For Parn Jones – AUT Master of Engineering alumnus and director, co-founder & chief executive officer of start-up Avice Wearables – his passion for electronics started from a young age when he would pull things apart to see how they worked. Parn’s interest kickstarted a love for engineering which led to a Certificate in Mechanical Engineering and completing a Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Parn started work with an automation company but after two years decided to return to AUT to pursue a Master of Engineering specialising in biomedical engineering.
“I’ve always loved the medical side of engineering. I wanted to find a way to combine my love for electronics and biomedical and I was fortunate enough to study under Associate Professor Andrew Lowe,” Parn shares. Associate Professor Lowe is the cardiovascular theme leader with the Institute of Biomedical Technologies at AUT where the idea of Avice was born, started by Parn and his fellow co-founders around the kitchen table.
“Avice Wearables is a wearable device which provides instant feedback to the sports industry on muscle performance. The device is aimed at athletes, coaches, personal trainers and gym goers to help improve, monitor and assess their own performance,” states Parn. From there, the burgeoning start-up team participated in the AUT Venture’s Tech Jumpstart where they were awarded $10k to develop their business idea.
Avice’s affiliation with AUT Ventures has proved incredibly rewarding and beneficial with invaluable resources and support to help steer the company through the ups and downs of start-up life. “We were engineers so we weren’t really familiar with the start-up process. We didn’t have the business knowledge so that’s where AUT Ventures really helped us establish ourselves and the business. AUT Ventures provided us with space, funds, the right documentation and helped turn our idea into something viable. They have kept us very much alive and supported us through the journey so far.”
AUT Ventures CEO Steve Corbett has provided key mentorship to the Avice team along the way.
“Steve’s been a helpful mentor and helps me navigate my way through the start-up scene. It’s incredible to have mentors who have been through this process before.”
Since its inception, Avice has gone from strength to strength with funding from KiwiNet and AUT Ventures, was a finalist in Callaghan Innovation’s C-Prize Wear Technology challenge and participated in a three-month accelerator programme which provided invaluable mentorship and guidance. In 2018, Avice was one of the finalists in the New Kiwis Challenge, which encourages migrant entrepreneurs in New Zealand, and the team went to China to pitch their business. Parn credits this experience on the international stage as one of the proudest moments of his entrepreneurship journey so far.
Before Avice launched, Parn didn’t have much exposure to the sports technology sector but that has now changed.
“I live and breathe this world now. I’ve always had a passion for wearables and every day I now get to work on what excites me.”
In the sports technology industry, Avice aims to lead the way. “We are always talking to people who are in our market. Data and information is what the industry wants and is so valuable to coaches, personal trainers and athletes. They want to win. They want that gold medal and to be the best,” says Parn. “The only way to do that is to find out the how and we are always working on how to achieve that goal.”
Although there are many highs, life in a start-up doesn’t come without its challenges. “Moving from being an engineer to a CEO of a company is a drastic change,” shares Parn. “There are a lot of ups and downs. It’s about going through the failures, learning from them and moving forwards.” The original concept of Avice has changed since its inception as Parn and his colleagues learn the significance of the pivot in the start-up world. “It’s important to know how to pivot. We’ve gone through multiple pivots which changed from what we were to what we are now. We finally understand where Avice could go and this comes from continually learning.”
Parn uses the analogy of Lego pieces to explain his start-up journey. “You’ve just go to put them together so it becomes something. That’s where we are right now. We’re building blocks we need for the future. I know it’s going to be a long journey but that’s what I understand now. It’s a journey and I’m learning every step of the way.”