Matt Bowden

Stargate International

Intbus 705 | Advanced Entrepreneurship Case

Developed by Chelsea Griffin, Jess Maher, Øyvind Bjørnsmoen, Samira Ibrahim

Presentation Outline • Historical Context • The first Opportunity • Challenges & Barriers • Opportunity Two • Political Pressures & Media• Regulation & Social Entrepreneurship• The rise and fall of “party pills”

Spotting the Opportunity

• Performance Car Magazine 1997/8• Approached by Advertiser with this pill

•Importing from England & distributing them•Marketing to existing drug users

“I learned that they had a purpose and that they were a safer alternative to illegal drugs.. I thought,

oh that's interesting yeah, there's probably a market for that”

Creating an Enterprise• Set up website, radio advertising, 0800 number,

call center, couriers, FAQ & Support Line • Rapid rise to popularity • Convincing retailers – Hempstore

• First Media Contact, TV story by Greg Boyd

“And I learned that the retailers were relying on this, it was becoming a major part of their

cashflow, which was quite amazing.”

Overcoming the barriers

• Greg Boyd, Ministry of Health, MED Safe, Advertising Standards Authority, the Courts & Product Recall

“So they've got these laws put in place which are just big commercial barriers... they say you're not allowed to

make any claim that any product does anything at all to the body, otherwise it's a restricted medicine, you can go

to jail”

“I substantiated my claims... it actually washed, and I thought well isn't that cool, you can stand up to laws and

they kind of meld around you.”

If at first you don’t succeed…

• Australian investor & exposure to the unregulated side of industry

• 2000 returns to NZ

“If we could meet the consumer need

without the harms, we could build a better society.”

“I vowed in my heart that I'd never be steamrolled like that by the government again, and that next time I'd come back

with something better and I'd last more than 6 months.”

The Beginnings of BZP

• Had been through clinical trials• Got hold of some BZP, pressed up some pills

and started to market them & it was working

“There's obviously a consumer need... but there's an issue in that.. they cause these horrific behaviours.. we try to

find something that will meet the same needs as methamphetamine, but without the same levels of harm.”

Political & Media Pressures

• Sunday Star Times – Politician story • Nandor Tanczos –had shares in Hempstore

“I wondered what Sunday Star Times was, I thought maybe they are there to report the news, and tell the

truth about things that are happening...”

“A lot of our friends are addicted to methamphetamine, some of them are actually dying around us... none of us can

really put up our hand and ask for help because we're all technically criminals now.. we think that's wrong.”

Regulation & Compliance• National Drug Policy– Supply Reduction – ie: Law enforcement & border control

– Demand Reduction – ie: Education

– Provide Treatment - ie: Rehabilitation Clinics

• Methamphetamine Reduction Plan – Matt represented the “dance community”

Explosion of the Industry

• Industry Regulation over unethical behavior as industry grew

• Rapid increase of competitors, unethical behavior

“so my first attempt with the first pills got six months, and next time I

got eight and a half years”