“It is not every day that you run across a company like this. A company that has had more than its fair share of ups and downs … and prevailed. A company most certainly destined for great things!”

Zeald was formed in 2001 by three young guys from the small New Zealand town of Mangawhai Heads. They had practically no money, but a seemingly unlimited supply of energy and determination & boldness that bordered on lunacy. More than a decade later, Zeald is the largest website design and digital marketing agencies in New Zealand, and has recently made moves into Australia. This is the Zeald story.

Conception

David & Brent Kelly (brothers) and Hamish Braddick (a cousin) all grew up in Mangawhai Heads, a small New Zealand coastal town north of Auckland. At the completion of their college schooling, they all left home to undertake tertiary studies in Auckland.

Hamish, the older of the three, was the first to leave home in 1994 to study a Bachelor of Graphic Design at Auckland’s University of Technology (AUT). Following his graduation, Hamish moved to Christchurch for a profitable stint as a T-shirt illustrator before moving to England for an overseas experience as a website designer. (Read more about Hamish).

David and Brent left home a few years after Hamish (1997 & 1998 respectively). They studied at Massey University’s Albany Campus, both graduating with a Bachelors of Information Science as some of the highest achieving students in their degrees. (Read more about David or more about Brent).

Following the conclusion of their degrees David & Brent spent the summer season carefully saving their pennies and then convinced Hamish to return home from England to form a new company called Zeald. Together they had a total of $15,000 in capital and a journey ahead of them that they knew was going to be nothing short of punishing hard work. However, if they had realised just how hard, they might never have had the guts to begin!

Their vision: to build a ‘world-class’ business that helped small to medium sized businesses develop successful websites.

Early Days

“Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of values.” - Albert Einstein

David was appointed the leader of the small team (Chief Executive). Hamish was made the Creative Director, and Brent was charged with overseeing the technical development of the core product(s) of the new company (Research & Development Director).

Based on some good ‘arm-twisting’ and smooth talking, the company managed to get itself accepted into Massey University’s E-Centre; a business incubator located on Massey University’s Albany campus.  And so Zeald found itself with its first 'official' physical premises.  (In the ensuing years that followed the E-Centre provided vital support as the company navigated the highs and lows of business development and growth. The founders of the company would like to recognise and thank all the people involved in the E-Centre, in particular, Steve Corbett and Kim Powell for their crucial support)

From the outset, the company based itself on a strong set of ethics. They were determined to build a strong business that provided true value to its customers and to conduct their business affairs in a way that represented the highest in integrity and honesty.

Early Vision

When Zeald was conceived, David, Hamish and Brent strongly believed that a successful website contained two fundamental things. Great design and great technology! A website had to function great from a technical perspective and had to look great from a branding perspective. Following along this line of belief, they threw themselves at their vision of producing NZ’s best-looking and most technically robust websites. Little did they know that this vision was going to evolve significantly before the company started to meet with genuine success.

Website ‘Building Blocks’

For the first two years of Zeald's existence, the major goal was to:

“Discover a way that the company can build quality websites at a cost that is realistic for a small to medium sized business.”

Based on this the team set out to develop a complete set of website ‘building blocks’. The website ‘building blocks’ would reduce the time and effort required to develop a new website by allowing a website to be built using the different prebuilt blocks rather than completely from scratch. The whole team was focused on developing the ‘building blocks’ system. Progress was slow, and the undertaking quickly proved to be far bigger and more complex than originally imagined.

Slowly the months and then eventually the years rolled on by; with all three pushing themselves harder and working longer hours than they had ever worked before. All night stints became a regular occurrence, and unhealthy doses of caffeine became part of everyday living. However, eventually, after years of gut wrenching hard work the first version of the Zeald system emerged in all its glory! This initial undertaking had taken two long years, during which time the company had generated just enough revenue to pay the rent and basic office expenses. Unfortunately, there had never been anything left for wages. Hamish, Brent and David would not have survived if it had not been for the incredible support of their partners and family.

Focus On Sales

They were now two years into their journey, tired and seriously addicted to caffeine, but excited about what lay ahead. They could now build amazing websites using their new system. Websites that provided true value to their customers; websites that enabled their customers to run their websites efficiently and effectively. The next major challenge: find some customers!

A meeting was called. The company needed to have someone focused on selling. Hamish & Brent decided that David was the best ‘talker’, and so he could become the company’s official salesperson. However, before this could happen, they needed to employ someone to take over some of David’s day-to-day responsibilities. The main challenge: the company had no spare funds and was barely covering the office rent.

After many different interviews with potential employees, David managed to convince Jonathon Sim (‘Jono’) to come work for Zeald for a very frugal wage. Jono had just graduated from Auckland University with a mathematics degree and had developed a solid base of experience in programming and computer networking ‘on the side’. And so… the team of three suddenly became four. With a Jono on the team, David needed to learn how to sell - and fast. He had never officially sold anything in his life and he was trained as computer programmer not a salesperson! A daunting journey now lay ahead of him.

Serious Lack of Sales

So, David hit the road… and failed miserably!

