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Mission
Our mission is to create a business community that fosters digital innovation.
Our mission is to build a sustainable digital industry on Te Tai Poutini West Coast. We incubate digital businesses and provide a range of digital services including workshops, training, coaching, mentoring, advisory services and digital literacy programs. We provide full scope digital development services
About Us
Originating in Christchurch, EPIC was created as a solution to the issue of displaced business following the catastrophic 2011 earthquakes that devastated Christchurch City. EPIC Christchurch naturally evolved into a collaborative business space. Following the success of this initiative, former Mayor of Westport Garry Howard saw an opportunity to bring something new and exciting to the town, reaching out to Ben Dellaca to replicate and implement a similar model here, and so EPIC Kawatiri was born.
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Founded in 2016 by Ben and Tash Barnes Dellaca, EPIC Kawatiri has become the heart of innovative business initiative and collaboration in Westport.
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Back in the day what is now EPIC Kawatiri was a distribution warehouse for Postie Plus. The building has been through a few different life times since, including housing an office for Work & Income, a gym, and today housing a diverse group of local and digital businesses working remotely.
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EPIC Kawatiri originally consisted of a small team bought over from Christchurch from Ben’s gaming development company Cerebal Fix. The original EPIC Westport crew began making games for Disney and Dreamworks, among other digital projects, and have vastly expanded their portfolio since.
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Within the first year of EPIC’S operation in Westport, Tash got to work on the business development front, liaising with local government and applying for funding to create 22 jobs. Development West Coast significantly contributed to the initiative, granting $450,000 through the Provincial Growth Fund, enabling Tash to run various business courses and workshops, providing innovative insights for local business owners, and contributing to community development.
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EPIC Kawatiri regularly host events around digital innovation and business initiatives that are usually free for members of our local community to attend. Follow EPIC’S event page on Facebook to get across upcoming events.
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Benjamin Dellaca is the founder of EPIC Westport and Director of CerebralFix. A finalist in the New Zealand Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Ben has founded and run several entertainment businesses including CerebralFix.
Tash Barnes Dellaca is a founder and General Manager of the EPIC Kawatiri Westport innovation hub. Natasha is responsible for designing and delivering the EPIC Kawatiri Westport business model, programs, communications and growth strategy.
