The Good Day Matrix

In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and innovators working on our next generation of new business startups, social enterprises and small businesses.

At a glance

Founder: Daz Burns

Business: The Good Day Matrix

Founded: 2017

HQ: Waikato

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

The Good Day Matrix kaupapa is to see thriving wellbeing in Aotearoa, everyday. Our dream is for every Kiwi to be inspired to positively impact and change their world.

Our free to access website, shares authentic stories from amazing humans across Aotearoa, to challenge perspectives, raise awareness and inspire curiosity to build sustainable and thriving wellbeing, everyday in Aotearoa.

We also share Pilates, HIIT, Yoga, Self Defence and Cooking videos with our amazing experts.

We are a purpose led organisation, so in order to deliver a free platform, we have three revenue streams to support our model:

1) We mahi with businesses throughout Aotearoa to support their workplace wellbeing to thrive sustainably, by:

Building Bespoke Wellbeing Strategies
Delivering Epic Wellbeing Workshops and Programs
Facilitating High Impact Wellbeing Festivals

2) We partner with amazing organisations and businesses who financially support the development of our content.

3) We mahi with Startups and Small to Medium businesses under our Lift55 brand to support organisations to thrive sustainably, with:

Digital Marketing and Social Media Support
Website Development
Photography and Videography
Content Production and Creation
Leadership Development
Coaching and mentoring
Business Growth

A big ongoing focus is advocating for wellbeing in Aotearoa. Challenging those in powerful and influential positions to push for positive change and equitable outcomes for everyone.

What’s the backstory for your business idea?

After her son’s birth in 2017, our founder Daz was lost, overwhelmed and disconnected. She had no idea how to dig herself out of the proverbial hole she was in. What started as seven friends exercising in her garage to get some confidence back, soon turned out to be an epiphany that wellbeing is a matrix of elements intersecting and working together to help you thrive, not just your body, but your mind, identity, community and environment.

Fast forward to now and enter The Good Day Matrix. A social good company. Our primary goal is to positively impact people’s lives and after five years of iterations and development, we get to give everyone our wellbeing platform, FREE, because wellbeing is not a product, a booty band or a destination you reach. Wellbeing is an ongoing journey you chip away at as you learn more about yourself and we are 100% here to support that hikoi.

What programmes, learning or mentoring have been of assistance so far?

Daz was part of the Soda Inc Lift Program where she had an amazing mentor, Tara Lorigan, who really honed in on her self confidence. Daz refers to herself as an “accidental founder” who needed help with her personal wellbeing and in the process was able to really harness her two key values of ‘connection’ and ‘usefulness’ to help so many more people in their own wellbeing journey.

Daz has had amazing opportunities to meet people like Marc Randolph, the Co-Founder of Netflix and Celebrity trainers from the United States. Along with so many key business legends here in Aotearoa like Theresa Gattung, Malcolm Rands and Catherine van der Meulen to strengthen her knowledge and challenge her thinking beyond anything she thought she was capable of delivering and leading.

Daz also received R&D Funding from Callaghan Innovation in 2019.

There are so many books Daz recommends, you can follow our @Lift55nz instagram account for monthly book reviews, but as a starting point, you can not go wrong with:

Anything Brene Brown, but especially ‘Dare to Lead’
‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear
‘Unleashing Greatness’ by David Galbraith
Anything from Adam Grant, but I particularly loved ‘Originals’
‘Start with Why’ by Simon Sinek
‘Mindset’ by Dr. Carol Dweck

A great resource in the early days was the app, Masterclass, where Daz watched and learned from legends like Sara Blakely, Chris Voss and Bob Iger. But there is no better resource than an amazing support team, who you build over time who bring their own sizzle and experience to grow the vision.

At the end of the day, Daz’s advice to everyone is find out what your strengths are and dig deeper, strengthen them further, study, read, listen, watch, instigate conversations with people who can share their knowledge with you and take every opportunity to share your knowledge with others to hone your understanding and build your confidence.

A great big learning early in the piece for Daz was to not keep things close to her chest. To sunshine ‘failures’, treat her mahi as an experiment, actively seeking out challenging feedback that made her think wider and challenged her perspective. So, speak with people outside your ‘circle’, find people who know nothing about what you are working on and then pay attention to what happens when you explain your mahi to them. Kōrero as much as possible about the lessons you learn along the way to strengthen what you are creating and to develop your resilience as a leader and entrepreneur.