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Antipodes LED

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Sometimes in business you can’t see the wood for the trees and that was certainly true for Clark Nemeth until Ingham Mora ‘turned the lights on’ for him in 2017.

The CHALLENGE

Antipodes LED has been designing and dynamically transforming commercial spaces since 2014 with quality LED lighting solutions. It’s a competitive industry sector and it’s not easy to convince clients to invest in higher quality LED lighting to transform their workspaces but owner Clark Nemeth is passionate about changing that and not just for commercial reasons. But we’ll get to that later. For now, track back to 2017 when the drama was unfolding.

The company was at a cross roads and Clark says core decisions needed to be made. “I love R&D, so selling was secondary to me. I’m more interested in going to a client and getting the best outcome…but I didn’t really have the right sales approach and I knew things had to change and quickly. I was unhappy with my existing accountant, lawyer and bank so I changed the lot!”

The move to Ingham Mora proved fundamentally transforming. Clark met with Director Neil Fullerton and his team to re-set the business.


“Neil basically told me point blank that I needed to justify all my R&D passion with better sales! I soon appreciated that this accounting team had a real understanding of SME’s. What’s more they put their money where their mouth is, worked out a plan of attack and helped us re-establish our business with a new bank, good training and, most importantly, a new attitude to business.”

The SOLUTION

Taking Clark’s 20-page business plan the Ingham Mora team reshaped it into a two-page document that would assist in the initial and crucial priority – securing new funding to take the business forward. And it worked.

“The Ingham Mora team worked out an approach and format that allowed us to access critical business funding! They knew what the bank would be looking for and created for us a concise and persuasive document. Even the bank acknowledged the benefit of us dealing with Ingham Mora.”

The Ingham Mora approach also focussed on helping Clark shift the balance to a stronger sales perspective within the company, whilst still maintaining the integrity and values of the company.

“They helped us bring a better perspective back into our business so that we were setting sail in the right direction rather than fighting the wind every day!”

KEY SERVICES USED


Accounting & Tax Services

Business Advice, Business Planning, Cashflow Forecasting, Succession Planning

LIFE CYCLE STAGE


Growing

IT’S NOT LIGHTING IT’S WELL-BEING

Cut to the heart of the matter, or in this case the business, and by Clark’s definition Antipodes LED is not a lighting company it’s a people company. In fact, get Clark started on how lighting impacts on health and wellbeing and you quickly get a sense of the integrity and passion behind the brand.

“In the past lighting companies and the commercial sector has focussed on how many lights you need and how much light, but that misses the vital people aspect of those environments. Scientific evidence supports the correlation between light and well-being. As humans we are wired to respond to dynamic colour changes of light throughout the day and our energy levels directly respond to that. It’s our human circadian rhythm that makes us feel energised at times and drowsy at other times of the day and it’s directly attributed to light. So, we offer a lighting solution that allows commercial spaces to emulate the right light for the people working there. The obvious benefits of such technology can be seen in shift working environments, from cool stores to hospitals. We can create whatever changing light environment a workspace needs to support better body balance, sleep patterns and overall general well-being.”

So where does this brightly lit ‘people’ company head to next? Just ask Clark: “You haven’t even seen the real Antipodes LED yet – we’re still in a strong growth phase and the future looks bright indeed!”

SUPPORTING THE COMPANY’S CORE VALUES

Clark says the work of Ingham Mora and the team has allowed antipodes LED to strongly focus on this well-being angle. In 2018 he attended a Californian conference on health and wellbeing and the effect of lighting, further endorsing the company’s values platform. Much of the learnings from the conference have also been applied to the business approach and R&D work. Whilst it’s a slow process educating the market on the value of better lighting to match body rhythms he knows the approach is the right one. What he also knows is that his company is now in a much brighter space thanks to his new business focus.

“Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, you’re so busy in the day to day running’s of your business. I really needed an objective view and Ingham Mora gave me that. They seem to really understand SME’s and they certainly figured me out real quick. They’re not just about the numbers thing, there’s a real human side to what they do and they’re incredibly approachable and practical. They really cut through the clutter and helped me.”

So where does this brightly lit ‘people’ company head to next? Just ask Clark:

“You haven’t even seen the real Antipodes LED yet – we’re still in a strong growth phase and the future looks bright indeed!”

SOME RECENT PROJECTS WITH ANTIPODES LED NAME ON THEM

/ ST JOHN’S REGIONAL OFFICE REDEVELOPMENT – TAURANGA

/ THE KOLLECTIVE - TAURANGA

/ DMS COOL STORE - TE PUNA

/ BAYFAIR SHOPPING CENTRE EXTENSION

/ PAPAMOA PLAZA EXTENSION

/ TE AWAMUTU LIBRARY

HOW INGHAM MORA HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE TO ANTIPODES LED

  • Secured crucial bank funding
  • Re-set the business focus
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