The KiwiNet award recognises a highly motivated student who has made significant progress developing an idea that can change the world. These students are making outstanding contributions to business innovation or have created innovative businesses in Aotearoa New Zealand through technology licencing, start-up creation or by providing expertise to support business innovation.
Luke Campbell – Millions of calls made smarter with Vxt
Co-founder and CEO of call and voicemail platform Vxt, Luke Campbell is studying toward a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Economics at the University of Canterbury. Luke started the business with co-founder, and long-time partner, UC computer scientist Lucy Turner in November 2018. Since launching the company, Luke and the now 17-strong Vxt team have rapidly grown the Vxt business. Luke also dedicates time to encouraging other students to launch their ventures and assists with start-up challenges and hackathons.
Vxt is replacing traditional phone systems with a smart calling and voicemail platform for lawyers, recruiters, and professional services. Vxt boasts over 10,000 platform users – across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – and has helped customers manage over 2 million phone calls since launching their first service in October 2019. Vxt’s customers use the flexible software platform to make calls with business numbers from anywhere while automating administrative tasks associated with phone calls, often saving multiple hours per staff member per week.
Vxt is part of the Google Cloud for Startups Programme, the Vodafone Xone Partner Series Programme with BNZ, and the prestigious Startmate accelerator programme. The fast-growing company has raised close to $1 million so far and is raising additional funds to enable continued growth. Counting Microsoft, Zoom, Cisco, and many more among their competitors, Luke and the team at Vxt are a great example of what a small group of dedicated Kiwis can achieve on the global stage.
