Business Is Boring

How free meal planning is changing food research

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0000

What started as a way to escape meal planning admin has turned into a powerful tool shaping the future of food.

Appetise is a free, recipe-rich meal planning and smart shopping platform loved by tens of thousands across New Zealand and Australia. Co-founders Toby and Elise Hilliam transformed an admin-killer into a two-sided business: empowering home cooks and providing FMCG brands with authentic, behavioural insights.

In this episode, we explore how Appetise launched for free, rebranded from MenuAid, and leveraged its growing user base—now over 90,000 households—to deliver billions of genuine data points a month to brands. We dig into the funding, the rebrand, the shift to Australia, building culture, and how their stock tracker and insights platform are changing how food companies understand and engage their shoppers. This is a story about mission-driven growth, innovation in food tech, and creating tools that serve both people and brands better.

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The billion-dollar company that's just getting started

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0000

From starting Crimson Education as a teenager to leading a company operating at a $300 million revenue run rate, Jamie Beaton has been on an extraordinary journey. In this episode, Simon Pound talks with the Crimson founder about his path from acceptance into 25 of the world’s top universities to scaling a billion-dollar global education business. They cover the creation of Crimson Global Academy, the role of AI in shaping education, and Jamie’s new teaching role at the University of Auckland’s Business Navigators program. Along the way, they explore lessons in resilience, leadership, and building ambitious ventures from Aotearoa to the world.

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From Aotearoa to the world: how Wai Mānuka is going global

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0000

What started as a conversation between three friends in Whakatāne became a new category in drinks - a premium sparkling Mānuka honey beverage rooted in kaupapa Māori.

In this episode, Joseph Harawira shares the Wai Mānuka journey - from army discipline and sports high performance to launching at the America’s Cup and landing the brand in New York. We talk about staying true to cultural values, sharing the story of Aotearoa, and building a business that’s as ambitious as it is grounded.

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The AI tool that turns conversations into action

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0000

What if your meetings, interviews, or coaching sessions could turn themselves into structured insights, ready-to-go content, or instant action points? That’s what Contented AI - a Christchurch-based startup led by Lucy Pink and Hannah Hardy-Jones - is building.

In this episode, we talk about the journey from early idea to functioning product, bootstrapping vs raising, building with intention from Aotearoa, and how the Contented team has carved out a distinctive wedge in the AI space. We also dig into what it means to build a tool that listens and suggests - not just takes notes - and how their users are shaping what comes next.

Join us for a conversation about product-market fit, AI possibility, founder grit, and building global software that still feels human.

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Rowan Simpson on the right way to be wrong

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Rowan Simpson has helped shape some of Aotearoa’s most iconic startups - from Trade Me and Xero to Vend and Timely - usually from behind the scenes. But with the release of his new book How to Be Wrong, he’s stepped into the spotlight to share some hard-earned lessons about success, leadership, and the quiet people who build great companies.

In this episode, we talk about what startup culture still gets wrong, how stories are told and who gets left out, and why the real impact of startups should be measured far beyond headlines and valuations.

Rowan opens up about the mistakes he’s made, the decisions that still stay with him, and the power of doing the right thing even when it’s hard. We dig into ideas he hasn’t been asked about elsewhere - from capital gains tax and the role of government, to the inside story of one of the stories he shares in the book that host Simon Pound was working on with him, the restructure of Vend after a funding round failed.

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How AF Drinks is leading their space in the US

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0000

AF Drinks is the fast-growing alcohol-free beverage brand from Aotearoa that is rapidly expanding into global marketplaces, landing on shelves across the US, and even teaming up with global celebrities like Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner.

Lisa King, founder of AF Drinks, joins the pod to discuss launching with purpose, building credibility in a new, huge market, and how the company is redefining what it means to celebrate without alcohol. We also dig into the reality of building a consumer product company - the capital, the inventory, the logistics - and how a few new retail launches are set to grow the brand even more.

It’s a masterclass in values-driven brand building, from one of the most impressive founders from Aotearoa.

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How Polymath is reimagining maths class

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0000

What if maths class looked more like Roblox than a workbook? In this episode, Sophie Silver - co-founder and CEO of Polymath - joins us to talk about building a game-based learning platform that kids actually want to use. From her background in psychology and tutoring to launching through Startmate and now reaching students across the world, Sophie shares how Polymath is reimagining education through adaptive algorithms, immersive gameplay, and real-world problem solving.

We explore what it takes to build a new category in edtech, why focusing only on maths has been a strength, and what others can learn from how Polymath balances fun and rigour. Plus, insights on product design, parental trust, and why sometimes the best way to teach is to play.

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Ben Forman & Kat Lintott - From Wrestler to What’s Next

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Kat Lintott and Ben Forman helped build Wrestler into one of Aotearoa’s most forward-thinking creative and production studios – fusing storytelling, technology and culture in work for brands like Allbirds, and pioneering bold new spaces like the Web3 project Soul Aether. After scaling the studio and building a vibrant creative community, they sold Wrestler to UFORodeo – a move that opened the door to a new phase, where they are still supporting projects.
In this episode of Business is Boring, they join us to reflect on the full journey: what it takes to build a studio from scratch, the lessons learned through success and challenge, and what it means to evolve your identity and work while staying connected to your creative roots.
Today, Ben is building Ongoing Theory, helping people and businesses reconnect with their natural rhythms and unlock better ways of working. Kat led Rewiring Aotearoa, and is now exploring business ideas aimed at solving problems in women’s health – particularly for those overlooked by traditional research and medicine.
This conversation spans creativity, transition, responsibility and possibility – and offers a glimpse into what comes after “success”, when you’re ready to build something new again, on your own terms.

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How Pals became Pals

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Pals is the pastel-coloured RTD that somehow made ready-to-drink drinks cool for the first time. But it wasn’t always assured to be a success, in fact, it started with a wine brand that was very hard to make a business from, a lot of learning, and a sense that there had to be a better way.

This week on Business is Boring, we sit down with Nick Marshall and Mat Croad, two of the co-founders of Pals, to unpack how they turned an overlooked, over-sugared category into a cultural icon. We go deep on what it takes to build a brand people love, how they’ve resisted the typical “grow fast, sell out” script, and why category creation is the new brand advantage.
From first sell-outs in the Mount, to Halloween costumes and B Corp ambitions—this one’s a masterclass in modern brand building, from two pals who just knew there had to be a better way.

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How timber innovation can protect old growth forests

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0000

When you think of premium feature timber for cladding, decking or façades, your mind likely goes to cedar - that rich, beautiful wood loved by architects and homeowners.

But there’s a cost. Cedar and other prized timbers are often harvested from ancient, irreplaceable forests. Logging them disrupts ecosystems, accelerates climate risk, and destroys biodiversity - all to meet demand for aesthetic and performance expectations from people who don’t often know the true cost of their choices.

Daniel Gudsell saw the problem. And rather than telling people to stop using beautiful timber, he set out to build a better option.

His company, Abodo, is pioneering a new category of rapidly renewable, high-performance wood - grown in sustainable forests, thermally modified to stand up to the elements, and positioned to win hearts as well as specs.

It’s part science, part supply chain, and a lot of brand - building a better future for timber by changing not just the product, but how we perceive it.

After more than 20 years in the space, Abodo is gaining global traction. But as Daniel shares in this episode, in many ways they’re just getting started.

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The virtual CFOs with very real results

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0000

You’ve probably come across Oxygen Advisors if you’ve spent any time around Aotearoa’s startup scene. And if you haven’t, well - you’ve almost certainly heard of the companies they’ve helped grow. They’ve been behind the scenes with the likes of Tracksuit, Auror, Ideally and dozens more - helping them grow, operate best in class finance teams and raise capital - guiding them through the tough parts of building. With over 100 startups backed and a 97% survival rate, Matt Dold and Mike Mandis have built a track record that’s almost unheard of.

In this episode, they join us to pull back the curtain - sharing the frameworks that work, the good habits to cultivate, and the mistakes they help founders avoid. They’re speaking more publicly now because they want more founders to succeed. And if you’re building something - or thinking about it - this conversation’s well worth a listen.

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The compostable cling wrap winning big in the US

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 17:00:00 -0000

In a world drowning in plastic waste, Jon Reed of Compostic is pioneering a revolutionary approach to everyday kitchen products.

Through sheer determination and innovative thinking, Jon transformed a personal frustration with single-use plastics into a thriving business that now sits on the shelves of major US retailers like Whole Foods and Target. His home compostable cling film and kitchen bags represent more than just a product - they're a bold challenge to the traditional plastics industry. He has expanded Compostic from a small New Zealand startup to a brand distributed across thousands of stores.

2025 has thrown a few tariff-shaped curveballs at founders like Jon - and the going has been tough - but he’s still dead-set on his goal of banishing single-use plastic. How is he navigating the chaos of today's international trade landscape? Listen now to find out.

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Changing the face of investment

Mon, 26 May 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Finance, investment and better money habits have traditionally been areas mainly staffed by, led by and advocated by men. Boring men.

Two friends, Sophie Hallwright and Victoria Harris, saw a need for interesting and relevant information, advice and community for women. They launched The Curve, a platform boasting an internationally popular podcast, investing club, courses and community. The Curve is now a fantastic example of how building community and providing value can be turned into a business that creates positive impact and profit.

During a brief visit home to Aotearoa, co-founder Sophie Hallwright sat down with Simon Pound to discuss blazing a pathway for women in investment, before she headed back to London to continue the good work.

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Why great operators can make for great venture capitalists

Mon, 19 May 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Venture capital is one of the most prominent types of capital out there. But it isn’t necessarily a great fit for every business.

We’re joined by Barnaby Marshall, partner and investor at Icehouse Ventures, to talk VC, when it is good, when it is not helpful, and also to chat about his path into the space. Barnaby has invested in and supported great companies like Dawn Aerospace, Basis Tracksuit, and Ideally - and is part of Brand Fund - which is where host Simon Pound got to see him at work up close. But he is also an entrepreneur and active business grower. Before VC he was a co-owner at I Love Ugly and part of its incredible growth journey, and today he is also an owner at New Ground Coffee.

We chat about how this experience helps him help spot great business and help great founders, and what kind of companies would benefit from venture capital partnership.

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How Keep the Change changes lives

Mon, 12 May 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Being good with money is not easy. The whole credit, consumer, and hedonistic world are built to try to get people to spend too much on things they don’t need, for short term gain. The actual tips for how to be better with money are quite simple. Spend less than you earn, save a good percentage even when you don’t earn a lot, stay away from expensive debt, invest in upskilling and invest for the long-term as compounding benefits are your friend.

However simple these ideas might seem actually connecting with people and getting them to believe they can make the change can be the hardest thing. Luke Kemeys is one of the new breed of financial influencers who is able to make these messages connect by sharing his story, by making the content relevant and by turning up time and time again to land the messages and habits.

His media brand Keep the Change educates, informs and entertains through podcasts, courses, events and his regular newsletter. His approach sees the free content deliver heaps of value, and this creates a pipeline of business for his accountancy practice. His work has helped countless people get out of debt and into good positions, and he joins the podcast to chat his approach to money, how he learnt to practice good habits and how sharing great content can lead to business success.

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Doing better at business by doing better

Mon, 05 May 2025 17:00:00 -0000

In theory every business has the potential to bake doing good into how it makes money. But very few do.

Brianne West has shown with first Ethique, and now Incrediballs, that with intentional action you can make a brand, business, product and movement for change, where everything you sell means you create a net positive for the world. Brianne joins us to share how she does this, and how the opportunity is there for everyone else to too! Incrediballs is her new venture, nearing launch for the effervescent tablets that you drop in water for the soft drink experience and taste, without the plastic bottles, transported water or massive sugar load. We can’t wait to see the impact these can have on the world’s biggest plastic pollution market. If you are interested in learning more about how to design your business to create positive impact with everything you do check out Brianne’s free courses and materials at Business, but Better.

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Why people leaders make great CEOs

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0000

People leaders are often the quietly most vital parts of a business.

Great people leaders are like a cross between HR and an executional chief operating officer - someone who takes the business strategy and breaks it down into what everyone needs to do, and then helps every manager in a business stay accountable. There are no great companies without great people policy and execution, and people leaders need to understand culture, strategy, how people tick and how to create high performance environments- all the kind of things that also make for a great CEO. So why don’t we see more CEOs coming from chief people officer backgrounds?

This episode on the pod we talk to Olivia Dyet, founder and CEO at recruitment startup Empathix and Pene Barton, CEO at Crimson Global Academy. Both these leaders came from leading people operations, and both are at the front of what great looks like in terms of AI execution and implementation both on how they work and how their teams operate. We have a great chat about how this could be a huge opportunity for more diverse leadership with so many amazing women in people and operations, how we may need to redefine what a technical leaders is in the age of AI and about the practical toolbox of AI tools everyone should be using today.

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How to build a community of 10,000 marketers

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0000

Building community can be one of the most important parts of building a brand and business.

When people talk about businesses and customers, we are really talking about a community of people. What does it take to become a valuable and useful member of a community, rather than just a business selling into a community? What are the benefits? And how do you set out to give enough value that people want to do things with you and for you?

These are all questions today’s guest is an expert in. Chanel Clark is a marketing leader who decided she needed community around her to help her grow in her role, leading marketing for Ārepa, a functional FMCG brand with a mission to help make brains better. When Chanel started The Marketing Club she thought she might get 30 people. As of April 2025, they have 10,000 members across AU and NZ.

Chanel joins the pod to talk what it takes to build such a community, and how listening to that community is the key to success.

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Creating an Extraordinary new category

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0000

On this season of Business is Boring we’re talking to leaders who are great examples of the best of business - and today we are looking at the opportunities and challenges of creating your own category. Creating a category allows you to be the leader and get away from the competition.

But it is one of the hardest things to do - as you need to create awareness, trust, new habits and understanding in the market. It takes energy, positivity, confidence, optimism, perseverance as well as a great product and business discipline. These are things that Steven Zinsli has in spades - and that host Simon Pound has seen up close by working on their brand and being an investor.

If you’re on LinkedIn you will have seen the way Steve is building in public, sharing the wins, the work and the journey to create a new category of payments for business. Today there is no standard way for any non-wage payments to be distributed to workers. There are a bunch of very ordinary options -gift cards, reimbursements or tax attracting extra payments in payroll. Their platform is built to give every employee a card and account, and help the finance function track, manage and report on all dollars allocated and spent. The amount wasted on gift card admin and unspent dollars, on admin time for reimbursement and on inefficient reporting is massive, but today people don’t think of these as all having one solution. What does it take to establish a new idea? What can others learn about communication and turning up? And how might other business people think about choosing their own lane? Hear from Steve Zinsli, founder and CEO at Extraordinary in this episode.

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A banking challenger emerges

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0000

This season on Business is Boring we’re talking to people who are examples of better ways to do business. This week we meet Jovan Pavlicevic, co-founder of SquareOne, a financial empowerment and spending card for kids, and now, Emerge, the challenger for small business banking.

In many ways Emerge is the classic disruptor, coming in and taking share from the big bank incumbents by being faster, nicer, smarter and more customer-centric than the big players. We learn what it takes to be a positive disruptor, as one thing about Emerge is that they’ve got where they are by being better to deal with, not by disrupting in destructive ways.

We’ve loved seeing Emerge so far, and keep an eye out for where they go next as they continue to advocate for more modern banking regulations and services in Aotearoa.

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From Aotea to the world: Tama Toki on energy, connection, and purpose

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Growing up in a self-sufficient community on Aotea Great Barrier Island, Tama Toki owes much of his problem-solving nous and deep connection to the whenua to his unique upbringing. As the founder of Aotea (a skincare line rooted in rongoā Māori knowledge) and Aotea Energy (a company focused on renewable micro-grid solutions), Tama’s work blends innovation with purpose.

In this final episode of Business is Boring for the season, we dive into Tama’s journey, the mātauranga Māori guiding his ventures, and his vision for a future where energy and business empower communities. This is the last episode in this run for Business is Boring, and such a fitting guest to end on – Tama embodies the potential of business to build a better world, while broadening our understanding of what business can be.

Thank you to all our incredible guests and listeners for joining us on this journey!

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Creating Humanistic AI

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:00:00 -0000

AI is becoming an integral part of daily life, and chances are you’ve already used the work of today’s guest. Tom Gruber is the co-founder and creator of Siri, the intelligent assistant that revolutionised how we interact with technology with Apple. But Tom’s contributions to AI extend far beyond voice commands—he’s a pioneer of “Humanistic AI”, a design philsophy that champions the idea that artificial intelligence should amplify human potential, not replace it.

While in Aotearoa for the Spark Accelerate Summit, Tom joined Simon Pound to chat about designing human-centered tech, the future of AI, and how to create tools that genuinely enhance our lives.

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Building smarter cities and ethical AI with Dr. Ayesha Khanna

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:00:00 -0000

AI, smart cities, and the future of urban living aren’t just buzzwords—they’re reshaping our world. Few are driving this transformation more than Dr. Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Addo, an AI advisory firm dedicated to harnessing technology for the greater good. A futurist, thought leader in AI ethics, and passionate advocate for diversity in tech, Dr. Khanna’s impact spans continents, from shaping smart city initiatives in Asia to empowering young women through her education nonprofit 21st Century Girls.

While Dr. Khanna was in Aotearoa for the Spark Accelerate Summit, she joined Simon Pound to chat about her vision for ethical AI, smarter cities, and tech that uplifts humanity.

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How to get the best of AI today

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 16:00:00 -0000

AI can be a superpower, but like all tools, if you know what you’re doing you’re going to get a better result. In a nutshell: the better the inputs, the better the outputs.

That’s what Edmundo Ortega is here to help with. He’s an AI educator at Section - the business education and up-skilling platform - who was here in New Zealand to teach a course on AI prompting, and to present at the Spark Accelerate summit. Edmundo is a seasoned entrepreneur and Silicon Valley expert and he joined us to talk about his journey, his views on the future of tech, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

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Live from Spark Accelerate: Balancing innovation and efficiency for organisational success

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:00:00 -0000

How can organisations proactively disrupt themselves to stay ahead in rapidly changing markets while optimising costs? Nadine Higgins hosts a panel of international business and technology leaders for an engaging discussion on creating a culture of innovation that encourages risk-taking and experimentation, balanced with smart resource allocation and efficiency improvements.

Expect transformative ideas from frontline disruptors, as they explore the importance of continuous reinvention to maintain competitive advantage and organisational resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Featuring: Edmundo Ortego (partner, Machine & Partners), Brian Northern (group CIO, Fulton Hogan), Dave Scullin (chief digital officer, Zespri), Sarah Carney (Australia / NZ CTO, Microsoft)

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How Karma Drinks earns its name in Sierra Leone

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Karma Drinks and All Good Organics are among the best examples of businesses putting purpose and social impact at the heart of what they do. While providing great products, they also provide fairer wages to the growers and entrepreneurs involved in the production of goods, and part of all proceeds go to the Karma Foundation, which works to provide opportunities to people in Sierra Leone. The chair of that foundation is Albert Tucker, who has been a pioneer and advocate for Sierra Leone and fair-trade practices globally. Albert was in New Zealand to share more about the foundation’s work, and he joined us with Simon Coley, co-founder of Karma Drinks and All Good Organics.

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NZ tech’s favourite recruiter

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Recruitment can be a great business if you do it well. You get roughly 15% of the salary of the people you place as a success fee, and if you have a good relationships with companies and talent you can repeat the process over and over. But it’s not a simple gig! Great recruiters need to understand the people and the businesses they work with - and every job you place directly affects your reputation.

Troy Hammond is a recruiter who specialises in the high growth space who has become a sounding board, support person and champion for so many people in the start-up scene. Through his company Talent Army and the work he does with his podcast We F#$king Love Startups, he generates amazing impact. To talk the journey, big goals, and what’s next, Troy joins the podcast.

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25 years of Nature Baby

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 23:00:20 -0000

Nature Baby is the organic baby wear company creating natural, long-lasting and well-made clothing, with a retail model that’s big on community. Co-founders Jacob and Georgia Faull have built to four stores, 55 staff and stockists around the world, and have ridden many waves of business, fashion and commerce to get there. To talk the journey, what’s next and their new circularity initiative Worn Again, co-founder Jacob Faull joins the pod.

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The old idea that could be the future for trades payments

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0000

When a client didn’t pay Max Semmons-Russell’s plumbing business for a completed $30k job it nearly knocked his company over. When it happened again he decided there had to be a better way. Asking around he saw the problem was huge, and there might be a solution that had fallen out of use. Escrow is a concept where people put a payment with a trusted third party until the product or service has been delivered. Max built Green Light Escrow to make it easy for trades businesses to use escrow to have certainty of payment, and customers to know they only pay when the job is delivered. To talk solving the big problem, starting a tech business on top of a successful plumbing business and what’s next, Max Semmons-Russell joins Simon Pound.

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The biggest opportunity for startups? People!

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Although the biggest spending line for most startups is people, most startups don’t get serious about people until they get pretty big. Doing so earlier might just be the biggest lever startups can pull to increase their chances of making it in the long run, and making the journey along the way as smooth as possible.

Kimberley Gilmour is one of New Zealand’s most experienced people leaders, having been instrumental in the scaling and operations of Icebreaker, Groov and Vend. Now the founder and CEO of Sprinklr, a new “people operations” company that is partnering with early-stage companies to help them grow, Kimberley joins the podcast to discuss her story, the origins of Sprinklr, and the two main pillars of great people management that she swears by.

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The Kiwi company making concrete change

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Concrete is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, with around 8% of global carbon emissions linked to its manufacture and use - but it wasn’t always like this. Local sustainable startup Neocrete has taken inspiration from 2000-year-old Roman methods to make concrete with half the carbon emissions today and a path to being entirely carbon neutral in a few years.

This world leading innovation has attracted top international VC support, and the co-founders Matt Kennedy-Good and Zarina Bazoeva are now poised to make huge impact on the biggest of industries. Kennedy-Good joins the pod to discuss making change in an established practice, the path to innovation and what’s next for the concrete industry.

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A new agency for a new world

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Daylight is an advertising and communications agency that was born out of The Spinoff newsroom, from the amazing work Toby Morris and Siouxsie Wiles did with Covid explainer gifs which grabbed the eye of the World Health Organisation. Daylight CEO Lee Lowndes has built the agency to add web and digital capability, leading to local and international growth in the hardest of markets.

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Innovating for the underserved accessibility market

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:00:00 -0000

In 2012 Mike Brown was hit by a car and became paralysed from the waist down. The transition to using a wheelchair and navigating a world not built for accessibility meant Mike saw a lot of things that could be improved to help improve access, enjoyment and opportunity.

He started Adaptdefy, where their first hero product, the LapStacker, helps wheelchair users more easily secure items in their laps with straps, and is a hit that is up for a Best Design Award this year.

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How Re-Leased powers 350,000 tenancies around the world

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 17:00:00 -0000

When Tom Wallace went to work at his family property business after university while working on start-up ideas he was amazed to find how poor the software was for property management. This led him to begin a company that helps property management companies run better businesses. Fast-forward 12 years and his company Re-Leased is a global leader, with offices around the world, 1,400 customers, 350,000 tenants and a rent roll of US$7.5 billion.

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Grinding away: how Megan Wyper went from employee to co-owner

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Megan Wyper started her career working with New Zealand coffee pioneers Millers coffee, before getting experience overseas in every element of the coffee business. On her return to New Zealand she joined Acme cups, a company you might not have heard of, but whose cups you’ve definitely drunk out of. They make the tulip cups you’ve seen in a variety of colours at specialist coffee stores (or bought from homeware and retail stores far and wide). To talk the journey, running a hospo-adjacent business and where Acme goes next, Meg Wyper joins the pod.

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How Anihana made it in America

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 17:00:00 -0000

In a few short years, Anihana have gone from a small New Zealand brand to being on the shelves of 6000+ stores in America. Their shower steamers, shampoo bars, bath bombs and friendly fun sustainable packaging have helped them grow so fast they’re currently doing a capital raise through Snowball Effect to service demand and growth.

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Making period products more available through Ads on Pads

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Roughly half of all people experience periods, so why aren’t period products more accessible? In Aotearoa today, if you are dealing with period-related issues and happen to be in a public place - a mall, cinema, office workplace or university, for example - it’s likely that you won’t have access to any free products that might help.

Ads on Pads is here to change this. Founder Aditi Gorasia’s goal is to make period products free by placing advertising on them, while ensuring the products themselves are natural, biodegradable and made of the safest possible materials.

To talk the journey, the problem today, and how more companies can support the battle for accessible period care, Aditi joined the pod.

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How bugs can save the world

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Jessie Stanley first came on the pod to chat founding and growing I Love Pies, the startup she led through to a successful exit. From there she has helped spearhead a project to stop sand being mined in Pākiri, been a food expert for Snackmasters, and is now back with a new startup to help solve food waste and create sustainable protein with one big solution, using a very small method: bugs! Good Grub creates vertical bug farms, feeding food waste to black soldier flies and harvesting the fast growing grubs to be a source of protein and amino acids, great for pet feed, animal feed, fish feed and fertiliser. Jessie presented her startup at the Icehouse Showcase in August, and joined us to chat that experience, how bugs will change the world, fundraising and life as a second time founder.

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The first approach to fitness training designed for women and the menstrual cycle

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Femmi is a coaching and fitness app challenging the outdated idea that periods limit performance. Their run training programmes and run club communities are designed to help solve the problem that sport training - like so many things - has been designed and built with the physiology of men in mind.

Femmi helps users train in a way that is mindful of the menstrual cycle; a pioneering approach currently followed by only 1% of the fitness industry. Along the way Lydia O’Donnell and her co-founder Esther Keown have built a devoted community and are employing a science-backed approach to help women move with confidence. To talk her journey from elite sport to founding a world-beating company, CEO Lydia O’Donnell joins the pod.

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How Hnry helped Australasia never think about tax again

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Hnry is now New Zealand’s largest accountant, helping to manage, file and contribute nearly 1% of New Zealand’s entire tax revenue - and is getting huge in Australia too. It’s done that rare thing: change people’s habits, getting them to have their wages paid to a different account so Hnry could deduct tax as they go. Co-founder and CEO James Fuller joins us to chat the journey he and his wife/co-founder Claire Fuller have been on, from humble beginnings with a single spreadsheet, to resigning from their great jobs, to now being a massive success that is - in many ways - just getting started.

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Has your workplace thought about menopause?

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Menopause happens to roughly half of everyone, yet until very recently it’s largely been absent from culture and work - and when it has popped up, it’s often been in ways that are stereotyped or misinformed. Niki Bezzant is one of the people leading a new conversation, helping more people understand, plan for and talk about menopause. Through speaking events, running workshops, and writing books This Changes Everything and The Everything Guide: Hormones, health and happiness in menopause, midlife and beyond, Niki helps women and workplaces navigate the menopause journey and beyond.

Follow Niki's work on Instagram here, and on the web at nikibezzant.com.

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What happened with Ārepa

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Ārepa has had a roller coaster year. The functional drinks company are on a mission to make brains work better, through their science and research-backed products. Last year, however, they went through a well-publicised process with the Ministry for Primary Industries about health claims on their labels, resulting in a media fire storm. How did that all come about? How did they move past it? And is the brain drink for real? To chat all this, founders Angus Brown and Zachary Robinson join the pod.

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A billion is just the beginning

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Kernel recently surpassed $1B in funds under management - a massive achievement for the investment and finance platform. They started with a range of index funds and this milestone is just the beginning of how they aim to help with wealth management. What does it take to get started in fintech? How do you grow to a billion under management? What comes next? To chat all this Dean Anderson, founder and CEO joins the podcast.

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Changing boating for the better

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Vessev make hydrofoilng boats, marrying America’s cup foiling and boatbuilding prowess with software excellence to make smooth, sustainable travel possible. CEO Eric Laakmann is one for the water. He came to NZ as part of a sailing adventure that took him from his American home (where he’d worked at Apple as an instrumental part of the Apple Watch project) to NZ, where he decided to get involved with a great local company trying to change how boats are made and their impact on the water. They have come back from the very brink, but seeing the boat on the water - and the excitement building - it’s a great story of grit and talent and determination.

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Creating more Māori entrepreneurship pathways

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Access to opportunity is not equal. A new report looking into pathways for Māori in entrepreneurship and capital has identified many barriers and opportunities. The Te Ara Takatū report is from the Tapuwae Roa trust, and their chief executive /Kaihautū, Te Pūoho Kātene joined us to chat his career journey (including study at Stanford University, serving his iwi Ngāti Toa and his time as an Obama Foundation Leader), as well as how we can uplift and celebrate Māori achievement in entrepreneurship.

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What we can learn from Silicon Valley VC

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Rob Coneybeer co-founded Shasta Ventures in Silicon Valley in 2004. They invested in companies like Nest and Dollar Shave Club, have over $1B of funds under management and, unusually for US VC, have a deep and active interest in Aotearoa. We cover his journey into venture capital, how he got connected to NZ, how he’s creating more links between NZ and the US and what it takes to spot the next big thing.

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How Taxi is getting the NZ economy moving

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Taxi is a new venture helping Kiwi businesses turn their provisional tax payments into a new source of business funding, at about half the price of a typical big bank overdraft. It’s from the founders of Tax Traders, who manage the better part of three billion dollars of tax pooling here. To talk building better businesses, giving the economy a rev up and making Aotearoa more productive, co-founder and CEO Nicola Taylor joins the podcast.

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Listen Now: episode one of Juggernaut – I Love You, Mr Lange

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000

We thought you might like a wee taster of our brand new #1 series, Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government, hosted by Toby Manhire. Click here to follow Juggernaut so you get every episode as soon as it's released!

1. I love you, Mr Lange

Fuelled by brandy and fury, Sir Rob Muldoon calls a snap election, sparking a 1984 campaign of contrasts – the menacing, protectionist National PM against the fresh, upbeat Labour leader, David Lange. The pretext for the election is the decision by Marilyn Waring, a young, gay MP, to back an anti-nuclear bill and quit the National caucus, prompting an earful from Muldoon. Lange, meanwhile, is joined at the hip by a hungry would-be finance minister, Roger Douglas. They are about to confront a profound crisis, and launch a revolution.

Includes previously unheard interviews with David Lange from the 84 campaign trail, and new and exclusive interviews with Marilyn Waring, Roger Douglas, Geoffrey Palmer, Richard Prebble, Peter Harris, Margaret Wilson, Bob Harvey and Gary McCormick.

Click here for full details of archive material used in this series

Juggernaut was made with the support of NZ On Air.

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The AI opportunity for Aotearoa

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Greg Shove is CEO at Section, the next generation education online company founded by Professor Scott Galloway. He is in NZ with Spark for Business, launching a special Mini MBA to equip business leaders for the AI age. We talk to learn what business owners would be doing now, where the world of AI is at, and what you can do to take advantage of the biggest change to business since the cloud.

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How the design lead of Slack is building the future of work

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Ethan Eismann has been a design leader at Adobe, Google, AirBNB, Uber and Slack - some of the most influential companies of our age. As part of the Spark Business Lab Future State festival he spoke to us and shared his approach to design, building great design cultures, and how he has grown and supported growth in his career. World-class advice from a world leader.

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Future State: The maker of ‘That Sugar Film’ on the power of ideas to fight climate change

Mon, 27 May 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Damon Gameau was one of the most successful actors in Australia when he made ‘That Sugar Film’, a documentary which unpacked the dangerous volume of sugar in our food system. He next turned to climate change with 2040, and joins Duncan Greive on Business is Boring to explain how to get people to pay attention to topics which require our attention, even when the topic is one we’d rather ignore.

