From war-torn Croatia, to New Zealand and then on to establish a rising star of a Waikato company offering cloud services and bespoke software, it’s a story that will grab anyone interested in business and personal success.
Igor Matich arrived in New Zealand as a teenager with his family in the early 1990s, settled into a new life in a very different country and then dived into studying Business Computing at AUT.
Following this and armed with a diploma, he then spent the next two years upskilling by acquiring every qualification he could get his hands on, from Microsoft to Cisco, while also working - evening and weekend study was just the norm.
His career developed rapidly working for a variety of IT companies and some multi-nationals, each time rising up the ranks, then moving on to the next role and challenge. He made his big move by exiting corporate life and setting up Dynamo6 at the age of 31.
The premise of the business was that cloud-based services would be the new way for businesses to work in the future. It was a bold early move.
“During the few years before Dynamo6 there was a growing discussion about how the cloud way of working would surpass legacy systems, or those that rely on a server in an office,” says Igor.
“To me, and the few others who were with me at the start, it just made sense. Cloud allows people to be flexible, in an age where change is constant.
“It means businesses have way more scope to work smarter, faster and more efficiently, while being better connected anytime and anywhere. Cloud is simply the best way to work as the technology revolution gathers pace.”
The first years of Dynamo6 were ones where the belief and vision in cloud services remained constant while the knowledge and education among businesses about the benefits of the new way of working had to develop.
“It was a new idea and at times we felt we were slightly ahead of our time. We spent many hours educating people before they started buying our services - it was hard work, but it eventually paid off.
“What we are seeing now is a tipping point in appreciation of the benefits of cloud as more and more companies take advantage of it, including the ability to be more agile, flexible, to innovate quickly, be less reliant on legacy on-premise systems and take advantage of emerging technology.”
Dynamo6 has grown consistently and now has 20 in its team, with almost half joining in the last two years. It works with a wide range of clients, mostly in the upper North Island with some national organisations as well as local and regional Government, and education, including Kiwi Property, Hamilton City Council, Tainui Group Holdings and Wintec.
At Igor’s side the whole way has been his now-wife, Penny. They met when they were both studying, Igor in Auckland and Penny doing a Bachelor of Media Arts in Hamilton. After her degree Penny moved to Auckland and continued to study advertising creativity at AUT while Igor focused on his career. After completing her studies Penny has balanced her career with managing their growing family.
Talking to Penny, a few more insights about Igor’s entrepreneurial approach are revealed.
“If the definition of an entrepreneur is someone who creates value where it didn’t previously exist Igor fits the mould very well,” Penny says.
“Igor’s always had a sixth sense about the next big trend - he’s very perceptive and doesn’t accept the status quo just for the sake of it. This has led to some interesting discussions at home, as well as ideas about what this could mean for us,” she says.
“Igor would talk about how companies would work in a different way in the future and how the rapid change in technology and social norms will force businesses to change or be disrupted - everything we talked about then is coming true. He had great foresight and still does.”
Penny herself is a designer by profession and has helped Dynamo6 from a brand, design and marketing perspective. Her father Martin Bloxam, who had a long successful career in civil engineering is also the executive chairman of Dynamo6’s board. It is Martin’s sound business advice, and gentle mentoring that has played an important role in giving Dynamo6 a sure-footing, especially in the early days.
At home, Igor and Penny have four kids aged from one to nine. “We're very busy juggling life, and trying our best to make time for each other - not an easy task with the demands of the business and busy children,” Penny says.
“One thing we have learnt with the intense pressure of starting a business from scratch is that constant communication is key and making sure each other is managing okay and how we can help ease the pressure that seems to be coming from all angles at times.
“So far we are doing great. I think it works because we have a lot of respect for what each other is doing, and the life we are sharing together. We are probably very similar to a lot of other families trying to manage work and family and keep everything ticking along - there is never a dull moment.”
When it comes to managing a growing business in an ever-changing and complex environment building the team and keeping the momentum is an ever-present focus.
“My approach to growing Dynamo6 is to look for the best people who also have some entrepreneurial fire and the potential to adapt and learn quickly. I want people to create their own role while also keeping a close eye on specific results required,” Igor says.
“I’m also very conscious about maintaining the culture we’ve developed, which is a mix between being collaborative, supporting each other, being ambitious but humble, striving for the best and, of course, having fun.”
