Aaron Ridgway Email & Phone Number

New Zealand

I secured $1million of investment funding for Vadacom in September 2014 and joined the team as CEO to lead the next stage of growth and development. Having secured distribution with major partners, including Kordia, and brought in an additional $600K investment during 2015, I'm proud to be Vadacom's largest stakeholder. Vadacom is a New Zealand owned and operated Cloud PBX and VOIP solutions provider focused on bringing your team and customers closer, improving productivity and helping… Show more I secured $1million of investment funding for Vadacom in September 2014 and joined the team as CEO to lead the next stage of growth and development. Having secured distribution with major partners, including Kordia, and brought in an additional $600K investment during 2015, I'm proud to be Vadacom's largest stakeholder. Vadacom is a New Zealand owned and operated Cloud PBX and VOIP solutions provider focused on bringing your team and customers closer, improving productivity and helping you save capex and calling costs. Do you love your phone system? If not, Vadacom can help. Vadacom specialise in : • Cloud PBX • Unified Communications • IP Gateway PBX • PBX Phone Systems • VOIP & Traditional Phone Lines • Call Centre Solutions • Phones & Accessories To learn more about Vadacom watch our video: http://www.vadacom.co.nz/corporate-video-profile/ Show less

Auckland

Offers investment and success-based advice to select, high-growth potential companies. If your business has potential and we think, after meeting, we would work well together, I’ll help you deepen your understanding of your business and how to take it to the next level. Whichever stage you’re at - and whatever your personal goal, I can help.My experience includes founding and seed funding an award-winning cloud-technology company and leading it, as CEO, through growth, NZTE… Show more Offers investment and success-based advice to select, high-growth potential companies. If your business has potential and we think, after meeting, we would work well together, I’ll help you deepen your understanding of your business and how to take it to the next level. Whichever stage you’re at - and whatever your personal goal, I can help.My experience includes founding and seed funding an award-winning cloud-technology company and leading it, as CEO, through growth, NZTE funding, IPO, globalisation, rationalisation and successful exit to a Silicon Valley corporation. I also founded, grew, and managed New Zealand's most successful, independently owned Vodafone dealership - First Mobile Takapuna, through to sale to Vodafone.I offer select business owners an exclusive, one-on-one, workshop style programme that explores your situation (due diligence) and draws on my experience to clarify and plan your best approach for success, with a view to potentially personally investing 100K - 1M $NZ, or brokering funding from my investment network. Show less

New Zealand

Took cornerstone investment and provided advice to Tourism Radio NZ during their successful crowdfunded capital raise. The capital raise was 105% funded and the first on the Trans-Tasman Equitise equity-crowdfunding platform. Tourism Radio delivers geo-location specific Digital Travel Guide commentary to tourists through mobile devices in motor homes and rental cars, via a nationwide network of distribution partners. When the vehicle approaches one of over 2,200 points of interest… Show more Took cornerstone investment and provided advice to Tourism Radio NZ during their successful crowdfunded capital raise. The capital raise was 105% funded and the first on the Trans-Tasman Equitise equity-crowdfunding platform. Tourism Radio delivers geo-location specific Digital Travel Guide commentary to tourists through mobile devices in motor homes and rental cars, via a nationwide network of distribution partners. When the vehicle approaches one of over 2,200 points of interest across New Zealand, including landmarks and hidden gems, the commentary alerts the tourists. Show less

Auckland

Aaron joined the LiveOps team in December 2011 after closing the $17M sale of Datasquirt to this Silicon Valley based corporation. Prior to that he had been CEO, director and major shareholder of Datasquirt since 2001. LiveOps President and CEO, Marty Beard, described the purchase as “placing LiveOps at the forefront of enabling contact centers to transform customer interactions by allowing their agents to engage across multiple channels including Twitter, mobile, SMS, email, and web… Show more Aaron joined the LiveOps team in December 2011 after closing the $17M sale of Datasquirt to this Silicon Valley based corporation. Prior to that he had been CEO, director and major shareholder of Datasquirt since 2001. LiveOps President and CEO, Marty Beard, described the purchase as “placing LiveOps at the forefront of enabling contact centers to transform customer interactions by allowing their agents to engage across multiple channels including Twitter, mobile, SMS, email, and web chat.” And as providing access to “a world-class team of cloud contact center engineering and sales experts.” Aaron was responsible for LiveOps' international business development, managing the LiveOps sales teams in Europe and Australasia and strategic relationships with channel partners outside North America during the important acquisition and post-acquisition period. Show less

Auckland

Founded and provided start-up funding to call centre SMS innovator Datasquirt in 2001, Aaron led the company from start up, through growth, globalisation, rationalisation and successful exit in December 2011. By 2005 Datasquirt was recognised by Deloittes as the 5th fastest growing company in New Zealand. Expanding the cloud-based services to include web chat, fax and email channels, Aaron led Datasquirt to diversified revenue streams and increased client loyalty. To support… Show more Founded and provided start-up funding to call centre SMS innovator Datasquirt in 2001, Aaron led the company from start up, through growth, globalisation, rationalisation and successful exit in December 2011. By 2005 Datasquirt was recognised by Deloittes as the 5th fastest growing company in New Zealand. Expanding the cloud-based services to include web chat, fax and email channels, Aaron led Datasquirt to diversified revenue streams and increased client loyalty. To support the company’s growth, Aaron, as CEO secured every available NZTE funding option. NZTE support and connections, including the Beachhead programme, enabled further growth, as did the private equity funding secured from Nightingale Partners. In 2007, Aaron led the company through a successful, fully subscribed IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange raising 10M, making Datasquirt the first New Zealand IT company to list on that market. This funding injection allowed further global expansion. In 2010, Datasquirt became the first company in the world to offer a social media management solution to contact centres.In 2011, Datasquirt won Best Call Centre Technology in the UK in the prestigious Call Centre Helper awards and in December that year was bought by Silicon Valley based Liveops. In January 2012, the Datasquirt multi-channel contact centre technology, by then under the ownership of LiveOps, won the 2011 Product of the Year award from TMCnet's Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, the leading US industry publication. Show less

Auckland

After 12 months employment, becoming NZ's most successful BellSouth Atlanta mobile sales person at a young age, Aaron invested in his first mobile dealership. Growing to a chain of 8 retail stores at its peak, the First Mobile Takapuna Franchise became the largest and most successful independently owned Vodafone dealership in the country. Aaron successfully sold the dealership to Vodafone in 2010.

Graduate

Hotel Management, Degree

A Bursary With Honors