Michael shares that he, his then wife Susanne, and their son Max (who was two years old at the time) first came to New Zealand on holiday back in 1990. Susanne had visited previously and convinced Michael it was a beautiful place to explore. This was well before online bookings were commonplace, the plan had been to hire a motorhome, but when that wasn’t possible, so they rented a car and stayed in backpackers throughout the country. Michael admits his English wasn’t very strong at the time, but the family thoroughly enjoyed the Kiwi hospitality, stunning landscapes, and glorious weather.
A few years after returning to their homeland, they found themselves still reminiscing about the trip. With their family slowly growing, Michael and Susanne decided to try migrating to New Zealand. After several years of applications, they finally had enough points to make the move “down under” in 1997. By then, Max was nine and his sister Lena was four and a half.
The children adjusted to the move remarkably quickly, picking up the language with ease. Michael recalls a story about Lena shortly after arriving: while at kindergarten, she had taken a cracker with, what she thought, was Nutella on it, only to discover it was Vegemite! A rude awakening to a classic Kiwi flavour.
Michael soon realised just how quickly the children were adapting when the family would sit down for dinner and speak in German, only for the kids to reply in English. Sometimes he had to stop them and ask them to switch back to German, as he simply couldn’t keep up!
Before relocating, the family had agreed they would give their new adventure three years before deciding whether to stay or return to Germany. Needless to say, they stayed.
Soon after settling in New Zealand, Michael set himself up as an IT consultant under the company name BayPC Consulting. This marked his first step towards establishing himself as a trusted IT expert in Tauranga. A year later, while attending a conference, he bumped into a young local who had just returned from his OE in the UK, Steven Vincent. The two struck up a conversation and began supporting each other with their respective tech ventures. Before long, they decided to combine their efforts, and in 2001, TechnologyWise was born.
Michael is also a strong advocate for open-source technology. He shares that at times this has felt like swimming against the flow when it comes to attitudes to technology. However, once customers understand that open-source solutions can deliver products that are just as good, if not better, as well as fairer and more secure than other more commercial products, they are often open to making the switch.
At 67, Michael says he is still incredibly excited and proud of the work he and his team do. Over the years, the team has grown to include five additional members. Impressively, they still work with some of the original customers they partnered with 24 years ago, that’s what you call customer loyalty!
Michael and his team occupy several offices here at Basestation and enjoy being part of a coworking environment alongside other small businesses and entrepreneurs who value community. If, like Michael, you have a team looking for shared office space within a supportive and collaborative environment, come and try coworking with us.
Visit our website for more information, or drop by and see us at 148 Durham Street, Tauranga. We’re open Monday to Friday, 8:30am–5:00pm.