The government has deliberately limited public understanding of Rocket Lab’s US military connections in order to support American security interests, documents show. Before the first rocket took off from Mahia Peninsula on the East Coast two years ago, MPs considered whether they should clarify that New Zealand’s new space industry would be strictly for peaceful … Read more
Generations of New Zealand makeup users grew up with Shiseido’s Moisture Mist range, home to the iconic Beauty Cake foundation compact. Now, after 41 years, the Moisture Mist brand is closing down. “Dear Moisture Mist customers,” read the graphic red and white message posted to the Moisture Mist Facebook page on Monday afternoon, “We are … Read more
After The Spinoff delved into the dubious world of cosmetics and skincare brand Arbonne, two people came forward with very different stories. One says it’s misunderstood. The other says the cult-like organisation has nearly destroyed family relationships. The consultant Lily has been a consultant for Arbonne for a little over a year. She got started … Read more
The Hi-Tech Awards are fast approaching, but who’ll be deemed the most innovative of them all? We take a closer look at the five nominees for Kiwibank’s Most Innovative Hi-Tech Service award. Eleven billion dollars: that’s how much revenue New Zealand’s leading hi-tech companies brought into our economy last year. That’s an 11% increase from … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week, we talk to Collaborate co-founder Poppy Norton who’s helped create an app matching charitable organisations with volunteers. Nominated for a Hi-Tech Award for the second year in a row, Collaborate is the brainchild … Read more
The printer company has worn sackcloth and ashes since being caught out inflating its New Zealand revenue by $350m. Now it’s in line for lucrative government work again, and boss Peter Thomas tells of lessons learned. Staggering corporate blunders like Kodak failing to spot the rise of digital photography and the gazillion-dollar bailout of General … Read more
It already looked like the housing market could take off again, and then the Reserve Bank went and made that a whole lot more likely. David Hargreaves analyses the forecasts, in this piece originally published on Interest.co.nz. It may seem the height of absurdity to talk about the possibility of the house market taking off … Read more
What is Wish? Is it legit? And why does it advertise so damn much? “If Wish targeted ads are a window to your soul, then my soul is an absolute nightmare,” food editor Alice Neville quipped in the office one day. On Facebook, she’d received ads for a severed ‘finger’, a gimp suit, a wig-beard, … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week, he talks to Manawa Udy from co-working space Te Haa o … Read more
New Zealand’s pioneering online auction site and marketplace has just marked 20 years with a staff reunion. Rowan Simpson went along, and it sparked some fascinating memories and reflections. I was irrationally tentative as I walked up the stairs to the mezzanine level at Whistling Sisters in Wellington, on one of those rare you-can’t-beat-Wellington evenings, … Read more
There are serious flaws in the theory that the ‘jobpocalypse’ is nigh, and technology is not about to replace New Zealand workers anytime soon, according to a new book. ‘Machines as ministers to man’, screams the US newspaper headline. Apart from the slightly old-fashioned language, the banner could be describing the conventional modern wisdom that … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week, we talk to Melodics founder Sam Gribben, who’s created software to help people learn how to play musical instruments. Having spent a decade at audio software company Serato, ex-CEO Sam Gribben … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. Connections can be the difference between a venture taking off or stalling. … Read more
While the minimum wage rise took a toll on many small businesses, particularly in hospitality and retail, Christchurch company Switch Espresso absorbed the increase almost without breaking a sweat. Its founder talks to Alice Webb-Liddall about how other businesses can do the same. Post Christchurch earthquake, life is rapidly surging back into the city. Along … Read more
Despite the bitter disappointment of those who backed capital gains tax for a win, it’s not the only horse in the wealth tax race. Max Rashbrooke studies the form guide. If the capital gains tax were a horse, Jacinda Ardern’s announcement earlier this month was the final nobbling of an equine that, despite praise from … Read more
In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week, we talk to Dr Sarvnaz Taherian who’s helped develop technology that allows physically disabled individuals to communicate via blinking. For most individuals, using a phone or laptop couldn’t be easier. But for … Read more
Elle Hunt composes a love letter to New Zealand’s online auction site, with which foreign counterparts cannot compare They looked at the mattress, she and her boyfriend. My two flatmates and I looked at them looking, and with mounting disbelief. We seemed to have reached an impasse. “Is it soft?” she said, uncertainly. The two … Read more
It pays to shop around, and ridesharing services are no different. Some are cheaper, others are more convenient, so which is which? We take you through four options worth trying in Auckland. Uber: The Incumbent It’s the company synonymous with 21st-century ridesharing. A company so big, so ubiquitous, that ‘Uber’ isn’t just a name any … Read more
In a polite Herne Bay kind of way, locals are gearing up for a battle royale with retailing millionaire Rod Duke over his plans for a helipad on a neighbourhood beach. Maria Slade went down to hang out. Karen Sims’ dog Lily isn’t the typical Herne Bay resident. The tan bitzer of uncertain provenance wouldn’t … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Stephanie Post and Hayley White, co-directors of … Read more
Along with no CGT, the Labour government is left with other tax headaches like what to do about sugar consumption, the environment, and tax thresholds that haven’t changed in a decade, writes Terry Baucher. Perhaps the Tax Working Group was fatally compromised from the outset when the taxation of the family home was excluded from … Read more
Social enterprises don’t get tax advantages and can’t get the same kind of funding as businesses. This needs to change, says the co-author of a new report. Current company law is hampering the development of New Zealand’s social enterprise sector. This is the bottom line finding of a new report on whether existing regulatory frameworks … Read more
British regulators have placed caps on interest rates and the total amount fringe lenders can charge, so why isn’t New Zealand making similar moves? Having to take out a loan to pay for food, bills, petrol and rent is the reality for many New Zealand families. With around one in seven Kiwis living in poverty … Read more
If commentators are reading the tea leaves right, the government is gearing up to put its money where its mouth is and help businesses caught in New Zealand’s infamous funding gap. Lisa Friis doesn’t strike you as the sort of woman who needs help getting in front of potential investors. Tall, with a stylish blonde … Read more
In our new Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week, we talk to Hello Cup’s Robyn McLean on what sparked the move into menstrual cups. Since launching in December 2017, Hawkes Bay-based start-up Hello Cup has helped introduce menstrual cups … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Dan Mclaughlin and Mark Neal, co-founders of … Read more
Auckland-based tech company StrutFit allows shoppers to virtually ‘try on’ shoes. So how does it work? And what does that mean for retailers? For eight months, I had my eye on a pair of black, patent leather boots – big, chunky, great for stomping around in. The other week, I finally plucked up the courage to … Read more
The 36th America’s Cup may still be two years away but Emirates Team New Zealand’s campaign is already near top gear and Kiwi industry is winning. Imagine having to raise northwards of $100 million within four years just to run your business, and not being entirely sure how you’re going to do it. It’s not … Read more
Briscoes boss Rod Duke continues to fight to have a helipad protruding over a picturesque Auckland beach, just so he can get to his golf games quickly. Despite its geographical status as an isthmus, central Auckland is not flush with good swimming beaches. Would-be bathers are at the mercy of time, tide and parking availability. … Read more