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Future State: Lessons on the power of AI, from someone who helped build it

Mon, 20 May 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Noelle Russell has had roles at - or contact with - most of the biggest names in artificial intelligence. She answered the bell when Jeff Bezos emailed to find a team to work on the first generation of Alexa, took a role at Microsoft as it became a powerhouse there, and latterly helped set up Accenture's AI consulting business. She joins guest host Duncan Greive on Business is Boring to talk through her life and experience, and give a primer on how individuals and organisations can start to grapple with this technology.

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Future State: What does sustainability look like at IKEA scale?

Mon, 13 May 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Håkan Nordkvist was, until recently, head of sustainability innovation for IKEA, one of the world's largest retailers. In New Zealand for Spark Business Lab's Future State, he joins guest host Duncan Greive on Business is Boring to talk about why the role of really big business in sustainability is underrated, how you protect innovation within large organisations and breaks down which of their initiatives really worked – and why.

This episode is part of Future State, a technology summit from Spark Business Lab and Semi Permanent

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Future State: Idea to Impact – understanding circular business

Mon, 06 May 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Bernard Hickey steps in to host a special live panel featuring three leaders in circular business, bio-materials and turning trash into treasure share their experiences in building better systems for business. Hear from Jayden Klinac of Anew, who replaces plastic with bio-materials; Sara Smeath from CiRCLR, turning waste from businesses into a resource for others, and Rachel Brown at the SBN who helps to connect and advance business practice in Aotearoa.

This episode is part of Future State, a technology summit from Spark Business Lab and Semi Permanent

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Introducing Behind the Story: If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its sh*t

Fri, 03 May 2024 20:00:00 -0000

The Spinoff has just launched a brand new series called Behind the Story, where site editor editor Madeleine Chapman sits down with a staff writer or contributor to gain more insight about a big story on The Spinoff from the week. We thought you might like to check out the first episode, and if you enjoy it please follow it wherever you get your podcasts!

On Friday, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell sent her final newsletter, and took the opportunity to share what she’s learned about the news over two years of curating it for thousands of New Zealanders. Earlier in the week, she’d seen reports of Auckland dog owners discarding their pets’ turds on the ground after Auckland Council removed bins across the city.

And so, the column “If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit” was born. Anna joins Madeleine Chapman to talk about the power journalists have when framing a story and how to find the middle ground between boring and sensational.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters

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The new Aotearoa lead of Australasia’s biggest VC firm

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Blackbird VC recently netted $800m from a sale of a portion of their holding in Canva. They are, by some distance, the largest and one of the most successful VC firms in Australasia. In Aotearoa they have backed Tracksuit, Veve, Partly and Halter and their work to lift up the venture ecosystem includes Sunrise, Startmate and the Giants programme. Phoebe Harrop is the new local lead, with a background in consulting at Bain, working for Al Gore’s investment firm Generation and a few years growing the business in NZ. She joins Simon Pound to dig into what makes a good VC investment, what makes a great founder and how does NZ stack up against Australia?

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Has the AR/VR moment arrived?

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 17:00:00 -0000

Jessica Manins is a Kiwi pioneer in the Augmented and Virtual Reality space. Her studio, Beyond, makes games, experiences and virtual worlds for immersive entertainment and storytelling. They are one of the first developers to be releasing a game for the new Apple Vision Pro, and they have been leaders in shared, positive experiences in the space for years. After the pandemic stopped their business in its tracks, Jessica has totally rebuilt and (at the time of recording) has just arrived back from SXSW and GDC with the latest on where virtual worlds are now, and where they are going.

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David Yu: 2023 EY entrepreneur of the year with Aotearoa’s fastest growing company

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 17:00:00 -0000

David Yu’s company VeVe has sold more than 10 million digital collectables licensed from some of the world’s leading IP owners like Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Lamborghini, and James Bond. As leaders in this fast growing space they have grown so fast they won the 2023 Deloitte Fast 50, and David won EY Entrepreneur of the Year. But what is a digital collectible? How did VeVe partner with the world’s most protective brand owners? And how have they grown so fast and done so well? Get the download from one of the best to do it!

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How Albert Cho went from IG influencer to Ponsonby restaurateur

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Albert Cho burst onto Aotearoa’s food scene in 2017 with Eat Lit Food, an Instagram account that dishes out forthright (and often profane) food reviews to an ever-expanding audience. What started as an attempt to redefine a problematic relationship with food quickly grew into a fully fledged career as an influencer, critic and writer. Last year, with the help of David Lee’s Namu Group, he opened Tobi on Ponsonby Road to rave reviews. Albert joins us for a candid chat about the origins of Eat Lit Food, and the journey to opening his first restaurant.

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Improving the food system, one wonky box at a time

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0000

The first seeds for Wonky Box were planted when Angus Simms and Katie Jackson were fruit picking and saw how much wasted produce was caused by an unseasonal hail storm. The fruit was perfectly edible but aesthetically imperfect, so it was all left on the trees. This shock led to a now national food box service delivering wonky (but great) produce to people, and has so far saved more than 2 million kilograms of food going to waste. Co-founder Angus Simms joined us to chat the journey, improving the food system, and what’s next.

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The AI tools every business should already be using

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0000

AI is the biggest topic in business, but where do you even begin? Mark Laurence, founder of Ten Past Tomorrow, is a local expert helping businesses get at the front of the AI curve. He joins Simon Pound to chat the tools every business needs, the rewards and risks of AI and just how close we are to an AI-driven world.

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Designing a te ao Māori agency

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Run is a local design and creativity business led with a te aō Māori and treaty partnership view. Their approach to inclusion is changing up how the industry looks at diversity at both a local and international level, making waves recently with their beautiful Manaakitanga D&AD Pencil project. Raymond Otene McKay and Laura Cibilich, co-founders of Run (CCO and CEO respectively) join Simon to chat their mahi, their kaupapa and their ambitions for the future.

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How to grow NZ Inc

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Simon Robertson has had a huge career in finance. In New York, for Goldman Sachs, he led up international and pan-Asian equities, before coming back to New Zealand to lead a large project for Rank Group, the private company of Graeme Hart, aka NZ's most successful businessperson. Simon is now a columnist for BusinessDesk, sharing his views on how New Zealand can grow its wealth and what is on the horizon for the world of business with the changes coming in from AI.

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Redefining the menstrual experience with Endosoothe

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Like so much of women’s health, natural and normal issues around periods are chronically underfunded, under-discussed and under-addressed. One local brand is working to change this. Endosoothe offers products, support and awareness building to empower and educate people who have periods. Founder Monique Lau joins us to talk her own health story, the origins of the business, and what the future holds.

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How Powrsuit is changing the face of leadership

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0000

In Aotearoa only 10% of corporate CEOs and 29% of board members are women. Powrsuit co-founders Kristen Lunman and Natalie Ferguson believe this represents the largest potential to improve NZ business. Powrsuit is a self-described "leadership playbook", offering courses, podcasts and resources and a network of other leaders. This is the second time on the podcast for these two, who launched and scaled the hugely popular share platform Hatch, before completing a successful exit last year.

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The company making sustainable practice fashionable

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Pangaia sell clothes in order to keep improving the methods of retail and production. Eva Kruse, Chief Global Engagement Officer at Pangaia, talked to us as part of Spark’s Future State series. Eva is a pioneer in sustainable fashion, spearheading the Copenhagen Fashion Summit and Global Fashion Agenda. Hear from a global leader on the future, challenges and hopes around better fashion practice.

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Setting the right sustainability strategy for your business

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Recorded live at the Spark Innovation Studio in Auckland's CBD, Leela Gantman (Corporate Relations and Sustainability Director at Spark NZ) and Rachel Brown (CEO at the Sustainability Business Network) join us to discuss how companies of all sizes can bake better sustainable practices into their business. Listen in to hear how they approach strategy, drive action, and create practical toolkits to help other businesses do the same.

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The VC firm that raised like a founder

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Icehouse Ventures invests in and supports more companies than any other in Aotearoa, so naturally CEO Robbie Paul gets a good view of what makes a great company, founder and ecosystem. He joins us to talk about the state of VC today, Icehouse's recent raise of $10m and whether a lack of money is holding great companies back (spoiler: it isn’t).

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The solvable problem affecting up to one in three women

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Don’t underestimate the power of the pelvic floor. That’s the advice of Dr Jenny Kruger when it comes to combatting urinary incontinence, an issue affecting up to one in three women that is common but not normal. The correct exercises can - in about 80% of cases - help stop leakage, and her company Junofem has created the revolutionary Femfit in order to help users ensure their exercises are working. Listen to hear how their company is helping combat the systemic underfunding of women’s health and technology.

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The legend behind Aotearoa's favourite brands

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Nicola O’Rourke led Lewis Road Creamery into America and is now helping companies like Pals, Compostic, Comvita, Cleanery and Grater Goods as they take on the world. She discusses all aspects of her career and gives vital advice for anyone building their brand, products or businesses.

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Summer reissue: Meet the brain behind Xero and Upstock

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is taking a break over summer. We'll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here's one of our favourites from 2023: Xero has defined the SaaS ecosystem here. Although an accounting company, it stood out as a delightful experience and brand, and much of that spirit is thanks to Philip Fierlinger, co-founder and design leader for Xero. He's behind the reconciliation feature and the Do Beautiful Business idea. Today, he is co-CEO and founder at Upstock, a hospo wholesale ordering app building out another change to an industry. Philip shares the stories behind the work anyone that's used Xero knows, and his next mission at Upstock.

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Summer reissue: Fixing your finances with the Māori Millionaire

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 16:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is taking a break over summer. We'll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here's one of our favourites from 2023: Te Kahukura Boynton is on a mission to give more Māori financial independence. Through her Māori Millionaire media and financial literacy platform she has empowered thousands of rangatahi to take control of their finances. Hear how she shares her wealth journey, investment resources, podcasts and education, to leading a conversation about financial literacy, independence and sovereignty, especially for Māori.

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Summer reissue: The app making it easier to share your Dosh

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is taking a break over summer. We'll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here's one of our favourites from 2023: Shane Marsh and James McEniery discovered New Zealand is well behind the rest of the world when it comes to transferring money between banks when they were living in Singapore. They decided to create Aotearoa’s first real time payment mobile wallet. They aim to bring banking in New Zealand into the 21st century, and they chat with Simon about how they plan to do it.

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The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2023

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0000

SUPERPOD is back! Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime's Toby Manhire and featuring Jane Yee and Alex Casey from The Real Pod, Duncan Greive from The Fold, Gone By Lunchtime's Annabelle Lee-Mather, Simon Pound from Business Is Boring, Bernard Hickey from When The Facts Change and The Spinoff Podcast Network's Te Aihe Butler and Samuel Robinson, SUPERPOD 2023 is the crossover to end all crossovers. From intense discussion of government policy to figuring out what the heck a skibidi toilet is, we celebrate the best and worst of what has been a rollercoaster year.

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Goldie wants to help you own your own slice of luxury

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0000

New investment platform Goldie is allowing people to own fractionalised slices of real assets like gold and, into the future, art and collectables. They buy gold bars, and then issue shares in them at the global spot price, which you can then choose to sell or hold. It’s a new idea, trekking a similar track to what Sharesies was able to achieve for international shares. Co-founder Cam Maclachlan joins Simon Pound to chat the three-year journey of sleeping on couches and navigating regulation to help change the face of investing.

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Why Unyoked thinks we should disconnect

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Unyoked provide busy city people access to just-secluded-enough getaways, where the carefully art-directed cabins let people disconnect from modern life and connect to nature. Having already established itself in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Unyoked has raised around $30m to expand into Europe. Co-founder Chris Grant joins Simon Pound to discuss what it takes to make an ideal retreat, Unyoked’s journey so far and what’s next.

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How can you change the world at scale?

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Justin Kamine’s family business is a significant infrastructure player in the States, and they have used their scale to change up a number of huge industries - from carbon reduced chicken farming at Do Good Foods, to bioplastics made from seaweed, to clean energy and the future of natural health. Do Good Foods was ranked by Fast Company amongst the Top 50 Most Innovative in the World; he was also named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Food and ranked as one of the 50 Most Impactful Entrepreneurs in the U.S. Justin speaks with Simon Pound as part of the Spark Lab Future State series.

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Meet one of the Champions of the Earth

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:00:00 -0000

International circularity and sustainability expert Dr. Leyla Acaroglu believes that we can change the world with our actions if we care enough to do so. She joins Simon Pound in connection to the Spark Lab Future State series to discuss founding her creative agency Disrupt Design and the award-winning experimental knowledge lab The UnSchool of Disruptive Design.

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Critical's solution to plastic-packed landfills

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 16:00:00 -0000

We send around 330,000 tonnes of used plastics to landfill every year. Critical are out to change this. They make table and bench tops, partitions and other feature materials for building from plastic waste. Upcycling rubbish into beautiful, low carbon and endlessly recyclable materials. Co-founder and CEO Rui Peng joins Simon Pound to talk the company's journey, making treasure from trash, and overcoming everything the world can throw at them.

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The zero-alcohol beer hero

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0000

State of Play is a 100% non-alcoholic brewery - part of a growing movement looking at how we drink, and providing options for healthier relationship with booze. Founder Grant Caunter spent 25 years building beer brands and growing the craft movement, before quitting drinking, losing 45kg and getting a new take on life. He talks to Simon Pound about what it takes to make a great "zero", and how you build a brand in a new category from a standing start.

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Reimagining customer testing with Stickybeak

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0000

It’s fast, cost effective, engaging and being used by big and small brands all over the world. Stickybeak is creating a unique form of consumer testing that customers actually want to engage with. CEO Anna Henwood joins Simon Pound to chat about her path to leadership through Tourism NZ and Les Mills International and her plans for the future of the company.

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How Ministry of Awesome gives hope to start-ups

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Marian Johnson has been a key part of Christchurch becoming one of the fastest growing ecosystems for start-up success. As the CEO of Ministry of Awesome, Marian works to increase start-up diversity in all senses, with partnerships and leading the Electrify Aotearoa women’s founders conference. Marian joins Simon Pound to chat what it takes, and the changes she wants to see in the world.

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OpenStar's nuclear solution to solve clean energy

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0000

It’s been called the most ambitious startup in Aotearoa and a company that truly has the potential to change the world. OpenStar CEO and founder Dr Ratu Mataira shares his journey with Simon Pound, from starting his company, where he's at on his mission and what his vision could mean for the world.

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Squirrel Mortgages is revolutionising the mortgage broker

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 16:00:00 -0000

John Bolton started Squirrel Mortgages during the height of the 2008 global financial crisis with an aim to bring the process of buying your first home into the 21st century. Now, he's one of the largest operating mortgage brokers in the country and isn't slowing down anytime soon. He talks to Simon Pound about the state of New Zealand's big banks and why Squirrel is a smarter solution.

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Anna Mowbray is creating Tinder for finding jobs

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 16:00:00 -0000

As one of the leaders who grew Zuru to billions in trade, Anna Mowbray is one of the most successful entrepreneurs Aotearoa has produced. She led culture, systems and operations as the company grew across the world -and now is back with her new business, Zeil - an app to shake up recruitment, career building and the big incumbents. What does it take to build a great business, and how will Zeil be a bigger mountain for Anna? A great chat with a global leader on the pod.

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Slice is bringing home ownership back within reach

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0000

After working hard to get into her first home, Amy Stevens felt there had to be an easier way. So she founded Slice, a platform that makes it easier for first home buyers and co-owners to get on the property ladder. By providing support to navigate the complex financial and legal arrangements involved in buying a home, Slice aims to reduce barriers to ownership and create a world where everyone has the opportunity to own a home. Amy joins Simon Pound to talk about the first home owner journey and how to get in sooner.

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Mark Adams from Vice on how brands can reinvent themselves

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0000

What a guest! Head of innovation for Vice Media Mark Adams has been part of some of the world’s most successful campaigns, and built the profiles of Hollywood A-list stars. He was in town for the SparkLab Future State: New Realities event, and we caught up to chat brand building, media tribes, finding your community and innovation today.

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How Almighty grew into an international success

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Ben Lenart, CEO and founder at Almighty Drinks joins Simon Pound to chat innovation in beverages, caffeinated sparkling waters, and their current capital raise to expand internationally. Plus, Ben stages a coup and asks Simon some questions of his own.

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How Frankie manages property management

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 17:00:00 -0000

After helping scale Uber in the UK, Frankie founder George Fenwicke decided to tackle a bigger challenge, streamlining the process to manage commercial property. We talked her journey, systems thinking and turning property management into something fresh!

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How Indigital is decolonising digital spaces

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Descending from the Dharug speaking Nations of Sydney, Mikaela Jade is the founder and CEO at Indigital – Australia’s first Indigenous edutech company. In town for Future State, a Spark Lab and Semi Permanent event, she joined Simon Pound to talk accessing ancient knowledge to guide tomorrow’s AI thinking and her mission to close the digital divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

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OnBoard: Improving diversity in startup boards

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 17:00:00 -0000

OnBoard is on a mission to improve diversity of thought for startup and growth company boards. Founder Cassie McAdams and Program Director Sophie McLernon join Simon Pound to talk about the work they do to get more perspectives onto boards and to help more companies engage with a wider pool of directors. With day jobs at Movac and Snowball Effect, they share their experience in the growth ecosystem and how they believe things can improve.

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Kate Sylvester is celebrating 30 years in fashion

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 17:00:00 -0000

For Kate Sylvester, 2023 marks 30 years of design, helping make New Zealand’s reputation in the fashion industry across the globe. Kate joins Simon Pound to talk creating the brand, growing the sector, and her work as a founder of Mindful Fashion, the industry collective helping support ethical practices in local fashion production.

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Woolchemy's answer to plastic-filled nappies

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Woolchemy is a local wool technology company with a patented approach to creating a woven, absorbent fabric layer for use in nappies and other hygiene products. Founder and CEO Derelee Potroz-Smith has pioneered the science, industry partnerships, and closed a $1.5m funding round with a plan to have her wool replace widely used petro-chemical fabrics, putting New Zealand's sheep industry back on top of the world.

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Meet the team behind the 2022 NZ House of the Year

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Pac Studio are one of NZ’s top architecture studios, who work to bring fun, colour and a personal feel to every project. Last year their beautiful project, Waimataruru, won Here magazine House of the Year and National housing gong at the New Zealand Architecture Awards. Co-founders Aaron Paterson and Sarosh Mulla join us to talk what it takes to be an architect, how is it to be the steward for the biggest purchase most people will ever make, and how to maintain your own voice within your practice.

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What the past tells us about the future of AI

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 17:00:00 -0000

The pace at which generative AI is advancing is rapidly accelerating, giving rise to a sense of uncertainty among many individuals regarding its impact on society. Dr Jonnie Penn, a scholar from the University of Cambridge and Harvard, is an expert on the history of AI and an influential thought-leader, shaping the development of AI towards a positive future. During his visit to town for the SparkLab Future State: New Realities event, Dr. Penn engaged in a conversation with Simon Pound, delving into the past, present, and future of AI development.

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Derek Handley's new non-bank bank for aspiring homeowners

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Aera is a new financial institution aimed at people who earn good money but are locked out of the housing market because they cannot afford extremely high deposits. Its founder, Derek Handley, grew one of the world's first mobile-focused technology creative companies, The Hyperfactory, and then worked with Sir Richard Branson on The B Team. Listen for a chat about society, technology, finance, religion, and climate.

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Meet the brain behind Xero and Upstock

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Xero has defined the SaaS ecosystem here. Although an accounting company, it stood out as a delightful experience and brand, and much of that spirit is thanks to Philip Fierlinger, co-founder and design leader for Xero. He's behind the reconciliation feature and the Do Beautiful Business idea. Today, he is co-CEO and founder at Upstock, a hospo wholesale ordering app building out another change to an industry. Philip shares the stories behind the work anyone that's used Xero knows, and his next mission at Upstock.

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Angel Food is bringing vegan cheese to the mainstream

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Alice Shopland is a pioneer in the dairy-free cheese space in Aotearoa. Her company, Angel Food, has been at the forefront of distributing vegan cheeses since the early 2000s. With her products stocked in 350 stores and a range that includes animal-free sour cream, cheeses, and feta, they now have their sights set on expansion into Australia. Alice joins Simon to chat about her journey and their current equity crowdfund through PledgeMe to fund the big push over the ditch.

You can check out Angel Food's PledgeMe campaign here.

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Danielle Krettek on bringing soul to Google's AI

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Founder of Google's Empathy Lab and Grandmother—a nonprofit that brings diverse voices and perspectives into solving big problems—Danielle Krettek is a trailblazer in empathetic design. She has played pivotal roles as a member of the team behind the iPhone, iPad, and the Google X moonshot factory. While visiting town for the Spark Lab Future State: New Realities event, Danielle joined Simon Pound for a chat about working alongside Steve Jobs, the role of spiritual practice in her life, and using business as a tool for good.

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Sam Conniff's journey to embracing uncertainty

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Here for the Spark Lab Future State: New Realities, Sam Conniff is a British expert in uncertainty and author of the 2018 book 'Be More Pirate'. His new creation is the world’s first interactive documentary that up-skills people in dealing with uncertainty and making it their advantage. His career has included being a New York Times bestselling author, a champion for the outcasts and the founder of Livity, one of the world’s leading social enterprise and youth creative agencies. He joins Simon Pound to talk how uncertainty became his greatest power, and gives his tips on how to harness it.

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Fixing your finances with the Māori Millionaire

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Te Kahukura Boynton is on a mission to give more Māori financial independence. Through her Māori Millionaire media and financial literacy platform she has empowered thousands of rangatahi to take control of their finances. Hear how she shares her wealth journey, investment resources, podcasts and education, to leading a conversation about financial literacy, independence and sovereignty, especially for Māori.

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Dr. Johnson Witehira's mission for more Māori design

Mon, 29 May 2023 17:00:00 -0000

As an artist, designer, and co-founder at Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa (IDIA), Dr. Johnson Witehira works with organisations like Auckland Airport and Waka Kotahi to bring Māori culture to the urban environments we live, work, and travel through. He joins Simon Pound to talk about his journey, the work so far, and using business as a tool for cultural change.

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Dennisson Techologies' quest for universal mobility

Mon, 22 May 2023 17:00:00 -0000

When Anvil Bañez created Dennison Technologies, he had a dream of helping his father to walk again. Now, the team at Dennison has developed a new actuator material capable of exerting a force 10,000 times its weight. In a conversation with Simon Pound, Anvil discusses how this lightweight, incredibly strong technology could serve as the foundation for future exoskeletons, potentially realising his lifelong dream.

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Is Cleanery the future of sustainable home care?

Mon, 15 May 2023 17:00:00 -0000

In a 2022 report Stuff tested the major local eco-cleaners, Cleanery's just-add-water sachets of cleaning concentrate were named as the clear favourite. Now sold in over 1,500 stores across the Tasman, Cleanery is beginning to fully roll out into New Zealand supermarkets. Co-founder Ellie Brade joins Simon Pound to discuss the long journey to this point, and the bright road ahead for Cleanery.

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Simon Moore on his game-changing golf club

Mon, 08 May 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Why does playing golf continue to require carrying around a heavy bag full of clubs? In this episode, Simon Pound speaks to Simon Moore, the founder and CEO of Q Golf, a company that aims to revolutionize the way we play golf. They discuss Simon's new invention - a single adjustable club that replaces an entire bag, making golfing more accessible and less cumbersome.

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Is Ron Park NZ's mussel king?

Mon, 01 May 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Green Lip Mussels are native, super sustainable and have scientifically proven benefits for joint health, so why are they still not as widely used as they could be? Simon Pound talks to Kōrure founder Ron Park who's out to change this through selling Green Lip Mussels supplements for humans and pets, pioneering science for better processing and being on a mission to be NZ’s mussel champion.

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How EatKinda got vegan ice-cream into Hell Pizza

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Can you actually use cauliflower as a milk substitute? EatKinda is doing just that. Their cauliflower based ice-cream is vegan, better on the planet and uses produce that would otherwise go to waste. Mrinali (Milli) Kumar joins Simon Pound to talk about the journey so far, and how she managed to get her product into Hell Pizza stores nationwide.

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How Fibre Fale are indigenising the tech space

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:00:00 -0000

How can we make sure the people making our tech represent the whole of our society? Pacific people make up just under 3% of the tech industry. In response, international brand strategist Julia Arnott-Neenee co-founded Fibre Fale; a tech platform for Pacific people working to increase digital equity and representation. She talks with Simon about the long journey to starting Fibre Fale and her hopes for its future.

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Holiday Records is bringing back local vinyl

Mon, 10 Apr 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Vinyl has become one of the greatest comeback stories of all time. However, until a few years ago, there was no way to press vinyl for local artists. Ben Wallace and Joel Woods decided to change that, founding Holiday Records. Since then, they have become the staple vinyl presser across Australasia, pressing the albums of some of the world's most well-known artists. They join Simon Pound to discuss how they grew the company and what's next for their business.

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Clem Devine on the rise of the intrepreneur

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 17:00:00 -0000

Entrepreneurship is not just for the founder anymore. Clem Devine is an 'intrepreneur' building a brand practice inside one of NZ’s top architectural firms, Jasmax. He talks with Simon Pound about becoming one of the country's most well known designers, and how he turns the sensory disability he was born with into a superpower in his work.

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How Allbirds made the first zero carbon shoe

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Tim Brown is an ex-professional footballer turned co-founder of internationally recognised, Wellington-based footwear company Allbirds. They have just announced a world-first zero carbon shoe that Tim hopes can change the industry for good. He chats with Simon Pound about Allbirds' kaupapa, growing a business overseas, and the reality of sustainable business.

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Why Grater Goods is using equity crowdfunding to expand

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Flip Grater decided to give up her career in music to pursue her other passion of vegan delicatessens. Now, her meat-free versions of chorizo, pastrami, and turkey have launched her business and landed her products in foodstuffs supermarkets. She talks to Simon Pound about starting Grater Goods, its rapid success, and expanding it using a grassroots investment website.

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How Daisy Lab is designing a dairy-free future

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Why is it still so hard to find a good plant-based cheese substitute? After asking herself this exact question Daisy Lab co-founder Irina Miller has come up with her own solution - precision fermentation. She sits down with Simon Pound to discuss her process, their pioneering research and how she makes cheese without a cow in sight.

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How Dispute Buddy makes going to court easier

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:00:00 -0000

After going through the court system herself, Jenny Rudd noticed how difficult it is for low income people to gather the resources necessary to compile accurate records of their communications. To fix this, she founded Dispute Buddy, which aims to narrow the power divide that permeates the legal system. She sits down with Simon Pound to discuss her hatred for inequity, the need for more investment in women's businesses, and her role as an investor and mentor.

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Matū is making VC investing accessible

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Most venture capitalism funds have very high buy-in minimums that can be above $50,000. Matū is a local fund that's allowing retail investors to join in the VC fun from just $1,000. Dr Andrew Chen has been a driving force behind Matū and he joins Simon to talk about how accessible investing in deep tech can help the environment and the New Zealand economy.

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Solid Oral Care is using crowdfunding to launch their new lab

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Did you know that more than 16 million tubes of toothpaste enter New Zealand landfills every year? Solid Oral Care are out to change the impact we make when we brush. Founder Laura Nixon talks with Simon about their kaupapa, expanding from a garage operation, and how they're using PledgeMe to fund it.

Support Solid Oral Care's PledgeMe capaign here.

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Money Sweetspot is changing the finance industry for good

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0000

Why is it becoming harder to achieve debt-free status? Money Sweetspot is a new company that uses compassion and incentives to help people pay off their debts. Co-founder Sasha Lockley talks to Simon about using gamification to increase financial literacy, breaking the cycle of poverty, and how she intends to leave the finance industry better than how she found it.

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The app making it easier to share your Dosh

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:00:00 -0000

New Zealand is well behind the rest of the world when it comes to transferring money between banks. Shane Marsh and James McEniery discovered this when they were living in Singapore and started Aotearoa’s first real time payment mobile wallet. They aim to bring banking in New Zealand into the 21st century, and they chat with Simon about how they plan to do it.

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How Garage Project pioneered the craft beer boom

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:00:00 -0000

When Pete Gillespie co-founded Garage Project in 2011 over 50% of craft beer in New Zealand was consumed in Wellington. Now, his passion for beer has become a national phenomenon. Pete talks us through how they brewed their success, constant experimentation, and changing the industry.

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What is New Zealand's brand?

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 16:00:00 -0000

How do you go from being a local comedian to becoming CEO of the government agency charged with growing the country's global brand? Hear from David Downs, business leader, cancer survivor and CEO of The NZ Story Group.

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The food hero saving Perfectly Imperfect produce

Mon, 09 Jan 2023 22:42:00 -0000

Did you know that nearly half of all produce grown in New Zealand is thrown away? When Wendy Zhou discovered the scale of food waste she created a network of growers around the country to donate their produce to her. With this produce, Wendy has gone on to create cauliflower ice-cream, gourmet tomato paste, and her charity Perfectly Imperfect.

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The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2022

Sun, 25 Dec 2022 15:00:00 -0000

SUPERPOD is back! And for 2022, we're bigger than ever! Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime's Toby Manhire and featuring Jane Yee and Alex Casey from The Real Pod, Duncan Greive from The Fold, Leonie Hayden from Nē?, Simon Pound from Business Is Boring, The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman and The Spinoff Podcast Network's Te Aihe Butler, SUPERPOD 2022 is our multiverse of madness. From the Black Ferns' historic win to Mike King's villainous turn on Celebrity Treasure Island, we cover the incredible highs and lows of what has been a terribly special year.

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Creating a community from clothes

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 15:00:00 -0000

What does it mean to truly shop sustainably? Crushes is a second hand store that is challenging the norms of consumption-hungry shopping. Stocking entirely locally made, vintage and sustainable items, Co-founder Rose Hope aims to give the consumer back the right to know exactly where their products came from. She talks with Simon about her journey, Karangahape Rd, and the success of their free clothes swap.

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Finding practical solutions to help the unhoused

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 00:17:00 -0000

How can we make an actual difference in the lives of people in need? At 20 years old, Orange Sky co-founders Lucas Patchett and Nic Marchesi found themselves asking a similar question. Now, their fleet of vans that offer free laundry and shower services, as well as meaningful conversations, has helped thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand. Lucas joins Simon to discuss the impact their work has had, practical solutions and the importance of connection.

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It’s time we talked about paint

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Paint surrounds us for most of the day, but are you aware of the harmful petro-chemicals that are used to create it? Natural Paint Co are out to change this, offering healthier alternatives to use and live with. Co-founders Grace Glass and James Mount share their journey of taking on the status quo, and where to from here.

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A circular, more sustainable business model

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 04:00:00 -0000

How do New Zealanders make their businesses more sustainable? As the head of innovation at the Ellen MacArthur foundation, Ken Webster literally wrote the book on building a circular economy. He shares his insights from an overseas perspective in this special live episode.

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How managing Shapeshifter led to more Good Sh*t

Tue, 22 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Meet the couple bringing you Tony's Chocolate, Seedlip, McClures Pickles and now, Good Sh*t - the soda that is intriguingly all about your gut health. Becs Caughey and Nick Brown share their expertise in business, music and distributing great brands.

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Could Mānuka oil become bigger than the honey?

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Mānuka honey is an internationally known product, but the oil sourced from the plant's leaves can have major skin-care benefits. Stuart Cairns, founder of Mānuka Bioscience, talks to Simon about his mission - Making Mānuka oil New Zealand's next great, natural industry.

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Abel Odor is disrupting the fragrance industry

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Eleven years ago, Frances Shoemack began creating contemporary smelling perfumes with all natural products. Since then, her company has gone global and challenged an industry that overwhelmingly relies on synthetic ingredients. How did she achieve this, and where to from here?

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Redefining the industrial internet of things

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Arguably starting the first ever social network, Boyd Multerer is an Xbox live legend who was right in the crux of its inauguration. Implementing an important lesson learnt in his time at Microsoft, Multerer now leads kiwi-born company Kry10 where they're creating a new, flexible operating system for the industrial internet of things.

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Simplicity's Sam Stubbs wants to improve our financial literacy

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 21:38:00 -0000

Having bought his first share at age 12, Sam Stubbs has always had an eye on the economic and financial world. Now co-founder and managing director of Simplicity (the only non-profit KiwiSaver fund manager) he joins the pod to speak on leading the mission of conscious investment and providing financial literacy for New Zealanders.

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Making sustainable business the norm with Rachel Brown

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Over the past 20 years, Sustainable Business Network have taken sustainable business practice from the fringes to front and centre. Founder/CEO Rachel Brown talks the journey, and how all businesses can work with them to improve their impact.

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Marking 20 years of Semi Permanent

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Already having stamped an everlasting mark on the culture, design and creative conference company Semi Permanent have planted their roots and are here to stay. Now heading into its 20th year, director/curator Simon Velvin joins his namesake to shares a candid look on what it takes to stay at the front of things.

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Matta: The recycling pioneer turning health hazards into safety equipment

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Since it was founded in 1992, Matta has helped divert over 60 million tonnes of PVC and rubber waste from landfill, recycling it into safety matting used in playgrounds and workplaces around the world. New managing director Brent Harris joins Business is Boring this week to talk about his unusual career path into the business and how Matta continues to lead the way in new methods and approaches to recycling.

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Dolly Mumma: Helping NZ build a bridge past butter chicken

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Indian cuisine is more than just butter chicken made at the mall and Perzen Patel is on a mission to bring that to light within the diaspora. With exploration, education and (most importantly) family at the forefront, she started Dolly Mumma: A food business aiming to teach the wonders of Indian food with ease. Known to many listeners for her enlightening stories shared on The Spinoff, Patel's experimental endeavours are routed in tradition and winning over Aotearoa into the future.

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Nuro: The NZ-led answer to self driving vehicles

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Before we gear up full speed ahead towards the flying cars of the future, self driving vehicles are here now. Promising to be a big part of the future too, Nuro is the US-based/NZ-led self driving delivery company envisioning a world where everyday life is bettered through robotics. Co-founder Dave Ferguson joins the pod to chat how he went from industry beginnings working the Mars Rover, to division leadership at Google, to now with Nuro.

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AgriSea: the wonders of NZ seaweed innovation

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0000

You may think Seaweed is just the slimy stuff rudely interrupting your summer swims but when you dive a bit deeper, it is an inventive solution to many agricultural and horticultural issues. An industry we're only just starting to explore, one company at the front of that exploration is AgriSea: a multi-generational Paeroa-based seaweed company with 25 years of innovation in the area. Now under the leadership of CEO Clare Bradley and Chief Innovation Officer Tane Bradley, they join Simon to chat leading the fix to dirty rivers, farting and burping cows, traditional fertiliser, and more.

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Baina: The NZ contemporary towel company taking over the world

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Most contracts made at 16 between best friends don't generally come to fruition, but that isn't the case for Baina co-founders Bailey Meredith and Anna Fahey. Seeing a gap in the market for an ethically made, organic and stylish towel, their mission was set: to build a company reflecting their values, whilst also offering a more thoughtful approach to production. To talk their growth beyond Aotearoa and the journey so far, Bailey and Anna join the pod.

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Orah offers schools a student wellbeing solution

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Back in 2014 Kurt Meyer and Paul Organ saw a gap in the market for an app to help boarding schools track student absences. Now Orah has a bigger mission, helping provide a solution for student wellbeing and engagement. The pair joined Business is Boring to talk distributed work, helping schools run better and their journey so far.

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How to improve disabled inclusion in the workforce

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Living his life overcoming exterior barriers as a blind individual, Jonathan Mosen understands the importance of hope and belief despite one's disabilities. An advocate for the blind (and disabled community as a whole), making a difference in the space has always been his biggest driver. Now helming the CEO title at Workbridge, Jonathan joins Simon to talk inclusion/diversity in the workplace and how we can improve disabled representation in business.

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Halter cow collars are changing the future of farming

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Imagine being able to manage a herd of cows from your smartphone. That's exactly what the Halter system, founded by ex-Rocket Lab engineer Craig Piggott, allows farmers to do. Halter's solar-powered patented Cowgorithm technology allows farmers to move, manage and monitor their herds remotely and it's been such a success that Halter already boasts a 130-strong team. Craig has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30 leader and he joins Simon Pound to talk about Halter's fascinating agri-tech, the importance of building great teams and the most important thing to consider when raising capital.

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Going Global: With Banqer's Kendall Flutey

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

In a bid to increase financial literacy and confidence among young people, Kendall Flutey (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu) co-founded Banqer – a financial education platform used by over 300,000 students in Australasia. On our final episode of Going Global, Kendall joins Simon Pound and Brianne West to talk about how Banqer stepped beyond Aotearoa to help improve the prospects of rangatahi all over the world.

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The new apprenticeship for NZ business people

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Apprenticeships are common in the trades, but how about one that helps people in companies learn how business works, all whilst developing their soft and hard skills? Rob Woolner, MD at Autex, saw this gap and has created the Business Apprenticeship. Hear about the journey, the need, and how it works as he joins Simon on the pod.

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Meet Vince, NZ’s meat-free vegetable mince

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 16:00:00 -0000

After conquering the far North's cafe scene in ownership, Debbie and Nigel Stowe started to notice a vital gap in local plant-based options. From that gap, Vince was born. Becoming Northland’s finest multi award winning alternative mince makers, hear their business, health, family and product journey to creating unique veg-packed meat alternatives people (including Simon) are loving!

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Going Global: With Kami co-founder Alliv Samson

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 16:00:25 -0000

As the co-founder and COO of Kami, Alliv Samson is helping build the future of online education. She joins Brianne and Simon to talk about creating one of the fastest-growing EdTech companies in the world, and taking it global.

Going Global is brought to you in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE wants to help more Kiwi businesses reach their global potential. Visit www.getthere.nz to find out more

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Yu Mei is a luxury brand where everyone is welcome

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 16:00:00 -0000

While many high end brands pride themselves on sole exclusivity, luxury leather goods company Yu Mei is more interested in establishing a welcoming community. Yu Mei founder, Jessie Wong, joins Simon Pound to talk about building a premium brand that values function equally with form to ensure its products are always on trend (and therefore a more accessible fashion investment).

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How Girls Get Off got going

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Female pleasure has always been a taboo topic, but Girls Get Off are on a mission to change that. Co-founder Viv Conway joins Simon to chat GGO's place within the wellness world, building a feedback loop between business and culture and what's coming next.

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Going Global: With SYSCA CEO Lucy Blakiston

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:00:08 -0000

Lucy Blakiston is an unlikely exporter – she’s not sending physical products overseas, but her brand is undeniably international. As the co-founder and CEO of Shit You Should Care About (SYSCA), which has amassed 3.6 million social media followers, Lucy brings new meaning to the term global news, digesting the biggest stories in the world and giving them context relevant to their young audience. She joins Simon and Brianne to talk how it all came to be.

Going Global is brought to you in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE wants to help more Kiwi businesses reach their global potential. Visit www.getthere.nz to find out more

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The Ironclad Pan Company's 100-year guarantee

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 16:00:00 -0000

The Ironclad Pan Company's mission is simple: to keep things sustainable like they used to be. And to put their money where their mouth is, the New Zealand and Australian-based cookware company offers a 100-year guarantee on their products. Co-founder Joe Carter joins the pod to explain how you do that, caring for their pans to guarantee important longevity, and what’s next for the business.

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Astrix Astronautics is putting solar panels in space

Mon, 04 Jul 2022 16:00:00 -0000

An ingenious space satellite solar tech started by three 21-year-old Auckland Uni students, Astrix Astronautics has launched from lessons in the classroom to solar panels in space. Co-founder and CEO Fia Jones joined Business is Boring to talk physics, the science of business, making ideas into reality for the hardest conditions on and off the planet, and what’s next.

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Going Global: With Rachel Taulelei, Oho co-founder

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 16:00:07 -0000

Rachel Taulelei is a strong advocate for the Māori economy and sustainability, and her connection to her Māoritanga has been vital in her career – from founding sustainable fishery Yellow Brick Road, to being CEO of food and beverage company Kono. Now at the helm of Oho, an Aotearoa business design and brand strategy firm, Rachel joins Simon and Brianne to spill her secrets to global success.

Going Global is brought to you in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE wants to help more Kiwi businesses reach their global potential. Visit www.getthere.nz to find out more

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How true love and tragedy led Trow Group to business success

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Growing up in poverty, losing his mum at age eight, and leaving school at 14, Saia Finau Latu had the odds stacked against him. In 2016 further family tragedy left Latu at a crossroads, and the path he chose led to founding a leading construction recycling business with a passion for sustainability and a heart for the community. Join Simon Pound for this very special kōrero with a truly remarkable entrepreneur.

Content warning: this episode contains details of a serious car accident that some may find distressing. Please take care while listening.

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Madison Recruitment’s Marisa Fong on what makes a great leader

Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:00:00 -0000

Building the next generation of leaders is a key element of Marisa Fong’s business approach. Passionate about connections and how they impact sales, she’s gone from co-founder of Madison Recruitment to investor and director. She joins Simon Pound to share her journey as a leader supporting other leaders.

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Going Global: With fashion icon, Karen Walker

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:00:10 -0000

From Runaway Girl to runway success, for more than 30 years powerhouse designer Karen Walker has built her brand and business globally. Known for clever designs, adventurous collaborations, imaginative storytelling and constantly redefining her approach to retail, Karen shares her world class journey with Brianne and Simon.

Going Global is brought to you in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE wants to help more Kiwi businesses reach their global potential. Visit www.getthere.nz to find out more

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Roti Bros want to take their curry-inspired pies to the world

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 17:00:00 -0000

What do you get if you cross a pie with a curry? That's the question that led Ollie Morrison and Logan Stevens to found Roti Bros. The pair join the pod to talk starting a new business mid-pandemic, opening their flagship store in Auckland's Commercial Bay and what they've got planned next.

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How Augusto is blurring lines beyond being just an agency

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 17:00:00 -0000

Production company Augusto have pioneered a hit model. Harnessing the tagline "Blurring the lines between advertising, entertainment and production", their breadth of work truly surpasses all boundaries beyond being just an agency. Working with the likes of Tourism NZ and Netflix, to (most recently) royalty, we’re joined by Michelle Walshe (co-founder and global CEO) to hear their story - how they made it in the big apple, and how COVID brought them back home to rebuild with a focus on impact.

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Going Global: With Laura Bell, SafeStack Academy

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 16:00:11 -0000

How do you take your business beyond Aotearoa to the world stage? Welcome to Going Global, a six part pop-up series where we find out. For its inaugural episode, Laura Bell, founder and CEO of SafeStack Academy, joins hosts Brianne West (CEO and founder of Ethique) and Simon Pound (Business is Boring) for a kōrero about everything from the export market for digital products, to how SafeStack Academy found itself helping world-class companies with their cybersecurity training.

Going Global is brought to you in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. NZTE wants to help more Kiwi businesses reach their global potential. Visit www.getthere.nz to find out more

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Bringing the best of Australia’s high-growth companies to NZ

Mon, 30 May 2022 17:00:00 -0000

Even if you've never heard of Canva, you've definitely seen social media posts using its graphic design templates. Mahesh Muralidhar played a part in making the Australian company a global success story, and now back in New Zealand he's leading Phase One Ventures, a start-up incubator with big ambitions for Aotearoa business. He joins the pod this week to talk about his dreams for the incubator, the importance of making business more accessible to youth and his plan to make six unicorns.

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Girls that Invest: Simran Kaur on changing the face of investment

Mon, 23 May 2022 17:00:00 -0000

With Girls That Invest, Simran Kaur is dismantling the patriarchy through financial independence and making more women welcome in the world of investing. Now with over 150 thousand Instagram followers and more than a million downloads, hear how she grew Girls That Invest, and why investing should and can be for women/marginalised groups.

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What's your mental health plan? (with Sir John Kirwan)

Mon, 16 May 2022 17:00:00 -0000

With his workplace mental health platform Groov, Sir John Kirwan is continuing a journey to change the conversation around mental health. An open and prominent figure advocating for awareness in Aotearoa (and beyond), he joins us this week for a chat about the all-important intersection of mental health and business.

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Easy Crypto's build to a billion in sales

Mon, 09 May 2022 17:00:00 -0000

A self-proclaimed "high school drop out", Janine Grainger now works in the blockchain and cryptocurrency tech fields as the CEO and co-founder of New Zealand-based cryptocurrency purchasing platform Easy Crypto. She joins the pod to chat about the company's build to a billion in sales, and where they – and crypto – are headed next.

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Special Group's hard mahi and manifested success

Mon, 02 May 2022 17:00:00 -0000

Coming from humble beginnings in an ambitious yet small market, Special Group has built itself up big from day dot. With a driven mindset of being the biggest and best agency in the world, they have now found huge success as one of NZ's most awarded agencies. Co-founder and CEO, Tony Bradbourne, joins us to talk opening offices around the world, their work (including Gwyneth Paltrow eating her infamous candle), and growing in an industry that’s seen a fair few struggles.

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NewFish is reimagining the future of NZ fishing

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 17:00:00 -0000

NewFish is a startup aiming to change the fishing industry for the better. Using fish that might otherwise be waste, they are looking to massively increase our use of macro and micro algae, instigating further progressions of sustainability within NZ's food production systems. To talk the journey, the goals and what’s next, co-founder and GM Hamish Howard joins the pod.

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Dotterel is taking NZ IP to the world

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 17:00:00 -0000

We first spoke to NZ company, Dotterel in 2019 as they were just coming together with a cool concept for making recording from drones less noisy. Now, over the last three years, they have become the global leaders in capturing sound in noisy environments. Having just announced a new raise of $3m to take a recording breakthrough they’ve made out of the drone industry, CEO and co-founder Shaun Edlin joins us to talk the journey, the biggest change in sound in decades, and taking NZ IP to the world.

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Michele Wilson on the sacred kaupapa of AWWA

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 17:00:00 -0000

Michele Wilson, founder of AWWA period care, was once a corporate lawyer whose side hustle turned into her full time mahi. Now leading conversations around understanding the period cycle through her business, hear her journey of how she built AWWA from a standing start to half a million dollars in sales a month, and the mahi she does to share the sacred kaupapa of the business. Rawe.

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Greg Denton on creating accessible pathways into the tech world

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 16:00:00 -0000

This week we’re talking tech companies and seeing it, to be it. Greg Denton excelled in his studies and afterwards, found himself in a big bank. Not loving life in a suit (and saying he was a banker), when he discovered the tech world, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t known it was open to him. If it was hard for him with his background, he wondered how hard it must be for others without his advantages. So, he set up Matchstiq; a way to create more visibility, pathways, and connections into the tech industry. To talk his journey, how people can get access to this world, and opening up more pathways, Greg Denton joins the pod.

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Method's Sam Ramlu talks the secrets to metaverse success

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:00:00 -0000

We’ve all heard a lot about the metaverse lately; the virtual worlds we soon might be spending a lot more time in. However, for Sam Ramlu (co-founder of pioneering studio, Method), it’s already beginning. Having built the super successful Wanderer VR game in the unreal engine (one of the leading virtual world builders), how did they pull this off? What is the story behind her success at Method? We find out, as well as how we can make sure the metaverse future is better than our tech present.

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Brooke Roberts on the rise of Sharesies

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 15:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is back! With the support of Spark Lab, we’ll be talking with some of Aotearoa’s most successful business people and checking back in with some of the 250+ guests we’ve had on the podcast over the last five years. We last spoke with Sharesies 3EO Brooke Roberts in 2017, when the site had been live for a month and had just ticked over 2000 users. Today the platform has half a million Kiwi on board, with $2 billion invested, and has recently expanded into Australia. Brooke returns this week to talk about all that’s happened in the last five years and what being a 3EO actually involves.

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Do you have oat milk?

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 14:00:50 -0000

Supply shortages earlier this year brought attention to the fact that although we grow plenty of oats here in New Zealand – and know a thing or two about milk – we have been importing all commercial oat milk. Boring Oat Milk founder Morgan Maw was in a place to do something about that, knowing oats through her first oat biscuit venture. To talk about the three-year journey she had to go on to get onto shelves, the state of the oat and alternative milk industry here, how she’s using brand and storytelling and what’s next, she joined Business is Boring via Zoom this week.

This is the last episode of Business is Boring. Thank you so much to everyone who has listened, shared the podcast, got in touch, talked to me about it and been a supporter. It’s been an enormous privilege to have been able to talk to an interesting person doing cool things every week for five years.

We’re going to take a little bit of time off and come back with a new concept. I’m really looking forward to changing things up a little to keep hopefully providing value to you all, and to keep trying to do our bit to share some of the great stories of tomorrow in Aotearoa.

I hope that now after five years, more than 200 episodes, and more than half a million downloads, we’ve proven that business is not boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The electrician behind 20% of NZ’s new solar installations

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 15:00:58 -0000

Luke Nutting is an electrician who eight or so years ago saw that solar would be the future. He went from being a man in a van to now leading Lightforce, a company that does 20% of New Zealand’s solar installs, with more than 80 staff around the country. Now he has big plans to help create alternative energy choices by helping people sell their excess power back to the grid.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The former Apple leader helping NZ companies go global

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 15:00:28 -0000

Vignesh Kumar is a partner in Global from Day 1, or Gd1, a local venture capital fund which recently announced the first close of its third fund -- a $130m infusion of capital to invest in New Zealand companies wanting to scale to be worldwide successes. The company has partnered with a bunch of global experience across finance, marketing, venture, operations and hardware – including Vignesh, who was previously a hardware scaling leader at Apple. To talk about the VC world, his personal purpose and what Apple was like, he joined Business is Boring by Zoom this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The property developer helping build better communities

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 15:00:40 -0000

Ockham Residential co-founder Mark Todd is not your usual property developer. Over the years Ockham has helped make Auckland a more compact and liveable city by building the kind of apartments people actually want to live in and have as neighbours. The company is pioneering build to rent, Iwi partnerships, offering more Kiwibuild options than a bank manager might recommend and giving back through their foundation, the Ockham Collective. But it might be the example they are setting, and the uncomfortable conversations they are starting, that will have the most impact. To talk about his journey, Ockham’s mission and how they’re changing the conversation, Mark joined Business is Boring via Zoom.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The NZ startup changing batteries for the better

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:00:08 -0000

Batteries are an ethical minefield, and it’s an issue that often gets overlooked in the important move to green tech. Now a New Zealand startup is helping solve the problem. Dr Shalini Divya is the co-founder of TasmanIon, who are commercialising her research into using the earth-abundant aluminium to make a new generation of more recyclable, sustainable and equitable batteries. To talk about the mission, the science and the journey, Dr Divya joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The local label pioneering carbon positive fashion

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 15:00:53 -0000

A couple of years ago Maggie Marilyn designer and founder Maggie Hewitt debuted her first collection straight onto Net-a-Porter, one of the most desirable doors in the world. Maggie Marilyn has since become a pioneer in sustainable luxury, being made in New Zealand and pioneering better production practices. Recently the brand has started moves to become carbon positive, and released lines that are more affordable and that run to larger sizes, two accessibility issues the industry struggles with. To talk about that journey, making it work internationally from New Zealand and what’s next, Maggie joined Business is Boring via Zoom.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The importance of employee experience

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 22:32:09 -0000

Samantha Gadd founded Humankind about ten years ago as a new kind of HR, people and culture company. Over time, Humankind has specialised to focus on the growing area of employee experience, helping some of our biggest, best and most successful organisations – from growth companies like Sharesies or Supreme Coffee through to government departments – design better culture to get better results. Samantha joined Business is Boring this week to talk about her journey, EX design and how HR is changing.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Theresa Gattung on dealing with burnout in business

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 15:00:00 -0000

When Theresa Gattung became CEO of Telecom at 37, she became the first woman to run an NZX top 50 company. It was a glass ceiling shattering moment, but over 20 years later there still remain huge gender opportunity and achievement gaps in business. So to do more at the structural level, Theresa has just announced she will work with Auckland University to create a new hub to help increase participation and excellence in entrepreneurship for women by funding the Theresa Gattung Chair of Women in Entrepreneurship. To talk about that, launching Tend and why we need to start taking burnout more seriously, Theresa returned to Business is Boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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A new way for startups to raise capital

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Jodie Imam and Lance Hodges are the COO and general partner of Tractor Ventures, a group offering debt financing to Australian and New Zealand startups. Both startup legends in their own right, they tell Simon Pound why they wanted to be part of this new model and how it all works.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How Socialites stays on top of the social media game

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Melanie Spencer is the co-CEO of Socialites, a company that’s helping businesses big and small succeed on social media. She joins Simon Pound on Business is Boring this week to talk about her journey, agency culture and staying on top of the rapidly changing social media landscape.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How NZ joined the space club, with Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Ten years ago, if you said New Zealand would soon be one of the handful of countries in the space club, regularly sending satellites to space and famous for its space industry, you’d probably have been laughed out of the room. But that’s exactly what has happened, and the driving force behind this change has been Peter Beck at Rocket Lab.

To get the company off the ground he’s had to pull together some of the world’s biggest investors, have international laws changed and successfully pioneer innovations in making and sending rockets that are now industry standards. It was wildly unlikely at most every step, but today Rocket Lab is on the verge of a massive listing on the US stock exchange, and a big shift to larger rockets.

To talk about the journey, his perseverance and New Zealand becoming a member of the space club, Simon Pound met Peter Beck at the Rocket Lab’s Mount Wellington HQ.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How Multitudes is helping businesses measure and improve team culture

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Lauren Peate is the founder and CEO of Multitudes, a New Zealand software company that helps measure and improve companies’ culture and performance. She came up with the idea while running Ally Skills NZ, a diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy for tech companies. She’s worked in and with startups in the Middle East and as a management consultant with Bain & Co in San Francisco, and received a degree in economics from Stanford. To talk about that journey and what Multitudes is here to do, Lauren joined Simon Pound for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Shotgun’s ride from mountain biking brainwave to global business

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Shotgun co-founder Dan Necklen joins Simon Pound to talk about designing a new type of kids’ bike seat and taking it to the world. From a couple of mountain biking mates turning over an idea – what if a child could sit between the arms of the rider and have their own set of handlebars – the idea has grown to now be sold all over the world. With new products in the works, the company now has a bigger goal of helping get kids off screens and ultimately raise the next generation of mountain bikers.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How to sell a fast growing company, and other tips from an advertising entrepreneur

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Jane Ormsby is an online ad industry innovator. She built online advertising inventory network Response Directive into an Australasian market leader before using her online publishing expertise to work with APN (now NZME) as it tackled digital, leading the paywall at The Listener and launching Bite. Her current company is Scroll Media, a network of trusted publishers and advertisers. To talk about the journey, the future of advertising and share tips for selling a business, Jane joined Business is Boring this week for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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What Woop does differently with their food boxes

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:00:00 -0000

Thomas Dietz is the founder and CEO of Woop – short for world on our plate – a company whose inventive offering has found a strong foothold in the hyper-competitive food box space. He joined Business is Boring this week to talk about his journey from France to New Zealand, and from makeup marketing to food boxes.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The ticketing app using booking fees for good

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 14:00:00 -0000

New Zealander Georgia Robertson is the CEO of Humanitix, an Australian ticketing app with a difference. The company was started by two friends in Sydney, who pooled their resources to make a ticket booking platform that would donate 100% of profits to charity, using the power of better tech to deliver lower costs to customers and clients. Georgia joined Business is Boring this week to tell Simon Pound about working at the intersection of tech and social good.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Making wearable tech for astronauts, Olympic athletes and everybody

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 15:00:00 -0000

New Zealand company Myovolt has been at the cutting edge of innovation in wearable technology the last 20 years, with founders Dianne Jones and Steve Leftly working on wearable tech with Nasa, Apple, Adidas and Nike. Now they’re launching their first major consumer products, a series of devices to help with muscle recovery.

To talk about Myovolt’s journey, their new range and ongoing innovation, Steve Leftly joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The business and politics of bread

Wed, 26 May 2021 14:00:00 -0000

Isabel Pasch is the majority owner of Bread and Butter, bakeries and cafes that focus on traditional sourdough fermentation and using as many locally sourced and organic ingredients as possible. Unlike most supermarket white bread, which she believes is about as nutritional as a fizzy drink, Isabel’s Bread and Butter aims to make bread that’s good for you, your gut, and the planet. To talk about the journey, a mission for sustainable food, the politics of bread and what’s next, Isabel joined Business is Boring this week for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How Rush built the NZ COVID Tracer app in a hurry

Wed, 19 May 2021 14:00:00 -0000

If you’re listening to this podcast on a smartphone in New Zealand, chances are you have an app today’s guest helped create – and hopefully you use it every day. Pavan Vyas is the CEO of Rush, makers of NZ COVID Tracer, an app which was brought to market in crisis response speed in 2020 and since improved on to the point it’s been adopted by the NHS in the UK.

To talk about how they made the app, and about growing the company to count Google, Disney Plus and Microsoft among its international customers, Rush CEO Pavan Vyas joined Business is Boring for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Compostic's plan to replace plastic cling wrap

Wed, 12 May 2021 14:00:00 -0000

New Zealand has an addiction to using plastic cling wrap – and it goes without saying that’s no good for the environment. Jon Reed’s startup Compostic is out to change that with a range of home compostable cling wrap and other kitchen products. In the last few years the company has grown from a product only available in specialty stores to now be available in most New Zealand supermarkets, along with hundreds in Australia, and now it’s launching into the US market too. Founder and CEO Jon Reed joined Business is Boring this week to talk about the journey.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The Seinfeld-inspired startup simplifying flower buying

Wed, 05 May 2021 14:00:00 -0000

If flowers are so often bought by men, how come florists aren't designed to appeal to them more? That’s the (extremely paraphrased) gist of the Jerry Seinfeld routine that helped inspire Vanisha Narsey to start Bouqo, an online platform that helps people select the right floral solution, see examples of bouquets at their price point and get them delivered. With 15 florists onboard across Auckland and plans for expansion, Vanisha joined Business is Boring this week to talk about the idea and its development, how it's going and what’s next.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The NZ company working on a new Covid-19 vaccine

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:00:00 -0000

In this week’s episode, Simon Pound talks to Dr Robert Feldman, CEO of Covid-19 Vaccine Corporation, about the fascinating science behind developing a vaccine.

Covid-19 Vaccine Corporation (CVC), brings together some of the top figures in local pharmaceutical, deep tech and life science commercial enterprise. The chair is the managing director of Douglas Pharmaceuticals, and the CEO is Dr Robert Feldman, who has had a career working at Harvard Medical School and Imperial College, London, founding the UK vaccine company Microscience among other enterprises, before moving to New Zealand as Executive Director of Pacific Channel and after that, his own life science consulting company.

To talk about the fascinating science behind vaccine research and development, Dr Feldman joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The social enterprise helping create more social enterprises

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 14:00:00 -0000

Louise Aitken is the CEO of the Ākina Foundation, which for the last three years has been delivering a programme in partnership with the government, called The Impact Initiative, focussed on the future of New Zealand’s social enterprises. Ākina runs a range of programmes to help more businesses make money and positive change, to help grow companies’ capability, support them in things like finance and other nuts and bolts of doing business well, and create and demonstrate impact in what they do.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Fewer than 5% of tradies are women – here’s where to find them

Wed, 07 Apr 2021 23:00:00 -0000

Women make up about 10% of all tradespeople in New Zealand, and only about 4% of “on the tools” workers. That's a wild statistic, and part of why this week's guest Emma Kaniuk started Tradespeople – a directory that lists companies owned and run by women and gender diverse tradies around the country. Emma joined Business is Boring this week to talk about the idea behind the directory and the need it serves.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Fix & Fogg is taking NZ nut butters to the world

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0000

From humble hole-in-the-wall beginnings, Wellington-based Fix & Fogg is now one of the hottest nut butter companies in the world. Founder and CEO Roman Jewell tells Business is Boring how it all happened.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The NZ non-profit helping prisoners learn to code

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Take2 CEO and founder Cam Smith tells Simon Pound about the life-changing work his company does helping ex-prisoners reenter the job market.

The job market is tough at the best of times – but for an ex-prisoner without any recognised skills, it can be pretty much impossible. One ground-breaking new non-profit is out to help change that by helping incarcerated people learn how to code.

The goal of equipping prisoners with highly sought-after skills led this week’s guest Cam Smith from an exciting career in impact investment into the world of non-profits, dealing with big government departments and multi-generational societal challenges.

To discuss all these big problems and the big ideas needed to help solve them, the Take2 CEO and founder joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The NZ platform where you can rent just about anything

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Mutu founder Toby Skilton joins Business is Boring to talk about his vision for a service where people could rent out and borrow things from each other – and how he made it a reality.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a service where you could either make money by lending out the stuff you own and hardly use, or save money by borrowing things from people near you instead of buying them?

That’s the thought today’s guest had a few years ago, and he decided to turn it into a business. Mutu began in Christchurch, and has grown to now help users counter waste and create new income and connections nationwide.

Mutu founder and CEO Toby Skilton joined us by Zoom from Christchurch this week to talk about the journey so far, and where he wants to take the business next.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Why ZeroJet wants to electrify small boat motors

Wed, 10 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0000

This week on Business is Boring, Bex Rempel tells Simon Pound about the need to replace petrol motors on boats.

Did you know that an hour out on a little dinghy with a petrol powered outboard motor is as damaging to the environment as having 38 new cars running the same time? This is the fact that led New Zealand business ZeroJet to change tack and use their tech to try and replace some of the hundreds of thousands of petrol powered motors on small craft.

Even if they only fit 10,000 of their electric motors, it would have the same impact as removing 1.5 million cars from the road. The company’s co-founder and CEO Bex Rempel joined Business is Boring to talk about the environmental impact, being better to our oceans and what they plan to do next.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The NZ entrepreneur solving some big toilet problems

Wed, 03 Mar 2021 13:00:00 -0000

This week on Business is Boring, Billie Jo Hohepa-Ropiha tells Simon Pound about inventing the sewer-safe wet wipe alternative BDÉT.

There is a big problem lurking in our sewer pipes. Flushed wet wipes, even the supposedly flushable ones, are major contributors to ‘fatbergs’ – huge clumps of wipes and other stuff flushed down toilets that are blocking sewers and generally grossing people out everywhere.

What if you were able to put something onto regular toilet paper that would make it function like a wet wipe, but without all the problems? That was the brainwave Billie Jo Hohepa-Ropiha had nearly 20 years ago. After building a successful journalism career, she studied for an MBA, studying around work and family commitments, then launched not one but two bathroom products – BDÉT, the flushable toilet paper wet wipe alternative foam, as well as Kiwee, a toilet lid lifting device.

To talk entrepreneurship and finding opportunity in places not everyone wants to talk about, Bille Jo Hohepa-Ropiha joined Business is Boring for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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The Christchurch mum getting people moving in the morning

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Nearly every morning, thousands of people around New Zealand and the world start their day with a workout led by a mum of four boys from her Christchurch lounge. Lisa Fong leads these short, sharp 20 minute workouts over Facebook Live on her iPhone.

The friendly, inclusive approach to accessible workouts at only $10 a month has seen business boom. Lisa Fong’s Move it Mama is now a worldwide success, with a great community behind it – just the kind of positive realness we could all do with a bit more of.

Lisa joined Business is Boring over Zoom from Christchurch this week to talk fitness, the journey, lifting people up and the importance of keeping it real.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How LPL became Australasia’s biggest esports broadcaster

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 13:00:49 -0000

Duane Mutu is the founder and CEO of LetsPlay.Live. Esports are big business, with the number of people playing competitively and the number of spectators watching them play on a wild growth curve. With admission to big events, national sports associations and scholarships available for esporting phenoms to universities and colleges, esports are now recognised as sports.

The money involved is massive – with billion dollar companies being built on the periphery, the industry is already way bigger than Hollywood. One part of that industry is LetsPlay.Live (LPL). It’s the biggest esports competition and broadcast platform in Australasia, with more than 400,000 members in its community, and it’s all run production studio in the base of the Sky Tower.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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How do you become CEO of one of NZ’s biggest insurers?

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 13:00:00 -0000

One of the things we get asked for on this podcast is to hear from people involved in business who aren’t necessarily all-or-nothing entrepreneurs. So this year we’re sharing a few more stories of people doing interesting, big and different things in business. This week's guest is one such example – someone who recently returned home to New Zealand to take on the CEO role at one of our big listed insurance companies.

Blair Turnbull had a big role at ASB before heading overseas and working with Aviva – an insurer out of London with 30 million-plus customers. Blair led digital, retail and innovation functions, rising to be looking after 15 million customers before being shoulder-tapped to come back home to run Tower.

To learn a bit about how the insurance game works, what it takes to grow into a CEO role, and what innovation is coming our way in insurance, Blair Turnbull joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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How The Good Registry is helping give better gifts

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Giving gifts can be hard. And when you think about all the unwanted gifts that are given every year, you’re suddenly looking at a big waste problem. What if people were instead able to give people the ability to pick a charity of their choice to give those gift dollars to instead?

That was the thought that started The Good Registry, a social enterprise that helps people and companies give people the gift of giving. It supports a diverse roster of worthy local causes, and has so far helped channel more than half a million dollars that might have otherwise been spent on Favourites and Instant Kiwis.

Co-founder and CEO, Christine Langdon, left a successful career in corporate communications to pursue the business. She joined us via Zoom from Wellington to discuss the journey, how it is going and how a business to do good can do well.

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The New Zealander helping drive TikTok’s massive growth

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0000

In terms of cultural reach and impact, the biggest tech app in the world right now may well be TikTok. It’s where music companies are trying to break acts, it’s where memes are emerging, it’s where a lot of people find their news and information. It’s wildly varied, and it’s kind of beautiful how so many people are able to create, share and enjoy their eccentricities, enthusiasms and interests without conforming to one style or expectation.

It’s one of the world’s biggest brands right now, and as brand director, New Zealander Hongi Luo is helming some of its biggest music and cultural activations, like live-streaming the Brit Awards red carpet and partnering with huge stars. Hailing from Auckland, she was part of the small team establishing Uber in NZ and Australia, before helping launch an agency in Singapore and heading to London to work with TikTok.

To talk about being part of such massive growth companies, finding new ways for creativity to grow, and life right now in London, Hongi Luo joined us on Zoom this week for a chat.

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How All Good is changing the banana game, again

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks.

Bananas are one of the most popular grocery items in New Zealand – we buy enough of them to eat 18kg each per year. But for years bananas were also a symbol of the kind of capitalism that saw companies exploit workers, overthrow governments and farm mono-crops until they failed.

That’s why Simon Coley and a few old friends got together and started All Good, to start bringing in bananas that were fair trade. These bananas have been a hit, capturing 7% of the market, showing people will pay a little more for something a lot better for the world and workers. And this has led to a wave of other fair trade bananas, which has to be a good thing.

This month All Good is upping the ante by going carbon zero, offsetting emissions with permanent Amazon rainforest protected plantings. But the really amazing thing about this is that All Good bananas is only part of what the company does in the space. Along with All Good, Coley also co-founded Karma Drinks, whose work with growers of cola nuts in Sierra Leone is helping a community grow equitably, and expanding around the world. To learn about changing some of the grocery mainstays for the better, purpose led business and his entrepreneur’s journey, he joins for a chat in this week’s episode.

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Summer reissue: Stacy Gregg, author

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0000

Business Is Boring is taking a break over the summer holidays. We'll be back in the new year, but until then we're we're republishing some of our favourite interviews of 2020. This week: Simon talks with bestselling author Stacy Gregg.

First released September 3, 2020.

Stacy Gregg’s first job in media was as a secretary, a job she was fired from before being rehired as a staff writer. She went on to specialise in fashion writing, ultimately starting and selling a pioneering media title before sidestepping into a different field entirely – writing children’s books.

Her specialty in that field was stories about ponies and horses, and her books – in series like Pony Club Secrets and standalone titles like The Princess and the Foal – have now found a large audience both here and overseas.

It took a lot of time and business savvy to build and maintain that audience, in the process becoming one of New Zealand’s most successful international writers. To talk about the work that goes into being a bestselling author and the business of books, Stacy Gregg joined Simon Pound for this episode of Business is Boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand.

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Summer reissue: Scottie Chapman from Spring Sheep Milk Co.

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0000

First released July 16, 2020.

New Zealand is famous all around the world for sheep, and for milk. But what it hasn’t been so well known for is sheep milk, but this week on the podcast we’re meeting a man out to change that.

That’s right, sheep milk. It’s an alternative milk on the rise across SE Asia. It’s easier to digest than cow’s milk and has a way lower environmental impact than dairy. And although it might sound like it would take a lot of sheep to get volume up, with some selective breeding and some kiwi smarts Spring Sheep Milk Co have found a way to make this primary product into high value exports.

And it’s not the first time that company’s CEO has pulled that off. Scottie Chapman had his first big success with Old Mout cider, the brand he started that led huge category growth, making cider a supermarket mainstay. That business was sold to DB and Heineken, and it’s gone on to be one of the biggest ciders in the world. And you know what? When he started that journey people told him cider wasn’t popular. He proved them wrong, and will he also be right about sheep milk?

To talk the journey, what sheep milk is used for and why sheep make a lot more sense for the world than ever more cows, Scottie Chapman joined us for a half hour chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand.

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Summer reissue: Rachel Taulelei from Kono

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 13:00:00 -0000

First released June 4, 2020.

While the full and lasting effects of Covid-19 are still to play out, and things are looking pretty fractious, there are some companies making the very best out of the current situation. One of these is Kono.

Demand for New Zealand produce overseas is currently up. Our country's careful and healthy management of the pandemic has shone a light on our products internationally as people want high quality food and beverage, made with Papatuanuku in mind.

That is exactly what Kono does. It's a whānau-owned Māori food and beverage business led by CEO Rachel Taulelei. They sell food, wine and produce brands all around the globe, from wines you know like Tohu, to Annie’s fruit bars.

Before this role, Taulelei founded Yellow Brick Road, a company selling the best seafood to top hospitality operators, and was NZ Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles. Today she is on the prime minister’s Business Advisory Council, and you might have seen her on one of the Conversations on Covid-19 that the PM was running. To talk about what being whānau owned means and her hopes for the rebuild post-Covid-19, Taulelei joined us on the podcast.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand.

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The chief economist who made himself redundant and started a newsletter

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 13:00:00 -0000

As chief economist at the BNZ for 25 years, Tony Alexander held one of the biggest jobs in New Zealand economics. He helped advise the bank and nation through a lot of economic change and disruption – until last year, when he decided to disrupt himself and left.

Since then you can still find him in the media as one of the leading commentators, and now through Tony's View, a weekly free newsletter, with a paid, more detailed, subscription offer. In a year in which a lot of commentators have come a cropper, his measured, data-driven offering has been fantastic.

Tony specialises in helping people understand the economy and making it simple and clear enough that they can make better decisions on their businesses and house purchases. It’s a big goal, but like the saying goes: any old fool can make something complex, it takes genius to make it simple.

To chat commentary, predictions, making yourself redundant, housing obsessions and what’s next for him and all of us, Tony Alexander joined us via Zoom from Wellington this week.

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The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2020

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 22:20:01 -0000

Pour yourself some eggnog and join the hosts of The Spinoff’s podcast network for our annual Superpod round up of the year that was.

Representing Gone By Lunchtime, Dietary Requirements, The Real Pod, Papercuts, The Fold and On The Rag our hosts dive into the key events, issues, heroes and villains of 2020.

From National’s botched election campaign to Ben Thomas’ take on TikTok, via the collapse of Bauer, the rise of oat milk, with a detour through controversial frozen grapes and Simon’s Sausage Spot, there’s something for everyone in this year’s Superpod. Featuring special guests producer T and Covid-19.

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The Australian venture capitalist with $60m for backing NZ companies

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0000

Last year one of the biggest venture capital operators in Australia moved over and set up offices in New Zealand. The company, Blackbird, is famous for backing big companies like Canva, but has also been involved in supporting local successes from very early on. One of those is like Sunfed, the makers of plant protein meat alternatives, and it’s the Blackbird partner that led the Sunfed deal who has come over to set up the local office.

Sam Wong started her career at a prestigious law firm. She did well but didn’t quite love it so left, moved home, worked minimum wage jobs to pay her way and got into start-up life. She ran product for a high-growth ecommerce company, founded a company that went through the VC cycle, and got into working at Blackbird.

Blackbird VC has invested in a bunch of local companies like AskNicely, FreightFish, AO Air, Partly, Multitudes and Mint Innovation. And it’s recently announced it’s raised a lot more money, partnered with the Government to invest, and run big events for the local start-up ecosystem.

To talk moving from law to the start-up world to VC, what it takes to be a great company – and a great venture capitalist – and how Blackbird works to back local companies, Sam Wong joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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How See-LEVEL is using VR to counter seasickness

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 23:13:32 -0000

Around 25% of the population experiences seasickness to an extent that makes ocean-going uncomfortable or even impossible. If you happen to be an engineer working on a sea-based wind farm and are among that 25%, you might find getting to and from work a nightmare – and you might not be much use once you get there.

It’s a problem this week’s guest knows well. Dudley Jackson loves the sea, and with dreams of bringing his kids up on the water sold the family home and moved with his wife, two kids and a dog onto a 40 foot yacht – only to find out the hard way he was one of the 25%. The dream had to be put on ice, until a new technology came along that caught his interest because it was making a lot of people sick.

Dudley looked at virtual reality headsets and had a lightbulb moment. If some people found these sets created motion sickness, could they be used to reverse that feeling and get people out of it too? It was a unique idea that with his background in IT he was able to experiment with and landed a concept.

His company See-LEVEL has now picked up funding, Callaghan Innovation R&D support and is now in use with operators like the Navy, tourism companies and overseas wind farms. To talk about it all, Dudley Jackson joined us via Zoom for a chat.

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How Foodprint is helping reduce food waste by bringing the bargains

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0000

Food waste is such a massive problem that it’s hard to fully comprehend. Everyone would have heard the stats that say more than a third of food, fruit and vegetables are wasted, and one of the many causes is the struggle to accurately match supply to demand. Cafes and food sellers will fill a cabinet and hope with the best intentions, and the last thing they want to do is waste that food, but if people don’t buy those fresh items they don’t have much of a shelf life.

This week’s guest, Michal Garvey, saw the beginning of a solution to this while living and working in Sweden, and came back to New Zealand with the goal of helping to make the food industry more sustainable while at the same time giving customers access to heavily discounted food. The app, Foodprint, is an ingenious way for great cafes and food makers like &sushi, Ripe and Bluebells Cakery to list items for half price and ensure they sell everything through. It helps give people great food for less, measures carbon saved and cuts down the upsetting waste.

To talk about the journey, the uptake and what’s next, Foodprint founder and CEO Michal Garvey joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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How IMAGR plans to eliminate checkout queues

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 13:00:00 -0000

You’ve probably stood in a supermarket queue and thought you could be spending your short time on this earth more productively. That’s what happened to this week’s Business is Boring guest, William Chomley, who instead of shrugging off these musings started a company to solve the problem.

IMAGR is a New Zealand start-up that uses computer vision to power smart shopping carts, with the ultimate goal of removing check outs, meaning grocery store customers never have to queue again.

William Chomley was working in an investment fund and didn’t have time to wait in supermarket lines, but he did find the time to build out and validate the concept of solving the problem. His company went from side-hustle to more than full-time, raising multiple investment rounds including $14 million dollars this year in a round led by Japanese tech giant Toshiba.

IMAGR are now working on delivering the shopping experience of the future in Japan and Auckland, with a team of hardware and software experts solving a problem that Amazon and Alibaba have spent billions on.

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Introducing Coming Home: Like nothing we've ever seen before

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 13:00:00 -0000

This is episode one of Coming Home, a new five-part podcast series from The Spinoff podcast network, in partnership with Kiwibank. We're sharing it with you here because we think if you like Business is Boring you might find this interesting too. Have a listen and subscribe on your platform of choice to hear the rest of the series. New episodes arriving weekly.

Coming Home delves into the phenomenon of high achieving New Zealanders returning to Aotearoa in the era of Covid-19. Join hosts Duncan Greive and Jane Yee as they seek to find out who these returnees are, why they left New Zealand in the first place, the reasons for their homecoming and what their arrival means for all of us. Featuring Peter Gordon, Julia Arnott-Neenee, Paul Spoonley, Jarrod Kerr, Rachel Morris, Joel Kefali, Polly Fryer and Mahoney Turnbull.

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How AF Drinks is helping lift the non-alcoholic beverage game

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:00:00 -0000

As a society, we don’t have a particularly healthy relationship with alcohol. We work hard to ignore the fact alcohol is a serious carcinogen, and even harder to ignore the social and medical effects and costs of drinking. If we thought about that when people say they’re not drinking, we’d recognise that’s probably the better idea – but it’s not like that yet.

This week’s guest should be well known to regular listeners of the podcast, having been on before as the founder of Eat My Lunch. Lisa King decided to take a break from drinking earlier this year, and the weird reactions that prompted from people led her to reevaluate her and our general relationship with drinking.

Now she’s helping amplify the conversation about changing our relationship to drinking, and helping make it easier to take control of your choices, with her new venture AF Drinks. The first products are alcohol-free gin and tonics that actually taste good, and they’re hitting supermarkets everywhere shortly.

To talk about saving non-drinkers from horrible warm orange juice, starting an alcohol free drinks company and the reaction and reception so far, Lisa King joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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How Again Again is making takeaway coffee better for the environment

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:03:20 -0000

Every year, New Zealanders throw out 300 million takeaway coffee cups. Even the ones that are compostable, most often aren’t composted – only one in 400 compostable coffee cups make it to the compost, in fact.Many people have Keep Cups, but not everyone always has their Keep Cup on them at all times. And then there aren’t many choices. But one New Zealand company is out to change that.

Again Again offers a service where users can pay $3 to borrow a reusable stainless steel cup with a lid. Bring it back, and you will get your $3 back, with the cafe washing it for future use. It saves cafes money on takeaway cups, and it reduces waste. So far it’s helped remove 840,000 cups from the waste stream each year, and it’s only just getting started.

Again Again began in Wellington, has 160 plus cafes around the country in the program, and is now looking to expand their impact and mission. They’re currently equity crowdfunding through PledgeMe – where they’re looking to raise at least $300k to help them expand to tackle other takeaway waste problems, including an exciting new project with Garage Project around their flagons.

The company co-founder and MD, Nada Piatek joined us by Zoom, for a chat about how 20 years of entrepreneurship and sustainability initiatives led to this concept, the raise and the goals of the company.

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How Karangahape Road became an international music software hub

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 13:00:00 -0000

Auckland’s Karangahape Rd has long been a home of live music, but it might be news to you that it’s also an internationally recognised hotspot for music software innovation and excellence. It's where InMusic, owner of some of the world’s biggest music brands like Numark, Denon and Akai make their software, while other big brands with offices in the neighbourhood include Serato and Melodics. Today’s guest has a connection to all of them.

Morgan Donoghue was with Serato in key roles during its growth, is an investor in Melodics and is currently the MD at InMusic. On top of all that he’s also the COO for a very interesting new earphone technology company called Nura, who use software to create personalised audio experiences for listeners. Nura hit the news recently for a deal with the All Blacks, where the team took equity in the company in return for a sponsorship deal – a novel and interesting business approach.

It’s just the latest step in a long and varied career in music for Donoghue, who before these roles acted as the head of global music for Vodafone and manager of Hollie Smith along with his wife Nicky. He joined Business is Boring this week to tell a few of the many amazing yarns he’s got from his time in the music industry, and talk about the All Blacks deal, his many different roles and how to make New Zealand music tech sing.

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How Fuel50 is changing HR software to fit the new ways we work

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 13:00:00 -0000

The world of work has obviously changed a lot recently, making many of the HR processes employers and employees use increasingly unfit for purpose. With the rise of the gig economy, people changing careers, new ways of working and a growing understanding of the value of people bringing their whole selves to work, the traditional approach of a strict job description, set hours and a once yearly review are quite out of date, yet still being used.

One company out to change that is Fuel50, founded by Jo Mills and Anne Fulton – two New Zealanders working to help some of the biggest US companies with their people strategy. Their AI-powered software allows for all the permutations of shifting projects, personnel and interests, matching up people to work and creating new ways to allow managers and team members to shape their careers and lives in the best way for all.

The company is at the forefront of a lot of the conversations you might have heard about agile working and work-life balance and all the other good new things. To discuss this, the future of work, making it in the US from NZ and an upcoming spot on Southern SaaS – the excellent SaaS conference for local stars – co-founder Jo Mills joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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How Kami is de-stressing the digital learning experience for millions worldwide

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 13:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Hengjie Wang and Alliv Samson, co-founders of Kami.

If you have any school-aged kids in your life, you’ll know all about the changes and fast-adoption of technology the education sector has seen this year. During lockdown us parents had what seemed like endless repetitive problems with Google slides, things not saving, appearing or formatting properly and generally just not working.

But one New Zealand-based education tool has taken a bunch of these frustrations and made it easy to collaborate, annotate, work and see what others are doing in a shared online workspace. The app is called Kami – which means paper in Japanese – and it’s helping create a shared learning environment for millions of kids and adults around the world.

The app is now used in more than one in three schools in the US. They are closing in on 20 million users worldwide, and you might have seen them in the news as they recently made an offer for all New Zealand schools to be able to use it for free for the foreseeable future.

Kami was launched by three final year students at the University of Auckland, co-founders who picked up a chairman and a business plan through an entrepreneur challenge, and have now built the business into a global force in the highly controlled and highly contested education space.

To talk about the journey, running the business over lockdown with a new baby, and what’s next, co-founders Hengjie Wang and Alliv Samson joined Business is Boring this week for a chat.

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Masterchef’s Josh Emett is opening his first restaurant of his own

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Josh Emett, Michelin-starred chef and restaurant owner.

Josh Emett is a household name in New Zealand, famous for having worked and won Michelin stars with Gordon Ramsay over more than a decade, before coming home to open a string of successful restaurants and find fame as a judge on Masterchef.

You may have visited his restaurants Madam Woo, or Hawker and Roll, or Rata, or Ostro, or read his cookbook of collected greatest hits, The Recipe, or seen his Instagram videos with his sons helping as sous chefs in the home kitchen.

All his other restaurants to date have been partnerships, but this year he decided to take over Waiheke luxury boutique hotel and restaurant The Oyster Inn and open a new restaurant, Onslow, from scratch with his wife Helen.

What’s it been like for them to take on so much solo risk in a year where running a restaurant has hardly been plain sailing, then doubling down with a fine dining venture? To talk about his career, how he got to where he is and what he's doing next, Josh Emett joined Business is Boring for a chat just two days out from the opening of Onslow.

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How to launch a new magazine in the time of coronavirus

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 13:00:00 -0000

This podcast has always had a special interest in the ways people have managed to keep making things happen in business while the world seems to be falling apart around them. This week’s guest did just that when he crowdfunded and launched a new magazine title during a time of supreme uncertainty, when magazines were effectively banned in New Zealand.

Simon Farrell-Green will be familiar to many listeners from his years of food reviews and feature writing for Metro, bfm, Eat Here Now, Kia Ora and as editor of Home. When Home’s publisher Bauer Media folded in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Simon wasted little time in launching a new title of his own, with the backing of a successful Boosted campaign.

The magazine, Here, is a colourful and fun celebration of the magazine format that acts as a time capsule of design and these times. With the second issue out now, Simon joined Business is Boring to talk about the journey.

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The New Zealand app helping predict depression and anxiety in the workforce

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 14:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week's guest is Dr Elizabeth Berryman, founder and CEO of mental health app chnnl.

Those in the medical profession have difficult jobs, and it can be especially tough for trainee and new doctors.

Today’s guest, Dr Elizabeth Berryman, was a trainee doctor herself when she started wondering how many others in her position were under the same pressures and feeling the same stress. A lot, it turned out – more than half the people she surveyed reported bullying, harassment or other unacceptable workplace conditions.

This led her to research and develop an app to track and understand the current state of frontline workers in the health sector, through daily check-ins on important measures. The app can predict depression and anxiety, with 90% accuracy, and help point people to timely help.

When Berryman started sharing news about the healthcare focused app she got requests from other corporates, and now chnnl has been extended to be for all workforces. She joined Business is Boring this week to talk about her path to entrepreneurship, the app, and the state of it all.

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How Formus Labs is helping take the guesswork out of joint replacement surgery

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 14:00:00 -0000

Hip and knee replacements are fairly common surgeries, but you’d be surprised how often they need to be revised or redone completely. That’s because every body is unique, and it’s hard for doctors to know what the perfect replacement piece looks like before they open a patient up.

Local company Formus Labs wants to help with that. They’re using AI and computer modelling to help surgeons design bespoke surgery plans for patients with their cloud-based software, taking CT scan data and building a computer model to help select the right implant and right approach.

It’s revolutionary tech that removes the guesswork about size, shape, stresses and orientation – and it’s picking up a global market. The company stemmed in large part from the research of CEO Dr Ju Zhang, who joined host Simon Pound to talk about the company’s journey, their concept and what they plan to do next.

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How Zincovery is using the $100,000 C-Prize to clean up galvanised steel

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 14:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Jonathan Ring, CEO of C-Prize winning company Zincovery.

Considering how important steel is to so much of the construction and manufacturing industry, it hasn’t seen a great deal of innovation, and it isn’t particularly environmentally-friendly, either. That’s especially true of galvanised steel, where the materials used create waste problems and tonnes valuable resources like zinc and acids usually go down the drain.

But now a New Zealand company has a plan to fix this and create the first clean process, and it’s an idea that’s getting noticed. Zincovery has just won the $100,000 C-Prize – the Callaghan Innovation challenge to find environmental answers through clever business innovation.

To talk about the C-Prize and creating change in the construction and manufacturing industries, Zincovery CEO Jonathan Ring joined Simon Pound this week for a chat.

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How Stacy Gregg went from fashion journalist to bestselling children's book author

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 16:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Pony Club Secrets and The Princess and the Foal author Stacy Gregg.

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Why new fashion website Ensemble just launched in the middle of a pandemic

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0000

When Bauer Media announced the closure of its operations in the last lockdown, a lot of talented magazine and media people were put out of a job and into a state of uncertainty. While some Bauer titles have since been resurrected – and others may still be – the advertising market and the economics of running these magazines are unlikely to be the same as before. Bit with change comes the chance to have a look and see if old models still apply, and this week's guests found the standard approach to fashion media was way out of date.

Zoe Walker Ahwa was editor-in-chief at Fashion Quarterly and Simply You, the top commercial and cultural institutions in local fashion media. It was the culmination of 15 years working in the sector, on titles like Viva, Next and right back in the beginning, Runway Reporter, an online-first media outlet about 15 years ahead of its time. When her titles were suddenly closed down, Zoe connected with Rebecca Wadey, who had been a writer and contributor to Metro magazine, as well as working on the commercial side of the industry for brands including Esteé Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Kate Sylvester.

At first the pair considered relaunching one of the old established titles, but eventually decided that so much of what those titles represented was yesterday’s news. Instead, they’ve launched a new online-first, member-supported outlet called Ensemble, covering fashion, culture and life with a more diverse view and class-conscious cultural lens than traditional magazines might have allowed.

To talk about how the idea came to fruition, the relevance of fashion and beauty today, the freedom of publishing online and the whole upside down world we now live in, Ensemble’s editor Zoe Walker Ahwa and publisher and partnerships director Rebecca Wadey joined Simon for a chat over Zoom.

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How to drink – and sell – a New Zealand wine

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0000

Wine is big business in New Zealand. The prices we command for our wine are some of the best margins in the world, and just about anywhere you go in the world there will be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on the menu. But this week’s guest believes the potential of our fine wine is only starting to be realised.

New Zealand has had many trail blazers on the winemaking side of things, and a few on the industry side too. Sam Harrop is a bit of both. He worked as winemaker both here and overseas, before becoming winemaker and buyer for massive UK grocer Marks & Spencer, revolutionising the way they made, bought and marketed wine. Then he became one of fewer than 400 people ever to make the grade as a Master of Wine, and spent 10 years as co-chair of the International Wine Challenge, perhaps the most influential gold sticker a bottle of wine can get.

Sam now splits his time between his winemaking business in Spain, which makes nearly six million bottles a year of some of the world’s best organic wine, and living in New Zealand, where he makes beautiful single vineyard wines with a focus on simplicity.

Sam joined us to chat about his journey, the fine wine business and how he makes such good wine.

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The Dunedin company growing NZ's high-tech manufacturing sector

Wed, 12 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0000

Not that long ago in the scheme of things New Zealand did a lot of its own manufacturing. While some of the industries we used to have wouldn’t make much sense to restart now, there’s always room for specialists, no matter how small your home market. There’s a new generation of high-tech manufacturers thriving in New Zealand right now, and this week’s guest is one of the best examples.

Sarah Ramsay’s company United Machinists recently expanded its Dunedin HQ, taking over another section of land and building a state-of-the-art temperature-controlled facility with millions of dollars of new machinery. It allowed them to make more high-tech components and assemblies for things as diverse as camera mounts and prosthetic hands.

Sarah has a background in investment and marketing and came to the family-owned business through her husband, and in moving to the CEO role has led their growth into a company set up for another few generations of business. She has also been a driving force in the local Dunedin start-up scene and created a body helping lead the renaissance of engineering in the region, now serving as director of the Southern Otago Regional Engineering Collective, SOREC.

To talk about high-tech business, manufacturing, growth and the journey, Sarah Ramsay, CEO of United Machinists joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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Mitchell Pham's incredible journey from Vietnam to NZ and back again with Augen Software Group

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 16:00:00 -0000

If the last century was the American century, so far this has been the Asian century. The last three decades have seen amazing growth in wealth and geopolitical influence for a range of Asian countries, in large part due to new trade linkages around the world. And in the digital present, those linkages should only increase. One New Zealander working to help make this happen in both his own business and at ain international level is Mitchell Pham.

Mitchell came to New Zealand from Vietnam, but a very different Vietnam to the one that exists now. He was 12 years old when he fled the country as a refugee – outrunning machine gun fire surviving exposure to the elements and running out of food before being picked up by an Indonesian oil rig crew. The next two years were spent across four different refugee camps, before finally arriving in New Zealand. Arriving here alone in the mid 1980s, Mitchell's next challenge was to adjust to the education system – but he thrived, meeting friends at university who he set up a company with that would became the Augen Software Group.

Today, his software development company has offices across New Zealand and Vietnam, and Mitchell is a member of a number of national and international bodies helping increase the quality of our digital landscape. He’s the chair of the Digital Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, and New Zealand’s representative on the Asia Society’s Global Council, as well as chair of the the New Zealand Tech Industry Association and the Financial Technology Industry Group. He joined the podcast for a chat about his incredible journey, contributing to the industry and what’s next.

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Amelia Gain from Preno is reimagining the future of hotel bookings

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 16:00:00 -0000

Covid-19 has changed the world for a lot of businesses, and one of the hardest hit sectors has been tourist accommodation. New Zealand is a bit lucky that we have domestic tourism as a possibility, but it’s hard out there, and this week’s guest knows all about it.

By age 28, Amelia Gain had owned, run and sold a boutique hotel before launching a successful property management software system serving customers all over the world, from bed and breakfasts in Queenstown to luxury lodges in Morocco. To talk about the state of the industry in a post-Covid world, how she built the business and the importance of incubators and the future, she joins host Simon Pound for a chat.

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The tech legend who launched Windows 95 into NZ who's now making digital humans

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 02:32:36 -0000

Earlier this year news came out that local company Soul Machines, makers of artificially intelligent, emotionally responsive avatars - what some call digital humans- had raised another $40m USD to continue to take their technology to the world. You might have seen their products - they work with AirNZ and ANZ here, and so many companies overseas, from the makers of Mercedes Benz to big banks in the UK.

This success isn’t the first rodeo for the Chief Business Officer there.

Greg Cross also was a co-founder and partner in the success of Power by Proxi, another commercialisation of research play that ended up with their wireless charging company sold to Apple for reportedly more than $100m. Before that Greg Cross was Chair at the Icehouse, and had a storied career in tech, doing things such as heading up Microsoft when they launched Windows 95 in NZ. Start me up! He took out the 2019 Flying Kiwi Award and was inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame at the recent Hi-Tech Awards. Not bad for a kid that left school without an idea of what he wanted to do.

To talk his journey in tech, what’s next for AI interfaces, and how NZ needs to think global, Greg Cross joined us for a good big chat you can check out below.

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The company making New Zealand sheep milk a thing

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 02:34:30 -0000

New Zealand is famous all around the world for sheep, and for milk. But what it hasn’t been so well known for is sheep milk, but this week on the podcast we’re meeting a man out to change that.

To talk the journey, what sheep milk is used for and why sheep make a lot more sense for the world than ever more cows, Scottie Chapman joined us for a half hour chat.

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Lovina McMurchy of Movac on getting wifi into Starbucks and shopping lists on Alexa

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 23:20:42 -0000

Living in New Zealand we are a bit insulated from just how big some of the world;’s biggest companies are. Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks are bigger financial entities than many countries, and the things the leaders in those organisations do shape how people live. And there are some kiwis very high in those companies making those decisions.

If you think about how central to life wifi in Starbucks became to so many people before mobile data was affordable, and if you’ve ever been a tourist popping in to take advantage of it for example, you have a kiwi to thank. And if you’ve ever used Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant to order a product chances are you have a kiwi to thank for that. Actually, the same kiwi for both.

Lovina McMurchy started her career here, but after an MBA from Harvard, she found success in the states, leading up important parts of Starbucks, Skype and Amazon before heading back home to Aotearoa last year to help lead a big new investment fund at Movac.

To talk the journey, what her hopes for NZ business are and how people can make it in the world’s biggest companies, Lovina joined us for a chat.

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Rob Teina from Supreme Plumbing

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 05:18:00 -0000

Rob Teina from Supreme Plumbing in Auckland has worked out the formula to keep people interested in his business, growing an audience of over 4,000 on the Supreme Plumbing Instagram. Sharing everything from his tradition of giving the truck a wash ahead of the working week, taking "the bossman" – one of his young children – for a pastry and a cuppa mid-morning or exposing what good and bad workmanship looks like on site, Teina has grown a huge following from his staff of 10. He hit the headlines earlier this year with a series of cash giveaways to help businesses needing a hand over lockdown, a period that he spent on the road a lot as an essential worker. To chat about building his business and brand, learning a trade from apprenticeship up, and cultivating the mindset and conditions for growth, Rob Teina joined us on Business is Boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Simon Cooke and Ryan Carville from Froth Technologies

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 02:24:16 -0000

Simon Cooke and Ryan Carville are the founders of brewers yeast company Froth Technologies. Until very recently, even in the booming local craft brewing scene, almost all yeast used was imported from a very small group of commercialised strains. The yeast being used didn't even scrape the surface of the astounding variety of yeasts available, and their potential use in creating new, interesting beers. Last year the two Wellington craft beer professionals set out to change the scope of yeasts available for New Zealand brewers. Their company, Froth Technologies is, after a successful crowdfund last year, working with leading-edge tech and science, and bringing local yeast to the people.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Emma Lewisham Skincare

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 22:50:27 -0000

Emma Lewisham is the founder of a skincare brand selling products to address the effects of sun on skin pigment. She's also launching a new initiative to take back the brand's packaging, along with any other beauty packaging, in return for a voucher for their products.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Jacob Kohn and Gaetano Dedual from Futurity

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 04:40:28 -0000

Jacob Kohn and Dr Gaetano Dedual are the co-founders of Futurity, who are in the process of bringing a bio-refinery to Tairāwhiti Gisborne, that would use new techniques to break pine down into its building block chemicals, that then become the platform chemicals that can be used for plastics, resins and all sorts of applications today provided by oil-derivatives. It’s an awesomely ambitious project that’s aiming to create jobs, increase the value we get for timber grown here, and help keep carbon in the ground.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Rachel Taulelei from Kono

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 06:52:09 -0000

Rachel Taulelei is the CEO of Kono, a whānau-owned Māori food and beverage business selling food, wine and produce brands all around the globe. Before this role, Taulelei founded Yellow Brick Road, a company selling the best seafood to top hospitality operators, and was NZ Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles. Today she is on the prime minister’s Business Advisory Council, and you might have seen her on one of the Conversations on Covid-19 that the PM was running. To talk about what being whānau owned means and her hopes for the rebuild post-Covid-19, Rachel Taulelei joined us on the podcast.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Business advisor David Bell

Thu, 28 May 2020 04:15:57 -0000

David Bell is an investor and business advisor. As a professor at US university Wharton, he taught many successful business founders and innovators. He's been an investor in pioneering companies like Diapers.com, Bonobos and Harry’s, and worked with Warby Parker, a US glasses company that's changing the world of how glasses are made, sold and priced.Its innovative direct-to-consumer model allows people to get pairs sent to their houses to try and then send back. It battles against monster incumbents that own the whole distribution chain, charge what they like - and still manage to make cool glasses affordable. It’s now a retail phenomenon, and Bell was one of the first investors and advisors to the company.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Emily Miller-Sharma from Ruby

Thu, 14 May 2020 02:26:30 -0000

Emily Miller-Sharma is the general manager at Ruby. She's one of the driving forces behind Mindful NZ, an industry body bringing together local producers to advocate for better standards of traceability and to create locally appropriate codes of conduct to find out what the industry is facing. Emily talks about initiatives like apprentices, moving toward more sustainable choices throughout the business and the story of Ruby.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Asantha Wijeyeratne from PaySauce

Thu, 07 May 2020 02:44:15 -0000

Asantha Wijeyeratne is the CEO of PaySauce. Since coming to New Zealand in 1988 as a young accountant, he has built multiple million-dollar businesses in the payroll space. Seeing that the payroll system could be done better he launched an early technology solution in 1995 called SmartBooks. Later know as SmartPayroll it grew to process a good portion of New Zealand business payrolls before eventually being sold to local tech giant Datacom in 2013. But there was still an itch to innovate in the space again with a mobile-first offering that took advantage of emerging tech. So in 2014, PaySauce was born. PaySauce has been in the news lately with its offer of a free "essentials" payroll solution, PaySimple, for New Zealand businesses affected by Covid-19. Its successful right issue brought on board its first institutional investor.

To talk about the journey, what this disrupted world means for business, and how his work in the community helped lead to a Queen’s Service Medal, Wijeyeratne joined us by Zoom from Sri Lanka where he was visiting family at the beginning of lockdown.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Alice Lines and Nicholas Burrowes from Homestyle magazine

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 06:00:19 -0000

Alice Lines and Nicholas Burrowes publish Homestyle magazine, and Nicholas is also chairman of the Magazine Publishers Association. On this episode we talk about what it takes to run magazines locally, what is involved in creating something people love to spend time with and what does the new business reality of Covi-19 mean for the sustainability of the titles we love?

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Mel Lewis from Ultrella

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 02:33:19 -0000

Mel Lewis is the founder of Ultrella. Natural deodorant hasn’t always had the best image. Everyone probably knows someone they can smell at five paces who told them they run a crystal under their arm occasionally to help with odour. Some 'natural' mixtures have so much rosemary and coconut oil that you end up smelling like a body odour lamb roast. Mel was tackling an endurance 100km challenge, and needed something that worked but that wasn’t full of nasties. She figured there had to be a better option to what she could find, so applied for a research grant through Callaghan Innovation, got it, and partnered with a product developer expert to create a range of natural products that act like a natural botox, suppressing perspiration without the need for aluminium.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Matthew Chapman from Chapman CG

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 22:35:49 -0000

Matthew Chapman is the founder of HR search company ChapmanCG. He has grown his business to the point that it’s attracted significant investment from a listed Japanese company, and also helped build an eco-resort island in remote Indonesia as well as being part of a global team that founded one of the toughest ultra races in the world (the Snowman Race in Bhutan). To talk his journey, tips for remote work and why he chose and is optimistic for NZ, Matthew Chapman joined us by zoom from Auckland’s west coast.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Pat MacFie from Indigo

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 04:15:07 -0000

Pat MacFie is one of the founders of local agency Indigo and one of the driving forces behind Manaaki.io, a platform that helps give support to local businesses trying to navigate Covid-19 by linking up experts to answer questions from the business community. It's a great service, with some of the biggest names in Aotearoa's business scene volunteering their time. His company turned Manaaki around as a concept and launched the website in just days, and now they're busy making content that's having an impact on Kiwi businesses.

Many in the tech scene will know MacFie for his role growing the Xero brand across pivotal years, running global media for the company and setting the standard in the industry. To talk stepping out of our local big blue and into Indigo, what they do there, his amazing team and how you can access Manaaki, he joined us for a chat.

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Kristin Mead from Regional Business Partners Network

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:34:50 -0000

Business owners around the country will have been watching to see what the government is doing to help with the massive disruption caused by Covid-19. One of the things that's been offered is extra funding to support business, through the Regional Business Partners Network. This funding allows for mentoring and support so businesses can make plans to get through this. But what is the RBPN? How can you access it? Is it for you? and what help is available?

This week we are chatting to one of the Regional Business Partners in this network, Kirstin Mead, who has been working with the programme for the last three years, helping companies in the Bay of Plenty access advice, support, and matched funds to grow their businesses. Now there are special services covering current needs like continuity planning and HR – and you don't need to match funds to access up to $2000 of specialist by-the-hour advice. RBPN can also connect you to mentors and make introductions to people that could help you and your business grow.

Head along to the Regional Business Partners Network website to see what help is available for you.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Michelle Dickonson's new online learning platform

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 19:49:44 -0000

Michelle Dickinson is well known as Nanogirl, her science communicating, experiment making, science cookbook authoring alter-ego. With a PhD in engineering specialising in nanotechnology, and a love for sparking interest in science, Dickinson has worked to increase the quality of our national conversation through media appearances, a Herald column and live events, events that can’t happen for the foreseeable future. Faced with this drop in income and uncertainty for her team, this spirit of invention and experimentation kicked in. The team pivoted over the course of three days to create an online learning platform that can help kids stuck at home experiment with items found around the house and learn through doing. With a lesson every weekday, for only a dollar a day, and a buy one give one model, it’s already finding a great audience.

You can find her new venture at nanogirlslab.com

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Zac De Silva from Business Changing and Nurture Change

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:23:54 -0000

Zac De Silva is one of the top rated business coaches in the world. His background is in accountancy, and he was CFO of Flight Centre at the age of 28. He went on to lead a $100m organisation, run the turnaround of Barkers, and then became a coach in the corner of great local businesses, with 38 clients landing on the Deloitte Fast 50. I took part in one of his workshops, and working with Zac he has helped me get clearer about business than anything else I’ve done. Along with his wife, Sip, he runs Business Changing and the Nurture Change events, and with his experience in business we thought he was just the person to get on to talk about how to navigate business in 2020.

Please note: This was recorded Tuesday morning, before the Government assistance package announcement. If you are in business and looking for the first thing you can do to help your situation, do check out the help you can get here.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Florence and Chloe Van Dyke from Chia Sisters

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 23:31:53 -0000

Chia Sisters is award winning for its nutrition and commitment to sustainability. Its founders have been lauded on the Forbes Asia 30 under 30 list, named Obama Foundation Asia Pacific Leaders and have done some pretty cool stuff like put solar panels on their roof, more-than-doubling the power needed for their solar juicery and giving the excess back to the grid. To talk about how good business and sustainable practise can work together and what's next for Chia Sisters, Florence and Chloe Van Dyke joined us on Business is Boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Grace Stratton from All is for All

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 21:51:22 -0000

All is for All came to many people’s attention with its trailblazing fashion shoots using diverse models. It’s continued to grow into an advocacy and accessibility consultancy, helping brands like The Warehouse better understand a good section of their customers and design their stores accordingly. Founder Grace Stratton has been a powerful communicator for the issue, talking to companies, speaking on the TedX stage and being named in the InStyle magazine top 50 Badass Women. To talk about what’s involved in starting a business in an industry that is chronically underinvested, how to work this around university study, and what’s next for her, Grace joined us on Business is Boring.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Andrea Watson from Sparrows and Simon Yarrow from Callaghan Innovation

Wed, 26 Feb 2020 23:19:34 -0000

Earlier this month Asia Pacific agritech conference evoke AG hosted 65 Kiwi delegates in Melbourne, and among the Kiwi companies represented was Sparrows. Their purpose is to cut food waste by using smart sensors and data to keep track of where everything is and where it’s meant to be, at what temperature and for how long. It’s leading to less product being written off, a huge problem in the food industry. Sparrows CEO and founder Andrea Watson and Simon Yarrow, who leads Callaghan Innovation’s agritech team joined us on Business is Boring this week.

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Pranav Chopra from Nemi Teas

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 01:25:13 -0000

Nemi Teas creates employment opportunities right across their business, with the first steps being running chai stalls at festivals and markets. They sell their tea through retail and wholesale, and are plastic free, using innovative materials and techniques to keep the nasty stuff out of their product. It’s a growing business addressing a growing problem, and helping to drive the idea that you can vote for the kind of world you want to live in with every dollar you spend. To talk about social enterprise, the Nemi Teas journey and what’s next for the brand, Founder and CEO Pranav Chopra joined us on Business is Boring.

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Emma Ogilvie and Nick Landsman from Bar Céleste

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 01:03:31 -0000

For a new spot, Bar Céleste has been received extremely well. It was named the best new opening of 2019 by Viva, reviewed glowingly by Metro, and is now a fixture and favourite of food influencer EatLitFood. If you haven’t been yet, you might wonder what’s so different about this 'neo-bistro' idea. Inspired by a new style of dining that's grown in France, it's where the idea for Bar Céleste began. Brought together by the team behind the La Pêche pop-ups that happened first in Paris and then around Auckland, Emma Ogilvie and Nick Landsman joined Business is Boring this week to talk about what goes into creating a dining experience and how in hospitality – a notoriously fickle industry – opening a restaurant is never as easy as it seems.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Jimmy Hayes from Minaal

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 22:24:16 -0000

Minaal's two founders landed on the idea of making travel bags as a way to continue a life lived abroad, and it’s still working, with this week’s podcast guest, co-founder Jimmy Hayes in Auckland on a trip back from Japan, one of their biggest markets and one of his home bases. Jimmy joined us on Business is Boring to talk making a dream into a life, global success, taking on an industry with massive incumbents, and the power of the crowd.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Business is Boring with Morris Pita from EmergencyQ

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 23:33:44 -0000

You might have been unlucky enough to have been sitting with a kid at an emergency department, wondering just how long it might take and if you were even in the right place. It's not a nice feeling, or a very productive one, and it turns out that a lot of people in the queue ahead of you, and maybe even you, might not be best served at that place.

This insight helped lead this week’s podcast guest to take a side-step from a successful academic and business career into software entrepreneurship. He made an app called EmergencyQ that works with DHBs and emergency and community health providers to make sure everyone gets the fastest, most appropriate care for their needs.

It's saving millions of dollars, countless hours, and meaning stretched emergency departments can better prioritise working on the highest-need cases.

The app is the idea of Morris Pita, who gained an MBA at Oxford, was involved in delivering some of the biggest clean energy generation projects in the country, and became a consultant working on significant Māori economic development projects.

To talk the journey, the goals of EmergencyQ and economic development, Pita joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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Business is Boring with Greg Brebner from Blunt Umbrellas

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 23:12:53 -0000

This week on the podcast, a business that began with the realisation that umbrellas really sucked, that's grown into a business turning the industry inside-out. Blunt Umbrellas sell brollies for 5-10 times more than the market, are found in countries all around the world, and have now sold over a million units of their signature styles.

Through fashion collaborations, a lot of market building, and clever design they have created their own section of the market for their wind proof, strong, beautifully designed umbrellas, that won’t take your eye out or be heading straight to landfill after seeing some weather.

To talk about making an idea into reality, the importance of a clear vision, and loving bad weather, creator and inventor Greig Brebner joined the podcast.

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Business is Boring with Bridie Picot from Wrappy and Thing Industries

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:10:44 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Bridie Picot, founder of Thing Industries and Wrappy.

This week’s podcast is a chat about turning cool ideas into great businesses, around day-jobs and responsibilities, and having those products be picked up by some of the great taste arbiters in the world. Bridie Picot started out in New Zealand, and then went to London and New York, working at some of the most influential ad agencies in the world. Around the edges she always had an interest in design, thoughtful and warm characterful pieces. She turned this love into Thing Industries, a partnership with a New Zealand based designer. The brand grew, running fashion collaborations, was named the maker of the year by local title Urbis, and was featured in Wallpaper* and in the New York Times for its playful products like the Banana Pillow and a chair with no seat.

From this Bridie has launched Wrappy, a design-led gift-wrap business, and also The Shack, an artfully composed rental project in upstate New York. To talk making it in the Big Apple and turning ideas into reality we caught up with Bridie in the studio on a visit home.

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Business is Boring with Mike Taylor

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 22:15:33 -0000

On this week's Business is Boring, host Simon Pound talks to a founder and chief investment officer who has taken a company from starting with a small loan to having a billion under management in just over a decade.

If you were a uni student around the year 2000 you might remember that you could draw down student loans, ostensibly for living, but we would all know stories of people who turned them into trips, parties or other forms of massive future liability. I went to a study trip in Russia on mine and resented the debt for the next twenty years. But how many people do you know who were onto-it enough to use that opportunity as the seed capital to kickstart an investment career? One that now means this week's podcast guest runs a company with $1b under management that has returned $350m to its clients.

Mike Taylor, founder of Pie Funds, turned his $3000 and some other funds into $200k, attracting investment enough to go out on his own. Then the financial crisis hit. He battled through, bought while the getting was good, and was able to build his way to some of the best returns in the business.

Today they are involved in funds management, wealth advisory and Juno KiwiSaver, which offers a low-fee model that they are now challenging the industry to match.

I got to know Mike when I did some writing for his company, and was amazed at his story, so it is a great pleasure to welcome him as a guest on Business is Boring.

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Business is Boring with Bruce Turner and Thomas Rowe from Urbanaut

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 23:15:48 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Bruce Turner and Thomas Rowe from Urbanaut Brewing Co.

There are probably a few people listening that have kept up with friends from school and kicked around some business ideas. Maybe even some that have enjoyed the odd beer together and thought about making some. But how many people actually go ahead and make it happen?

That is the founding story of today's company, Urbanaut. It came about after three friends bought the worst house in Auckland, turning into one of the best, so they could fund their very own brewery in Kingsland.

The three friends came from Marton - malt growing country, so it seemed fitting that they would open their own brewery, and now their brand is blowing up.

Two of the co-founders, managing director and chief brewer Bruce Turner and sales director Thomas Rowe are on Business is Boring today to tell the story of making a dream happen, with a few global adventures along the way.

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Business is Boring with Robyn McLean from The Hello Cup

Wed, 18 Dec 2019 21:41:26 -0000

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Business is Boring With Campbell Ellison from Callaghan & Alexandra Allan from FoodBowl

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 22:22:12 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Ellison from Callaghan Innovation and Alexandra Allan, CEO of FoodBowl.

One of the coolest things about Business is Boring is when listeners, inspired by the people we talk to, share their ideas for cool products. Just the other day a friend talked about an idea for an innovative food product, and I was able to tell him about the existence of the FoodBowl - which provides support and resource for companies and innovators looking to move from small scale to the big time.

He was amazed to learn that there is a facility that is part commercialisation and export readiness lab and part mad scientist workshop where food technologists, scientists and other enthusiastic inventors tinker, explore and create new food ideas. It’s an open access service supported by Callaghan Innovation and run by the Auckland chapter of the NZ Food Innovation Network.

We’ve talked before to people like Angus Brown from Arepa who’ve been through it, so it is super cool to today be able to share a bit more about how it operates and how you could get involved.

This week on the podcast we're joined by food and beverage technologist Campbell Ellison from Callaghan Innovation, and Alexandra Allan, FoodBowl CEO, who also has a background in making things, working through outfits like Cadbury and Horleys, before she turned to management.

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Business is Boring Jodie Fox from Shoes of Prey

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:44:34 -0000

For many years this week's podcast guest executed every move from the big start-up scale-up playbook.

She and her co-founders came up with an innovative new idea, and worked out how to do something that had never been accomplished before - they created the technology and systems to allow people to customise shoes, in pretty much anyway you could imagine, and have a one of a kind shoe made and sent to you within about two weeks.

They were profitable from very early on, having found a customer that loved the ability to make their dream shoe. They then attracted top tier investors and partnered with some of the world's top retailers, like Nordstrom, to grow from a niche product to mass market.

They followed every sensible step -customer research, pilots, testing and built the infrastructure to make the leap to the mass-market, attracting $AU35m of funding, winning awards and making something completely new happen. And then...... then it didn't work as they hoped. Maybe it was too much choice to offer, but the mass market visited and didn't buy. They tried to pivot but couldn't make the economies of scale work - and decided to pull the plug. It is a different kind of chat this week - about when success is closing when the signals tell you, and sharing what is hard learnt.

To that end our guest, co-founder of Shoes of Prey, Jodie Fox, is with us at the link below to talk about her journey and new book to share her story, Reboot: Probably More Than You Ever Wanted to Know about Starting a Global Business

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Business is Boring with Jeff Xu and Ollie McDermott from Micropod

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 22:13:30 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Jeff Xu, CEO, and Ollie McDermot, co-founder and designer of Micropod.

At over $60 for one kg, microgreens are a hot commodity. Commonly served in tiny portions on top of cafe eggs benedict, or placed delicately on a seared salmon fillet at a fancy restaurant, the teensy leaves are packed with nutrients and flavour like you wouldn't believe.

This week's guests on Business is Boring have come up with a home grow kit for microgreens, having created an environmentally sustainable seed layer innovation that helps people grow on demand quantities of the nutrient-rich microgreens on their kitchen windowsills. Catering to the huge numbers of people who don't have the space outside to plant vege gardens, this process is easy, quick, and most importantly takes up a tiny amount of space.

The company is called Micropod, and came about via a group of four friends, who got together to solve the engineering problem of reliably growing and productising the idea. They have won big at the Best Design Awards and since launching in February have serviced customers all over the country.

To talk about what it takes to turn an idea into an engineered reality, the goodness of microgreens and starting a company, CEO Jeff Xu and co-founder and designer Ollie McDermott joined Business is Boring.

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Business is Boring with Dr Brian Ward from Aroa

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 03:09:57 -0000

Coming from New Zealand it is so important to keep in mind that what may seem pretty niche here can translate into a massive business overseas. On the podcast this week we talk to someone making big international business out of a health solution you might not have even heard of.

Dr Paul Callaghan, who inspired Callaghan Innovation, had the idea that 100 great companies doing tightly focussed products with global ambitions could change our economy, and this week on Business is Boring we have one of those companies.

You might not have heard of soft-tissue repair, but it is big business. It’s highly focussed healthcare, where in this instance a company called Aroa uses materials from sheep stomachs that were previously a low value commodity, to help provide the scaffolding for human bodies to repair wounds.

The science is remarkable, and it's happening at great scale. More than 100 staff, patents around the world, FDA approval and a partnership with some huge healthcare players. The company is run from New Zealand by founder/CEO Dr Brian Ward.

Ward started as a vet, went into big Pharma, ran NZBio and then got the idea to use animal tissue to repair human tissue. To tell the story of turning that idea into a worldwide company, Dr Brian Ward joined the podcast.

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Business is Boring with Jade Tang-Taylor and Anna Guenther from Cheese Cartel

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 22:38:20 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Jade Tang-Taylor and Anna Guenther from Cheese Cartel.

This week on the podcast we have something a bit different: our first returning guests. It's very cool to have someone come back to the podcast on a second mission, and today that's happening twice.Two people from two different previous podcasts have created a kind of entrepreneur supergroup.

Cheese Cartel was the outcome of a bunch of friends who know how make things happen coming together for a higher purpose (cheese).

A self-described slow startup, Cheese Cartel is an antidote to the kind of businesses that are out to take over the world at any and all costs. Instead, it is a cool meditation on growing a company with the best people possible to get the best results.

Two of the Cheese Cartel’s five (and a half) founders join Business is Boring today, Jade Tang-Taylor - who was on the podcast previously as a co-founder of Curative and now consults to bring design for social impact and diversity to projects large and small and Anna Guenther, founder and chief bubble blower at PledgeMe.

Listen to the chat to learn about their philosophy, how they launched a successful cheese service business and the journey of making a business with friends.

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Business is Boring with Victoria Carter from Cityhop

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 17:00:19 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Victoria Carter, founder of car-sharing company Cityhop.

The benefits of car share in an increasingly dense and urban Auckland are clear. Why own a car and carry all of the costs when you use it so little? Why not go easier on the earth by sharing resources? Why not make more trips by public transport and only use a car when you really need one?

Today this appears obvious, but how about 12 years ago, when Auckland’s pioneering car share service, Cityhop got underway? It was 12 years before smartphones, and before a lot of the awareness for the sharing economy had been built out by services like Airbnb.

With Cityhop now in Auckland and Wellington, for way less per hour than an e-scooter you can hire a range of cars, from little runabouts to great big vans to completely electric Volkswagen e-golfs.

The founder is someone who has been at the front of a lot of change. Victoria Carter ONZM has been a lawyer, PR practitioner, board member, politician and lately, the first female chair of The Northern Club. She's also helped get more fairness for kindergarten funding and helped make the Auckland Arts Festival happen.

To talk her mission to reduce car ownership, Victoria Carter joined Business is Boring.

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Business is Boring with Valentin Ozich from I Love Ugly

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 20:28:54 -0000

The fashion industry isn't an easy one to break into. A lot of it makes no sense and very rarely do New Zealand brands become leaders around the world, and that's exactly why I Love Ugly is special.

Worn by some of the world’s top stars – with Justin Bieber famously buying 15 pairs of their signature pant – they had a store in LA with lines around the corner on opening day, built hundreds of thousands of followers and were one of the most highly engaged-with Facebook pages in New Zealand.

I Love Ugly changed the rules to sidestep some of the silliest parts of fashion. Instead of running interest free loans to all their stockists like most small fashion labels would, they innovated their model and became pioneers in ecommerce. But then things grew a little far, stock piled up and the bank changed its appetite for risk. Rumours swirled I Love Ugly might be going under, and the reality was most people would have.

Founder Valentin Ozich brought his company back from a place most couldn’t, and has started to tell the story. His new podcast and his company’s social media presence aim to inspire, educate and be honest about what it takes to succeed.

To talk good (and not-so-good) decisions, personal growth and where Tony Robbins fits into it all, Valentin joined Business is Boring.

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Business is Boring with James Bartle from Outland Denim

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 23:16:56 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to James Bartle, founder of ethical clothing brand Outland Denim.

This week on the podcast we talk to a man inspired to take on trafficking after watching the Liam Neeson film Taken. His journey led him to Cambodia to set up a factory, train staff, pioneer environmental production techniques and to today run one of the world’s fastest growing premium sustainability fashion brands.

Right now, more likely than not, you are wearing something that you're not super proud of. All of us know that if we are in a piece that was a bargain at a fast fashion store or from a mass market brand that, chances are, the labour, fabric or environmental footprint is probably not up to scratch. Clothing production is one of the biggest industries in the world and it has a hugely harmful social and economic impact. Most people know more about the living standards of the chickens that make their eggs than the workers that make their clothes.

But what happens when one person starts trying to do something about it?

Today's guest's journey of learning about trafficking, labour exploitation and environmental impact led him to set up a factory in Cambodia, get B Corp status and change expectations around how denim can be produced with his company, is Outland Denim.

It had a huge wave of publicity last year after the Duchess of Sussex wore a pair of the brand's jeans, leading to more than 40 new workers being added to the company.

Founder James Bartle was in Auckland launching a new line this week with Karen Walker - a collaboration including t-shirts, jackets, jeans and skirts made with signature Karen Walker elements, by Outland’s own team in Cambodia, using organic cotton and dyes.

Bartle joined Business is Boring to chat the journey, the mission and what we don't really know about the clothes we wear.

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Business is Boring with PredictHQ CEO Cambell Brown

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 20:47:59 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Brown, CEO of the company making sure Domino's has enough dough.

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Business is Boring with Kiri Nathan from Māori-inspired fashion brand Kiri Nathan

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 16:00:00 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Kiri Nathan, the co-founder of a Māori-inspired fashion brand that's been gifted to some of the world's biggest names.

Today we talk to Kiri Nathan, leader of a brand and company by her own name that fuses millennia of Māori tradition with an industry so often focused on the future.

Kiri Nathan's pounamu, carved by her husband and business partner Jason, and her woven kākahu cloaks have been gifted to visitors from Barack Obama to the Duchess of Sussex. Both are part of their unique offering, contemporary pieces that represent the modern fashion world but with their roots in te ao Māori.

It is a concept that she's had to forge room for, but she's succeeded through determination, talent and dedication. And she's not forgotten to carve the path out for those who wish to follow her journey. Kiri has created the Kāhui Collective – a group fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing to create a uniquely Māori fashion industry.

The group has had scores of designers involved, they’ve taken trips to China as part of their development programme, and in the latest in a long line of awards and recognition for her pioneering work Kiri is a recent recipient of a Blake Leadership Award.

To talk her journey, how she's making fashion work in positive ways, and what’s next, Kiri Nathan joined Business is Boring for a chat.

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Business is Boring with Brianne West from Ethique

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:30:05 -0000

On the podcast this week we have an amazing guest, one of the most successful companies to come out of the local high-growth ecosystem, now exporting their idea all around the world.

Ethique are one of the best investments local venture experts the Icehouse has made, and they aren't even a traditional tech or widget maker. They sell soaps and shampoos and things that would come in wet form in plastic, except in dry form in cardboard. Ethique founder Brianne West joined us to discuss the novel approach to a problem right in front of everyone every day, but one that took her fresh approach to see.

Because we are pretty funny animals, us humans. Some people see problems and do things about them, and others do weird things.

Take supermarket plastic bags. The problem with plastic bags is that plastic lasts for generations, degrades into micro plastics, and poisons the food chain and soil. So the answer we found to that problem? Ban thin plastic bags and make an absolute shit-tone more, thicker plastic bags, that have all the same problems as thin plastic bags, except more so. Good work humans. And then, as I’m sure you’ve all noticed, you get your shopping home and every product has five layers of rarely recyclable plastic.

One person who looked at the problem of plastic and packaging and did something wildly clever about it is our guest this week. In 2012 Brianne West, a scientist, became a kitchen chemist when she had a eureka moment in the shower that selling liquid soap packaged in thick plastic was probably not the best way to do things. She created hard soaps in paper and compostable packaging. Her shampoo bars, soaps and conditioners have become fan favourites. Through a couple of wildly successful crowd-funds, product development, opening up large retail channels in the US, Australia and further afield, Brianne and Ethique have created millions of fans and stopped millions of plastic bottles going to landfill.

It is a great pleasure to have someone who’s mission and execution are an inspiration to me join the show. To talk the insight, making it happen and what’s next, Brianne West of Ethique joined us for a half hour chat you can hear below.

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Business is Boring with Shaun Edlin from Dotterel and Richard Quin from Callaghan Innovation

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 02:06:53 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Shaun Edlin, CEO of Dotterel, and Richard Quin, Callaghan Innovation Group Manager.

This week’s podcast is a bit different, we’re going to be hearing from an entrepreneur about their company and journey - and also from the people behind the C-Prize, a competition that our entrepreneur’s company Dotterel took part in that’s helped take their innovations to the world.

Dotterel are a drone noise reduction company, they make technology that means drones don’t drone so much - allowing for things like stealth defence work and screen industry audio recording. CEO Shaun Edlin joined us to talk about how the C-Prize helped spur them on, and open up new markets.

The C-Prize challenges New Zealand innovators to use new technologies to tackle complex global problems with creativity and inventiveness, is open to New Zealand innovators and comes with a great big cash reward and support component.

And this year the prize is now open to anyone with an idea that could make a difference in solving environmental challenges. Ten finalists are picked and mentored through a programme, with one taking out the award. To learn more about how it works and how you can enter, Richard Quin, Callaghan Innovation Group Manager joined us with the full story with Sean from Dotterel. Listen below and find out more about the C-Prize here.

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Business is Boring with Ian Taylor from Animation Research Limited

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 23:14:40 -0000

This week on Business is Boring we have Ian Taylor - a man who has used science and technology to tell new stories in sport, movies and culture. His company Animation Research Limited has pioneered graphics that became world famous with the America’s Cup, and he has now set out to tell one of the great, barely-told stories of New Zealand. New Zealand Aotearoa has one of the world’s most amazing stories of navigation and exploration, yet for years when it was taught it was only Cook and Tasman named as our discoverers. Kupe has long been written off as a story, a Maori 'legend', and the seafaring feats of journeying across the ocean of the first people of New Zealand were labelled an accident.

Everyone has heard of Cook. How many know that great navigator only got his way in and out of trouble across the Pacific with the aid of Tupaia, a Tahitian navigator who he picked up along the way to help the Endeavour find its way here, and help with translating the Maori language to Cook and his men? Who really knew how murderous Cook’s first visit was, his crew killing people all around the country?

We’ve failed to tell the stories that didn’t make the Pākehā expedition look good. But the tide is now turning.

Recently the government announced the history of Aotearoa's colonisation and the Land Wars will now be widely taught in schools, and Ian Taylor has been working to bring information about New Zealand's true discovery, by the Polynesian navigators, to life.Taylor's company Animation Research Limited, from Dunedin, has grown to become the world leader in sports graphics. If you’ve seen an America’s Cup race, watched a game of golf or cricket, you'd have seen his tech. As pioneers in computer graphics, Animation Research Limited were responsible for everything from the dancing Bluebird Penguin ad to Hollywood scenes and everything in-between. Ian Taylor is leading the team, and winning gongs for innovating, but has now also turned his eye to making sure we all know our history so we can build from it, with his project the voyage.co.nz.

To talk the journey, our stories and what’s next, Ian joined the podcast.

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Business is Boring with Tim Brown from AllBirds

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 17:00:00 -0000

This weeks’ podcast has an extra special guest that has recently been on the minds, and feet, of people all around the world.

It was a great chance to talk about a journey from New Zealand to the very top of the fashion industry, and Allbirds co-CEO Tim Brown turned up for an honest, engaging and helpful chat about what it takes to build something different, and what it takes personally and professionally to keep stepping up in terms of scale and expectations.

It’s a story now famous in Aotearoa. A few short years ago a New Zealand professional footballer has a dream for a shoe made out of wool, and lots of our podcast listeners will have followed every step along the way.For many that first moment might have been seeing a Former All White fronting a Kickstarter project with the great overview video for a new merino wool shoe you could wear without socks. From there this Allbirds idea has grown and grown through the first signs that this little concept from New Zealand was getting worldwide notice, through to investment, great media notices, huge sales, and AllBirds stores opening up in the world’s great retail areas, and now, a store in Auckland.

Although success can make things seem like it was a sure bet, it was, in the words of the founder and today’s guest, ‘a bad idea for a long time before it was a good one’. To find out how bad idea can turn into something quite wonderful, to chat the journey to here, and to hear what’s next, Allbirds founder Tim Brown joined the podcast you can find just below.

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Business is Boring with Erik Zydervelt from Mevo

Fri, 06 Sep 2019 00:52:38 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Erik Zydervelt, Founding Director and CEO of Mevo.

This week the Business is Boring Podcast chats to the founder of a revolutionary new ride share program, prominent in Wellington and with big plans. It’s the future, it’s electric, it’s the vibe, it’s Mevo. This is an interesting one. In a few years people will probably be looking back and thinking it was absolutely bananas how many people had cars, and how little they used them.

If you think about it, having an asset that you use less than an hour a day, yet where you are responsible for every bit of depreciation, servicing, insurance, risk and upkeep, well it doesn’t seem the brightest model. And as cities begin to price in all the free space they are given in the form of road parking; as automation advances; and as urban density increases; the days of every family having 2 cars are looking pretty much numbered. But the thing is, cars can be really handy, and although you may not be best to own one, having access to them can be a real win. So around the world car-share services, and car on-demand services are springing up, and in Wellington, New Zealand, a particularly interesting home-grown one is in operation.

Mevo allows users to open an app, find a near-by plug-in hybrid Audi, unlock it with their phone, hire it by the hour, and then when finished, park it in any metered park in most of Wellington central so long as it is run by the council. And then you just walk away. It’s the convenience of a Lime scooter, except sanctioned by councils and cutting down road clutter instead of adding to it. The idea has launched with some impressive backers on the board, and with investment from Z and Audi NZ and with a novel carbon positive approach to offsetting emissions - they sequester 120% of what you make, and into rainforests that will actually retain the carbon. It’s a cool idea, with thousands of users, many ditching their cars, and it is becoming part of the transport mix in Wellington. To talk the journey, where it could go from here, and what transport might look like into the future, Erik Zydervelt joined the podcast, that you can find below.

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Business is Boring with Hamish Pinkham from R&V

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 22:12:03 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Hamish Pinkham, founder and creative director of R & V

This week’s podcast tells the story of how a few mates turned a party for friends into one of the biggest events in New Zealand. There is a lot that is unlikely about the story: the people, the place, the success…. and it was never assured. It’s taken a lot of risk, determination, wrong turns and hard times to make R & V such an event that for you to know it all we have to say is its initials.

In 2003 a group of mates threw a party for 400 people in a vineyard in Gisborne. 2000 people came and it began what has become a festival that is famous on the world stage and a rite of passage for kiwi youth. Rhythm and Vines grew and grew. From small beginnings they added days to the event, Internationals, camping, comedy and a whole roster of other ticketed events they promoted. But they grew a bit far a bit fast and some of the things that made the festival feel special were lost. After what was called a riot in their secondary campground they went back to basics, and have rebuilt the festival into a safer, friendlier, smaller and more curated affair. There have been highs and lows, big wins and financial losses, and last year news came that our guest this week on the podcast. Hamish Pinkham, founder and creative director of the festival had sold half the business to one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, Live Nation.

He is still guiding the ship, but has the help of a much bigger network to land acts, run and fund the event. He is still booking the acts and curating the festival, but is now also able to step into some new ventures like The Phoenix Summit, an entertainment industry event in September.

To talk the journey to here and what is next, Hamish Pinkham joined the podcast.

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Business is Boring with Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 23:28:49 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Paris Georgia's Paris Mitchell Temple and Georgia Cherrie.

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Business is Boring with Michael Allpress from Allpress Espresso

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 03:51:33 -0000

If you take a step back and look at it, it is kind of bananas that New Zealand went from no real cafe culture, to having a coffee so associated with down-under - the flat white -now ubiquitous around the world.

This episode of Business is Boring talks to a man who has as much to do with bringing great coffee here, and then taking that back to the world, as anyone else in the country.

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Business is Boring with Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier from Douglas Pharmaceuticals

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 23:03:58 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to R&D programme leader Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier.

Did you know that there is a local pharmaceutical company in the second stage of trials to use ketamine to treat depression - and that they're looking for people to participate in the trial? Well, here's a podcast for you dear listener. For this week's Business is Boring we meet two of the 800 workers at a very under-the-radar local drug maker. You might be surprised to know New Zealand has a big Pharma company, and you could also be forgiven for not knowing at all that it was almost sold off, but in this half hour chat we learn about the history, current work and future plans of Douglas Pharmaceuticals.

Douglas is a family-owned drug giant, that since 1967 has grown from a company making generic drugs once they fell out of patent- which is more of a difficult process than that makes that sound - to now be researching new uses for previously proven safe drugs. The company does upwards of $250m a year, with the bulk of that as exports, and was almost sold a few years ago before deciding there was a future, here.

Part of that future is bringing new talent on board, and a strong R&D programme, led by Dr Peter Surman, the Chief Scientific Officer and 23 year member of the company. This podcast chats to him and Simone Hollier, a New Product Portfolio Analyst, who Douglas took on through an R&D experience grant that is available through Callaghan Innovation (a grant that many companies are able to access). To find out more about getting students into your research, the growth of the company, and making drugs, here, please enjoy this chat with Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier.

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Business is Boring with Nick Hyland and Jacksen Love from Flamingo Scooters

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 02:11:45 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Flamingo Scooters CEO and co-founder's Nick Hyland and Jacksen Love.

Around Auckland lately, and Wellington for a little longer, you might have noticed a bunch of bright pink scooters popping up, and this week’s Business is Boring podcast meets the two twenty-something kiwi guys behind this company. It’s no trivial feat to launch such an enterprise, especially when you are taking on some of the world’s biggest and best funded companies. How do they do it?

Co-Founders Nick Hyland and Jacksen Love of Flamingo Scooters first got properly started in Wellington, where, after a long process, Wellington Council approved two scooter companies to take part in an 18 month trial to see how last-mile mobility could work for the Capital. One was Jump, a division of mega transport company Uber, one of the biggest companies in the world, and one was Flamingo, New Zealand owned, and run by two blokes in their 20s. Their brand is a vibrant pink, it uses the same high quality Segway scooters as Jump (better than the Lime ones many might be familiar with) and they do some cool things like offering free helmets for users, and some rigorous rules around safety and parking.

They launched in Wellington in the middle of June, and at the end of July launched their full fleet of 500 odd scooters on the streets of Auckland.

The chat this week covers how it was that two chaps came to be taking on the big players, what it takes to get something like this going, and what is next for Flamingo Scooters.

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Business is Boring with Jesse Armstrong from Culture Lens

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 04:48:44 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Vaka Interactiv CEO and co-founder Jesse Armstrong.

This week’s Business is Boring podcast talks with an entrepreneur who is changing the way that stories, especially Māori and Pasifika stories, are told in museums, art and business. In a half hour chat with CEO Jesse Armstrong we hear about how they founded their company, Vaka Interactive, landed their idea for pictures that talk to you, got into Te Papa’s cultural idea accelerator and ended up making a piece of technology that would fit right into a Harry Potter movie.

Their idea traces back to a visit to a museum, and a realisation they had, that although museums have come a long way in some ways, a lot of what goes on is still quite passive. There’ll be an exhibit and maybe a little bit of text to explain it. And the bits of text, to contextualise all these items with so many stories, are so often dry and lifeless. They thought, ‘Imagine if these things could tell you, really tell you, all their stories, and what if you could ask them questions?’ And then they found a way to make it happen.

Vaka Interactiv create the technology and visual storytelling for talking pictures that you might find in museums, and other places or businesses with stories to tell. Their product looks like a normal photo, and then, Harry Potter like, they notice you watching and start telling you the story. There are first steps at being able to prompt them and ask questions, and the technology is being used by artists and museums to bring exhibits to life.

The company call this technology Culture Lens, and it is the stories of Māori and Pasifika culture that the founders are particularly excited to capture and share. CEO and co-founder Jesse Armstrong joined the podcast to talk the journey through founding, their time at Mahuki, the Te Papa innovation accelerator, how the whole team moved to Wellington, how access to funding and support (thanks Callaghan Innovation) helped them create this mix of art and science, and the growth to today, including great advice for people wanting to make their own impact around capturing and sharing the stories that make this country special. Ka rawe!

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Meet the big cheese from the Clevedon Buffalo Company

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 05:15:35 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Helen Dorresteyn , co-founder of Clevedon Buffalo.

40 minutes south of Auckland you’ll find the Clevedon Farmers Markets on every Sunday, with a bustling collection of local growers, farmers and artisan food suppliers, and while all this is a firm favourite now it wasn’t that long ago it was nothing but an inkling in the mind of today’s guest.

Helen Dorresteyn had seen the trend towards farmers markets overseas and thought we should be able to do that here, too. She went around the neighbourhood, got support from the locals and set up the Clevedon Farmers Markets, however there was one thing she couldn’t find, and that was a great local cheesemaker.

So her husband, an industrial electrician, decided to put his hand up to fill the gap, and they thought they’d try to make that lovely buffalo cheese that they’d so enjoyed in Italy.

How hard could it be? Well, quite hard as it turned out, but very rewarding.

Since creating the Clevedon Buffalo Company they’ve gone on to win multiple awards, become a mainstay in our best kitchens and be one of the anchors of the still thriving Clevedon Markets today.

To talk making things happen, the journey and cheese, co-founder Helen Dorresteyn joined the podcast

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Business is Boring with Dr Shaun Holt

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 03:34:26 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Dr Shaun Holt, creator of Honevo.

New Zealand honey is some pretty wondrous stuff, many will be familiar with manuka honey's clinically proven qualities, but it doesn't stop there. Today's story is about a serial entrepreneur who turned a medical and research background into a clinically proven kānuka honey product. When you hear that a product is all natural, yet as effective as a synthesised pharmaceutical product, you might find your skepticism rising, which is why today's guest went out and created a groundbreaking study, recently reported in the British Medical Journal Open, to prove his product's case.

Utilising a network of pharmacies, Dr Shaun Holt got his Honevo cold sore gel, made from 90% kānuka honey, into the hands of hundreds of cold sore sufferers. In a huge trial they proved that their product was as effective as the market leader gold standard incumbent, and tasted a lot nicer too! This success traces back quite a long way, Dr Shaun Holt is a trained pharmacist, doctor; successful author and a serial entrepreneur who started and exited a clinical research company and a research overview service before setting his sights on the pharmaceutical industry, where the spoils are large, but the cost of entry can be mindboggling. To talk the journey, the many steps leading to today, and what's next, Dr Shaun Holt of HoneyLab joined the podcast.

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How a career bringing goods out of China brought about Container Door

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 00:12:55 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Ben Nathan, CEO and Founder of Container Door.

You might have, like I have, got an email out-of-the-blue from a friend asking you if you'd be keen to grab a piece of outdoor furniture, or a scooter, or a mattress comfort overlay thingy, or pretty much anything you can think of, in order to help them fill up a container and get theirs and yours sent to you for a price way under what you'd normally pay.

And then, like me, you've probably gone to the website to find out what on earth they are on about and found a lot of things you weren't previously aware you were in the market for, but look pretty good and very well priced.

And then you've probably fired off one of those emails off yourself to another friend. If you're still with me and don't know what I'm on about... the website is called Container Door, and it is an ingenious idea from a long-time entrepreneur with an eye for: what people like, value for money and the power of a brand at a good price. Ben Nathan is the CEO and Founder of Container Door, and prior to that has taken many of the best known brands in New Zealand apparel and found new homes, wider markets and new opportunities for them. If you've been keeping an eye on fashions for a while you'd know the brands Norsewear and Hero, Principals and Barkers Men's clothing, all having found new leases of life with Ben.

To talk the journey, the power of a brand and sourcing things people just need to have, Ben joined the podcast.

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The AI chatbot app helping people get the mental health services they need

Fri, 28 Jun 2019 00:34:17 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Angela Lim, co-founder and CEO of a free, online mental health platform called Clearhead.

Mental Health is a crisis in this country, and there is welcome news of 1.9 billion of new funding in the latest budget, but right now, services are stretched. Finding the right care, at the right time, is a challenge. Knowing how to navigate the system is a challenge. Even knowing when to reach out for help, and where to do that is hard. The whole system itself is set up on a reactive model, but as with all health and fitness, preventative and proactive is better than reactive. So how do we do this with mental health care?

Well, questions like these, and more, have led to today’s guest starting a new venture, creating an AI chatbot that helps to mimic a GP consult, but creating an atmosphere and feeling of a chat with a knowledgable friend. It helps to increase people’s comfort in sharing information, and sends people to the right places for the assistance they need next. It’s called Clearhead, it’s in market now, and making a difference from the get go. To chat the journey, the need and what’s next, co-founder, CEO and Dr, Angela Lim joined the podcast.

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Meet one of the Australian-based Venture Capitalists investing in local businesses

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:49:22 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to John Henderson, partner at Airtree.

One thing that we talk about a lot on this show is what it takes to make an idea successful, but one part that doesn't always get raised, but that is perhaps one of the top factors, is getting the access to the right capital at the right time. Not getting access to the funds at the right time to grow equals failure. Getting capital that demands you do the wrong things spells trouble. Getting capital and not spending it well spells trouble.

It is an industry where one win can carry ten losses, and changes in markets, technology and personnel can turn a sure fire bet into a tanker, and vice versa.

It's an area that fascinates. People like the team from A16Z have done a great job in popularizing the founder centric VC and approach, and the way some of their influences have been portrayed on shows like Silicon Valley mean that the VC process in pop culture is seen as a big exciting chase. But what's it really like? What kind of people can do it? And if you are a company with a big dream how do you get a top VC behind you?

Well this Business is Boring guest is here to help. John Henderson is a partner at one of Australasia's leading VC firms, Airtree. They have investments in great companies like 90 Seconds Canva, Prospa and Joyous. John came back to Australia after being a founding Principal at transatlantic venture firm White Star Capital where they invested in well known companies like Dollar Shave Club, and he got into VC through being part of successful companies like Summly and Facebook, and early in his career, management consulting. T o talk what it's like and how it works, John joined the podcast. Listen below for the full interview, and see below for a short transcribed excerpt.

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Business is Boring with Kate Gwilliam from Zeddy

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 00:36:17 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Kate Gwilliam, CEO of feedstock solution, Zeddy.

We all know we can't simply put more animals onto land to grow the economy, the country needs clever ways to maximise the returns from dairy and other animal farming practices. One person who knows this better than most of us, and is doing a lot more to help, is today's guest, Kate Gwilliam.

Kate moved from a job as project manager in, Auckland to the Manawatu, making a big life change taking on a 450 strong cattle herd. Together with her husband Tom, neither with a background in farming, they made their farm a tech-first endeavour, including full automation in the calf shed, farm sensors and computer-based reporting systems. And with this experience, Kate got involved with an automated feedstock solution, Zeddy, that uses RFID to deliver just the right amount of feed to every animal on the farm.

It's award-winning tech, and with her as CEO they have a model ready to sell to the world, that they'll be sharing at Fielddays happening the week this episode comes out. To talk the journey, what life is like on the farm, and using tech to make thing better, Kate joined the podcast

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Business is Boring: Sue Dunmore

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 00:48:19 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Sue Dunmore, co-founder of Rose & Thorne.

A couple of decades ago there was a big lingerie industry here in NZ, but in 2010 Bendon made the call to pull the last of their NZ operations out , and the design jobs left New Zealand.

This moment left the head of design and a past CEO wondering if there might be a way to make a different kind of bra company, designed here, and based more on fit than trends, where they could match affordability with comfort.

These weren’t the first time that these thoughts were had in the industry, but when these people went for affordable, they meant it. Bras that can be bewilderingly expensive, but their first big customer was the Warehouse, where they sold for $25. Since their start they’ve expanded to retail, international sales and have sold something in the region of a million bras.

To talk the journey, turning a lost job into a multimillion dollar opportunity and what’s next, Rose & Thorne co-founder and Managing Director Sue Dunmore joins me now.

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Business is Boring : Andrew Childs

Thu, 30 May 2019 03:38:55 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Andrew Childs, founder of Behemoth Brewing.

You will know the beer that is made by our guest today. You would have seen the cans with Churly, the mascot, with his big underbite pointy teeth and friendly colours and the fun names, that sometimes riff on US politics, but always have a little something interesting going on. Like the shower beer, with a holder for the wall of the shower as one example. But it all almost wasn't. Founder Andrew Childs was a lawyer in Wellington, and changed career, navigated setbacks and injury, and grew and grew his brand and business to today. Where now, Behemoth Brewing is running a Pledge Me equity crowdfund to build a brewery large enough for demand, and a 140 person restaurant with a real nose to tail approach. Depending on what day you arrive you will get where they are up to on the animal, with the restaurant and on-site butchery b run by Andrew's national champion butcher wife and co-force in the business, Hannah Miller. To chat the journey, the crowdfund and beer, a favourite topic, Andrew joined the podcast.....

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Techweek special- celebrating Māori Innovation and 2019's Tech trends

Thu, 23 May 2019 04:55:34 -0000

This episode sees a special Business chat to mark Techweek and the Hi-Tech Awards that land at the end of the that week. Techweek is a festival of innovation, a meeting of the varied eco-systems in tech and a very good time.

We’re chatting with two of the speakers in this big week of talks, panels, meetings and connections that is happening May 20-26 across the whole country, seriously, jump on Techweek.co.nz and see if there isn’t something you can get amongst close to you, and even if not, soak it all up online!

We’re joined by Amber Taylor, CEO of Ara Journeys - a finalist for Māori Hi-tech company of the year, and she is speaking on a panel on Celebrating Maaori innovation.

And also by Jonathan Miller, Group Manager Future Insights, Callaghan Innovation, who will be on a panel looking at 2019’s biggest technology trends.

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How 5 years of R&D proved a local skincare company had a product that actually works

Thu, 16 May 2019 03:04:34 -0000

Everyone will be familiar with the way that skincare companies use science to sell their products, but how many people actually trust that the science is anything more than marketing?

Well often it actually isn’t. This episode we’re talking to a person who worked out that most were just selling 'hope in a jar' and set out to change that. Soraya Hendesi came to New Zealand as a trained cosmetician with a plan to make skincare that would actually work. This led to years of new research with partners like the University of Auckland and Callaghan Innovation, and the discovery of active agents that passed the gold standard of clinical trials, leading to skincare that actually works. Soraya’s company uses natural materials and has its own plantation north of Auckland, that fosters native plants long known and used for their properties, and by matching these with rigorous R & D turned her company Snowberry into an international force, attracting the attention of Procter and Gamble one of the world’s biggest cosmetic companies who bought them last year.

Soraya and her Husband Mark still run the company, here, and to talk the journey, the sale and what’s next, Soraya joined the podcast

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Manawa Udy on how co-working can tap into South Auckland's potential

Thu, 09 May 2019 03:55:00 -0000

Co-working spaces can be great little communities. There’s something exciting and energising about being around people making interesting things happen, always new people with exciting news, connections you can make and a lot of people working on a global level. They are also little bubbles, and can help you forget that life isn’t like that everywhere. In fact, even having co-working spaces available isn’t all that common. Even within your own city. One person who saw the power of community, and worked to make a space happen for South Auckland, is Manawa Udy. Last year she spearheaded the crowdfunding and then establishment of Ngahere Communities that runs Te Haa o Manukau - a co-working space, and intentional community for the creative, innovative, entrepreneurial people of South Auckland to help tap their vast potential.

Te Haa o Manukau is a project from the Southern Initiative, supported by ATEED through GridAKL, and is built to be a thriving heart and link to the wider innovative business space. Manawa has a background of pioneering community entrepreneurship projects such as a buy one give one model driving school and forming the PETER collective, a community of community providers to better serve the people around Mt Roskill. And as a creative director at Bob and Bob, Manawa tells these stories and others.

To chat entrepreneurship and community, Manawa joins us now.

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How creating more connections can help NZ Scale-Up

Thu, 02 May 2019 04:57:58 -0000

Connections can be the difference between ventures taking off or stalling. Having the right network, introductions, access to funding, experience, even sharing suppliers, all these things may seem to be a matter of luck or environment, but they don’t have to be. We’re a small country with limited resources, so it is vitally important we make the most of what we have, and if we look to other small advanced economies, there are actually ways to foster and grow these connections. Ireland and Israel both have programmes designed to spur more interaction, collaboration, connection and growth, both run in part by the government and both very successful. These programmes were the inspiration for Scale-Up NZ a new Callaghan Innovation backed platform to get more happening between the innovation ecosystem. What do all these words mean, how exactly does it work, and how can you get involved? Well to talk these questions over we have Rosie Spragg, project lead for Scale-Up NZ and Craig Simpson, a many times over entrepreneur, working in data science blockchain and solar energy, who share with us the benefit for the industry.

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Business is Boring with Stephanie Post and Hayley White from Auckland Art Fair

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 04:06:16 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Stephanie Post and Hayley White, co-directors of the Auckland Art Fair.

In the Cloud on Auckland’s Queen’s Wharf around May the pre-eminent contemporary art event in New Zealand, the Auckland Art Fair takes place, bringing together many of the top galleries and artists in New Zealand and around the pacific, for 10 thousand odd art lovers to head in and see and buy more than 5 million dollars of contemporary art. It’s not just about sales of course, reputations are made and there is a focus on fostering new talent through the sensitively and intelligently curated Projects exhibitions, that are not necessarily as commercial as the gallery stands.

Many great cities have Art Fairs, and it’s a standout on the local calendar that under the leadership of today’s guests has grown year on year to go year on year from the biennial beginnings. To talk working at the intersection of art and commerce and what it takes to bring together so many artists and galleries in one place, co-directors Stephanie Post and Hayley White joined the pod.

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Business is Boring with Dan Mclaughlin and Mark Neal from Scapegrace

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 03:25:28 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Dan Mclaughlin and Mark Neal, co-founders of Scapegrace.

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Business is boring with Grant Straker from Straker Translations

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 03:15:10 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Grant Straker co-founder and CEO of Straker Translations.

You might have seen a great tech story pop up recently, about a globally successful kiwi company offering its staff the ability to work in Gisborne, where they were to open an office so their team could enjoy the lifestyle, cost of living advantages and a nice life. It was just the latest in a long run of cool initiatives the company Straker Translation has put out as part of growing from a family founded tech company into a global success with offices, partners and 40,000 plus translators working all over the world. Coming from the background including being a paratrooper, Grant Straker is the co-founder and CEO and joined us to talk the journey, opening up high-growth to more people and what’s next...

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Business is Boring: Jenny Morel on 20 years in the tech industry

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 05:26:19 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Jenny Morel, founder of Morgo & Co.

Today’s guest started working in the tech sector 20 years ago , before many people knew New Zealand even had one!

Coming from investment banking, first she founded Morel & Co an investment company to work with technology companies, and then No 8 Ventures, the first US style venture capital fund in New Zealand. And on the side, also founded Morgo, a high-energy retreat and recharge for CEOs building tech or high-growth companies going global from New Zealand or Australia. To chat the journey, the industry today and her experience, Jenny Morel joined the podcast.

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Business is boring: John Macaskill-Smith

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 01:35:51 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to John Macaskill-Smith, CEO and Director of Disruption at Ventures.

People aren’t standard, yet best medical practice often has to be. Treatments for conditions, and prescriptions for ailments are most often based off studies where by design they found the average need and effective dosage. But we know people are not the average. There are distinct ways different bodies metabolise for example - which mean for some the average dose will never work because they metabolise it too fast, and others as they do so too slowly. Which is part of why now there is an emerging filed of pharmacology that uses gene sequencing to understand how an individual’s body works and then equip them and their doctors with that info and understanding to help ensure the correct prescriptions are given.

It’s just one of the exciting ways to put power in patients’ hands that have been pioneered out of the Pinnacle group of not for profit companies. They are a huge force in the midlands, Its members manage the health care of nearly half a million people enrolled with over 80 practices in Gisborne, Taranaki, Taupo-Turangi, Thames-Coromandel and the Waikato. The CEO that has driven their growth, first for the whole family of companies and very recently for their ventures arm, is John Macaskill-Smith, who is here today to talk about using business to change health, introducing this pharmacogenomics and how you can find out more about how your body is likely to react to drugs.

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Business is Boring: Dr Will Barker and Imche Fouri from Level 2 and Mint Innovation

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 01:06:22 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Imche Fouri, general manager innovation and Dr Will Barker, CEO of Mint Innovation

Tucked away in Parnell is an innovation centre that has helped propel some of the biggest names in local tech forward, although you might not have heard of the place or even some of the names. It’s a truism of the local scene that some companies are easy for the media to cover, and some, like many facets of science and technology, are a little complicated and don’t get the airtime.

This hub used to be a DSIR building, and it started to let space to projects with interesting science, and they’ve gone on to be unusually successful. Some you really have heard of, like Rocket Lab. Some you might know, like Lanzatech - one of the great undertold stories of the local scene, and some you will be hearing a lot more of in the future, like Mint Innovation who are turning e-waste into literal gold.

The importance of fostering this creativity has meant that what started as an accidental meeting of minds has become very purposeful with the space now operating as Level 2, an incubator specialising in deep technology….. What’s that? Well, to find out and talk tech, incubation and the next crop of great ideas, Imche Fouri, general manager innovation and Dr Will Barker, CEO of Mint Innovation join me now.

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Business is Boring: Asuwere with Sam and Noah Hickey

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 21:15:57 -0000

Dollar Shave Club, My Food Bag, Xero….. subscription businesses pop up in many areas of life, because they make for great business.

If you work out your average revenue per customer, and your churn rate, the rate at which customers leave, and then work out what a customer costs you to acquire, and you can make those numbers right, you can project future income in the kind of way that has turned Xero and Push Pay into massively valuable companies before they even turned a profit. We’re used to them in software, but one place that they are pretty innovative is clothing. And that’s where today’s guests have brought their innovation. Asuwere is a clothing subscription for men that provides elevated wardrobe essentials for men, providing the kind of wardrobe anchors that are needed in the month they come, so tees and linen shirts and shorts in summer and jackets and cashmere cotton sweaters in colder months.

The idea has attracted big name supporters -with Dan Carter choosing to buy their wares, and it comes from brothers with the credentials. Sam and Noah Hickey hail from fashion and subscription business backgrounds. Sam was a stellar designer for Huffer straight out of uni, and Noah, an All White and business leader, who played a key role in the huge growth of Push Pay.

To talk the insight, the journey and getting men to trust them, Noah and Sam join us now.

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Business is Boring: Elisha Watson

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 02:35:53 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Elisha Watson.

When refugees come to New Zealand they find a lot of help from religious and community groups to help get started with housing and public services, with volunteers helping at every step. One of those volunteers though, working with the Red Cross, noticed that employment was something that was hard for refugees. After 2 years, 40% of refugees aren’t in work. So to try to change this, she looked around for a business that might use their skills, and not finding the need met, decided to leave a law career at one of the top law firms to set up a company making underwear, here, with refugee workers.

Elisha Watson didn’t have a background in clothing, and some of her workers still needed a lot of training, it was a hard first year, with Elisha sharing highs and lows through crowdfunding, media and blogs. The company is called Nisa, Arabic for women, and now Nisa has just opened its first store, in Wellington, where shoppers can see the production going on around them with an open workroom. To talk the idea, the journey and what is next, Elisha joined us by phone from Wellington.

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Business is Boring: Angus Brown from Arepa

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 02:04:54 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Angus Brown from Arepa.

There are a fair few functional drinks that have popped up in the fridges of interesting retail.

Drinks that claim to help you focus and recover and what have you, though many - I’m looking at you Vitamin Water - have actually been packed full of sugar and dubious science. So many in fact over the years that you might be forgiven for thinking that they were all empty claims. But not so today’s guest’s product. After seeing the impact of cognitive illnesses on family, he set out to learn more about things that help the brain, and the journey took him to launch a functional drink that is backed by patents, research and formulated with a Professor of Psychopharmacology from Melbourne. Our guest is Angus Brown, the drink is Arepa, and it’s now found across the world - he joins us to chat the entrepreneur’s journey, discovery and selling a drink with a bit more to it.

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Business is boring: Emily Heazlewood

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 03:26:42 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to, CEO Founder of Romer, Emily Heazlewood.

You all would have been there - being in a city and wanting to do the kind of stuff the locals love, not the places you’ll find the tourist lines. But how do you cut past the dubious wisdom of a crowd and get those personal recommendations. Well perhaps you could do it with an app that had been described as the tinder for things to do - -Romer. Although quite new this app has been accepted into Vodafone One, picked up tens of thousands of users, some impressive partnerships with the likes of AA travel, and just announced funding from some big names in NZ tech, like Ben Kepes and our past guest Hadleigh Ford. To chat the journey, the future and connecting people and experiences, CEO Founder Emily Heazlewood joins us now.

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Business is boring: Hikurangi Cannabis Company

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 00:44:04 -0000

Last year a medicinal cannabis producer called Hikurangi Cannabis Company came out of seemingly nowhere and broke the internet, crashing PledgeMe’s servers as it became the fastest local company to crowdfund into the millions - doing 2 million odd in less than ten minutes.

But as with most overnight successes it was on the back of years of work. It’s a long journey to change an illegal activity well connected with an area to a legal one. Locals from the Ruatoria area and around Ngati Porou and the East Coast, of which Hikurangi is a significant Maunga to local Iwi, were given first dibs, and invested ahead of the public raise. And the company, that inked deals overseas that could stretch into the hundreds of millions has gained first low THC and very recently higher THC trial and growth rights.

And this is while not compromising on trying to create access and jobs for people that have fallen foul of the prohibition laws. While other companies have gone out with a very medical company type branded approach, Hikurangi proudly showed their dreadlocked and rasta hatted workers. This is about honesty, integrity and most importantly actually following through, the 20 plus local jobs and big milestones hit have Hikurangi as a leader in the industry, a founding member of the industry council and a beacon to many companies looking to take a community-led approach to the legal cannabis industry,

To talk the journey, where we are and where we go from here, founder CEO Manu Caddie joins us now.

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Business is boring: Mahmood Hikmet

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 00:37:10 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Mahmood Hikmet, research and development coordinator for Ohmio.

When you think about the companies bringing autonomous vehicles to the roads, you probably think of some of the world’s biggest names - Apple, Google, Tesla, Uber, but what if I was to tell you there was a kiwi start up that grew from repairing computers and making intelligent signage to inking multi-million dollar international deals for its autonomous shuttles. Ohmio, is the maker of 20-person shuttle that can be extended to carry up to 40-people their breakthrough is to operate on pre-determined routes without the need for a driver. It’s kind of like a tram, but with virtual rails, guided by a range of electronic systems.

They are working with bus operators, new cities built for the autonomous future and have got manufacturing happening in their own facility in China - with a new focus on expanding the AI capabilities and research. To chat the journey, where they are and where they go next, research and development coordinator Mahmood Hikmet joins us now.

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Mark Kneebone creating safer spaces within festivals

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 01:14:22 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Mark Kneebone, Head of Promotions at Live Nation and the Co-promoter at Laneway.

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Native Rituals

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 04:20:27 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Rebekah and Tamati Norman.

Business at its best can be a tool for bringing countries and peoples together - and things like fair trade and conscious consumerism hold part of the solution to helping traditional communities enter the global economy. One country that is really quite close, and big, and populated and but not widely known visited or understood is Papau New Guinea, more than 8 million people, living mainly rural and farming lives, with some of the most amazing geographical and cultural diversity and oldest cultures in the world.

Colonialism, mining exploitation, civil war and international neglect have meant that PNG faces many challenges today - with the exploitation and unrest still forces to contend with, But perhaps the biggest issue is isolation - with such a small, amount of travel, trade and understanding meaning unethical mining and practices continue. One of the coolest things about business is the way it can help lift and connect, and today’s guests are working to do just that. Tamati and Rebekah Norman turned family connections into PNG direct, a company connecting organic and naturally produced oils, spices and essential oils with international customers. Tamati is the former chair of the NZ Papau New Guinea business council, working to make more links. Traditional and respectful natural production is a big feature for the couple, who are are behind Native Rituals, a modern Aotearoa apothecary company, making balms and fragrances that incorporate ingredients traditionally used in Māori preparations across time.

To talk honouring the past and ancient knowledge and arming people for the future, Tamati and Rebekah join us now.

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The entrepreneur empowering Māori and pacific business

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 22:39:10 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Warner Cowin.

A big theme in the world of business and economics this year, that I struggle to understand, yet is proven over and over again, is that in the middle of a construction boom companies in the sector are going bust left right and centre and no-one is said to be making any money. Which, when you look at supply and demand, and also things like the cost of materials, and the highly concentrated set-up for supply, seems a bit bananas.

Well, one figure in the industry, who is founder-CEO of procurement and bidding consultancy, Height, and so knows the business from both the pitch for and commission project sides of the fence, has a few idea that he has been sharing as to what might be off in this particular soup. His name is Warner Cowin, an ex RNZAF engineering officer, who’s taken many of the disciplines and skills from military life, a place so influential on business team structure accountability, culture, and systemisation, and used those to help build his successful 15 person consultancy.

To talk construction, things learnt in the services, and empowering Māori and pacific business through clever delivery of big projects, Warner joins the podcast

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The team getting kiwis to invest

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 03:31:12 -0000

Until very recently, if you were wanting to buy shares in American companies like Apple, Facebook, Google or Tesla it is quite amazing how hard it could be.You needed either to be buying an awful lot, so to make sense of the massive fees of using a local bank share-trading service as a broker, or you needed to navigate a confusing and bewildering process to get access to an international broking platform, and then all the tax and hassle around that. It is not recommended.

And now, an innovative new platform has started up to solve the problem, offering access to US shares and exchange traded funds with brokerage fees at an order of magnitude under the existing big bank status quo. Which may make it surprising that this start up has come from the same holding company as …a big bank! It’s called Hatch, and is from Kiwi Wealth, the sister company to Kiwi Bank, and is a product of their focus on innovation.

Because the big banking sector is ripe for disruption, and big change is coming with open banking already changing the fee and service landscape around the world. It’s very cool to see that coming from inside a bank. The general manager of Hatch, Kristen Lunman, and the head of experience Natalie Ferguson have made it their business to do just that. Working first with the Kiwibank Fintech accelerator, and then in the Kiwi Wealth Innovation Lab resulting in this game changer.A disclaimer is that I am a user, but only out of wanting and finding the service and then asking them on once seeing how interesting the background was.

To talk the service, opening up investment opportunities and innovating in a bank environment, Natalie Ferguson and Kristen Lunman join us n

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The kiwi leading the digital move of law firms

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:19:23 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Nick Whitehouse.

How many times might a board member have asked, what are we doing to innovate? And how many times did anything happen? Well, at MinterEllisonRuddWatts that question was answered by the start of an innovation lab, that has led to a company joint venture spun out with VC backing to use AI to change how the law works.

The fantastically named McCarthy Finch are using NLP, machine learning and human inputs to help analyse mountains of legal documents in a fraction of the time, augmenting humans to make decisions faster and cut out the leg work while looking out for the fishhooks. The company has jumped onto the world stage, winning awards like Sir Richard Branson judged Global Talent Unleashed gongs, and becoming the first local company to make the finals of the TechCrunch Start-up battlefield, pitching in front of an audience of up to 6 million.

With partners and clients including some of the biggest professional services and law firms, the idea is finding amazing traction and the CEO, co-founder, and winner of Most Disruptive Leader at the Talent Unleashed Awards, Nick Whitehouse joins me now

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The genius behind the kiwi films we have all heard of

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 04:48:48 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to John Barnett.

Outrageous Fortune, Sione’s wedding Shortland Street, Whale Rider. These enormous hits that are part of the cultural fabric of Aotearoa, can all trace back to today’s guest on the show. They came about in large part thanks to the work, organisation, connections made and championing from a man named John Barnett.

Over a career that’s taken him from having an independent production company before there was much of independent industry to speak of, through to managing Fred Dagg and creating best selling albums, to bringing us the Footrot Flats movies, then moving into South Pacific Pictures which were State owned by TVNZ where he led a management buyout. And South Pacific pictures has played an amazing role in building our creative industries. Long running hits like Shortland street, Outrageous Fortune Almighty Johnsons and Westside have created a base for the industry of professionalism, ability to gain experience, and great pay while living in the arts. John Barnett stepped back from South Pacific Pictures a few years ago but is still involved in helping bring stories to screens. To talk on his career, on telling some of New Zealand’s most important and loved stories and on the entrepreneurs journey, John Barnett joins us now

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The Business Chat: The nature of reality and other weighty matters

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 03:38:36 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In our regular Business Chat special, Simon Pound speaks with Fleur Francois, director at New Zealand’s national metrology institute and Karyn Scherer, senior copywriter at Callaghan Innovation.

It's been a big year in international measurement. A number of the big measures we rely on every day, and for the accurate use of more things in our lives than you might imagine, have swapped out, or are in the process of doing so. The kilo is a famous measure, kept under glass and lock and key in France,that’s changing from an actual lump of metal to being kept by quantum measurements based off fundamental laws of physics so as not to change.It turns out that up to now every now and again the kilo mass shifted and so would all measurements, kind of bananas to think of it.

It's also been a big anniversary for another standard, standard time. Did you know, and I'm not trying to catch you out if you didn't, that NZ was the first place in the world to adopt standard time, adopting Greenwich mean time as our base measure, before England even did. It's a great story of parochialism and vision all at once, and we were a staggering 15 years ahead of anywhere else. The 150th anniversary of that also passed this year. So to chat time, measure and the nature of reality, we're joined on the pod by Fleur Francois, director at New Zealand’s national metrology institute, Measurement Standards Laboratory (MSL), and Karyn Scherer of Callaghan Innovation.

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The Kiwi bringing software as a service into the world

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:14:24 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to CEO of EzyVet Hadleigh Bognuda.

The move to the cloud has been called the biggest thing to happen to business since the dawn of the internet. At its best it means little businesses can enjoy the kind of enterprise software advantages the big players used to only be able to get, for small affordable payments, and big companies get enterprise software without enterprise price tags. We’ve seen it in business software, with local hero Xero becoming one of the great SaaS, software as a service companies in the world, and in its wake an ecosystem of possibility emerged. Some of the companies that came after were an obvious move of putting a business tool into the cloud. Others have pulled together a bunch of tools to change every element of how a business can operate. And one of the beauties of the cloud is that you can serve customers everywhere. So where making specialist vet software might not have been viable in an isolated NZ market, now the world is your market.

Which is the story of local SaaS star, EzyVet, a vet practice management software solution that has been on a tear, tripling year on year and opening offices in North America, Auckland and London, and 100 plus staff around the world. With 65% of their revenue in North America, and a huge wave of change happening with vets looking for a better way, EzyVet is a fantastic kiwi success story you may not yet have heard of, unless you are in a vet clinic, and then you most definitely should have, To talk the journey, sustainable scaling and the future, CEO Hadleigh Bognuda joined the podcast.

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Veronica Harwood-Stevenson and native bee bioplastic

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 21:47:54 -0000

A few years after studying science, but beginning a career in cosmetics and lingerie and film, today’s guest was reading a science journal for fun. A line about the properties of native bee excreted nesting material caught her eye and made her wonder if it might make a good bioplastic.

What for some might have been a quick muse, for Veronica Harwood-Stevenson became a mission and then company. It’s taken her across New Zealand and Australia to find specimens, had her duck venomous locals and bushfires, found collaborators and funding and led her to identify and be working to commercialise under the name Humble Bee.

To chat the journey, inspiration and making that action, Veronica joined the podcast

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Phil Thomson and his team are bringing down crime and making the community a safer place

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 03:22:00 -0000

Did you know that every day around New Zealand more than $2 million of theft occurs that no one even bothers to report?

Petrol station drive offs, little thefts at supermarkets, things under $1000 generally don’t even get reported to the police - and if they are the police often can’t do much about them.Well a few years ago a lawyer and his co-founders saw this issue and thought there must be a better way. They set up a company that became Auror - helping to link evidence of shoplifting or small-scale crime between the retailer and the police. It’s helped lead to some pretty amazing stats: 55% fewer drive offs at the petrol station Z, and hundreds of recidivist shoplifters brought to justice. The product works by making it easy to report and connect the dots on organised retail crime, and even helps prevent crimes by integrating with license plate recognition.

It’s a company that’s attracted top-class investment and top-class customers with most of our major retailers here and more and more in Australia and across the world using the service. To talk the journey, the decision to throw it all in as a successful lawyer and chase criminals, and the fact that so much crime would just go unreported, Auror CEO Phil Thomson joins us

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Organic alternative and foster the movement with Helen Robinson

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 21:22:58 -0000

2018 can feel quite progressive and doing pretty well, if you’re in the right bubble. But in many ways oh boy there’s a lot still to do. Like with tampons and pads. Half the population needs them, yet they are mainly made with synthetic and potentially harmful materials, and have attached to them in some places luxury taxes and in many places a stigma around them. Which is where the Organic Initiative comes in, to provide an organic alternative and foster the movement to recognise safety and health around periods. A radically sustainable and progressive company it was co-founded by today’s guest a few short years ago. Helen Robinson is a wildly accomplished founder of a start-up - having been CEO at Microsoft New Zealand in some of its most dominant days, a board member of nationally and globally significant bodies like ATEED and a winner of the Supreme award at the Women of Influence awards. To talk the journey and the mission, Helen joins us by phone from America where she is with Oi/

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Nat Cheshire and a special start to Auckland City

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 22:33:40 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Nat Cheshire, self-described 'fake architect'.

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Creating great teams with Sandy Mamoli

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 23:33:28 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Sandy Mamoli, author of Creating Great Teams.

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Steven Renata, CEO of Kiwa Digital

Wed, 03 Oct 2018 21:57:24 -0000

If you look at the digital landscape there has been a lot of innovation - Netflix has changed the way we watch things, we are in a golden age of television, movies keep getting bigger and bigger, musicians have a direct relationship with fans through the internet, and books, well books have moved to the digital age in much the same way they have always been, words on a page, except these days, it’s an electronic page. It’s an odd thing, that something so loved, books, hadn’t taken advantage of the possibilities of the internet to become more interactive, engrossing or amazing. Well, one company in Aotearoa saw this opportunity and have built a company that makes exciting Digital experiential books, and who have a focus on using modern methods to give traditional languages new avenues to grow and connect today.

They have published wonderful app based titles, like Ngarimu, that brings a graphic novel to life with sound and music and texture, revitalised classics, like the Hairy McLarey books, and have just announced a partnership to help create a hub in Australia to help bring new appreciation to endangered local languages.

To talk about the mission, the work around the world and fostering te reo through new tech, CEO Steven Renata joins me now,

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The Business Chat: Suffrage 125, Fonterra, and wedding magazines

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 02:26:15 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In our monthly Business Chat special, Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade, business editor at The Spinoff, and Karyn Scherer, senior copywriter at Callaghan Innovation about the business stories making the news that month.

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Telling Pasifika stories in a true Pasifika voice

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 03:38:25 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Lisa Taouma, producer of Fresh.

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Together Journal is a celebration of love and modern wedding culture

Thu, 13 Sep 2018 02:22:22 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he speaks to Greta Kenyon about her journey to starting a magazine, and how Together Journal has grown.

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Murray Bevan on growing some of New Zealand's biggest fashion brands

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 01:14:15 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, he's joined by Murray Bevan of Showroom 22.

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The Social Club is helping social media influencers take over the advertising world

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 22:01:46 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Georgia McGillivray about harnessing the power of social media influencers.

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Mike Carden talks SaaS and his life after Sonar6

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 03:53:30 -0000

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The Business Chat: Elon Musk, Māori innovation, and the worth of a university degree

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 23:07:03 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In our monthly Business Chat special, Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade of Callaghan Innovation and Duncan Greive, managing editor of The Spinoff, about the business stories making the news that month.

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Kōkiri is an accelerator helping Māori entrepreneurs find their feet

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 01:02:51 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Aroha Armstrong about creating pathways for Māori entrepreneurship.

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Iyia Liu on predicting trends and how Kylie Jenner helped her business

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 00:57:55 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon is joined by Iyia Liu, a master of social media marketing.

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Frances Valintine is working to get society ready for a digital future

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 00:34:42 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Frances Valintine about educating society about technology and the workplace.

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Sam Stuchbury is making sure people take Gen-Z seriously

Thu, 19 Jul 2018 00:05:44 -0000

This week Simon talks to Sam Stuchbury the only Kiwi who made this year's Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list.

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SwipedOn is streamlining visitor management from super yachts to petrol stations

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 20:22:24 -0000

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Sunfed foods is making meat-free meat an option for everyone

Wed, 04 Jul 2018 22:37:05 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Shama Lee of Sunfed Foods about how meat-free meats shouldn't just be for vegetarians and vegans.

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The Business Chat: Anatomically correct cow models, self-flying planes, and single use plastic

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 03:25:56 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In our monthly Business Chat special, Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade of Callaghan Innovation and Rebecca Stevenson, business editor of The Spinoff, about the business stories making the news that month.

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Bridgit Hawkins is helping farmers save water and money

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 00:48:45 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon is joined by Bridget Hawkins the CEO of Regen, an app helping to drive efficiency on farms.

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Tim Lightbourne of Invivo wine talks branding, taking risks, and Graham Norton

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 01:41:51 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Tim Lightbourne about how he built a wine company – with the help of Graham Norton.

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How Dexibit is revolutionising museums and galleries using big data solutions

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 02:36:46 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Angie Judge about how she's changing a thousands of years-old industry.

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Vaughan Rowsell of Vend has brought Point of Sale software into the 21st century

Thu, 31 May 2018 03:02:01 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon chats with Vaughan Rowsell about turning big ideas into big realities.

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The Business Chat: Budget 2018, Techweek, and Ethical Dairying

Thu, 24 May 2018 03:15:15 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In a monthly special, The Business Chat, host Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade, from the communications team at Callaghan Innovation, and Rebecca Stevenson, business editor at The Spinoff about business stories making the news that month. The chat will be available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt.

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Natalie Robinson of Mum's Garage helps guide founders from dream to reality

Thu, 17 May 2018 21:46:54 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon speaks to Natalie Robinson of Mum's Garage about coaching people with ideas to get them market-ready.

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Glen Herud founded Happy Cow Milk to make a difference in the dairy industry

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:29:06 -0000

This week Simon talks to Glen Herud about his company Happy Cow Milk trying to create sustainability in the dairy industry, and why it failed.

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Shaveer Mirpuri is creating commercial ventures using AI.

Wed, 02 May 2018 23:16:04 -0000

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The Business Chat with Simon Pound, Maria Slade, and Duncan Greive

Sun, 29 Apr 2018 23:39:21 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. In the pilot of a new monthly special, host Simon Pound speaks with Maria Slade, from the communications team at Callaghan Innovation, and Duncan Greive, managing editor at The Spinoff about business stories making the news that month.

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Matt Weavers is making e-bikes more affordable

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 02:06:53 -0000

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Jennifer Rutherford of the Hi-Tech Trust on diversifying the tech industry

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 01:15:51 -0000

When you think about awards ceremonies for traditionally male dominated industries like tech and business, diversity is not the first thing that jumps to mind. These awards have long been the nights to celebrate the people that made it under the old rules, and so have showcase a lot of successful old blokes. But one prominent event, the NZ Hi-Tech awards, has made it its mission to fast forward the process of change by making diversity the focus of its awards for this year. It’s pushed forward a conversation many industries need to have, and got conversations and initiatives started all around the country, working with the excellent Ally Skills team to help companies learn practical steps to take, and in a step perfect for the tech industry, they even provide a toolkit. The chair of the Hi-tech trust, Jennifer Rutherford, is emblematic of and driving this change. With a career in corporate management and industry governance she took over as chair this year.

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Bird on a Wire takes free range chicken and healthy salads to the people

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 03:47:41 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Sophie Gilmour about Bird on a Wire, a chicken shop grown from an old Ponsonby takeaways.

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How one seed potato grew into a business for Jade Temepara

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 02:26:17 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Vodafone Xone. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Jade Temepara about growing a family business from a seed potato.

In the wake of the Christchurch earthquake a local gardener was given a task by her koro. Her grandfather asked her to help keep a potato variety going that had been grown by the family for more than 100 years. The deep connection to growing kai, and the the way it provides and protects kicked off a renewed interest in for Jade Temepara in the power of gardens to anchor and support families.

In addition to being a acclaimed gardener who placed at Ellerslie flower show, Jade had been working with families doing it tough and thought she could bring the worlds together. She launched Hand over a Hundy, a concept where a family is given 100 bucks for supplies, seeds and seedlings and a mentor to help them grow seasonal veggies, and the idea being that they then make enough surplus that they can sell that to create another 100 of seed funding and introduce this to another family.

They’ve changed lives up and down the country, and the very shape of Christchurch after the earthquakes where gardening became radical urban reclamation. Today Jade is co-founder of Kākano Cafe and cooking school and garden with a Māori kaupapa and team that is spreading the messages of good health and nutrition and connection with the earth through the community.

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How crowdfunding website Press Patron is helping to create quality journalism

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:42:43 -0000

In the wake of the holy what the hell disruptive force of President Trump outlets like the Washington Post and New York Times have turned around years of subscriber decline as readers vote with their wallets about the importance of news and what is fake and what isn’t.

On The Spinoff that has been through Press Patron, so you might be familiar with the model. The founder and CEO of that company, Alex Clark, saw this trend form years out, with a master’s thesis turning into a real world product, now in NZ Australia and the US and helping X outlets harness their following and supplement ads, paywalls or whatever else is needed.

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Miriana Lowrie is making trade credit a simple, paperless process

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 02:08:17 -0000

They say where there's mystery there's margin and one thing that is deep in the depths of mystery is trade credit. What's trade credit? It's the second biggest source of loans in the world after banks. It's like when a business wants to buy something from a supplier and pay them 30 days later. And so much of business operates on these trade terms, but so often not on the actual terms. People are late, people need to be trustworthy, people need to guarantee they will pay.

Well, one person who looked into this abyss of paperwork is Miriana Lowrie. After a career in banking and looking at strategy and ways to improve business for outfits like ASB, she saw an improvement that could be made here and launched 1Centre. The app has gone through incubation, setting a record funding round for an product at the Flux accelerator, was part of Vodafone xone and is helping solve the hard problems, with customer usage doubling month on month.

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Dr Sam Hazeldine: "You've got to be hungry".

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 22:51:08 -0000

We’re very excited to introduce todays guest, someone extra inspiring, even by the pretty amazing standards of the people we talk to week in week out on this show. Someone, I kid you not, that Tony Robbins looks to for motivation and inspiration.

He’s an author, entrepreneur, doctor, extreme skiing champ, former drunken backflipper and current dedicated father and inspirational business leader. He even got the modern version of the Hippocratic oath changed(!).

Let’s rewind to the end of uni study, when a drunken stunt of a backflip led to Dr Sam Hazeldine, then in his last year of medical school with a promising extreme skiing career on the cards, waking up from a coma with a poor outlook for future success at both. What could have been the worst day of his life he made one of his best, resolving to focus on what matters, then going on to out-performing the best hopes for his head injury: within a year he was a grad doctor and skiing national champion.

Entrepreneur Dr Sam Hazeldine is the founder and managing director of three companies that shook up medical orthodoxy by keeping the welfare of doctors at their heart: MedRecruit, MedWorld and MedCapital. They have been wildly successful. He’s been on the Fast 50 list multiple times, been the fastest growing services company in the country. He was the Ernst & Young – Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 and was the 2014 recipient of the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award.

He’s written best selling books, like Unfair Fight, to help small New Zealand businesses compete in what he calls an uneven playing field. He co-founded the holistic talent management company, WeAreTenzing.

He wants to help everyone live exceptional lives, from you listening right through to the scores of orphans his foundation has helped rescue from life as child soldiers in South Sudan. Dr Sam Hazeldine joined us on a hot and muggy Friday afternoon recently for this chat.

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Talking commentary with Spalk co-founder Ben Reynolds

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 22:50:59 -0000

Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Vodafone Xone. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Ben Reynolds about how his company Spalk is making sports commentary more accessible.

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Flossie's female lead: Jenene Crossan is solving two problems in one app

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 21:04:56 -0000

As business thinker Cindy Gallop says, there is a lot of money to be made by taking women seriously. But the reason there is that opportunity is that traditionally, particularly in tech and business, women and women’s interests have not been. One person that’s been creating more space and fighting this battle over the last 20 years is local entrepreneur Jenene Crossan.

In 2018 it’s easy to take for granted the social web, paid independent female voices, and that Teen Vogue is political. But in 1999. it wasn’t this way. This was the year Jenene founded NZ Girl. It was also just after Google was founded. Jenene was already 4 years into building websites and living online, and saw where things were going with media.

NZ Girl went on to be the biggest social magazine in the country and in 2015 was named best blog. It was also a business in the time before there was a clear business model for online media. This led Jenene to found companies to solve advertising online, to found Bloggers Club - one of the first companies around to monetise influencers - and more recently, Flossie.

Flossie solves two problems at once. It helps women find curated and recommended salon services and book them efficiently and effortlessly, and put helps salons drive repeat and new custom, especially in quiet times. It was an industry ripe for such a service, that has grown into Australia and the UK, with big things on the horizon.

To talk the ups and downs, the life of an entrepreneur and the journey, Jenene joined the podcast.

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An underground kitchen with a sky-high target

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 23:39:15 -0000

A flippant comment around a kitchen table in 2013 brought about a business that has gone from making one Thai Green Curry to now having a delivery or pick-up service for ready made meals, 2 cafes, a commercial kitchen, regular media appearances, 2 cookbooks, thousands of meals sold a week and a staff of 25. Jess' Underground Kitchen is now very much in the overground. To talk about the journey, Jess Daniell joined the podcast.

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WeCompost is keeping tons of waste out of landfill

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:32:45 -0000

New Zealand likes to think it’s clean, green and 100% pure, but if you look under the lid, quite a few things you would expect from such a place are not really all there.

Like recycling. Even today there is a long way to go, but we are light years on from where we were 9 years ago when Steve Rickerby spotted a massive hole in the market for a company that could pick up food waste from businesses.

Back in 2009, Steve was working at an insurance company that had moved in to Auckland's first 5 star green rated building. As part of the rating system, staff were separating waste in to rubbish, recycling and compost but none of the large waste companies offered a service to collect the food waste. So the carefully separated waste was just going to landfill.

Steve saw a big problem to solve and launched We Compost collections with one bin on the back of his ute.

They now collect over 30,000 kilograms of organic waste each week - Servicing corporate offices, food courts, schools, tertiary institutes, hotels, cafes, caterers, and coffee roasters such as Kōkako Organic coffee roasters who recently switched from plastic coffee dump bags to compostable ones, helping to lead the way and drive change in the coffee industry..

Steve was joined early on in the journey by his partner Gemma Spring and together they have built the business to the point that since March 2012 We Compost has helped save over four million kilograms of waste from ending up in landfill and this number continues to grow…

To chat about where they are, where we all are, and what's next, Steve and Gemma joined the podcast.

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A lawyer, writer and mother on why mothers are as ambitious as anyone

Wed, 31 Jan 2018 23:15:31 -0000

Genevieve is External Relations Manager for Lion NZ, a company that is further along than most on the journey. Last year they were champion winner of the YWCA Equal Pay Awards, and of the DiversityWorks Work/Life Balance Award. To chat that column, her career and how you can have it all so long as that all includes flexible work and some effort to address deep paternalistic bias, Genevieve joins on the podcast.

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Nick Shewring, co-founder of co-working company 'BizDojo,' is opening the conversation around mental health in entrepreneurship.

Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:35:13 -0000

Great entrepreneurial ideas come from people, but also from environments that foster creativity, provide support and that lift people to help them to go further. This is part of why co-working spaces- places where creatives and companies can rent space by the desk or the week - have exploded around the world as hubs for people to go to, to make their dreams happen, and to keep the motivation and the energy up.

And here, the name BizDojo has been synonymous with co-working since they started on Karangahape Rd in 2009. Founded by Jonah Merchant and Nick Shewring, they grew from a few people at 12 desks to now having thousands of residents, and a string of coworking and collaborative spaces across New Zealand, with some big plans for 2018.

They were also a big part of bringing GridAKL into being - that many in Auckland tech will know, spinning up the original GridAKL prototype space, and later running coworking, networking, business support, events and activations in a new permanent building. With BizDojo spaces and events across New Zealand they’ve played a role in thousands of creative enterprises and have been keen to give back when they can, having taken leadership positions in the industry.

Like last year, when they ran a survey around mental health issues facing entrepreneurs under their initiative designed to support and help founders in New Zealand - Founders Central. They found some concerning stats. Most respondents had faced problems, and most of them had not sought help due to stigma, time or resource concerns.

This is a problem that is perhaps built into the culture of the founder that goes further than the normal to win, but it is one that needs to be talked about. Very recently the local scene lost a wonderful man that many of us worked closely with and rode the rollercoaster of this life with, and that really hits home how hard this can be, and how when what we do is not ordinary we need to have extraordinary support in place.

As part of highlighting this issue last year, BizDojo co-founder and Chief Entrepreneur Nick Shewring talked about his own experience in the context of his success and life, and how asking for help and being honest about the ups and downs is important.

If anything we talk about in the podcast today leaves you wanting to talk about your experience please do reach out to Lifeline on 0800LIFELINE.

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Maru Nihoniho on taking Aotearoa's game dev industry to the world

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 06:45:00 -0000

In 2003 there wasn’t much of a computer game development industry in Aotearoa. But an entrepreneur that loved games, graphics and design set out to change that, and to make a Playstation game - not worrying they didn’t even have access to the Sony development kit. They managed to assemble a team, make a prototype and sell the idea internationally, all on their first hit-out. This pioneering approach has continued for Maru Nihoniho, whose Metia Interactive has gone on to make games that carry great messages and outcomes in amongst the fun of playing.

There was SPARX, with the University of Auckland that gamified treating depression, with great success, winning awards and getting written up in the British Medial Journal. There was The Guardian, with a wahine toa, strong Māori women lead, a damsel doing the rescuing and distressing. And an idea I love, Māori Pa Wars, a take on the traditional tower defence game, available in te reo and quietly telling stories from history. Maru has been recognised for services to gaming and mental health with a Member of the Order of Merit and has been appointed by the crown to the board of Māori Television.

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Think start-ups are only run by single guys and their friends? Meet Dr Alyona Medelyan

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:06:22 -0000

Y Combinator is one of the great names in tech and start-ups. The incubator slash business bootcamp is famously hard to get into and famously hard full stop! Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe are some of the alumni and they only accept companies that have billion dollar potential. It’s also, like much of Silicon Valley, disproportionately made up of young, male, Stanford Grad founders, with not a lot of people accepted from outside the US, let alone from little old NZ.

But Dr Alyona Medelyan, CEO of Thematic, managed to break a lot of those preconceptions. She has a PhD pioneering new work in machine learning, doing it after thirty, with her husband as a partner in the company and their two kids in tow. Their company uses machine learning to get insights from customer feedback for big companies like Stripe, Air NZ and Vodafone, and was a part of the Vodafone Xone startup accelerator. They’ve just picked up a new funding round, have traction and momentum in an exciting space and we are very lucky to have Alyona join us now.

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Why hiring tangata whenua should be a priority for all businesses

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 01:46:00 -0000

How is a country going to grow if the tangata whenua, some 15 percent of the population, are overrepresented in negative stats and under-represented in the ranks of entrepreneurs and owners? Well, that is a big question, and one that can be broken down into many parts, and the first of which might be how do we get frontline Māori workers performing better, growing and improving, and into upward progress.

That’s where Indigenous Growth comes in. They work with organisations with Indigenous workers, what they term those frontline workers, to unlock their potential and increase their contribution. It’s about bringing all of people to work, and unlocking the same positive qualities that many of these workers have in their whanau situations. A great idea and business from Michael Moka, an entrepreneur, scholar and leading voice in engagement. You might have caught him at TedX Auckland, or know him from his work with Executive Education and the Maori students association at Auckland Uni, or maybe through his love of Kapahaka. Michael Moka join us now to talk about Indigenous Growth and unlocking potential.

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What the tech sector can learn from pop culture fandoms

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 19:58:00 -0000

What exactly could loving One Direction have to do with fixing the diversity pipeline problem in tech? Well if you hear ‘One Direction’ and go into dismissal mode, that might just be the root of the problem. A few years ago a tech industry leader in law gave a presentation at a serious Berlin tech conference about how perhaps the diversity pipeline problem could be traced back to the way that traditionally female spaces of fandom have been minimised online.

It was based around fan fiction, One Direction secret love affair conspiracies and honouring how people’s enthusiasms can lead them to learn about making things online. If you love something and build a fanpage, that is a very real way in to website building.

The talk has led to more talks, years, and time spent on One Direction than Sacha Judd had ever anticipated. Sacha, a former partner at top law firm Buddle Findlay, has been an influential figure in tech – being very early on the journey of big firms like Vend, where I know her from, and now running the family office for Rowan Simpson, a recent pod guest, at Hoku. As well as identifying and funding the next wave of great companies. Her back of a napkin service for tech founders has helped get many companies off to a great start, and she joined me to discuss what we term serious and how that seriously affects who feels welcome.

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She's flying with NASA and fighting Gwyneth Paltrow's fake science at 18

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 02:58:07 -0000

At 16 Alexia Hilbertidou looked around and saw that she was the only girl in her IT and physics class, then the next year the only young women in advanced physics.

What was going on? How did women go from the forefront of coding to underrepresentation at a time when it is meant to be more accessible than ever? Well, to change the ratio you have to change the structure. So Alexia decided to take the message to young women while still choosing what subjects they would take, and so founded GirlBoss NZ, an organisation which encourages young women to embrace STEM, Entrepreneurship and higher leadership.

In just 18 months, GirlBoss NZ is New Zealand’s second largest network of women with nearly 8000 members. At 18-years-old, just finished high-school, Alexia has spoken to nearly 20,000 young people, teachers and business professionals about gender equity, STEM, and the future of work.

This passion for future-focussed education has seen her named a Top 30 Global Teen Leader, a Top 5 Young Leader by the Ministry of Youth Development, and the most influential New Zealand woman under the age of 25 at the 2016 Westpac Women of Influence Awards. A serial entrepreneur Alexia also was the National Winner of the Unitec Coding App Competition, at 16, receiving a $30,000 prize for KaiShare - an online food redistribution platform. …To talk changing the ratio, and her work, Alexia joins us now.

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The Rowan Simpson founder-centric approach to being a company director

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 03:50:36 -0000

Rowan Simpson has made his name about ten times and he’s not done yet. He’s had a large hand in the product and growth in some of New Zealand’s greatest tech exports, he was head of product for Trademe and that worked out pretty well. He did a similar role in the early days for Xero and that has worked out amazingly, it’s a global leader in software as a service.

He was an early investor and board chair for Vend, where I first got to know him and work with him and see how much he did to help us grow.

Then there’s Timely, where he’s an investor and director, and that company just announced a seven million dollar funding round to take their profitable company in scale. And those are just some of the greatest hits - we haven’t mentioned his latest work, Ron is one of those people who could’ve stopped long ago, but uses his social and financial capital to bolster the next wave of tech companies. And through his charitable foundation is also giving back in more traditional ways. This might make him seem finished up and out of the game, but he’s not. His blog is required reading in tech, with great takes on start-up and product, and he’s active with the next big companies too, like Melodics, who we’ve had on here.

To chat the methodology of the start-up, what product is, the throughline of these companies, and what’s next, Rowan joined Simon at Spinoff Towers.

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The 22 year old entrepreneur on why he disrupted his successful business

Thu, 23 Nov 2017 02:17:57 -0000

On September 4, 2010, when just 15 years old, Jake Millar’s life changed forever. His father and four close friends died is a skydiving plane crash. Prime Minister John Key visited the scene and Jake wrote to thank him. A hand-written note reply came from the Prime Minister who wanted to meet Jake. Away from the media. And as someone who had also lost a father young, and gone on to great success, Jake credits this meeting and example as part of what’s led him to go on and do what he’s done. And what a lot of that there is, already.Always entrepreneurial, Jake became driven. He set goals and got them. Head boy of school and house, check. He landed a 40,000 scholarship and then rather than take it, he took advice from a book by Sir Richard Branson that said “Screw it, Let’s Do it” and he gave it a miss and started a company that months later he was in the works of selling to the NZ Government.His second venture, Unfiltered, sees him traveling the world, spending most of his time in North America, talking to business leaders about how they succeed, and selling it to people and great companies all over the place. It’s going great guns and backed with serious investment. He’s even interviewed Sir Richard Branson. At 22 he’s just getting started but already giving back, in New Zealand doing fundraising for Lifeline, raising 55 thousand with a charity dinner. In conversation with Simon he talked career, what it takes to succeed and giving back right from the get-go.

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How Lewis Road Creamery made gold from chocolate milk

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 01:54:01 -0000

A few short years ago a fellow looking for some good butter for a baguette noticed something odd. Although we were a dairy country if you went to the supermarket and wanted a fancy butter the option came in a blue pack, all the way from Denmark.

Why and what on earth? This thought led Peter Cullinane to try to make his own top-shelf butter, and to then found and grow Lewis Road Creamery, beautifully made, indulgent and to-be-savoured dairy. It’s been quite a ride - with tales of security guards protecting their Whittakers Chocolate milk collaboration, sold out ranges, copycat milks and expansions into bread, ice cream and non-dairy milks to name a few. Lewis Road Creamery is a huge success, and part of that may be that it wasn’t Peter’s first rodeo. He’s an ad man, who ran Saatchi & Saatchi in New Zealand and Australia, and then worked for them in a bog role in New York. On coming home he co-founded Assignment Group -who have always let the work talk for itself, launching Hyundai here and helping Whittakers reach their most-loved brand position. And he also co-founded Antipodes, the beautiful water in the elegant German bottle.

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BIB Repeat: TV Producer Bailey Mackey on being in the middle of a global bidding war

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 20:54:10 -0000

Last July long standing TV producer Bailey Mackey (Code, The GC) came to the Spinoff Towers to talk about the busines of making TV. Earlier that year new had hit that the production company he runs, Pango, had sold a television format to Freemantle Media, the world’s biggest tv outfit. This was a massive coup, made all the bigger by the fact it was an under-the-radar show called Sidewalk Karaoke hailing from Māori TV.

Bailey talked Simon through the bidding war that surrounded the format and talked about how a good idea with the right brain and guts behind it can make it all the way to the top, even if its from compratively small origins.

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Scott Blanks on 20 years of comedy at The Classic

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 05:17:18 -0000

20 years ago a bunch of young comedians, and their manager, who’d spent years making comedy nights happen across Auckland, thought it was time for a dedicated venue. On Queen St, near the Town Hall, they found a venue that was a lot perfect and a bit yuck – The Classic, infamous as an adult cinema. Over 20 years of building the business and the state of comedy in New Zealand, one founder, Scott Blanks, went from organising comedy nights through to being the owner, mentor, fosterer and friend to comedians young and old, new and established. He turned his background – first in accounting and then cinema marketing – into a role often called the Godfather of Stand-up, creating careers and also recognition for the craft. And not just with the live shows, but through telly too. Before there was 7 Days there was Pulp Comedy. Scott was part of that. And before that, Funny Business. Yep, Scott too. And how it’s all grown.

His club puts on 350 plus gigs a year for tens of thousands through the door, with space on stage for those just staring right through to some of the biggest names in world comedy. To chat the first 20 years, the explosion in comedy he helped spark and what’s next, Scott Blanks of the Classic Comedy Club joins us now.

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Theresa Gattung on Telecom, surviving public scrutiny and investing in women innovators

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 00:42:12 -0000

At the age of 37 a young women, who made her way up through a pretty sexist world, got the biggest job in the country. No, it’s not Jacinda Ardern today, it’s Theresa Gattung, in 1999.For a brief little window there a few years later most of the top jobs in this country were held by women - Dame Sian Elias was Chief Justice, Dame Silvia Cartwright was Governor-General, Margaret Wilson was Attorney-General, Theresa Gattung was Telecom’s chief executive and Helen Clark was Prime Minister.But boy how we slipped. By the time Gattung retired in 2007 it was only Dame Elias left.

How do we get back? Well, the new PM is a start, but gains got can be gains lost.

One way is for women to empower women. And it’s in that capacity Theresa Gattung joins the podcast today.

After Telecom she’s gone on to chair major boards, co-found ridiculous success My Food Bag, and get a Companion of the NZ order of Merit gong for services to business and philanthropy, with her work for the Wellington SPCA and organisations empowering women.

Like the newly lunched SheEO. A fund that has women invest in women, part of a global 1 billion dollar idea that Theresa has just helped bring here.

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Always be ready to sell: Mark Hurley on selling to an $11 billion agency

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 04:50:50 -0000

Today's guest is a serial entrepreneur. If you haven't heard of his latest company you've very likely seen their work on awarded and effective websites for clients like Marketo, Visa, Air Newzleand, Spark, and Les Mills. Having started just six years ago with a perfectly timed mix of design, brand marketing, and build for the market, his agency Little Giant came and got big fast. Little Giant was one of New Zealand's fastest growing companies in 2015 on the Deloitte Fast 50. One of Asia Pacific's fastest growing companies in 2015 and 2016, and Mark was named an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalst in 2017.

They grew big and they got bought by one of the leading players in global advertising, the $11 billion annual revenue behemoth Dentsu Aegis. It's a huge achievement in a short time but it wasn't Mark's first rodeo. He's been starting companies since he was 17 and learned some hard lessons along the way that he's turned into his exit and next launching pad. Mark Hurley joined us on the podcast.

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Cloud technology is the future and the future is now

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 04:08:59 -0000

On the fourth of July just four years ago today’s guest started a new company in the technology space. Having come out of some of the world’s biggest ICT companies like IBM and Cisco, Mike Jenkins was keen to help use the power of this cloud technology thing to help businesses do better. And look at how it’s gone - today his brainchild The Instillery is working with some of New Zealand’s biggest companies, like Fonterra, through to helping retailers like World run better businesses. He was awarded the emerging ICT leader at the CIO Awards and got the Digital Transformation of the Year gong at the IDC Australasia Awards for their work transforming Fonterra. From starting with a team of three they’ve grown to 30 employees and are just getting started. To talk about the power of the cloud, the effect it is having on business, and how he has used it himself, Mike Jenkins joins the podcast.

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Deanna Yang on why Moustache Milk & Cookie bar is now a completely different business

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 22:04:14 -0000

About 2 years ago the rent went up on a much loved cookie shop near the Civic in Auckland. Moustache Milk and Cookie Bar was facing a 40% hike. Owner/founder/manager Deanna Yang, a constant presence in the store and online through her energetic, revealing blog that charted the ups and down of business wasn’t going to take this.

As an entrepreneur in her early twenties, from a single parent family, young, a woman and a kiwi of Singaporean Chinese descent she had faced a lot of uphill battles so far and she wasn’t going to let this one get her down. She’d baked, invented, shared and given a lot back in her short run in business and used this community as a springboard to a successful $91,000 crowdfund. Even Lorde was keen to #savemoustache. Deanna used this to evolve the business, ditch the OTT rent, fit out a bus and tour the country taking the cookies to the people and now open three stores. All in less than 6 years in business. These goals have all been set and nailed, against the odds and against an environment that NZers like to think is pretty easy for people that aren’t pakeha, but in Deanna’s experience, it isn’t plain sailing, but there are a lot of good people out there too.

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Craig Cotton on leading Charlie's into teenage-hood and remembering to keep family involved

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 20:18:02 -0000

On the first week of the job at Coca Cola in 1996, today’s guest was wheeling out coke products from Pizza Hut after they moved to Pepsi. Although just a new sales rep he vowed that one day he’d get Coke back in to the big chain and its sister KFC.

The years passed, and Craig Cotton moved up the ranks. He went from sales rep to a manager, into sales operations, marketing and eventually, all the way to General Manager from his shop floor start. And on his last day with the company, 17 years later, Craig and his team made that deal with Restaurant Brands, the biggest single one in Coke NZ’s history. How’s that for a story of growth and dedication?

Craig has gone on to be the CEO for the Better Drinks Co, makers of Charlie’s as it went from a small indie to part of the huge Asahi, and then on to Independent Liquor and now, the Innovation Council - where this year’s awards are upcoming and the sector is in good health. Craig Cotton joined Simon to talk about his career and what could be next for innovation.

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The man who produced Evil Dead and Zena on the art of producing

Mon, 18 Sep 2017 00:03:56 -0000

What do The Evil Dead, Zena, Spartacus and an immersive 80s extravaganza live theater spectacular have in common? If you guessed Rob Tapert, you've got the chocolate fish.

It's very exciting to get a chance to talk to a person who's brought about a billion dollars of overseas investment to New Zealand; jobs, he's helped build an industry careers and inspiration for local film and TV.

Which is no mean feat, especially when you're doing it on the other side of the world from his native America. that's the kind of extra challenge that Tapert has thrived in and had a track record of pulling off and the latest of these is Pleasure Dome. To find out about what that is and about show business, Rob joined me in conversation in a secret location in West Auckland.

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If you think your organisation doesn't have a gender pay gap, you're probably wrong

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 01:05:14 -0000

Today we're talking action. The debate is over, it is just fact increasing diversity of gender, background and age in the decision making parts of organisations helps businesses do better.

But still, as we've been exploring a lot lately, only one of the NZX top 50 listed companies is run by a woman. And less than twenty per cent of directors on listed boards are women. Still.

So it is past the talking and into the action stages. One person driving action is Miranda Burdon, CEO of Global Women. Her organisation has pulled together a 1 Day For Change conference happening on the 19th of September. It's a great way to celebrate Suffrage Day to talk about the how of increasing diversity in organisations with a range of business leaders and heavy hitters from CEOs of our biggest companies like Fonterra and Spark through to ex Prime Minister, Dame Jenny Shipley.

They're not mucking about.

Miranda Burdon is an award winning exporter, who's built a career in agribusiness, is chair of one of the biggest mushroom producing companies in Australasia and has been the architect of the conference. I talked to her in the Auckland CBD HQ of Global Women.

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Cindy Gallop on the social sex revolution and going as big as YouTube

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 21:59:12 -0000

Today’s guest has been mentioned at least three times on the podcast for her leadership on some of the biggest topics facing business and society today. Cindy Gallop has become a by-word for changing the ratio in advertising, business and culture, getting diverse perspectives and experiences in terms of gender, ethnicity, background and moving past the stale pale and male. As the leader of BBH New York, Gallop helped build one of the world’s great ad agencies, and since leaving has been a pioneer in sex tech and the global conversation about the effect pornography has been having on young folk. You might have seen her amazing ted talk, you would have seen her quotes on twitter, Cindy is the person that the people I look up to look up to.

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The news business as a platform: The new Fairfax CEO on Stuff, paywalls and podcasts

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 02:41:51 -0000

Big news this week, with Fairfax NZ, one of the largest and most influential media companies announcing a new name and CEO. Now to be known as Stuff, the company is to be led by Sinead Boucher. The move was very well received from journalists, happy that a fellow journo and someone from the news side of the news business would be in charge.

Recently under Sinead, some of the most successful and exciting multi-media work has been coming from the Stuff stable - the Bain murder podcast Black Hands, and the new series The Valley - showing that quality and innovation are working. And Stuff, the website that ate the company, was built with Sinead as Digital editor. All great signs for the bigger business and the workers at Stuff in uncertain media times. To chat about the print business in declining print times, the news biz and her career, CEO Sinead Boucher joined the podcast.

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The cure to cancer may be closer than we think, all thanks to a kiwi invention.

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 22:49:23 -0000

Every company these days has a lofty goal. App makers with silly camera filters say they exist to bring humans together. Every company says it is out to change the world and make it a better place, but often, that’s nonsense. Not so for today’s guest. Professor Steve Henry is the founder and inventor of Kode technology who has worked to make commercialisation and mass application of research in partnership between his company and AUT. His work developed a compound which is now being developed into a potential cure for solid cancers. It’s also in development for products that could be used to prevent people with surgical implants getting infections. And he’s only just getting started with the applications of his technology. He’s CEO of Kode Biotech- a biotechnology company he’s been building since 1996, taking his research into synthetic molecules and how applying them to cells and surfaces can change the way they interact with their environment. For example coating a cancer cell with a synthetic shape can make the body see it in a way that means it can fight it. Something Steve will explain better shortly.

This idea, commercialisation, patenting and market development has seen Steve Henry selected as a finalist for the 2008 New Zealand Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2011 recipient of the Royal Society of New Zealand's prestigious R.J. Scott medal, in 2015 Kode Biotech won the Supreme NZ Innovator Award and this year Steve has become the first Australasian to secure a spot in the world-leading Johnson and Johnson Innovation centre, JLABS, in Houston.

To talk innovation, commercialisation and building biotech as a category, Professor Steve Henry joins us today.

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Is working 9 to 5 really that necessary?

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 02:10:51 -0000

You could look at the way work is arranged and decide that it’s something designed by the patriachy to avoid looking after their kids. A more equal society would have work start after school drop off and finish in time to help with the end of day. And that’s just if you have kids. You might also have a life. It’s just one of the ways that work is not really built for the modern age. One person that has done a lot of thinking about the way we could work today, and is helping put it into practice is Kate Wright. Kate’s completed her MBA, looking at new modes of work that reward output and efficiency rather than face time and hours spent. Opening up the way we work opens work to new people, the diversity we are looking to build today. To talk all these thoughts, and the role of mentoring for business, Kate of Business Mentors NZ and business design company Intentio joined the podcast.

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Diversity doesn't just mean straight white women: Mai Chen on the growing need for Asian leaders in NZ businesses

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 03:45:04 -0000

Today's guest is a trailblazer in law, business and leadership. Mai Chen, together with Sir Geoffrey Palmer, opened Australasia's first public law specialist firm in 1994, and since then has built a company and record that has resulted in more gongs and top positions than this intro could fit. Here's a few notable ones: New Zealand's Best public law firm a bunch of times, Inaugural Chair of Global Woman, a Director of BNZ, Adjunct Professor at Auckland Uni Law School, and recently the launch chair of Super Diverse Women. To talk the law business, her career and Super Diverse Women, Mai Chen joined the podcast.

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How Burger Burger are giving hospo staff the respect they deserve

Thu, 27 Jul 2017 03:07:10 -0000

If you want to see the power of great execution, walk into any of the hospitality offerings that our guest today has brought us.

You might think a burger is a burger, but that is until you’ve been to Burger Burger. Consistently named a top option in town, their great ingredients, atmosphere, energy and engaged team have made their affordable treat a household name, with half a million plus diners served a year.

Before that Mimi Gilmour introduced the Mexico restaurants, growing fast and taking that mix of tacos, fried chicken and fun across many locations to a successful exit. To talk ideas, creativity, execution and big goals delivered, Mimi Gilmour joined the podcast.

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Joan Withers on employing diversity without enforcing quotas

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 22:57:50 -0000

Today’s guest has broken new ground, confounded any stereotypes and excelled at every level of business. Leaving school in South Auckland with School Cert, going to be a bank teller, marrying her boyfriend and having a baby at 21. This could be the end of the public life story of many women 40 years ago. What happened instead has been a career leading some of New Zealand’s biggest media companies through some of the biggest landscape changes. Joan Withers has been a CEO of one of the first deregulated radio stations, the CEO of Fairfax in the last glory years of newspapers, and a professional director, with twenty years of governance experience as a board member and chair. Currently the Chair at Mercury and The Warehouse and just recently stepping down from Chair at TVNZ, Joan has a new book out, A Woman’s Place, that is a life story so far and also practical career advice, stories from the frontline and thoughts on that provocative title, A Woman’s Place.

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How Sharesies is making investment portfolios for everyone, not just the rich

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 03:41:08 -0000

One of the common kind of bleats from this podcast is that as a country we invest too much in unproductive assets like houses and interest payments, and not enough into companies. One of the reasons we are like this is that it actually isn’t that easy to invest in other stuff.

In order to get into something like shares there are risks, and also you need to get a diverse range of investments to spread your risk. There are managed funds, full of fees and large sums needed to invest, there is share trading through a bank, but with 30 bucks each brokerage you need to be doing more than about 2000 at a time or else the fees are more than a 6% return. It actually just isn’t the easy. Enter Sharesies!

A cool new idea that makes it easy to invest -simply set your industry preference, risk appetite and get started with as little as 50 bucks a go.

It aims to increase financial literacy and get more people into good investment practice, and its promise, that I love, is that you don’t need to be rich to have a share portfolio anymore. Co-founder and CEO Brooke Anderson joins me to chat all things Sharesies.

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A guide to ethically importing bananas with Karma Cola's Chris Harrison

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 01:23:18 -0000

Today’s guest is a pioneer in organics, sustainable business and has won awards for being the world’s fairest trader. You have definitely sampled his wares, if you’ve enjoyed a fair trade banana, a cola made with actual cola, or a few years back tasted a lemonade sweetened with honey. Chris Morrison was the co-founder of Phoenix organics, when, more than 20 years ago there was no organics industry. He built the business and the category, and then did something remarkable, he not only worked to mentor the next generation of sustainable businesses, but has gone on to reinvent some of our most ubiquitous consumer goods, the banana and the cola.

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The angel investor breakdown: do you really need millions of dollars?

Fri, 23 Jun 2017 01:36:15 -0000

One of the big ingredients for business success is other people’s money. Who are these other people and what motivates them? There are stereotypes in pop culture -from Silicon Valley style VCs that unseat founders and are machiavellian - through to the Dragon’s Den approach of omnipotent geniuses bidding to lend their capital and reputations for a big slice of the future pie.

Somewhere in the middle is the angel investor -a bit of a smaller scale, earlier stage kind of thing… and to find out what that actually looks like in NZ, Suse Reynolds, Executive Director of the Angel Association joins us.

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Business is Boring replay: Karen Walker

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 03:18:05 -0000

Alas, Simon is away this week so we've decided to republish one of our favourite episodes from 2016: fashion Svengali Karen Walker. Their discussion is worth a listen because Karen lays our her philosophy of no compromise and how that's helped build her business into a kind of super brand.

As Simon wrote at the time "Karen Walker is not just a significant figure in New Zealand, she is a fixture on the Business of Fashion’s list of the 500 most influential figures in fashion worldwide, the brand’s sunglasses are worn by the world’s most famous stars".

To learn what it takes to create a leviathan of a business and brand, listen on.

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Jamie Ford of Foresight Learning on what New Zealanders need to learn from the Australians

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 22:40:50 -0000

If you like to read and follow the stories of successful people some common themes emerge - never giving up, always persevering, get knocked down and get back up, never take no, feel the fear and do it anyway, fail until you succeed.

It sounds ghastly doesn’t it? And it can be; it is hard, emotionally and physically. What does it take to do this - to get the resilience to keep going, to make it. Simon's guest for this episode is Jamie Ford of Foresight Learning. He's an expert in this field, a coach and mentoring resilience to businesses, leaders and sports teams like the Crusaders and the Wallabies. He talked Simon through how resilience is learnt, trained and practiced and not innate, and how you can build your own.

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Could New Zealand's future lie with luxury goods?

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 03:09:12 -0000

If you’ve enjoyed a scented candle in glass, perhaps one with a lovely gold foil on the front or with letters artfully arranged you may have been enjoying the fruits of the work of today’s guest, a kiwi that has had great success in international fragrance, an entrepreneur now based in London who has also been a champion for the new wave of kiwi companies.

Christopher Yu is the MD of United Perfumes. He went to the UK as a lawyer, fell in love with the luxury world, helped reinvent the world of the scented candle by growing Diptyque and then launching the Cire Trudon and Fornessetti candles. His company works with the world’s biggest brands, and he has also long worked to try to help make NZ a place that an international success could come from, to talk perfume, the UK, and brand New Zealand, Christopher joins us today.

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Bill Reichert of Garage Ventures calls for the scrappy standout in the entrepreneur crowd

Wed, 24 May 2017 00:05:52 -0000

Much of what we talk about in entrepreneurship in NZ comes to us from Silicon Valley. Whether its the lean, agile, the series A, the seed round - the terms and actions come out of this place. So it makes a lot of sense that AUT, for their inaugural entrepreneur in residence, have brought to NZ a 30 year veteran and key figure in the valley. You might have heard of some of the firms he has founded, been on the board for, or invested in - Pandora internet radio is one of the better known consumer brands - but there were a raft of companies that pushed forward technology. He also set up Garage Ventures with Guy Kawasaki, the best selling author of Apple Macintosh fame, who popularised their work together. Bill Reichert is in town for a series of events with AUT and we’ve been lucky enough to grab him today to talk about the Valley, VC and entrepreneurship.

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Sue De Bievre of Beany on the cloud creating flexibility for working mothers

Wed, 17 May 2017 22:41:34 -0000

Many small business people get into business to pursue their passion, yet end up spending a lot of time on the admin and accounts, and the salt in the wound is that this can also be wildly expensive black hole to throw hours, dollars and tears down. It’s a pain-point alright. And where there's pain there’s profit to be had.

Enter Beany, a company that has come in to ride the wave of disruption currently hitting accounting services. They are adding their own push by offering a service that, for a low fixed fee, connects small businesses with their accountants and to work in the cloud. They're providing great professional services efficiently and cheaply, and allowing new ways of working both for the accountants and the businesspeople. The CEO Sue De Bievre braved the Spinoff stairs to talk Simon.

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Holly Cardew of Pixc on what's to be gained from working within Silicon Valley

Thu, 11 May 2017 08:19:42 -0000

One day when working on an online marketplace entrepreneur Holly Cardew was trying to get some imagery clear-cut onto a white background. Unless you’re a bit of a photoshop whizz, that is a real mission. Holly thought that if this was a problem for her it probably was for others looking to make a professional site, and that insight has led to her successful online enterprise pixc. The demand was out there, and the business has led Holly to startup incubators, being named on the Forbes 30 under 30, and to New Zealand, where she is part of techweek and the sales and marketing jams that the Kiwi Landing Pad makes happen.

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The AirBnB of parks: Parkable and Campable are turning your empty spaces into a business

Thu, 04 May 2017 02:32:57 -0000

In a few years' time, once enough cars are autonomous and car ownership has collapsed and we’re turning roadside car parks into bike lanes and garages into four storey apartments, we will look back and wonder at how much space was left vacant just waiting for these cars that only ever got driven five percent of the time.

It’s bananas.

Some people didn’t have to wait until the future to see this. They looked at all that time, space and capital sitting inefficiently a bit earlier. The big names you know. Uber and Airbnb are two standard bearers for the sharing economy, taking what’s underused and sharing the usage. And locally, in the car park space, we have a very cool company called parkable.

They take your empty car parks and match them with parkers who pay a fee. They market and provide the tech, clip the ticket, and help the world squeeze some more efficiency out of the model.

Parkable is run by Brody Nelson on the technical side and Toby Littin on the commercial side. They're here today to chat through the idea, about seizing the moment, and their new app, Campable. Campable is opening up spots all over the country to mobile home and vans of travelers, providing vineyards, marae and paddocks a new income stream, and hopefully putting an end to pooping in public car parks.

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Techweek Special: Patrick McVeigh delivers all your Techweek'17 essentials

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 22:28:29 -0000

One week ago, on the second week of this podcast, we had a lovely chap in to talk about the Techweek that was going on. A week to bring in local and international experts to talk about how tech can solve today's problems and advance tomorrow's industry. It was a great success and it's now back for its second outing.

To discuss what the week has in store, we are again joined by Patrick McVeigh, general manager - business, innovation and skills at ATEED.

Not sure which events to catch? Read The Spinoff's Techweek'17 recommendations here.

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Christina Bellis and Lani Evans are turning an IRD subsidy into a force for good

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 03:31:23 -0000

Here’s a cool idea. How about taking a service every company needs, then doing it for free for them while also managing, as part of the deal, to get funds to charity. It sounds like you’ve just managed to clock life. Well, today’s company has done just this with Thank You Payroll.

It's a clever service, where they’ve turned an IRD subsidy into a force for good. Christina Bellis and Lani Evans of Thank You payroll Simon to discuss the business, a crowdfunding venture they have on, and how they make it happen.

Note: Apologies for the sound quality. This episode was conducted over the phone.

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Adàn Tijerina of Almighty Juices on why immigrants make ideal entrepreneurs

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 23:20:20 -0000

Adàn Tijerina is the director of Almighty Beverages. It's a Wellington based company producing a range of organic juices now to be found in stock around the country. It's hard graft making a boutique company work, particularly one that has a organic and community based ethos at heart. But hard work is something Adàn's well acquainted with. His background includes farm work in the States, working with the homeless, running some of Wellington's most iconic bars and restaurants, the Wellington orchestra and finally helping drive the Almighty ship. Simon caught up with Adàn while he was on a business trip to Auckland and enticed him to The Spinoff towers for a chat.

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Lisa King of Eat My Lunch on dealing with massive growth and making 1400 lunches EVERY DAY

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 23:17:34 -0000

It's a remarkable success story: create a enterprise that combines both business and philanthropy and before you blink, you're knee deep in work. The idea is simple: order a lunch and the price pays for another free lunch to go to a hungry school kid. Such is the journey of Eat My Lunch, which started from a home kitchen and very quickly ended up supplying 40 schools and a similar number of businesses. The CEO Lisa King talked to Simon about how rapid the growth in the business was, how they managed it as well as the logistics of delivering 1400 lunches every day.

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My Food Bag co-CEO Cecilia Robinson on why you have to destroy your own market share

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:46:23 -0000

If you're looking at companies in the last few years that have made a real impact in the local entrepreneur and general scene, you can't go past My Food Bag. Pulling an idea in from overseas and making it work here in tiny, weird New Zealand was a passion for Cecilia and James Robinson. The idea was weekly delivered food parcels that contained everything a family needed to make meals for the week. They got Nadia Lim on board as a brand ambassador and next thing you know they're making $100 million in revenue.

But it can't have been that easy. In this conversation Simon talks to Cecilia about making the move from their earlier company Au Pair Link, approaching Theresa Gattung to sit on the board, creating a well regarded customer service operation and living on Weetbix during the hard times.

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Vic Crone on Xero, her Auckland Mayoralty bid and what's next for Callaghan Innovation

Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:25:34 -0000

Vic Crone was announced as the new CEO of Callaghan Innovation in February of this year. Crone comes with a high profile won in executive roles at Chorus and Xero and from her bid for the Auckland Mayoralty. Simon invited her in to talk about her career, her time at Xero, what she learnt from politics and what's coming next for Callaghan.

Disclosure: Simon works at Vend, who have received Callaghan grants and Callaghan Innovation are a sponsor of this podcast.

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Lance Wiggs on how TradeMe was worth even more than its $750m sale price

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 03:59:37 -0000

You might have heard of the PayPal mafia, a term given to people that came through PayPal and then went on to invest in, found, and help grow other tech companies. People like Elon Musk, Peter Theil, Reid Hoffman; companies like Tesla, LinkedIn, Yelp, all trace back to PayPal. Well, in New Zealand I think we have our own version of that, the Trade Me mafia. The people who helped that company start, scale, grow and sell have gone on to use the capital they built up - both in terms of money they made and the social proof of their skill and judgement - to go on and foster a lot of the local industry. It's a theme of this podcast, and one of the key members of what I'd call that mafia is Lance Wiggs.

You can draw one of those detective show style photo boards with the lines and there'd be lines all over Business is Boring for today's guest. Lance has been a director, investor or advisor to many of our guests. Wierdly, Onceit, Vend, Populate and Timely to name a few of our guests. Lance has taken his experience and created a vehicle to help fund and propel high-growth companies forward, with Punakaiki Fund, and is a prominent commentator on local hi-tech companies.

We get him on today to find out about his career, his fund and why he keeps doing it when he has probably done well enough to go for a long bike adventure and not be busy as an active director on a number of companies.

Disclosure statement: I work at Vend, hold a tiny number of shares in the Punakaiki Fund and Lance is a semi-distant cousin. #NZ

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