By Miriam Bell, Senior Reporter for STUFF, published May 5, 2025
Betta Group has become the largest property inspection company in the country, using a licensing model. When Matt Mason returned from his OE he spotted a gap in the property inspection market, and developed the first software inspection system customised to the New Zealand market. Now, after years of hard graft, Betta Group, the Havelock North=based company he built around his software system, is the country’s largest property inspection company, and provides nationwide coverage. But it all started with whitebait.
Mason began his career with a BA in architectural engineering, but when he got back to Hawke’s Bay in 2011 after his OE he had to decide whether to re-enter the workforce or start a business. He could see there were no property inspection companies that used software systems that were “super-customised” for New Zealand, and wanted to provide a solution for the market. “I had just $500 to my name, but my dad told me I had to get off the couch and do something, so I headed to the Tutaekuri River and went whitebaiting for three months. “I made $5000, and with it I bought a car, a computer and a moisture meter, and started building some software.”