Clear communication and boots on the ground

For 12 years, Auckland-based Auror has been helping retailers and law enforcement agencies tackle crime and theft, picking up major clients like Woolworths and Walmart along the way.

With offices in Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne, Denver and London, and around half of its 130 employees based overseas, keeping Auror’s core values and culture intact during a rapid phase of expansion has required a dedicated effort, as co-founder and CEO Phil Thomson tells Caffeine.

‍

As you've added a lot of staff, how do you hold onto what makes the company successful as you expand?

We went to Australia first and that was a good chance to test on a small scale how to scale a company and its culture. The things we learned there have been replicated in other markets. When you are one team in one office, communication is super easy. When you have two offices and people working remotely, that changes. Communication is so important, working in different timezones.

Three years after Australia, we went to the US. We put [co-founder and chief strategy officer] Tom Batterbury on the ground in Denver. That was crucial to establishing the Auror culture in a new place. The market also knows that you’re serious about entering it because you do have a senior person on the ground.

That happened during Covid, which made it all harder. But we signed Walmart as one of our first US customers. When we went to the UK, just over 12 months ago, we put our chief customer officer on the ground for six months. We had a number of the New Zealand team, post-Covid, who wanted to travel. So they were able to keep their jobs and move to the UK. That’s really helped with cultural alignment, particularly in a new timezone.

‍

What’s been key to adapting to local conditions, culture and regulatory requirements?

We’ve found the problem set is the same wherever we go. We’ve taken a challenger mindset as well. We’re building a product for the retail industry that is global, even though every retailer tells us that they’re unique; they’re having products stolen from them, they’re all facing violence and aggression in their stores.

One of the positives of being a Kiwi company is that we don’t see hierarchy in the same way as other countries. We’re okay telling the boss of a big US retailer that there’s a better way of doing things. But it’s important to know what those cultural differences are. Even just the words that you use can mean very different things in different markets. That’s why it’s important to have a local team on the ground.

‍

‍How has Auror’s culture evolved as the company has grown?

We aim to be a place where people can be their best selves and do their best work. That comes down to things like belonging, diversity, equity and inclusion. We have a real big focus on the mission: we are helping our retail partners and police to stop crime all around the world.

We prefer to work together rather than in silos and that’s held true as we’ve grown. Even though we’re in different markets, the team is constantly travelling to the US, regardless of role, to make sure we’ve got good alignment and learnings both ways as well.

‍

‍

What advice and support have you particularly valued as you’ve gone global?

We tapped into the New Zealand founder network. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) was great when we did our US tour to find an office location. They put us in touch with other companies that were already there, including in Denver. We were welcomed with open arms at all those different locations. Again, NZTE helped us a lot with our go-to-market strategy, and we adapted that to the UK.

Through Kea, we made a couple of great connections with expats who have been into retailers in the US. You can’t beat talking to other founders and in Denver there are now around 30 New Zealand companies. We’ll catch up for lunch and just trade notes. Kiwi founders are great at being open and sharing their knowledge.

‍

What advice do you have for startup founders about fostering company culture as they go global?

There are three things for me. Understand the market before you enter it. That involves both travel and talking to people who have been there, done that.

Communication is key, as well as adapting how you communicate in terms of the different mediums you’re going through. That has been super important for us. In March, we brought the entire Auror team to New Zealand. We saw people who had mainly worked online together actually meet each other in person and build even stronger connections. It was also great for the country’s tourism sector.

But then, you get out there and do it. When you enter the US market, the typical advice for a New Zealand company is to choose one state, because the US is effectively 50 different countries. We were told, don’t go after Walmart, because they’ll eat you alive. We did both of

those things. We went after all of the national retailers because that’s how our product needs to work due to the network effect.

So take on board the advice that others give you, but also make sure it’s the right advice for your company.

‍

As told to Peter Griffin

‍