Following the raging success of its chicken-free chicken, Sunfed Meats has announced its expanding production, with cow-free beef and pig-free bacon also on their way. Carolyn Robinson loved it. Nigel Latta loved it. And judging by its Facebook page, every vegan in the country seems to love it as well. Since Sunfed Meats launched earlier this year, … Read more
Is the freelance dream souring? Victoria Crockford finds insecurity abounds inside the gig economy, and argues we need to make sure rights are not lost with the rise of flexible work. ‘Got Paid’, ‘Went Outside’, ‘Remembered to Eat!!’, cheerfully quipped some of the ‘freelance achievement stickers’ designed by Jeremy Nguyen for the New Yorker recently. … Read more
When it comes to understanding artificial intelligence, is science fiction just a pesky distraction from the real dangers out there? Microsoft’s authority on all things AI seems to think so, reports Jihee Junn. “With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon,” declared Elon Musk back in 2014. “In all those stories where there’s the guy … Read more
Priced out of the housing market? Don’t lose heart. In the second part of a series on alternatives to property investment for ‘Generation Rent’, Jenée Tibshraeny explains the benefits of passive investment and offers a comprehensive guide to the available options. This story has been updated since it was first published on interest.co.nz in June. … Read more
Wanna run with the fast crew? Rebecca Stevenson takes a look at Deloitte’s Fast50 index to see how quickly Kiwi companies’ revenue is growing. To take a spot among the fastest growing companies in the country in 2017 businesses had to book revenue growth of 180% over three years. But are Kiwi companies growing faster than … Read more
Incubators, accelerators, grants, tax credits – there are a dizzying array of taxpayer-funded subsidies available for business. But we could make it all simpler and more effective both for government and the businesses we want to target, says technology investor Rowan Simpson. Here in New Zealand, our local market is small so exports are critical … Read more
Cloud accounting technology company Xero just announced two things: a very positive half-year financial result, and that it is exiting the New Zealand stock exchange. Rebecca Stevenson considers what this means for our investment landscape. New Zealand cloud accounting firm Xero announced its half-year result today and it was a ripper for the company – and … Read more
They’re helping Mexican farmers grow sustainable coffee, but The Lucy Foundation’s next step is to give disabled Kiwis employment chances. Maria Slade caught up with founder Robbie Francis to find out how she is building a business model with inclusiveness at its core. Heaven knows how New Zealand would keep functioning if its citizens didn’t … Read more
Imagine having money or assets and not having to pay tax on them! Sounds like a dream right? But for the super wealthy, it can be very real. Rebecca Stevenson takes a dive into the muddy waters of offshore trusts. How is it that a Russian bank which collapsed owing billions was registered to a … Read more
Luxury brand Lonely is launching its first-ever maternity range, so co-founder Helene Morris talked to Jihee Junn about how and why it’s catering to mothers (as well as busting a couple of bra-based myths in the process). Last year, Auckland-based lingerie brand Lonely went viral for a simple ad campaign featuring two women in their … Read more
Jihee Junn visits Microsoft’s sprawling headquarters in Seattle to find out how the tech giant is clawing its way back to relevance. In Cupertino, California, Apple is on the verge of completing its mothership – a glistening monolith of immaculate Norman Foster design. Its seamless curves and wall-to-wall glass ruthlessly dominate the city’s landscape: a description … Read more
Social enterprises are everywhere right now. But what are they? And how do we make sure they are not just businesses exploiting a trendy term? Lawyer Steven Moe outlines how social enterprise can become a legitimate force for good. When the poet Robert Frost published his most famous poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ in 1916, … Read more
The price of kumara has soared in the past two years, so maybe it’s better to buy spuds? Data scientist Aaron Schiff was tired of trying to figure out how to get the best deals, so he built an app. At the supermarket (toddler in tow) I find it very hard to remember grocery prices, … Read more
Beef + Lamb NZ’s Nick Beeby responds to a recent Spinoff column predicting that synthetic proteins will lay waste to our farming sector. Food strategist Dr Rosie Bosworth is not wrong in her comment piece about the challenge ‘synthetic’ proteins pose to New Zealand’s agricultural sector – but sheep and beef farmers, and our exporters, … Read more
