Business Is Boring

If you take a step back and look at it, it is kind of bananas that New Zealand went from no real cafe culture, to having a coffee so associated with down-under - the flat white -now ubiquitous around the world.This episode of Business is Boring talks to a man who has as much to do with bringing great coffee here, and then taking that back to the world, as anyone else in the country. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 R&D programme leader Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier.Did you know that there is a local pharmaceutical company in the second stage of trials to use ketamine to treat depression - and that they're looking for people to participate in the trial? Well, here's a podcast for you dear listener. For this week's Business is Boring we meet two of the 800 workers at a very under-the-radar local drug maker. You might be surprised to know New Zealand has a big Pharma company, and you could also be forgiven for not knowing at all that it was almost sold off, but in this half hour chat we learn about the history, current work and future plans of Douglas Pharmaceuticals.Douglas is a family-owned drug giant, that since 1967 has grown from a company making generic drugs once they fell out of patent- which is more of a difficult process than that makes that sound - to now be researching new uses for previously proven safe drugs. The company does upwards of $250m a year, with the bulk of that as exports, and was almost sold a few years ago before deciding there was a future, here.Part of that future is bringing new talent on board, and a strong R&D programme, led by Dr Peter Surman, the Chief Scientific Officer and 23 year member of the company. This podcast chats to him and Simone Hollier, a New Product Portfolio Analyst, who Douglas took on through an R&D experience grant that is available through Callaghan Innovation (a grant that many companies are able to access). To find out more about getting students into your research, the growth of the company, and making drugs, here, please enjoy this chat with Dr Peter Surman and Simone Hollier. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Flamingo Scooters CEO and co-founder's Nick Hyland and Jacksen Love.Around Auckland lately, and Wellington for a little longer, you might have noticed a bunch of bright pink scooters popping up, and this week’s Business is Boring podcast meets the two twenty-something kiwi guys behind this company. It’s no trivial feat to launch such an enterprise, especially when you are taking on some of the world’s biggest and best funded companies. How do they do it?Co-Founders Nick Hyland and Jacksen Love of Flamingo Scooters first got properly started in Wellington, where, after a long process, Wellington Council approved two scooter companies to take part in an 18 month trial to see how last-mile mobility could work for the Capital. One was Jump, a division of mega transport company Uber, one of the biggest companies in the world, and one was Flamingo, New Zealand owned, and run by two blokes in their 20s. Their brand is a vibrant pink, it uses the same high quality Segway scooters as Jump (better than the Lime ones many might be familiar with) and they do some cool things like offering free helmets for users, and some rigorous rules around safety and parking.They launched in Wellington in the middle of June, and at the end of July launched their full fleet of 500 odd scooters on the streets of Auckland.The chat this week covers how it was that two chaps came to be taking on the big players, what it takes to get something like this going, and what is next for Flamingo Scooters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Vaka Interactiv CEO and co-founder Jesse Armstrong.This week’s Business is Boring podcast talks with an entrepreneur who is changing the way that stories, especially Māori and Pasifika stories, are told in museums, art and business. In a half hour chat with CEO Jesse Armstrong we hear about how they founded their company, Vaka Interactive, landed their idea for pictures that talk to you, got into Te Papa’s cultural idea accelerator and ended up making a piece of technology that would fit right into a Harry Potter movie.Their idea traces back to a visit to a museum, and a realisation they had, that although museums have come a long way in some ways, a lot of what goes on is still quite passive. There’ll be an exhibit and maybe a little bit of text to explain it. And the bits of text, to contextualise all these items with so many stories, are so often dry and lifeless. They thought, ‘Imagine if these things could tell you, really tell you, all their stories, and what if you could ask them questions?’ And then they found a way to make it happen.Vaka Interactiv create the technology and visual storytelling for talking pictures that you might find in museums, and other places or businesses with stories to tell. Their product looks like a normal photo, and then, Harry Potter like, they notice you watching and start telling you the story. There are first steps at being able to prompt them and ask questions, and the technology is being used by artists and museums to bring exhibits to life.The company call this technology Culture Lens, and it is the stories of Māori and Pasifika culture that the founders are particularly excited to capture and share. CEO and co-founder Jesse Armstrong joined the podcast to talk the journey through founding, their time at Mahuki, the Te Papa innovation accelerator, how the whole team moved to Wellington, how access to funding and support (thanks Callaghan Innovation) helped them create this mix of art and science, and the growth to today, including great advice for people wanting to make their own impact around capturing and sharing the stories that make this country special. Ka rawe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Helen Dorresteyn , co-founder of Clevedon Buffalo.40 minutes south of Auckland you’ll find the Clevedon Farmers Markets on every Sunday, with a bustling collection of local growers, farmers and artisan food suppliers, and while all this is a firm favourite now it wasn’t that long ago it was nothing but an inkling in the mind of today’s guest.Helen Dorresteyn had seen the trend towards farmers markets overseas and thought we should be able to do that here, too. She went around the neighbourhood, got support from the locals and set up the Clevedon Farmers Markets, however there was one thing she couldn’t find, and that was a great local cheesemaker.So her husband, an industrial electrician, decided to put his hand up to fill the gap, and they thought they’d try to make that lovely buffalo cheese that they’d so enjoyed in Italy.How hard could it be? Well, quite hard as it turned out, but very rewarding.Since creating the Clevedon Buffalo Company they’ve gone on to win multiple awards, become a mainstay in our best kitchens and be one of the anchors of the still thriving Clevedon Markets today.To talk making things happen, the journey and cheese, co-founder Helen Dorresteyn joined the podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Dr Shaun Holt, creator of Honevo.New Zealand honey is some pretty wondrous stuff, many will be familiar with manuka honey's clinically proven qualities, but it doesn't stop there. Today's story is about a serial entrepreneur who turned a medical and research background into a clinically proven kānuka honey product. When you hear that a product is all natural, yet as effective as a synthesised pharmaceutical product, you might find your skepticism rising, which is why today's guest went out and created a groundbreaking study, recently reported in the British Medical Journal Open, to prove his product's case.Utilising a network of pharmacies, Dr Shaun Holt got his Honevo cold sore gel, made from 90% kānuka honey, into the hands of hundreds of cold sore sufferers. In a huge trial they proved that their product was as effective as the market leader gold standard incumbent, and tasted a lot nicer too! This success traces back quite a long way, Dr Shaun Holt is a trained pharmacist, doctor; successful author and a serial entrepreneur who started and exited a clinical research company and a research overview service before setting his sights on the pharmaceutical industry, where the spoils are large, but the cost of entry can be mindboggling. To talk the journey, the many steps leading to today, and what's next, Dr Shaun Holt of HoneyLab joined the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Ben Nathan, CEO and Founder of Container Door.You might have, like I have, got an email out-of-the-blue from a friend asking you if you'd be keen to grab a piece of outdoor furniture, or a scooter, or a mattress comfort overlay thingy, or pretty much anything you can think of, in order to help them fill up a container and get theirs and yours sent to you for a price way under what you'd normally pay.And then, like me, you've probably gone to the website to find out what on earth they are on about and found a lot of things you weren't previously aware you were in the market for, but look pretty good and very well priced.And then you've probably fired off one of those emails off yourself to another friend. If you're still with me and don't know what I'm on about... the website is called Container Door, and it is an ingenious idea from a long-time entrepreneur with an eye for: what people like, value for money and the power of a brand at a good price. Ben Nathan is the CEO and Founder of Container Door, and prior to that has taken many of the best known brands in New Zealand apparel and found new homes, wider markets and new opportunities for them. If you've been keeping an eye on fashions for a while you'd know the brands Norsewear and Hero, Principals and Barkers Men's clothing, all having found new leases of life with Ben.To talk the journey, the power of a brand and sourcing things people just need to have, Ben joined the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Angela Lim, co-founder and CEO of a free, online mental health platform called Clearhead.Mental Health is a crisis in this country, and there is welcome news of 1.9 billion of new funding in the latest budget, but right now, services are stretched. Finding the right care, at the right time, is a challenge. Knowing how to navigate the system is a challenge. Even knowing when to reach out for help, and where to do that is hard. The whole system itself is set up on a reactive model, but as with all health and fitness, preventative and proactive is better than reactive. So how do we do this with mental health care?Well, questions like these, and more, have led to today’s guest starting a new venture, creating an AI chatbot that helps to mimic a GP consult, but creating an atmosphere and feeling of a chat with a knowledgable friend. It helps to increase people’s comfort in sharing information, and sends people to the right places for the assistance they need next. It’s called Clearhead, it’s in market now, and making a difference from the get go. To chat the journey, the need and what’s next, co-founder, CEO and Dr, Angela Lim joined the podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 John Henderson, partner at Airtree.One thing that we talk about a lot on this show is what it takes to make an idea successful, but one part that doesn't always get raised, but that is perhaps one of the top factors, is getting the access to the right capital at the right time. Not getting access to the funds at the right time to grow equals failure. Getting capital that demands you do the wrong things spells trouble. Getting capital and not spending it well spells trouble.It is an industry where one win can carry ten losses, and changes in markets, technology and personnel can turn a sure fire bet into a tanker, and vice versa.It's an area that fascinates. People like the team from A16Z have done a great job in popularizing the founder centric VC and approach, and the way some of their influences have been portrayed on shows like Silicon Valley mean that the VC process in pop culture is seen as a big exciting chase. But what's it really like? What kind of people can do it? And if you are a company with a big dream how do you get a top VC behind you?Well this Business is Boring guest is here to help. John Henderson is a partner at one of Australasia's leading VC firms, Airtree. They have investments in great companies like 90 Seconds Canva, Prospa and Joyous. John came back to Australia after being a founding Principal at transatlantic venture firm White Star Capital where they invested in well known companies like Dollar Shave Club, and he got into VC through being part of successful companies like Summly and Facebook, and early in his career, management consulting. T o talk what it's like and how it works, John joined the podcast. Listen below for the full interview, and see below for a short transcribed excerpt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Kate Gwilliam, CEO of feedstock solution, Zeddy.We all know we can't simply put more animals onto land to grow the economy, the country needs clever ways to maximise the returns from dairy and other animal farming practices. One person who knows this better than most of us, and is doing a lot more to help, is today's guest, Kate Gwilliam.Kate moved from a job as project manager in, Auckland to the Manawatu, making a big life change taking on a 450 strong cattle herd. Together with her husband Tom, neither with a background in farming, they made their farm a tech-first endeavour, including full automation in the calf shed, farm sensors and computer-based reporting systems. And with this experience, Kate got involved with an automated feedstock solution, Zeddy, that uses RFID to deliver just the right amount of feed to every animal on the farm.It's award-winning tech, and with her as CEO they have a model ready to sell to the world, that they'll be sharing at Fielddays happening the week this episode comes out. To talk the journey, what life is like on the farm, and using tech to make thing better, Kate joined the podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices