Business Is Boring

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pene Barton, CEO at Crimson Global Academy, and Olivia Dyet, founder and CEO at recruitment startup Empathix, delve into why people leaders are the unsung heroes of business. They discuss the essential blend of culture and strategy that defines effective leadership. The conversation highlights the potential for more diverse CEOs emerging from people operations, emphasizes the transformative impact of AI in leadership roles, and advocates for tools that enhance productivity in today's interconnected work environment.

Chanel Clark, a marketing leader and founder of The Marketing Club, shares her journey of building a vibrant community of 10,000 marketers across Australia and New Zealand. She emphasizes the importance of fostering genuine connections rather than just selling to a community. Chanel delves into the creative marketing strategies behind promoting a 'brain drink' and discusses the challenges of defining new market categories. Throughout, she highlights how active listening and shared experiences can enhance community building and ensure its sustainable growth.

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices