Her economics teacher came to class with a problem – he had just lost his tools off the back of his quadbike and then run over them with his combine harvester – so Emily and four classmates set about finding a solution, as part of a Youth Enterprise Scheme business project.
They developed a soft-sided zip-up bag that attaches to the back carrier of a quadbike. It has enough capacity and rigidity to keep tools, an orphan lamb, a huge lunchbox and other equipment safe – but then packs down flat to make room for the farm dog.
Fast-forward four years and Emily has worked up a prototype, surveyed 150 farmers, tweaked the design, engaged a manufacturer, sold the first run , introduced the Flatpak into Farmlands stores around the country and brought her product to the 2016 Fieldays at Mystery Creek.
On the way she has found her niche in the world of entrepreneurialism and start-up bootstrapping culture.
Tasker dropped out of a B Com degree course at Lincoln University after a six-week Venture Up bootcamp made her realise she was more of a hands-on learner – and now acknowledges she has learned from a few mistakes on her journey.
“Like when my previous manufacturer told me he had managed to save costs by shortening up the Flatpaks by a couple of centimetres, when they were specifically designed to hold pigtail standards, and losing that length meant they wouldn’t fit.”
She started selling the generation II Flatpak containers made with tougher material, more rigidity, waterproofed and insulated in February 2015 by attending all the agricultural field days.
Coming from a farm background she enjoyed chatting with the farmers and made contacts to release the product through Farmlands stores as part of a new safety range they were releasing.
The safety aspect comes not through adding extra weight to the quadbike but by having gear stowed in the Flatpak, making it safer for the farmer to concentrate on the driving without having to worry about losing gear and running it over.
“The Flatpak also meets all WorkSafe criteria because they are not a rigid structure on the bike,” Tasker said.
She came up with the idea of delivering the units to 39 Farmlands stores through the North and South Islands to do in-store training and raise awareness of the Flatpak. She said it was a fantastic road trip for her and her mum and nana, and resulted in great buy-in from Farmlands staff.
“They loved the fact we took the time to call in and see them.”
Tasker relocated to Wellington after the Venture Up bootcamp and has been immersed in the start-up culture in the capital, meeting and working with other entrepreneurs, taking on mentors and working interesting part-time jobs for Summer of Tech and helping to organise an “unconference”.
Her mentors helped her learn and grow and “constantly question me about the importance of the decisions I am making”.
She wants to keep the Flatpak New Zealand-made, but is looking at price points and uses for the product in other sectors as well as possible adaptations for side-by-sides and utes, and multiple marketing channels.