Probably one of the best expressions of Dynamo6 is its new office space on the first floor of the old Georgian building on the corner of Ward and Victoria Streets in Hamilton’s CBD. With bare wood floors, roof rafters and a loft atmosphere, it’s a unique space, full of personality, with lots of natural light, vibrancy and a funky, creative, feel.
The interior environment is the result of a combination of help from friend and property expert Matt Stark of Stark Properties, the skill of Alexander Wastney from Designwell and the design eye of Penny and Igor. It is a special space with plenty of room for expansion.
“It is an inspiring place to be, ideal for developing great ideas. Playing a role in its development has been good practice for our planned home renovation - Igor and I see eye-to-eye on spatial and design decisions - maybe not so much the use of some colours,” jokes Penny.
The new head office provides a place where the whole team can be part of new ideas all the time.
“Being entrepreneurial is a trait of all of us, not just one person - it’s a collective effort,” Igor says.
“I may have started Dynamo6, but I’m not taking it forward by myself - it takes a team of great people and I am very happy to say we have a superb group who I love working with. We all achieve together and share our success, while also learning important lessons along the way when things don’t go quite the way we anticipated.”
“Being collectively entrepreneurial is also a necessity now as technology impacts changes the way organisations work - as a business that provides solutions we have to always be looking for a new approach or idea, together.
“Being in Hamilton is part of this and is reflected in our culture. We all work very hard, but there’s just a sense of it being less of a treadmill here. Maybe it’s because we don’t have as many housing and traffic pressures as elsewhere - no names mentioned of course. The city also has plenty of talent but we also find people wanting to move here to live and work because it’s a great place to bring up a family. We feel very lucky to be here.”
When asked if being an entrepreneur is a born trait or can be learned, Igor says for him it has always been an in-built ambition.
“For me it’s a born trait - you need the fire to make it work. It’s that feeling of something inside that prods you to do it - it is a drive or determination. But to be honest, whether I am playing football, mastering a new skill, or business I strive for perfection, always learning and absolutely enjoy the buzz of working with people and winning together.”
“But choosing this path doesn’t mean success will just fall into your lap - there’s a lot of hard work, probably more than I ever imagined. You need to be focused and willing to constantly learn and improve, even if it means being self-taught. The lesson I’ve learnt is channelling the entrepreneurial desire in order to achieve the goals set.
“You also need to be bold and willing to take risks, analyse everything, be very detailed, ask lots of questions and be inquisitive, and get support from the people around you. Be tenacious, ambitious but humble, and try things. Listen a lot. You will fail but that is part of the journey. Pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. And have a life outside - for me it’s family, holidays, friends and my love of football.”
The name Dynamo6 comes from Dinamo Zagreb, the football team Igor has supported since childhood and reflects his belief that a team with specific roles will be successful.
So, what does the future hold for Dynamo6?
“We started with a focus to show people how working with the cloud provides a far more effective and flexible platform, but just five years on we are asking what’s next after the cloud? The world is moving very quickly and while cloud services remain central to what we do, we are looking further into the future.
“Much of our work now is focused on developing the potential of the Internet of Things or IoT, artificial intelligence, the use of data to drive effectiveness, productivity and value. One realisation from all this change is that being enterprising and innovative also has to be a constant, because if it isn’t you can soon be left behind.”
Along the way, Dynamo6 has picked up a number of accolades including being named as the first Waikato based partner for global web services giant, AWS in 2016. It won the Hamilton Central Business Association Professional Services Award in 2017 and became a Google Cloud Partner early in 2018, the first Waikato born and bred company to achieve this.
Igor himself has been recognised as a rising industry leader being awarded Start-Up Entrepreneur 2017, by Reseller News, then in March 2018, being named in the top 100 CIOs in the country, in the lead up to this year’s CIO Awards in June.
A final question for Igor was if there was one word that summarises what is needed to take an idea and mould it into a successful business he said “balance”.
“You need balance in everything. When we started Dynamo6 we had an idea that we have constantly re-engineered, tweaked and rebalanced in the last five years. Balance is needed with what we offer clients, so our solutions are the right fit. It’s needed with our team, at our homes and with our families, with outside activities and friends. We work hard, but we also have a love of living. Hamilton is very much part of this and part of the dynamic that is Dynamo6.”