It’s been estimated to be worth $26 billion, with significant stakes in the forestry and fishing industries. But underneath the story of the Māori economy are also the humming small business stories in Frankie Apothecary and Huia Publishers, Rebecca Stevenson finds. The numbers bandied around are staggering. A 2013 report by BERL for Te Puni … Read more
Researcher Dr Jo Cribb writes about the difficulties faced by not-for-profit boards in an economy of start-ups and listed companies. For the thousands of New Zealand directors serving on the more than 100,000 not-for-profit (NFP) boards in New Zealand – that is an estimated one in 40 of us – being on the board is a … Read more
Bitcoin has experienced an unprecedented explosion in value over the past eight years. Here Richard Meadows outlines just what it is, and why the good times won’t last. In the winter of 1928, Joe Kennedy stopped to get his wingtips buffed on his way to the office. After the shoeshine boy finished, he offered the … Read more
Jihee Junn takes a look at some nifty graphs from ATEED’s latest report and gleans some interesting insights about the city’s economy and future. *Update: a previous version of this article used outdated information from ATEED regarding Auckland’s ethnic makeup. ATEED has now updated the graph and figures in its report. Last week, Auckland Tourism, … Read more
Minimum wages are going up – but when they do, Working for Families will go down. The Maxim Institute’s Alex Penk and Julian Wood weigh up the new Government’s wage policy. Raising the minimum wage will usher us forward into the glorious workers’ paradise – or it will grind the economy to a halt? These are … Read more
Pick up some flowers, drop off your laundry, and order in on a Friday night – Kiwi app LazyAz will do it all for you. Jihee Junn talks to its 19-year-old founder Aryaman Taore about making the most of the delivery craze. Back in the old days (ie: pre-2010), the dominant option for getting food … Read more
Last week on The Spinoff economic lawyer Chris Gillies called for Labour to rethink its opposition to investor-state dispute settlements, a key part of trade deals like the TPP. Quite the contrary, argues solicitor and TPP scholar Oliver Hailes: New Zealand is far better off without them. Buckle up, because the election result has reignited … Read more
House prices are how high now? Maria Slade takes a look behind an alarming graph and finds NZ’s housing ‘bubble’ may be overblown. Canadian commentator and investment adviser Hilliard McBeth alarmed the Twittersphere this week when he posted a graph showing New Zealand house prices 65 times higher than they were in 1970. This compares … Read more
‘Fake’ animal proteins are set to disrupt world markets – and much faster than our agriculture industry is anticipating, argues food strategist Dr Rosie Bosworth. New Zealand’s agricultural sector has been having a rough time of late. If waking up to a centre-left government wasn’t enough of a nightmare for most Kiwi farmers, then the … Read more
New Zealand recently topped an international study for ‘educating for the future’. But education futurist Frances Valintine says that, far from punching above our weight, our system is preparing students for a world that no longer exists. This week I found my 17-year-old son busy sanding (yes, with sandpaper) his name off his calculator, as … Read more
New Zealand’s trade policy could be set for a shakeup under the new Labour government. A likely target is investor-state dispute resolution provisions in New Zealand’s free trade agreements, which may go from status quo to status no. Chris Gillies explains why that’s not a good idea. Investor-state dispute resolution (ISDS) is a dispute … Read more
We are all over it, aren’t we, this election that won’t quit. But is it also bad for business? Kirk Hope of BusinessNZ asks whether a longer cycle between voting would be better for all of us. The last time New Zealand had a full debate about the pros and cons of a three-year parliamentary … Read more
It’s only been going since June, so how did startup Sharesies capture thousands of customers and millions of their hard-earned money? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Sharesies founder Sonya Williams to find out how they did it. Got a fiver? Want to make it a tenner? Up until earlier this year if you wanted to … Read more
Combining the power of US capital and Kiwi engineering, O2O2 Facewear is on the forefront of anti-pollution technology. Jihee Junn talks to CEO Dan Bowden about how the future of filtration is transparent. In densely populated megacities like Beijing, surgical face masks have become a regular sight. But despite their near ubiquity, woven cloth masks … Read more
If robots are going to be the accountants, what is the point of getting a degree? Rebecca Stevenson reports on the future of work, and finds old skills are getting a new relevance. Late last month 100 New Zealand companies including Xero, Fonterra, The Warehouse, Spark and Fisher & Paykel signed an open letter that … Read more