Articles
Insights and inspiration for entrepreneurs
Karma Drinks founder’s advice on resilience and pivoting, as company raises $2m capital
COVID-19 hasn’t stopped Kiwi organic drinks maker, Karma Drinks, raising money via online investment platform, Snowball Effect, to accelerate its New Zealand growth plans and ambitions for new product development (NPD). Co-founded in Grey Lynn, Auckland in 2012, the award-winning, organic and Fairtrade beverage company was formed with the vision to produce ethically sourced drinks […]
Skin cancer prevention app ends year with double win
Digital skin check platform Firstcheck has finished 2020 on a high, signing a deal to become the exclusive skin check partner with a major Australian insurance provider. The app provides digital telehealth skin checks by taking photos of a mole or spot. Next, the “skin selfies” are expertly assessed by registered local skin cancer doctors […]
Dunedin platform turning recruitment on its head
Otago-based Jobamatch is an alternative to traditional recruiting and job websites, with an easy-to-use platform that brings employers to job seekers, instead of the other way around. When COVID-19 began to take off in New Zealand, Investamatch Business Relationship Manager Clare Perry approached Otago’s Chamber of Commerce to see if the platform, one that connects […]
Southern solution to repel head lice once and for all
Dunedin startup Living Juicy aims to solve recurring head lice problems in Kiwi families with a solution that’s cheap, easy to apply, non-toxic – and comes with a personal touch. Though during much of this year it was hard to market to schools, Living Juicy founders Joseph (Joe) and Lawata Coote have spent 2020 building […]
Treetop adventure business emerges from lockdown with fresh ideas
Queenstown outdoor adventure business Ziptrek is finishing the year with a range of new business products and approaches, having learned lessons about resilience, innovation and ‘super-niches’ during lockdown. Lesson 1: look at using the infrastructure you already have to bring in new business, even if that means trying to put on a concert up in […]
Real Rad Food’s agile response to lockdown proves “game-changer”
While many Kiwi businesses are scrambling to stay afloat, Papamoa-based company, Real Rad Food, is doing better than ever, thanks to its swift and smart response to COVID-19 restrictions. 25-year-old founder, Hannah Mellsop, initially created the company in 2017 to help cafés provide healthy, allergen-friendly and beautiful sweet cabinet treats. But when lockdown hit, the […]
Profile: Surge Coach
Whanganui’s Surge Coach has deployed its own consulting-as-a-service (‘CaaS’) model in order to help more Kiwi organisations adopt agile management practises. As business agility coaches, Surge Coach helps businesses maximise organisational value by building internal capabilities. It differs from the traditional ‘lean’ consultants who often focus on ‘cutting the fat’ to increase efficiencies and become […]
NZ smarts brings renewable CO2 a step closer for growers
Wellington’s Hot Lime Labs has developed a new technology to increase greenhouse crop yields and reduce carbon footprints by turning waste wood into clean, sustainable CO2. Dr. Vlatko Materic might have given up on his business idea, now known as Hot Lime Labs, if not for a chance visit to a commercial tomato and capsicum greenhouse […]