When Dorian Scott began working as the Business Development Manager with ecentre, the landscape for starting a business was very different. In 2005, few people knew what to make of a ‘business incubator’.
For the next 14 years, coaching and training would continue to be a vital component of Dorian’s role. In a joint appointment with Enterprise North Shore (now ATEED), it was also Dorian’s job to help fuel the economic growth of a region through a highly connected ecosystem.
Dorian wasn’t always part of the startup scene. Yet, his previous career in the commercialisation of science and food research management flowed smoothly into the commercialisation of ideas and the management of programmes for entrepreneurs. Since 2005, Dorian has created support processes for startups, developed business opportunities, managed deal flow, and formed strategic relationships for the incubator. He also helped nurture the relationship with key stakeholders including Callaghan Innovation.
In ecentre’s early stages, it was all about promotion to raise awareness for the North Shore incubator and attract deal flow to startup programmes. Dorian organised dozens of free workshops for entrepreneurs, including the Lunchbag Series and the Startup Seminar Series. These workshops made topics like company structure, shareholder agreements, intellectual property and raising capital more accessible to startups and introduced the founders to ecentre and ecentre’s partners.
In 2011, Dorian helped develop ecentre’s early-stage market validation programme for entrepreneurs. It was ecentre’s first Sprint programme which would later become Sprint Foundation. Dorian refreshed the curriculum with best practices he learned from overseas trips and adapted them for New Zealand conditions. Later, two more advanced programmes were created: Sprint Develop and Sprint Global. Dorian also instigated and facilitated research into investor behaviour to better guide entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital.
When clusters became popular for their ability to foster cooperation within an industry, Dorian established one in Auckland for electronics companies called Electronics Auckland. The group is still going today and consists of senior engineers from local electronics firms who come together to share knowledge.
To encourage student enterprise, Dorian initiated the first Go Innovate! competition at Massey University in 2012. Students still compete annually for the best idea but today it is run by a student club with the continuing support of mentors from ecentre.
Dorian also put his commercialisation expertise to work at Massey University, helping staff to turn their ideas and discoveries into commercial opportunities. Dorian ran workshops on IP protection for academic staff. He also acted as a business advisor for The Beverage Lab, a project started by three academics from three different disciplines who commercialise their research on beverages.
Throughout his career, Dorian has worked to strengthen an innovation ecosystem through education, coaching, and training entrepreneurs. He managed ecentre as Acting CEO in 2016 prior to taking on the role of special projects manager.
After more than 14 years supporting growth and innovation in New Zealand, Dorian is now looking at nurturing and mentoring a new kind of startup – his own grandchildren!
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A massive THANK YOU to Dorian for his contributions, on behalf of the team at ecentre for being a dedicated and witty colleague, and the numerous entrepreneurs who’ve had the benefit of your sage advice and guidance.