Leadership: Speech to Bell Gully

Speech to Bell Gully

This week I was asked to give a speech on leadership to 30 Belly Gully young law graduates who are about to begin their legal careers.  Ironic really given I had passed up a legal career to pursue my path towards setting up Rhythm and Vines as a world class music festival.

Below I outlined a few points that I have found crucial to my leadership style.

Action

One of the biggest traits to leadership is the ability to lead and inspire action. Just do it!

My first taste of action was actually moving with intention on an idea. When Tom suggested the idea to have a party the next step to move forward on the next meeting to flesh out.   I arranged to meet with him a couple of days later at Gardies to discuss the idea further. That first step set us off on a journey of a thousand miles.

Further examples of action followed. Tom and I sat hung over in the Wellington Airport and we brainstormed names for the festival. Adam my flat mate at the time had mentioned to get the Vines involved we put this aside and we listed a collection of musical terms. Bass, Treble, Melody, Rhythm. RHYTHM. Rhythm and Vines! Perfect. Tom in his went to the local and bought two postcards. We addressed them to our flat and wrote ‘ We look forward to seeing you at Rhythm and Vines, Gisborne!’ There was no turning back.

One of most memorable lessons on action was pitching to Dean Witters the idea for R&V.  We told him we wanted Black Seeds to headline.  He made us jump on the phone then and there and call up the Black Seeds manager. I was slightly nervous speaking but asked the question.  He mentioned he had received $6k for the pervious years new years bookings. Dean suggested we call him back and offer him $2k more if he committed immediately.  As a result the band signed on and we had our headliner! With that confidence and intention to commit we were away. It is a lesson I never forget. Just do it!

Another mantra I believe in is if you come up with an idea and don’t do it someone else will! If you see a gap in the market just seize it. Own it. Even if you don’t know how to get there. Your commitment and intention will create an action that will set you off on a path to achievement.

There has been other steps of action. Mylo was one of our favourite acts at University.  I had always wanted him to perform so I contacted the agent direct. He was being flakey and not getting back to me so when I was in London visiting friends I just went to the agency in person.  Just knocked on door.  Got the deal over the line then and there. I've done the same with Snoop Dogg's agent too. I introduced myself to Rob Markus over email and just got on a plane, next thing I was in his office in Beverly Hills. Just do it! Zane Lowe in London. Even though he stood me up for breakfast at the Soho Hotel.

Rhythm and Alps – We saw a gap in the market for a south Island version of the R&V. Our partner Alex and I got a plan together of how we wanted to roll it out. We pitched to our board, booked a few bands and next thing we know we were away.

Of course not all action leads to success. We have run side shows that have failed miserably. We have said yes to running the Gisborne Wine and Food festival. And lost $100’s of thousands of dollars.  We have tried to hire staff in different areas with varying degrees of success. 

But one thing I have learnt is that action is key. Just do it!

Aim high

From the start our goal was ambitious. To organize a party for a few hundred mates. I know friends would come up to me and say that I must be crazy to think we would even get a few hundred. By why not? There was nothing organized for new years eve in Nz.  All our friends would fragment over this time to different beach spots through out the country. Kiwi music was burgeoning and the following in Dunedin was something that could be replicated nationwide.

Even from the start we imagined our dream lineup would have Salmonella Dub, Ben Harper, Black Eye Peas and Groove Armada. The very next year we had Salmonella Dub headline. To think we have had Calvin Harris, Pharrell, Mark Ronson, Moby and others at our little party is surely a reflection of this ambition coming to fruition.

Overall I think we want to run a safe and secure event and do justice to the first place in the world to bring in the new year.  We have a unique opportunity to do something no one in the else in the world can do and this inspire and motivates me no end.

Mentorship

An important point to develop as a leader is to surround yourself with mentors to guide you and to learn off. A mentor provides you with confidence to tackle tasks outside your skillset or experience. It is a two way relationship as that person enjoys passing on his learnings and living vicariously through the success of others.

Our first mentor was my friend’s Dad - Dean Witters.  Dean had been a successful businessman in NZ creating Cedenco a tomato processing company-selling Tomatoes out of Gisborne and had been on the Business Round Table. He helped cashflow the company and push us along, giving us confidence to pursue our dream. He grilled us when we were behind tasks, congratulated us when we delivered.

Also my father Ross Pinkham. He had helped with Liquor licence and providing some event management feedback on how to tackle some of the bigger tasks. Mum helped with flowers setting up. They have always been there for me. Dad is still a big part of the festival today in the form of Emergency Services Liaison dealing with Police and Fire etc.

Another mentor was my business partner Scott Witters. Scott had already founded a business after completing his MBA, We began surrounding ourselves with a number of accountants, lawyers, advisors, bringing in specialist in individual areas.

We have since surrounded ourselves with more corporate mentors to help guide and advice on risk and best business practice.  Dallas Fisher was on the board of the Chiefs and helped with the financial risk and planning.  Chris Hocquard is a leading music lawyer so can advise on different industry situations and relevant artist deals.

Our current CEO and Festival Director Kieran Spillane is now running the business with me and has vast experience with accounting and project management.  Always continue to learn and develop as an entrepreneur and a leader.

Don’t forget your roots

One of the best things we ever did was document our Mission statement and Goals for the Rhythm and Vines project. As a result we have been able to stick to this initial vision and they still ring true today.

We wanted to create a safe and secure event for the networks of friends from around the country. We wanted to be a platform for NZ music – for established and up and coming musicians. We wanted to us the project as a chance to learn about business. Do justice to the first place in the world to bring in the new year. These were some of the key goals that we put in place initially and still ring true today.

Its also important to remain humble. Make sure sure you are grateful I am very blessed to work in an industry I love. It is great that we have created a brand that is aspirational and respected and we intend to keep it that way.

There is nothing wrong with being confident. You need to be bullish. You need to be strong headed. So find that balance between confidence and arrogance.

Innovation

To succeed and be a strong leader is to keep things fresh, to take risk, make creative decisions and too innovate. It is almost like reaching into the future.  Being the first to do something comes with a lot of scrutiny. Often you will get ridiculed by peers and critics as they perhaps can’t see the vision. But eventually they will come around once 

I think we have done this particular well with innovation around music especially. We were the first major festival to group the growing number of dub and reggae bands in one setting. Fat Freddys, Shapeshifter, Kora. The Black Seeds. I don’t think they have all been on one bill ever since. The result was a sell out crowd three years in of 10,000 which set us up for the following years to come.

We have also been leaders in developing and championing kiwi music. To think acts like The Naked and Famous, Kora, Six60, got their early breaks at R&V makes me proud. This year the likes of Diaz Grimm, Racing, Carlee Rhodes are performing. They could be the stars of tomorrow.

On the technology front we have always wanted to be at the forefront of best practice. We were the first major festival in Australasia to develop and implement RFID wristbands which are now the norm around the world. We have our own ticketing system. We have worked with top tech experts be it pyro, sound, lighting, LED screens etc.

We continue to innovate bringing Arcadia Spectacular to NZ last year. It was a fire and light display from Europe that I saw at Glastonbury which blew people's minds!

So be first to the punch. Innovate. Create. Back your decisions. Lead your market. And in turn inspire those around you.

Network

One thing I had always done is network. I enjoy meeting people and learning from them.  I don’t think myself any better than anyone else. There is always something to be learned from other people.  I love showing an interest in the people stories and backgrounds.

As a result when I went to University I always said yes to social opportunities. People heading out to a concert, a movie out to the beach or a game of touch I’d jump at the chance. As a result it lead me to develop a strong network of different friend groups. The couch crew, the rugby heads, musicians, older students, younger students.  I soon knew who was friends was who. I knew what school everyone went to, what they were studying. It wasn’t being nosey I just had a general interest in everyone.

This was soon to come into play when I came up with the idea I realized I could soon pull the network together that I needed. The first chance to was by gathering friends at Gardies one Wednesday night.   This was pre-facebook so was a good chance to spread the word through out different social groups. We bought some beers and stood up in front of everyone and told them our idea for the party. The idea soon spread through the network.

Take opportunities. Say yes to things. Whether it is not your scene be approachable and sociable enough to participate. Show an interest in people. Listen to their stories. Ask them questions.

A step further could be to join networking groups.  I was on the board of KEA Auckland which was a chance to network with those returned from overseas. I’m currently in a music doco club. Say yes to dinner parties, BBQ’s and invitations to batches. Get out there and meet people you never know where it may lead! Especially if you are wanting to invite thousands of people to a party!

Persistance / Tenacity

One of my biggest advice for leadership to achieve success alongside action is to never ever ever give up.

There are many times we could have given up on my journey.  Two days before our event the venue was waterlogged. Tom and I had been out in the rain trying to stack booze and move bins around. Dean had wanted to throw in the towel - the venue was just too boggy. But we still pushed on and delivered the event. The next week when we were $20k in debt we could have also closed up the show for ever with an expensive debt hanging over us. Both times we pushed on through and are still here today.

Then there was the time my girlfriend had moved to London and was trying to get me over. I decided to flag doing my OE and stay in Auckland to build my dream. Over those years we were in some serious debt but we were also committed to getting to our 10 year anniversary. We had a new event manager who I could learn off. We had the bones of a great idea and established brand. The future was ours if we worked for it.

After our first attempt at the three day model we lost $400k. We rolled up sleeves. Worked out of my bedroom. Moved into a desk at our marketing contractors. Paid ourselves minimum wage. Borrowed money. Kept the flame alive.

This Easter we were closing the company we were in serious debt again.  But no way. We borrowed a sizeable amount to keep the creditors at bay. We have had to restructure our business. We are currently host desking at a pub in Ponsonby. Stripped back our team. Cut our budgets. Realigned our stages and venue.

But we will never ever give up on our dream.

Soul Sunday Sessions with Remix

In our third #soulsundaysessions we caught up with Hamish Pinkham, founder and director of Rhythm And Vines, to talk about this year’s festival, the acts on their way down under and his most memorable story from the last 13 years.

As part of the new Remix #soulsundaysessions, we’ve been inviting some of our friends and contributors down to our favourite Sunday spot, Soul Bar & Bistro, to have a late lunch and a chat about what they’re up to. And, we’ve been sharing the mouth-watering dishes we’ve tried over our lunches as well!

What makes Rhythm & Vines so special?

Well, we think it’s pretty unique. One of the biggest draw cards is the venue. It’s set in the rolling hills of Waiohika in the picturesque vineyard. I guess, Gisborne, as a destination as well, with the sunshine and the beaches, is world class. All the punters and artists comment on how magnificent the venue is, so I think that’s something that sets us apart. Also the fact that it’s New Year’s Eve and we’re the first place in the world to bring in the new year gives the festival a real sense of occasion and that’s something I haven’t really felt at other festivals.

Who are some of the big name artists and how hard was it to get them this year?

We’ve really tried to focus on what the market want and what we think works well for the festival and predominantly that’s been drum and bass music and hip hop. We’ve got some of the leading guys in drum and bass like Nero, Subfocus, Pendulum this year. We’ve got the reputation and the relationships to attract that kind of talent. We’ve also got leading trap artist RL Grime who had heard a lot about the festival as well. And then on the hip hop front we’ve got Mac Miller and Yung Lean – two really respected MC rappers in their own right.

Above: The boys spent the afternoon sipping on the exceptionally refreshing Langs Beach Cup, comprised of green chilli infused gin with Pimms, fresh strawberries, mint, lemon and orange, ginger ale. 

Do festivals have a lifespan? You guys have been going for 15 years nearly.

Yeah, definitely! I think it’s just about keeping fresh and keeping relevant. If you look at something like Glastonbury, it’s been going for 45 odd years, so if you keep it at the forefront, changing and adapting, and listening to your market, you can stay in the game. I think we’ve done bloody well to be here 13 years later. It’s just about being original. But definitely we’ve had some tough years and had competition come to our space, trends have changed, we’ve had different alcohol policies change on us, so it’s just about keeping fresh and keeping relevant.

Yeah, you’ve managed to get lots of different market segments. Like you have different camp areas, different types of people, and you have VIP areas and all that as well.

Yeah, it’s just working out what your core market is. Our recipe hasn’t changed too much, it’s a festival for young Kiwis that want to celebrate the New Year. They want a big experience and an adventure over that time and you know there’s going to be a captive market over those kids every year that want to get in their car with their mates and have some fun. We capture that audience.

If you could pick another job what would it be? If you started it all again?

I’m really passionate about my music, but I think that’s more of a hobby. I love creative industries though, like I love hospitality. I love having creative visions and then trying to make them work so something like a hospitality space, maybe a restaurant. I’ve always liked movies as well so maybe trying to come up with a movie concept and trying to get that off the ground. I’ve never been much of an actor, I like the idea of kind of coming up with an idea and trying to make it happen, a producer really. The talent side of things I don’t know, I like more behind the scenes. I’d rather be pulling the strings in the background. It’s more that I like that creative entrepreneurship.

Above: Hamish enjoyed the pan fried hapuku, complete with mushrooms a la Grecque, porcini gnocchi cigars and chervil crème fraiche. Tim had the slow cooked pork belly, with butternut squash puree, crunchy pig’s cheek, black pudding fritter and celeriac remoulade.

You also love being overseas, why is that?

Just ambition, I think. I love New Zealand, but it’s limited in some aspects and you’ve got to get out. Life is about meeting new people and coming across ideas and attending some of the world’s best events or restaurants or whatever and you’ve only got a small selection of things in New Zealand, so I think it’s important to get out and travel, network, and bottle that up and bring that home.