Despite his best efforts, David struggled to learn this new ‘sales’ game and successes were few and far between. The company continued to struggle to meet its basic expenses and Jono’s very small wage. Personal credit cards were ‘maxed out’ and often money would only arrive in the company’s bank accounts on the very last day before expenses absolutely had to be paid! Many times they came close to being evicted and had their phones disconnected more than once! After many months, a meeting was called. A decision had to be made. Zeald was heavily underperforming in the sales department and changes needed to be made quick if the company was going to survive. It was decided that Zeald needed to do three things:

1. Hire someone with more experience in sales to train David in selling and to assist in increasing sales for the company.
2. Develop a larger base of successful clients to prove the value of the Zeald system.
3. Find someone who was prepared to invest a reasonable amount of funds in Zeald that could be used to properly fund the company and accelerate its growth.

However, before this could be done, funds would be required to cover the expense of another employee. After much persuasion, one of the founder's parents was convinced to guarantee a loan from the bank that enabled the company to cover the increased wages for a six-month period. The clock was now ticking…

Significant Steps Forwards

A salesperson was then subsequently hired and together David and the new salesperson quickly started to meet with success. Sales increased, the company started to grow and with the new salesperson’s guidance, David quickly learnt the ropes in the sales area. With a solid base of customers, the platform was now set. They could now promote the company to potential investors and seek someone who would be prepared to provide the company with funding for its next stage of growth. However, if they thought the first couple of years had been tough, Zeald were about to experience the emotional roller coaster of external funding and investment.

Short-Lived Success

“That which doesn’t kill you makes you grow stronger”.

After many discussions, a private investor was located and a verbal agreement was reached. Zeald then took on extra staff to implement its growth strategy according to its business plan. Their first big funding lesson quickly followed – never make commitments until everything is signed up! Two weeks prior to the Christmas break in 2003, the private investor withdrew from the agreement. This left Zeald with only 2 weeks of cash reserves, additional commitments and nowhere to go since the rest of New Zealand was on holiday! On top of this, all three founders were down on energy and very close to total burnout!

The next 3 months were some of the defining months of Zeald’s early existence.

Dark Days

“All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” - Walt Disney

Zeald survived the Christmas period but by early January the situation was looking incredibly bleak. The founders called a meeting of all employees (7 full-time at the time) to decide on the company’s future path. They had only had two options to present:

1. Immediately make two staff members redundant in order to ensure the immediate short-term survival of the company.
2. Increase sales very quickly by over 80% - with no idea as to exactly how to achieve this.

The staff were not prepared to let go of Zeald and proposed a ‘third way’:

1. Every member of staff took an immediate salary cut of no less than 30%
2. Management put in place an immediate eight week ‘battle plan’ that highlighted clear ‘no excuses’ objectives that each member of staff had to achieve.
3. Key strategies were defined, and needed to be implemented to generate an 80% sales increase.
4. Private external funding had to be secured by the conclusion of the eight-week period at which point all staff would be reinstated to full pay.

The effect of the battle plan was electric. The whole team pulled together and despite personal sacrifice morale improved. Within 8 weeks sales increased by 120%, private funding was secured with 3 days to spare and all staff went back on full pay! And… for the first time in over three long years Brent, Hamish and David found themselves on a small wage!

A Discovery That Changed Everything!

“Serving a customer is the very essence of commerce.” - Robert Laidlaw (founder  - ‘The Farmers Trading Company’)

Shortly after this incredible trial, the company made a startling discovery. After speaking with 100’s of New Zealand business owners, David had continually asked every person the following question,

“What is the number one thing that you want from Zeald as your website company?”

The answer was the same time and time again,

“We want a website that generates results! We want a website that generates more business.”

The founders had always felt that the very core of what any company did was serve a customer.  So if the majority of Zeald’s customers wanted a website that generated results … then Zeald needed to do everything within its power to assist them.  Zeald needed to have an unrelentingly focus on this one goal!

Therefore, shortly after this discovery, the company’s vision was refined to the following: 

“To help small to medium sized businesses generate amazing results online, using a website and other forms of online marketing.”

Giant Leaps Forward

On the back of that change in vision, the company went from strength to strength. The team made many significant changes to its website system to assist its customers in generating amazing results using their website. The next period of time saw Zeald achieving significant success in the marketplace with many new clients coming on-board. Demand was very high for the company’s services and the company desperately struggled to keep up with this demand.

Attention was then focused on how the company could service its widening customer base and expand the business into new regions in New Zealand while still providing a top-notch service to its customers. The company researched setting up additional offices in other parts of the country. They considered packaging up their products so that they could be sold through other organisations. Finally though, they discovered a model that would successfully lead Zeald into the next stage of its growth and development; the development of a licensed network of Sales Consultants.

More Heartbreaking Setbacks

“The judicial and legal process is often not about justice but more about who has the most money and can drag things out the longest.”

However, just as plans were starting to be finalised, disaster struck once again! One of Zeald’s senior managers - the sales manager - decided to start up a business in direct competition to Zeald. They located an investor who was prepared to back their operation and put up a million dollars to fund the new business. Whilst they were doing this, they continued to work for Zeald and gave the appearance of carrying on their normal duties for the company. They took some of the materials, systems, and processes that had been developed within Zeald over the years and even started quietly approaching Zeald staff members to see if they could lure them away to the new venture!

