About Openground
Where young founders start.
Openground exists so students can learn business by doing it: real ventures, real customers, real money, with real operators beside them.
Our mission
Beyond theory. Into business.
We give students a supportive environment that builds entrepreneurial skill, personal growth, and the confidence to have a real go.
Not every venture will succeed, and that is the point: trying, failing and trying again in a place built for it.
And it does not end at graduation. Alumni stay part of Openground, and many return as the mentors and guest speakers for the students behind them.
The story so far
One big idea, years in the making.
- The ideaBill Smale QSM spends years championing, mentoring and funding high school enterprise in New Zealand, and sets out to build a programme where students run real, established businesses.
- 2022 · LaunchAfter 12 years of convincing, Westlake Boys High School agrees to launch Openground as a Year 13, in-school programme.
- The B:HIVE, and expansion to Year 12Openground adds a Year 12 programme, run after school at the B:HIVE, Smales Farm. Students get an extra year of building, a real office among working founders, and the chance to prove they want it beyond school hours.
- 2026 · Charitable trustThe Openground Foundation is incorporated as a registered charitable trust.
- 2027 · Four schoolsYear 12 opens to Westlake Boys, Westlake Girls, Rosmini College and Carmel College. One cohort, learning together.
- More to comeMore schools are on the roadmap. Watch this space.
Remembering William (Bill) Smale QSM
Bill founded Openground on a simple conviction: young people learn business by doing it. He spent decades backing high school enterprise in New Zealand, was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal for it, and gave this programme its name, its home and its standards.
Bill passed away in July 2026. Openground carries his name on its logo and his conviction in everything it does.
Governance
The board.
Will Montague-Brown
Trustee
2022 alumnus and founder of AI consultancy CAIVO. Now giving back to the programme he came through.
Paul Fordham
Trustee
Headmaster of Westlake Boys High School, where Openground began.
Brett Hollister
Trustee
Advancement and Development Manager at Westlake Boys, and a director of Thrive Nation and School Solutions.
Operations
The people in the room.
Steve Anderson
Programme Coordinator
Steve runs Openground week to week: the sessions, the mentor pairings, the guest speakers and the events. A Westlake Boys teacher and former COO of an Inc. 500 company, he brings real operating experience to students every single day.
Dale Viljoen
Fractional CTO
Adam Bone
Fractional CMO
Will Montague-Brown
Trustee