CEO of Soda Inc adds Spark to festival

The CEO of Soda Inc, Cheryl Reynolds, will speak about combining creativity with business, in a talk at Spark on Wednesday afternoon.

“Soda Inc Uses a number to tools to help creatives, like the people that are going to be in the audience, to create disruptive and new business models.”

Ms Reynolds said the way business is done is changing.

“There’s an emergence of businesses that have creative content,” she said. “Filmmaking, IT, designers, artists, musicians…”

The goal of Soda Inc is to provide these creators and business people with the resources to make their own futures.

Soda Inc provides a subsidised business growth programme for businesses in the Waikato. It is one of eight credited incubators in New Zealand.

Ms Reynolds said it takes 2-3 years for a company to go through full incubation with Soda Inc. It actively looks for people with talent and ideas in the Waikato.

“We are looking for companies that are sustainable, design focused and that are going to contribute to the New Zealand economy.”

Ms Reynolds was the managing director of Antenna Audio in the UK before moving to New Zealand in 2003.

“I came to start up the creative industry research centre at Wintec,” she said. “Soda Inc spun out of that. As did Spark actually.”

Ms Reynolds said she sees a lot of potential for business growth in New Zealand.

“Anything is possible (in New Zealand). It’s a great country to be creative, just to grow business. It’s a country where anything’s possible. It’s very exciting to be here and contribute.”

Catch Cheryl Reynolds at the Hub at 2.30pm.