When I first met Rich Henry, founder of online men’s magazine Getfrank.co.nz, the two things he wasn’t short of were passion and confidence. Which is a good thing – because he was pretty short on some of the other essentials needed in getting a business off the ground. In fact, at the time he looked as though he was short on most essentials – including food and sleep.
The website is aimed at intelligent, professional men – it has the highest concentration of 18-39 year old male readers in New Zealand, and more than 72% of its audience have a household income over $60k a year, according to Nielsen Online. It has managed to attract long-term premium advertisers such as Continental Car Services and Amstel Premium Beer – not bad for a site that drove its owner to the brink of bankruptcy.
For the first two years, Rich poured all his spare time, money and energy into the project. Winning $5,000 and a trip to Sydney in Nescafe Bigbreak bolstered both his confidence and credibility – and eventually led him to resigning from his day job to devote himself full time to the venture.
Within two months, and with bankruptcy pending, he met Shane Bradley of finda.co.nz, who brought with him resources in the form of both money and contacts. Rich threw himself into completing the content proposition, establishing key commercial relationships, and constructing the re-design of the site.
Now, two years on from that initial meeting, Rich’s passion and confidence are still there and they are beginning to prove well founded.
“We just keep on growing. We started 2008 with 10,000 unique visitors a month. We’re now looking at 70,000 – that’s nearly twice as many people as were at the Big Day Out this year.”
This success in attracting an increasing number of online visitors despite the challenging economic environment helped Rich make the decision to expand and late last month he began the move to take the site into Australia – a market of roughly 20 million people.
“I’m amped about the prospect of working in a market five times the size of New Zealand’s,” Rich said before heading off to meetings in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with contributors, media, advertisers and agencies.
Launching in Australia is a goal Rich has always had – but didn’t expect to realise just yet. With feedback from the soft-launch of the .com.au site in 2008 overwhelmingly positive and the trip across the Tasman resulting in a line up of premium content providers from The Australian Institute of Sport through to Fairfax Digital, a full Australian launch is due in June.
“The thought of stepping into Australia is what drives me out of bed at the moment – holding such a strong piece of ‘online real estate’ on our rivals’ turf can provide New Zealand with an invaluable tool and competitive advantage.”
While he may be on the edge of realising his dream, Rich is very conscious of the value his mentors and advisers have provided him over the past few years.
“Right back to Brent Wilson who helped me compile my initial business plan while in Otago, Shane Bradley as an active Angel investor, through to the six man board of advisors we now have – they’ve all been a tremendous source for lessons, inspiration, and encouragement.”
Getfrank’s current board holds six successful people from various industries, and backgrounds. The group meet regularly to review the business, opportunities, and discuss strategies and ideas – all of which helps Rich keep his passion focused.
“Until I’m thirty I’ve only got myself to look after, so every hour of every day I’m continually striving to put myself on the edge to learn, risk, and experience as much as possible. One thing I was taught at an early age though, was that if anything was to be successful, it will always come down to the numbers at the end of the day.”
Although he has come a long way in the past few years, Rich Henry is the first to admit he still has a way to go before he reaches the top of his own personal Everest – but it’s not an idea he finds daunting.
“I’ve got a million things to do, with a completely open canvas on how to deliver on each one of them. Working for yourself means everyday is an opportunity, and yeah, I’m loving it.”
