, Global CEO, Shortcuts Software.

The Achaeus program helped the company redefi ne its business plan
and prepare for attracting investors. During the Achaeus program,
Jason Seed, the CEO, and his team planned how they would expand
internationally:

• identifi ed the best business opportunity
• clearly understood their target market
• developed marketing and sales strategies to optimise their opportunity
• understood the funding requirements and fi nancial outcomes.

In France, a renowned style capital, Shortcuts has captured 50% of the
new systems installations market making Shortcuts the most popular salon
management system in that country.

Shortcuts is really taking the market by storm.

The following is an email received from Jay Hetzel……

“An American company was keen to acquire our company and eventually we sold….well sort of….It was more of a merger. So we sold our shares in GS in exchange for shares in what has become the parent company.

Part of the deal was that I move to the parent company as Chief Scientifi c Offi cer. So here I am in Austin, managing a scientifi c team of 30 people and adjusting to the ultimate consumer society. It was a good deal for us. We now have substantial working capital, intellectual capital, more IP to work from, access to ‘state of the art’ technology, partnerships with some heavy hitters in the human genomics fi eld and access to a large market for our products as we develop them. The future looks bright.

I feel like I have not yet given much back to QEW and Achaeus which provided me with such a good launching pad for the business world. There will be opportunities in the future. In the meantime, consider me as ‘your man in Texas.”