How is the band?

It’s kind of the music that I grew up playing on the guitar, that early Kings of Leon, The Strokes, White Stripes, the stuff I really enjoy. The genre may be a little bit out of date at the moment, but I think rock ‘n’ roll will come again. Again, it’s just been fun as a creative pursuit – get ideas out of your head, get them down, have some fun with a couple of good friends and perform live. It’s all part of being a musician I guess.

You always play the last set at Rhythm & Vines, right?

Well we’ve had a few DJ sets at the end when the sun’s coming up. But most of the DJs, and, we’re finding it this year, all want to play in the lead up to New Year’s. No one really wants to play after midnight, which is interesting, so it’s just come about by no one wanting to work late that we play.

It’s funny how at Rhythm & Vines, after you’ve done the big New Year’s celebration, everyone kind of just goes back to their tents and stuff.

Well not everyone, but yeah. I guess we’ve just catered for like all the staff that are still there at the end as well as friends. It’s always been a bit of an ease up as the sun’s coming up.

So tell us the craziest Rhythm story that you’ve never told anyone else?

There was one I was thinking about the other day actually. I don’t know how ‘crazy’ it is, but it was just quite a funny situation. Flava Flav was bailing me up outside the marae as these local kids did the haka to Public Enemy and Flava Flav was like “I want those kids on stage with me during our set!” And I was thinking to myself – well we’re R18, we don’t really have kids at the festival, I’ve got a million and one things to do, so I don’t really want to be chaperoning these kids. And Flava Flav’s last instruction was just like “Make it happen!”, so there I was at like ten to 8, or whenever they were playing, at the gate trying to find these kids and their parents and get them passes to try get them on stage and kind of running through the vines like a Pied Piper with like four or five little local kids running up to the stage. They ended up krumping and breakdancing during the Public Enemy set and it was something really memorable and special. Not too crazy but definitely a memorable story.

Above: Hamish and Tim also shared the Ricotta and Meyer lemon tortellini, new season asparagus, lemon and chervil butter. Mouthwateringly delicious!

Tell us about the next season of The Bachelor?

Can’t talk about it right now, still going through negotiations. I don’t want to air my dirty laundry on New Zealand television.

Do you cook?

Yeah, I really like cooking. It’s one of my passions and pursuits.

What’s the best dish you’ve just had?

The tortellini’s great, I’m a big fan of pasta! I eat it even though it’s probably not that good for you. I just love that Italian way of eating. I’ve actually never been to Italy, but I can’t wait to get there and eat any sort of that pasta and all the antipastos. I’m looking forward to just heading over there one day and having a food binge.

What does Soul Bar mean to you?

Soul Bar reminds me of my first experiences with Auckland. When I was young and leaving university and coming up here around the America’s Cup time.

Stay tuned for our #soulsundaysessions next week, which will be with the boys of Jupiter Project, asking them about their latest music. Anything else you want us to ask? Comment below!

If you want to head down to Soul for your own Sunday session (which we strongly advise), then visit Soul Bar & Bistro online here for booking details. Also remember to ‘Like’ them on Facebookhere and Instagram here for their latest menu offerings and news.

Building the Entreprenuerial Team

This week I am giving a speech to the Spark Vision to Vision Business seminars at Auckland University. Here are a few excerpts from my talk

When you start a business you will need to think about building a team to help realise your vision. Although the idea and drive may come from yourself individually, it is unlikely you will be able to work alone, and as your business grows you will be dealing with a number of key suppliers, advisors, mentors. Today I will talk about some key members of my start up team and roles they served to get our vision off the ground.

First up is the founders. Probably the most important role because without a dream and taking action on that dream, you don't have anything. An unless you have a steel-like vision and unwavering commitment, it may be you rely on a partnership in the foundation of your company. As it was in my case  - three of us would flesh out our idea, share the load and continue to motivate each other.

Fellow R&V founder Tom and I shared a passion for our idea to host friends at a summer party. While Tom came up with the initial idea for a party of friends for new years, it was me that seized it. I could see the vision immediately and arranged a meeting at Gardies to flesh out the idea. I was looking for a business idea in the music industry and this seemed the perfect project. Tom has a creative mind and wicked sense of humour and I had loads of fun discussing and dissecting the idea him. It wasn't long until we had fleshed out a vision for our festival and began taking steps to get it off the ground. It was my job to perhaps keep Tom propped up and engaged, because he had a short attention span and tendency to drift off.

My flat mate Andrew was also a key part of the our initial team.  We went to him with our idea for having a party at his parents place and asked for his support in making it a reality. Having run a summer fruit truck for some time he already had great business experience already. He knew about budgets, cashflow, contracts, staff, along with selling a product. He was social and well connected, and had already hosted friends in Gisborne over prior summers. He was most supportive of our idea and invested his own time and money to get the first wheels in motion, including booking our flights to Gisborne to meet his father. He was a great support and while his focus has been predominantly on BW, he continues to be across all areas of the business.

One key member in our initial team was a mentor. Having Dean Witters (Andrew'
s father) involved was paramount to getting things off the ground. In Dean we had an experienced and well-versed business man in our corner. From that first presentation to him he was on board. Asking us the hard questions. Make us think outside the box. Inspiring us. Giving us confidence to move forward. Being a sounding board for any issues we were coming across. And being commercially minded and focused. As little things like deposit dates, and pricing of local suppliers Dean was our eyes and ears along with our bank!

As we grew we need to bring on support in key areas.  The second year of the event we had bigger bands on board and with 5000 expected it became clear we need a more commercial manager to help us dot the i's and cross the t's. Dean helped enagage a local business man to be our Event Manager. This guy was in the radio industry so new a little bit about promotion already, along with being commercially driven.  He was able to contract all the event team, suppliers, sponsors, staff. We were focused on the grass roots, promotion and advising him on the music, brand and creative direction for him to pull it all together.

By year 3 it was soon clear that our small team not big enough. We were now dealing with top professional kiwi bands like Fat Freddys Drop and we had 60 days before 10,000 people were coming to our little party. We split up roles and began to look for specialist contractors in key areas of the event. We bought on a production manager who worked on Splore a similar sized festival set west of Auckland. We took our accounts to a local accountant to provide some cost control and advise on. While Dean took care of the venue alterations with a team of local tradesmen, I tried to keep an overview on all was happening while trying to learn as much as I could It was all a bit over our head as we had just finished our studies. We weren't scared to delegate when the going got tough!

In building your team you need to surround yourself with positive people who are supportive of your quest. I was lucky to have my good friend and band member Kyle Bell on board to help seek sponsors and partners. Kyle was excited about the opportunity to be part of our event, not just to play but to have a summer in Gisborne. He was a loyal confidant in listening and suggesting inital ideas and constructive criticism. His support has been unwavering and he still with me today as our Head of Partnership.  Find these people and keep them in your life. Other mates didn't particularly understand my journey.  While my flatmates were downstairs playing Playstation and watching Frat-boy movies I was upstairs in my room hustling, on the phone to sponsors and negotiating with bands. We would have some crude dial in conference calls between the 3 of us and Dean. But that small team would inspire each other towards getting our idea off the ground.

Family were supportive, if not at times a little confused about my journey. They continue to offer love and support through the good times and the bad. My sisters handed out posters to their network of friends and helped with artist hospitality. While my parents helped set up the venue. Dad being an ex Policeman helped get us resource consent and an alcohol licence. They offer unwavering and love and support and are all part of an extended entreprenurial team.

As your business builds you will need to continue to grow this team. In building a world class event we haven't pretended to be experts in event management. But we have surround ourselves with those who are. In areas such as marketing, artist liasion, corporate governance etc.  I do think our vision is one of excellence, and we have demanded a level of behaviour and respect - for the product, the market and each other. This includes removing those are not on your team. Don't settle for well poisoners, or people that aren't 100% in support of you and your idea. Start with a small and loyal team all working towards a common go and build from there.

Seafarers Club, Britomart

There was an excitement in the air when news of the vision for the Seafarers Members Club was whispered around Auckland town late last year. Finally a private space downtown where commerce and culture could collide, where networks could be forged all within the class of a world class hospitality experience. 

The brainchild of creative geniuses Shine Group and leading chef Josh Emmett of Ebisu / Ostro fame - Seafarers was founded on the premise of stimulating, inspiring and connecting a certain breed of Auckland's movers and shakers.

Drip feeding the foundation memberships was a surefire way to build momentum and although reasonably quiet during the days, the outdoor deck was getting busier and busier come in the lead up to silly season come late afternoon. The Club lacks a certain pretentiousness present in other Auckland establishments, while still evoking a level of sophistication on par with international members clubs such as Shoreditch House and Soho House of London and New York.

Set over 3 levels, the Club caters for all energy levels and . A private screening room, long lunching lounge and cafe are nestled indoors, while the top floor deck is the perfect spot for visitors and potential clients, showcasing the Auckland waterfront in all it's sparkly splendor.

As summer hits full swing, it is not hard to see that Seafarers will become a major hub for dreamers, doers and thinkers alike.

http://www.seafarers.co.nz/members-club