Happy Cow Milk is poised to relaunch with a new business model and an invention that could revolutionise dairy production, explains founder Glen Herud, in the latest instalment of his Spinoff series documenting the company’s fall and rise again. Just as we were chilling the beers for our equity crowdfunding launch last Thursday we crossed … Read more
New Zealand leaves Australia for dust on internet speeds and our children are practically born using fibre, but major challenges lie ahead, writes Rohan MacMahon. Congratulations, New Zealand: three quarters of you now have ultra fast broadband (UFB). This week Chorus hosted an event at Parliament to mark the completion of Phase 1 of the … Read more
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 Dr Brian Ward of soft-tissue repair company Aroa. Dr Paul Callaghan, who inspired Callaghan Innovation, had the idea … Read more
A leaked email from prominent share broking firm Forsyth Barr perpetuates a tediously old-fashioned idea of the way people think – and it isn’t even salvaged by wit or originality, writes business editor Maria Slade. Investment manager Forsyth Barr’s daily market commentary came with a seasonal extra on November 1. Atop the dull recital of … Read more
NZ phone companies and the government are setting up a system that will identify scam callers within hours and, they hope, stop them in their tracks, the Spinoff can reveal. We’ve all received them. The calls from strange corners of the world at odd times of the day. After I made the mistake of answering … Read more
Jenée Tibshraeny of interest.co.nz surveys the issues that have farmers worried right now, and looks at the facts behind the fears. Rumblings from the dairy farming sector are becoming increasingly loud, as both the Government and Reserve Bank (RBNZ) make policy changes that affect the sector. New Zealand has for years milked its white gold … Read more
Were Fonterra’s Open Gates events a shallow PR stunt, or was there something deeper going on? Alex Braae went to Mangatawhiri to find out. This feature is made possible thanks to the Spinoff Members Fund. We need your help to make journalism that matters. For more information, click here. Walking into the Fonterra Open Gates event … Read more
A corporate undertaker talks top tips for making sure you get paid, reining in rogue liquidators, and having a heart for those who’ve lost money. PwC’s John Fisk has handled high profile company failures from Pike River to Lombard Finance and the Ross Asset Management Ponzi scheme. He also chairs the catchily titled Restructuring Insolvency … Read more
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. Cheese Cartel was the outcome of a bunch of friends … Read more
Tomorrow the Australian minister for agriculture is in Christchurch to lobby for a ban on words like “milk” and “meat” from the labels of meat and dairy alternatives. Shama Sukul Lee, the founder of alternative meat startup Sunfed, says the campaign is not about the consumer: it’s driven by a powerful industry trying to curb … Read more
It’s setting up a high school and John Key is an investor, but leaked documents show the $380m education startup locks parents into tough contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars. A tutoring company with former prime minister John Key on its board is charging parents as much as $60,000 to chase the dream of … Read more
Newly launched carbon offsetting company CarbonClick want to make it easier for businesses and consumers to save the planet. CEO Dave Rouse and CPO Jan Czaplicki explain that while carbon offsetting isn’t the solution to global warming, it’s necessary. We have pumped our skies full of greenhouse gases for over 200 years, resulting in an … Read more
The Panama Papers exposed a world in which the uber-rich and powerful were able to hide unimaginable wealth. The reporters who broke the story describe how they did it. “When it takes a whistleblower to sound the alarm… it signals that democracy’s checks and balances have all failed.” The final words in the documentary The … Read more
You’ve heard of Black Friday, you’ve heard of Cyber Monday, but have you ever heard of mega shopping bonanza Singles’ Day? If not, here’s what you need to know about Double 11. What is Singles’ Day? Singles’ Day is a shopping holiday that’s held every year on November 11. It first started in China as … Read more
A combination of bad demographics, financial pressure and a decade’s old bill coming due make the new NZ Rugby CEO’s job infinitely harder than that of the next All Blacks coach, writes Duncan Greive. Thirty years ago, the CEO of what was then known as the NZRFU had perhaps the greatest sports administration role in … Read more
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 … Read more
Huge numbers of Kiwi customers don’t know who owns their bank, and it’s contributing to a multi-billion dollar profit for Australian-owned banks in New Zealand every year. In 2018, Australian banks made a profit of over $5b in New Zealand. That’s $14m every day being taken out of our economy. Yet a new survey shows … Read more
A quiet revolution is growing on New Zealand farms. As debates on water and emissions grind on, a new group of farmers are showing us the way forward – regenerating the land, and themselves, writes Daniel Eb. Mum has a saying: when you’re boxed into a corner, move the walls. It’s a reference to … Read more
The reward for being a smoker in the hospitality industry? Extra break time than non-smokers, causing many hospo workers to pick up the bad habit. For years it’s been a running joke in the hospitality industry that in order to get more breaks, young workers should start smoking. But it turns out there’s actually some … Read more
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 Valentin Ozich, founder of I Love Ugly. The fashion industry isn’t an easy one to break into. Very … Read more
A genetic test showing how people respond to common medicines has the potential to revolutionise the way doctors prescribe drugs. Business editor Maria Slade reports. Sleeping has never been my strong suit. Throughout my adult life I’ve tried everything from hypnosis and hot milk to yoga and the droning narrations of the History Channel, with … Read more
Ambitious families are spending big money on Crimson’s services – but top New Zealand schools say they provide the same advice for free, and are sceptical of what the highly valued startup provides. Business editor Maria Slade reports. Crimson Education has been a darling of the New Zealand startup scene since precocious teenaged co-founders Jamie … Read more
Backed by tech giants Google and Atlassian, not-for-profit Humanitix redirects thousands in booking fees to charitable causes while at the same time disrupting the highly competitive ticketing industry. Jihee Junn talks to the CEO of its New Zealand operations to learn more about how the platform works. Founded in Australia in 2016, Sydneysiders Adam McCurdie … Read more
Local lingerie brand Lonely is well-known for celebrating a diverse range of bodies and preaching messages of inclusion and body positivity. So why are they deleting comments and blocking users offering critical feedback on their size range? New Zealand lingerie brand Lonely has received criticism online for preaching messages of body positivity and acceptance, despite … Read more
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. Right now, you’re probably wearing something you’re not super … Read more
What the B Corp certification actually means and why it matters. Five decades ago, economist Milton Friedman was concerned about business accepting a social responsibility. In an oft-cited 1970 essay for The New York Times Magazine, Friedman argued that while CEOs could feel an individual responsibility to society around them, “a corporate executive is an … Read more
Will New Zealand’s largest construction firm have to write off yet more money over the troubled International Convention Centre project? Both Fletcher Building and SkyCity’s share prices have felt the impact of the devastating fire that has raged at Auckland’s half completed convention centre for over a day now. More than 80 firefighters continue to … Read more
The small-claims mediation process is meant to give real people a voice, but the financial and emotional sacrifice just isn’t worth it, writes Jai Breitnauer When we moved to the semi-rural dreamland of Te Henga (Bethell’s Beach) in 2017, we couldn’t imagine that anything would be able to tarnish the beautiful views, the incredible wildlife, … Read more
In the wake of the shocking revelations about Three, Duncan Greive assesses the health of New Zealand’s six big media companies. Winston Peters has studied the cold, pitiless heart of a certain strand of New Zealander for four decades now, and has become our foremost expert on both expressing its feelings and trolling it into … Read more