> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://vaughan.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Keeping busy, aiming high, and taking names.
- URL: https://vaughan.ai/blog/keeping-busy-aiming-high-and-taking-names/
- Published: 2013-05-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-07T23:20:53.000Z
- Author: Vaughan Fergusson
- Tags: Entrepreneurship, SaaS, #medium-import

I am part way through a bunch of projects so it is probably time for an update as I have been quiet lately. For very good reason.

For those that don’t know, I do a crazy goal every year. So far I have stopped reading newspapers (online and the “offline” versions) and TV news media for a year. That was a few years ago and I haven’t resumed media consumption since. [I cycled the length of New Zealand solo](http://nzuphill.8degrees.co.nz/?ref=vaughan.ai), from the bottom up. Uphill. Started a startup. Gone from watching 5+ hours of rugby a week to none. Did a year of not being a consumer. And some other weird but interesting challenges.

Last year I was a little late in starting, and at the beginning of August I kicked off a dry year. 12 months of no alcohol. 10 months in and I can report some interesting findings.

Firstly, wow! Is alcohol really a big part of our life and culture or what? You don’t really realise this until you step outside and look in. The simple gesture of sharing a drink with someone is the thing I miss the most, and it is really hard replacing the significance of this with some other social interaction. Mostly people expect you to have a beer with them after doing a deal, or completing a project, or hitting a milestone, and when you suggest an orange juice, there is that awkward “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had a problem with drink” situation or are you some religious fundamentalist where you have to explain that it is a dry year just for the challenge, and no other real reason other than just because. Going to a party and watching everyone progressively turn into morons over the course of the evening is quite surreal, and highly amusing. I can’t rate this high enough for it’s entertainment value. Sometimes I miss being a moron.

So two months to go and not sure if I will resume my habit of a glass of pinot in the evening. Running has become my new wind down tool.

About that running. So this year’s goal is to [run 1,000km](http://www.8degrees.co.nz/2012/12/19/1000-1000/?ref=vaughan.ai). The 1kk it has been dubbed. Roughly 3km a day. 20 a week. I picked 1,000k’s as it is specific, measurable (with your iPhone or a GPS watch), achievable, realistic (anyone can run 3km, you just need to do it every day) and time-bound, 1 year to do it. That makes it a SMART goal. Or something. But yeah, like my goal from 4 years ago to ride NZ solo, it comes down to being able to do something really achievable (run 3km, ride a bike for 6 hours) and repeat it on a regular basis, like daily.

In the first month I wondered if I could ever run 5k’s without stopping or puking. Now I can run 15km without any pause. Crazy to think I went from desk jockey to serial runner so quick. I now can’t wait to get out for a run. I love it.

I am 39% through on my 1,000 and on track to complete it by 31 December.

![](https://vaughan.ai/content/images/2026/11/5354a6ace715.png)

I do a couple of 5km runs during the week then do a big 15+km run on the weekend. This works the best. I tried running 3km every day, then 6km every second day, but have settled on my current regime and it means if I feel like it I can push for a 20km run on the weekend. A secondary goal for the year is to do a half marathon.

The other thing I am running is [my startup Vend](http://www.vendhq.com/?ref=vaughan.ai), my goal from 3 years ago to do a startup my way. Well, not 100% my way, I am not inventing anything new here. But 100% how I want to do it, and so far I have learnt my approach is not conventional, well in New Zealand anyway.

Vend is going exceptionally well.

![](https://vaughan.ai/content/images/2026/11/f1d12c3edd54.jpg)

Source: [instagram.com](http://instagram.com/p/V8CxD4kwMK/?ref=vaughan.ai) via [VendHQ.com](http://pinterest.com/vendhq/?ref=vaughan.ai) on [Pinterest](http://pinterest.com/?ref=vaughan.ai)

There are many ways to measure the success of Vend, depending on your point of view. We are not cashflow positive yet, which seems to be to some the only way to measure success. Obviously that’s the endgame. Same for Xero and other high growth companies. We have been cashflow positive twice! First time it lasted a day then we bought a new laptop. We were a handful of people then. Second time we hired 4 new people, and havent stopped hiring since. We are, as [Rod so eloquently puts it](https://twitter.com/ChrisKeall/status/268555413123919873?ref=vaughan.ai), not going to swim to the side of the pool. I think of us as going from the “Medium” speed swim-lane to the “Fast” lane. We want to grow as quick as we can to capitalize on the opportunity we have to establish Vend as the #1 platform for bricks and mortar retailers globally.

We have been doubling, tripling, quadrupling the value of the company every year, supported by our customer and revenue growth. We are growing between 10% and 20% month on month.

We have won a bunch of awards. 2011 Innovator of the year, Xero add-on partner of the year, Best Workplace 2012 in the Small Business category, 2013 Hi-tech Exporter of the Year (under $5m), 2013 Best Service Product, and others. I am proud of every award my team has earned. It is great recognition that we are doing amazing things, and will continue to.

Our team has gone from 1, me in 2010 to 11 at the end of 2011, 40 today and heading for 140 people as soon as we can find them, in three countries as we roll out our teams to the US, Australia and Europe. If you are looking to be part of something big, [get in touch](http://www.vendhq.com/jobs?ref=vaughan.ai).

When I started, I wondered what it would be like to have 10 people on board. Then 40\. [Culture is a big part of our success](http://pinterest.com/vendhq/we-work-at-vend/?ref=vaughan.ai). We have fun, work hard, and are passionate about retailers. We have built an amazing team who all feel like they have always been on board. That tells me we are doing something right when your team feels like one big family. 140 people will be the next cultural challenge for us, something we are not attempting lightly.

![](https://vaughan.ai/content/images/2026/11/743ec8b843b9.jpg)

Source: [instagram.com](http://instagram.com/p/YyiYo6m9BN/?ref=vaughan.ai) via [VendHQ.com](http://pinterest.com/vendhq/?ref=vaughan.ai) on [Pinterest](http://pinterest.com/?ref=vaughan.ai)

We have raised money four times. $100k, $1m, $2m, and just the other week we [closed a round for $8m](http://pandodaily.com/2013/05/17/new-zealand-based-vend-raises-8m-without-turning-to-the-valley/?ref=vaughan.ai) meaning we have raised $11m of capital in 3 years. We have raised all of our capital outside of the US with a large chunk of it coming from NZ, but half of our investment coming from offshore from Germany and Australia. I have an amazing shareholder list including Sam Morgan and Rowan Simpson from Trade Me, Christoph Janz, Christopher and the Point 9 team, Paul and Matt founders of Seek, Craig Winkler from MYOB, David & Nicki Wilson, Brian Gaynor and the Milford team, Koz and Amnon and the Southgate crew, Josh, Lance, Sacha, Nina and Craig, Miki and each of the Vend team who are all shareholders too. All A listers and all see the same big picture we see. We are building the #1 platform for bricks and mortar retailers. They all know a think or two about building big things too.

Not that there are rules around how you build a startup, but we feel we are writing our own in a way. Everything from our focus on culture, how we have raised capital, our global approach, and our product strategy. We are aiming high and pulling the slingshot back as far as the team can pull it, and are launching into the stratosphere.

So that is my update. Exciting times. Super busy times!

I wouldn’t want it any other way.

*Originally published at* [*www.8degrees.co.nz*](http://www.8degrees.co.nz/2013/05/25/keeping-busy-aiming-high-and-taking-names/?ref=vaughan.ai) *on May 25, 2013.*