Fortunately, for Zeald, the other staff members blew the whistle! This staff member had directly violated their employment contract with Zeald in many different areas. But despite this, they knew that there was no way that Zeald could stop them from what they were doing. At the time the company had a very limited amount of funds to fight a legal battle, while the now ex-employee had as much funding as they needed to fight any legal battle that might eventuate. Zeald had just learnt another major lesson…

Reaching For The Sky

“If you're going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill

During this very hard time, Zeald made a very important decision. Very early on in the saga, they decided to do their utmost to make things right as best as they were able. However, no matter what, they would not allow themselves to lose focus on what mattered most: continuing to build a fantastic business that served all the people involved in it. As the quote goes; "forgiveness = freedom".

In the months that followed, the team met the setback head on with an indomitable resolve. There is nothing like having a competitor in the market place with lots of your material, systems, and processes along with $1 million in funding to get you focused.

By the beginning of 2005, Zeald had done the following:

1. All the website solutions had been significantly improved to help customers achieve even greater results online.
2. The first book in Zeald’s series of ‘Secrets of …’ books had been authored to assist Zeald customers in generating amazing results online.
3. The initial systems and process for creating the licensed network of eBusiness Consultants had been developed.
4. The internal systems surrounding the production of websites had been significantly streamlined to cope with the ever-increasing demand.
5. Many other significant internal systems had been implemented or upgraded.

Further Fund Raising

“The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” - Harry Golden

The plans were now in place to launch Zeald’s network of licensed eBusiness Consultants. However, before this could occur the founders felt that further funds needed to be raised to fund the increased levels of growth. (The original investor had since been bought out by the founders and Jonathon Sim.)

In a unique move, the founders opted to approach a small group of friends and family, who had been supportive over the years, and provide them with an opportunity to buy a small amount of shares in the company. This was met with great enthusiasm as the company quickly raised the necessary funds. The appropriate pieces were now in place, and the company was ready to launch its network of licensed eBusiness Consultants.

Fast Growth

In early 2005, Zeald launched a pilot of its licensee program with two founding eBusiness Consultants.  Three months later the pilot program was concluded, and the licensing program formally launched to the marketplace. The next 12 months saw a slow but steady stream of consultants recruited and extensively trained throughout the North Island of New Zealand. However, this brought with it, its share of problems as sales doubled in 6 months and then doubled again! The company struggled to quickly build its operational teams and keep up with the ever-growing demand for its services.

The Seesaw Effect

In early 2006, Zeald temporarily suspended its recruitment of any further E-Business Consultants. The company was bursting at the seams as it desperately tried to keep up with the massive increase in demand for its services. A time of ‘consolidation’ was announced. The company once again had a huge challenge ahead of it. All of a sudden it was one of the largest such companies in the country. Servicing a client base in the hundreds was the realm of the last few years. Skills, systems and processes now had to be developed to enable the team to successfully service a client base in the thousands! Over a year was spent focused on overhauling and enhancing just about every single aspect of the company’s operational systems. The entire team focused on the systems to an almost microscopic level of detail. Systems were developed, tested, refined, tested again, and refined repeatedly and a number of experts were brought in to advise and assist.

During the following 3 years from 2006-2008, this became the status quo at Zeald as it witnessed a continual seesaw effect.  Fast growth would be followed by consolidation which would then be followed by more fast growth.  Systems were refined again and again and a process of 'continual ongoing improvement' was relentlessly focused on in order to continually refine and improve the Zeald's systems.

The GFC (Global Financial Crisis) and International Expansion

In 2009, after another period of strong growth, Zeald's growth levelled out once again as the global credit crisis hit and the New Zealand market went into a strong recession.  Zeald used the recession as an opportunity to restructure the company and its operations in preparation for international expansion. The company was extensively restructured to support its international expansion with a global holding company formed to oversee the different national trading arms of the company.  Its management structures and operations were also significantly restructured in order to assist it to successfully service various international markets.  This all cumulated with the opening of its first international office in Sydney, Australia in 2010.

The Road Ahead

Zeald now employs over 100 staff including eBusiness Consultants working with its clients throughout New Zealand and Australia. The three founders of the business: David Kelly, Brent Kelly and Hamish Braddick, along with Jonathon Sim, are all still active on a full-time basis within the business. They are extremely passionate about Zeald, its clients, its products and services and are committed to its ongoing growth and development. Zeald is always looking for professional and passionate eBusiness Consultants throughout New Zealand and Australia to assist in the ongoing development and service of its client-base.  If you are interested in working in one of the most exciting industries, contact us to talk about it.

Find out a whole lot more about the company, it’s vision, it’s mission, it’s values and so on.

If you own a website, or you are thinking about getting a website and would like Zeald’s help then click on any of the links below to find out more about how Zeald can help you.

1. Is your website failing to generate results? Find out about the Zeald Website Audit.
2. Are you interested in finding out how to establish an extremely successful website? Have a friendly chat with one of eBusiness Consultants.