PowerUp Podcast Season Four – Trailblazing Taranaki tales unwrapped

Graham Nelson is at the heart of entrepreneurism in Taranaki, in more ways than one. He is the founder of Manifold Coworking space, which regularly hosts dozens of founders, remote workers, and digital nomads. He’s also a founder of Doso, a start up support organisation helping people bring their ideas to life.

Graham has his finger on the pulse of the Taranaki work environment. Both Manifold and Doso have become hugely popular, which speaks to the vibrant business scene and how his mahi has enabled the modern generation of work.

Originally from Ireland, Graham talks about how he ended up in Taranaki and how he transitioned from his work as a designer into being a business founder and an enabler for startups and working professionals.

VizLink is a clever business based on a simple problem – how hard it is to communicate things using just words. Gemma Adams started the business to give farmers simple maps of their land and other tools to help with communication and planning. 

It’s a perfect fit for her – Gemma has a design background, is a dairy farmer, and is also dyslexic. She would often struggle to understand people because of the way her brain was wired, but she discovered how visual communication is a great leveller that puts people on the same page.

This episode highlights the journey of VizLink, from the first moment of inspiration through to making it an international business. Gemma’s done it all while working on the farm, raising a family and ensuring she has a life outside of work.

Simon Singh, founder and CEO of Learner Me, was the kind of nine year old that dreamed of being CEO of an IT company. He’s now living that dream, with a handful of different tech businesses that are all focused on solving problems.

This episode goes into the mind of a serial entrepreneur, from starting a business in his teens to boldly asking his mentor if he could buy his business. Simon climbed the tech ladder from the bottom to the top and has the experience and life lessons to show for it.

Simon talks about the secrets to his success, the inspiration behind some of his ventures, and how he went from a self-described “dreamer” to actually making it happen.