Career began on a stage for BTS founder

A profile of Austin Rattray

By Darren Greenwood, Auckland | Monday, 20 June 2011
Austin Rattray’s IT career path started when he was a student.

The 21-year-old owner of Bay Technology Services Ltd, grew up in Waihi, where he first developed an interest in light and sound equipment while working on school plays.

Rattray stuck with it and became involved in bigger productions, volunteering as technical director for the Oresome Wearable Arts competition, and at gala events held at the historic Martha Mine.

While still a student, he began to earn some money training others on light and sound equipment.

Rattray graduated from school and did a short OE in Europe and North America, picking up theatre lighting work along the way during the Brighton Festival in the UK.

“When I came back, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I am no good at doing nothing. I started doing IT work, initially just dabbling but I grew busier and busier and I realised there was a huge demand in the area.”

Rattray formed Bay Technology Services in 2008, when he was just 18, and says that trade has been growing ever since.

“Our main offering is quality service at a reasonable price. We provide all your normal IT services, minus the jargon, the expense and hopefully the stress. We enjoy working with our clients to see what solution works best and fits their budget. Currently, the work is about half consumer, half business, though perhaps we are leaning more towards business lately.”

Business clients range from the local school in Whangamata, manufacturers and retailers, and BTS also services the local radio stations.

Rattray says his business approach continues to attract new clients, driven by word of mouth, which he believes is more reliable than advertising.

He still does some theatre lighting work in his spare time, along with cycling and photography. While technology has become the greater focus of his life, he applies his experience in theatre to his work.

“Doing the lighting work taught me how to handle situations and make decisions quickly. During a live show you have very little time to fix something, or find a work-around if something has changed from the plan,” he says.

BTS covers Waihi, a town of 4500 just south of the Coromandel Peninsula with a few small competitors, and the slightly less populous Whangamata.

“Waihi is a great town to work in, with lots of positive people moving the town forward and helping tourism,” he says.

BTS and an architect share an office above the WestPac Bank in the town centre, which Rattray says is good because it means there is always someone in the office to pick up or drop things off.

The company works well with its Auckland-based supplier, which stocks all the main brands, and provide overnight delivery 99 percent of the time.

“For such reasons, we carry very little new stock, as we can order the exact thing that is right for our client,” he says.

Earlier this year he employed his first contractor, a Mac repair and sales specialist, and expects to hire another before the year is out if business continues to grow as anticipated.

“Many people and businesses are just starting to get into smartphones, and having access to data on the road, so we are starting to set a lot of people up for such things.”

Rattray says BTS will continue to focus on the Waihi and Whangamata area.

“The business is growing and growing all the time,” adding that starting a company at the peak of the recession was good timing. “As things got tighter, businesses started looking elsewhere for their IT services, seeing if they could get a better price.”

Rattray says BTS has doubled its turnover since the recession, but growth seems to have eased again with many customers still struggling.

“I have only ever run this business through the recession, so I am unable to compare, but we have achieved what we have achieved in a recession, so I am excited looking forward to the future,” he says.