AnnuAl REPORT 10/11 - Grow Wellington

22
im-aBle
Grow Wellington got behind
successful start-up company
im-able at every stage of their
business and continues to work
with them in their significant
offshore expansion activities.
Im-Able is a Seaview based company
run by Sunil Vather and Geoff Todd
that sells systems to aid stroke recovery.
The company have developed a games
system designed to help stroke
rehabilitation including arm movement,
balance and cognition.
After a long development period the
2010/11 year saw growth and success
for the company. Leveraging their unique
products with strategic, ongoing support
from Grow Wellington has yielded very
positive results for the company and is a
great example of how Grow Wellington’s
suite of programmes and activities
connect to take businesses like Im-Able
to the next level.
Im-Able’s relationship with Grow
Wellington began with the inaugural
Bright Ideas Challenge in 2010. Im-
Able had already spent several years
developing their products – in particular
Able-X, a video-game like system designed
to promote arm rehabilitation, balance
and memory. The company had a great
product with a clear market strategy and
was the eventual winner of the challenge.
The seed-funding offered by the Challenge
was specifically aimed at helping Im-Able
market their product to an international
audience.
The company began selling their product
in September 2010 and by that stage had
taken part in a number of programmes
run by, or in association with, Grow
Wellington. An experienced management
team was put in place for the company
and a period of intense travel to export
markets began to take place.
“Worldwide over one million
new stroke patients require
rehabilitation each year. this
technology is affordable, easy
to use and internationally has
a large market,”
Mary-Anne Webber, General Manager
Business Growth, Grow Wellington.
Im-Able worked closely with TechNZ
through Grow Wellington to access
another level of support to assist with
the export market expansion. Following
on from this successful engagement with
TechNZ, Im-Able went on to institute
an intense period of research and
development for a number of products
that will keep Im-Able positioned at the
same leading edge of the market they
currently occupy.
Sunil Vather, Chief Executive of Im-Able
sums it up
“the Bright ideas Challenge
guided us on how to pitch
effectively and improve
our business planning
process. Grow Wellington
went on to help us obtain
research and development
grants, link with investors,
introduce us to customers
and networked us with
manufacturing organisations.
their assistance has been
invaluable to im-able and we
see the relationship continuing
as we grow.”