Biosecure Technologies, one of the promising ICT companies situated at SoftstartBTI, based in Midrand South Africa, is bubbling with innovative ideas. SoftstartBTI is an ICT incubator establish in 2002 and funded by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) of South Africa.
Biosecure Technology specializes in the supply and maintenance of IT and security solutions. The solutions serve individuals, enterprises, large corporations and governments with a vast portfolio of technology solutions. These services include a full range of bio-security integrated solutions, as well as a complete hygiene portfolio. One of Biosecure’s newest projects - Go2doc.com is an online service enabling doctors and dentists to have their scheduling done online or via mobile connection. Go2doc.com also has a very comprehensive health shopping section which makes electronic shopping even easier for the health conscious individual. This allows users a simpler and much quicker way to book their doctors appointment and shop online in one quick easy sweep.
This interview as carried out with Mr. Mark Kinnear, CEO of Biosecure Technologies, in March 2009.
Is this the first company that you have started, and what drove you towards it?
I have always known that I was going to be an entrepreneur - business ideas just come naturally to me. This is the first company that I have registered, and once I joined SoftstartBTI in February 2008, I knew that success was in the cards for me. I have always been a creative individual and knew I wanted to shape my own destiny – as well as shape my own income.
How did you finance your start-up operations and how long did it take for the company to become self-sustainable?
I started my company with the last R200 [approx. USD 20] that I had left from my final pay cheque from the company I was working for at that time. I just woke up one morning and decided that I needed to start a business today – I am a firm believer in the “if not now, when” approach to life.
What are your major products and services and how are they unique? What is your competition?
I think it's best that we start with my most current project – which is www.go2doc.com. Go2doc.com is an online, live service enabling doctors and dentists to have their scheduling done online or via mobile connection. I am quite fortunate in the sense that the direct competitors that I am aware of are based in America, which leaves the local market virtually untapped. I would also like to mention that with the opportunity to grow my business at the SoftstartBTI incubator, my IT and Security Solutions Portfolio has extended over the past couple of months.
How did you first launch the product?
As an entrepreneur, a marketing budget for launches is always a challenge. I am fortunate enough to be part of the SoftstartBTI incubation program in South Africa, which entitles me to use their press office when I have innovative ideas & concepts. This has really been a benefit. I plan to launch the product after I have secured at least 20 online doctors.
How do you measure the success of the company?
I personally measure my business in terms of growth, and secondarily by revenue. As you know start-up businesses face resource challenges on an almost continuous basis. I have made a conscious decision that I need to grow before I can benefit from my growth – this means that it has been quite a struggle, but the benefit being that my streams of business have grown beyond expectation.
How many people does your company employ?
At this stage I have one employee, which I pay on a Commission Based Package. I anticipate appointing at least two more sales people in the next year.
Could you give us some details about your annual sales figures and/or projected growth?
I would have to estimate the current turnover is at about R100 000 [approx. USD 10,300] although my company has largely been in the development phase, and therefore the focus has not exactly been on sales. My projection for the future is to hit the million mark before the end of the next financial year. This should not be too difficult as I believe in my latest innovation.
Who are your clients and how many do you have? How are you focusing on expanding your user community?
If we consider all the streams of my business, I have clients in the fields of pharmaceuticals, IT and manufacturing. My main objective is to expand my database and market as soon as possible. Finding as many external communications channels as possible is important. It has been useful to tell about my busines through, for example, the SoftstartBTI’s Newsletter that goes out to almost 3000 entrepreneurs, publishing on IT Web which has quite a large user interface - and then of course this opportunity to use iDISC to spread my word!
Are you planning to patent your product and do you see any obstacles in doing so?
I do not plan to patent my project, as I am focusing my energy on improving on its current status. I am not reinventing the wheel, I am merely customizing it according to our unique South African market.
What was the biggest challenge in starting an innovative business in your country and how did you overcome that?
As an ICT entrepreneur in the South African market, the challenges are quite extensive as this is a very large and competitive industry to survive in. The biggest challenge for me has been the lack of resources as I have found it very difficult to find an Angel Investor or Funding Institution to back my projects. I have not given up looking for investors, but it has just been difficult as I have a very small marketing budget to work from.
Who are the shareholders in your company?
I decided that for the time being I will be the sole owner and responsibility barer of this company. When it succeeds - and it will - it will be my success.
How have you benefited from business incubation?
I have been part of SofstartBTI for more than a year now and have benefited in many ways from the services offered by business incubation. I receive regular coaching and I am part of an extensive network of knowledgeable entrepreneurs in the ICT sector. I find it quite inspiring to be part of a business incubator network of entrepreneurs that shares the challenges in this struggle!
Do you have some specific lessons that you know now and wish you would have known when you started your business, and which you would like to share with fellow entrepreneurs?
I think cash-flow management is very important. If you can attend a workshop on the issues, or even read a book, I would suggest doing that before starting a business. But my biggest advise of all is that you will never know the lesson to learn until you have learned it!
Do you plan to internationalize your product and if so, how?
The first step to internationalizing this product starts today – I am very pleased that iDISC has selected my success story for placement on such an established website focused on global incubation activities. Because Go2Doc.com can be customized to any market across the globe, this product has truly global potential and reach.
With hindsight, are there any particular lessons or messages that you wish you would have known when you started up your company?
In business there are good times and bad times. I have experienced my fair share of each, but have to emphasize that If I had to do it all over again, I would.
Do you feel that you had the necessary advisory and support network when you started your company?
I was one of the more fortunate entrepreneurs that form part of South Africa’s Incubation Initiative. The support that an entrepreneur can get from an incubator is very extensive, as it is their mandate to assist economical growth. SoftstartBTI in general have been great – I would recommend incubation to startup companies as it takes away the feeling of “being alone” in the entrepreneurial scope of things.
What is your message to funders/supporters and what is your message to the users of your product?
I would like to place a call on funders - whether government, local, international or Angel Investors - to take a bold step and invest in more start-up companies! It is difficult enough to be creative and innovative, and having monetary assistance can only boost the local and eventually the international economy in the long run, as more entrepreneurs like me will succeed.
To the users and potential users of this product I would like to invite you to register online and use this system. Times have changed, and this modern service for scheduling appointments is now forming part and parcel of that change.
For more information on Biosecure Technologies or about go2doc.com, contact Mr. Mark Kinnear at mark@biosec.co.za or (011) 695 4815.