Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Georgia Meek, founder of The Babysitters Club, an online agency connecting families with babysitters. ONE: How did The Babysitters Club start and what was the inspiration behind it? The idea for The … Read more
Howls of indignation over state housing evictions based on spurious meth testing have masked the reality of New Zealand’s two-speed P standard. Veronica Crichton admitted that she and her friends had been smoking meth in their Gate Pa, Tauranga home. She even got her landlord to help her evict one P-affected flatmate. She and another … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff, in association with Callaghan Innovation, in which host Simon Pound speaks with innovators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Natalie Ferguson and Kristen Lunman from Hatch, a new platform that allows New Zealanders to invest in US … Read more
Kiwis need to get over their cultural bashfulness and start faking it until they make it, businesses were told at Australasia’s first ‘Startup Grind’. Guy Kawasaki looks at me as if I’m a bit simple. I have just asked the corporate ‘evangelist’, speaker, author of 13 books and former Apple Mackintosh marketer whether New Zealand … Read more
Boutique collars, handmade toys and speciality treats packed with the best ingredients you could ask for. What’s driving the new pet economy? Jihee Junn talks to the small business owners cashing in on the pet care craze. New Zealand is a nation of animal lovers, so much so that there are almost as many pets … Read more
Back in 2014, Hamish McKenzie was asked to write a book about Tesla, but instead Elon Musk gave him a job at the company. Four years on he’s released Insane Mode, a book that looks at Tesla and the dozens of young automaker start-ups it’s inspired. He explains to Gareth Shute why he believes the widespread … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Haman Shahpari, co-founder of vegan, low calorie, halal certified ice cream brand WāHiki Creamery, which has recently signed a deal to enter the Chinese market. ONE: How did WāHiki start and what was … Read more
Self-described sneakerhead Dylan Moran on what drives collectors like him – and how stop-at-nothing resellers are distorting the market. You may have seen them – huddled masses of young people, perched on camping chairs with sleeping bags up to their ears, snaking along High Street or Queen Street in Auckland, or Dixon Street or Victoria … Read more
If you want to do gift-giving without hurting the world this Christmas, Sarah Paterson-Hamlin has the guide for you. This might be controversial, but I just don’t like getting or giving goats for Christmas. Not actual goats suffocating in Whitcoulls 3-for-1 wrapping paper in suburban Dunedin, but those cards that say ‘I bought a goat … 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 entertainment powerhouse John Barnett. Outrageous Fortune, Sione’s … Read more
Former ski patroller Julie Scott has taken on a challenge of a very different kind: finding low-cost homes for families in New Zealand’s most expensive property market. Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they walk among us and perform their magic without needing to transform into someone different. It’s the seemingly ordinary-looking jobs that can … Read more
Kids will spend hours playing video games anyway so you may as well hook them into an online adventure that teaches them something, an Attitude Awards nominee says. Tim Young says technology makes him “superhuman”. The founder of social enterprise Education These Days walks the talk when it comes to using tech to improve people’s … Read more
Demand for its e-scooters has been rabid since opening its first New Zealand store two weeks ago. But it turns out, Chinese electronics retailer Mi sells a whole lot more than just tiny modes of transport. For just $679, you could own your very own Lime. Well, not a Lime exactly, but an e-scooter of … Read more
After an attempt to recruit her as an Arbonne rep, Holly Bagge delves into the dark art of direct selling and what it takes to earn a white Mercedes. “What would you do with an extra $5,000 per month?” she asks us, scrolling through slides of beaming women and infographics on her iPad. My friend … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Jo McColl about Unity Books Auckland’s new offshoot just down the road: children’s bookshop little Unity. ONE: How did little Unity start and what was the inspiration behind it? I’ve been longing … Read more
New Zealand’s film industry has always been about location, location, location, but what about everything else? What about all the stuff that comes after filming? Jihee Junn talks to Department of Post’s Katie Hinsen at the company’s new state-of-the-art headquarters about her mission to make Auckland into a post-production powerhouse. For much of late 2016, … Read more
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 of 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 … Read more
Tax law makes it pretty clear: services being provided in New Zealand attract goods and services tax. So why can’t the US electric scooter ride share phenomenon clarify whether it’s collecting it? Update 22 November: For Lime’s response to this story, see the comments at the the bottom of the page. As Hayden Donnell wrote … Read more
Against considerable odds, Glen Herud’s mission to create an ethical dairy company continues. With the help of supporters he has pivoted and is resurrecting Happy Cow Milk, and in this excerpt from his latest newsletter he describes how he’s solving the problem of bringing processing to the farm. Today’s newsletter has ended up as a … Read more
Opposition to a new online homecare service could be a sign of things to come, as the ageing population pits workers’ employment rights against the right of older people to choose who cares for them. Wellington homecare worker Jane* once had an elderly man yell at her and order her to leave the house. Another … Read more
Rocket Lab is a celebrated New Zealand success story, with a stated mission to open access to space and improve life on Earth. Yet many of its key contracts are with the US military and their suppliers. Ollie Neas reports on the dark side of a local business hero. Last Friday Rocket Lab announced that … Read more
Kiwi builders have never been in hotter demand, but red tape is making it nearly impossible to get ahead. Alex Braae spoke to builders and bankers about the state of the construction industry. Willie Hewitt’s construction company, Westmoreland, is constantly flat out, but it’s never making any money. In the middle of housing boom he’s … Read more
Ant Timpson got a fright to discover his FlyBuys had been stolen, cameras purchased and the goods sent to a notorious Auckland address. He rejects claims he’s fallen for a phishing scam. A week or so ago Ant Timpson, an Auckland producer who has worked on films like The Greasy Strangler and The ABCs of … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Sean Aickin whose Wellington photo store Splendid is hoping to revive film photography in today’s digital world. ONE: How did Splendid start and what was the inspiration behind it? I initially tried to purchase … 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 Hadleigh Bognuda, CEO of EzyVet. The move … Read more
Alex Casey braves blue alcohol at 10.30am and social media paparazzi to learn female entrepreneurial lessons at the petal cupcake-festooned Girls in Business gathering. The day opened with an emergency announcement: the free fake tan in the goodie bags was leaking. “Make sure you keep them upright ladies,” event organiser Iyia Liu advised the 450-strong crowd. … Read more
Huge spikes in power prices do happen, and consumers signing up to deals straight off the wholesale electricity market need to know what they’re in for, writes Bob Weir. I left the electricity industry six years ago, rather disillusioned and mentally broken by it. I have little time for or allegiance to the large players. … Read more
Riot Foods co-founders Art Green and Ryan Kamins recently revealed to The Spinoff the gruelling challenges the company had faced over the last six months. Today, with the future of company’s equity crowd raise remaining uncertain, Kamins announced his resignation as CEO citing months of severe alcohol addiction. More than a month since it was reported that Riot … Read more
The earthquakes have changed the culture in genteel Christchurch. Now it’s more about how you can contribute than who you went to school with, writes Steven Moe. I grew up in Christchurch, but not the one that exists today. I lived in the non-Ōtautahi version – the pre-earthquakes mini-England you wouldn’t recognise if you came … Read more