Transcript – ARA Journeys – Blending culture and innovation in business

[Video: ARA Journeys’ Amber Taylor and her daughter smile while looking at a smartphone. On screen is augmented reality (AR) gaming character, Manu, who stands on a pencil drawing of himself.]

Amber Taylor: Kia ora, my name is Amber Taylor, and I am the co-founder and CEO of a digital tech company called ARA Journeys.

ARA is a company that specialises in using augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, along with combining that with mobile technologies to bring history to life. 

[Video: A woman walks through a park and along a forest path, holding up her smartphone to watch AR character Manu interact with the surroundings.]

Amber: We like to reconnect people back to the land and we do that by using indigenous narratives.

[Text on screen: Tell us about yourself and how ARA Journeys was founded.]

Amber: ARA Journeys began in 2017 when I met my business partner, Dr Isaac Warbrick. The work we began doing in ARA Journeys, it really stemmed from a passion of wanting to help rangatahi connect. 

And so, for my own children, I was seeing that disconnect in them and then we started building up the company and really working with different Iwi, mana whenua, whānau, around the stories that were important to them as whānau, I started seeing a shift in my children as well and wanting to learn more about their culture, learn more about their marae that they belong to. 

[Video: A group of school children with tablet computers run through a park, then sit on a grassy bank to watch Manu share a short story.]

Amber: And it was since then that we decided that this is something our whole country needs.

[Text on screen: How important is whanaungatanga (building relationships) in business?]

Amber: Whanaungatanga and relationships in ARA Journeys is the main reason that we have a business. When you’re working with indigenous stories and you want to honour the mana that comes with having that knowledge, those relationships, if you don’t have them, you’re not going to get very far.[Text on screen: How is ARA Journeys creating new technologies that embrace and celebrate diverse culture?]

Amber: When we started ARA Journeys, the technology that we used to develop our first prototype wasn’t new. What we noticed with the content that was being developed using the technology that we were interested in, it was all very western-looking, very western-focused. It was very gamified so there wasn’t a lot of educational content out there and that was something we really wanted to focus on and change. 

So, when we developed our first prototype, ‘The Journeys of Manu’, we created an augmented reality character. He looked Māori, he sounds Māori, he can kōrero Māori. 

[Video: AR character Manu, wearing a pounamu (greenstone pendant) and piupiu (skirt-like garment made from dried flax), explores a park in Manukau.]

Amber: We won a lot of awards for him right across the country as well as internationally.

But the thing that I love the most about Manu is when we showcased him to local schools out here in Manukau City, one of the boys put his hand up when we were doing a presentation and he’s like: “Whaea, whaea, he looks just like me”, and so having that reaction from a rangatahi Māori who could now see themselves in that digital space, being Māori. That’s the thing that we love the most about Manu.

[Text on screen: What are your 3 best business tips for someone starting out?]

Amber: Three best business tips for anyone starting out is don’t wait until you have all your ducks in a row. The longer you wait, the more chances are that someone is going to come into that space and they’re going to beat you to the market. So, get out quick. 

Second piece of advice, and probably one of the most important, build your networks. Having a great network that you can lean on is the best thing that you can do. 

And that leads to my third piece of advice, don’t be afraid to ask for help, which really lends to that building your network space.

[Text on screen: What is a key piece of advice for Māori-owned businesses?]

Amber: Don’t be afraid to be your authentic self. There is a space and place in any sector that you work in where culture is really important, and you’ll see that coming across in a lot of organisations nowadays, who were very westernised, who are now looking for mātauranga Māori, for Māori to come into their workspace, for Māori to come in and be themselves to create better workspaces for everyone. 

[Video: ANZ logo]