From a bunk bed to 20 years in business
Where are they now? Brolly Sheets Founder Diane Hurford on 20 years of bed-wetting, bandanas and building a business that stuck.
Where are they now? Brolly Sheets Founder Diane Hurford on 20 years of bed-wetting, bandanas and building a business that stuck.
Some of New Zealand’s most influential science, business and policy figures will gather in Auckland next week to grapple with a question that has dogged the country for decades: How does New Zealand turn its ideas into lasting prosperity?
Leading a multi-national company takes guts, hard work and determination but without good governance, structure, and processes there is risk for shareholders – no matter how hard you work.
New Zealand’s leaders are shrinking their own ambitions in isolation. Revved Co-founder Rochelle Moffitt wants to put them in a room together instead.
Taupō’s The Cozy Corner isn’t just a café, it’s a community hub where inclusivity, wellness, and sustainability meet. With a menu that caters to every dietary need, a great team culture, and a commitment to values-driven business, owner Camilla Baker has built an eco-friendly café that sets the standard for hospitality with heart.
New Zealand small businesses are facing one of the biggest shifts in customer discovery since the rise of Google Search, as AI-powered tools change how consumers find, compare and choose who to hire.
More than 80 percent of people don’t independently verify AI-generated information. As AI becomes the first place customers go for answers, that trust is creating a new challenge for New Zealand businesses.
We’re told the economy and the environment are locked in a trade-off. Autex’s Jonathan Mountfort says that’s a false choice, and shows how circular thinking is already building a healthier version of both.
New Zealand research into scientist-entrepreneurs has identified an “IP paradox”: Intellectual property is seen as essential to start-up success, yet often experienced as a costly, complex barrier. Here’s what the findings mean for founders, investors and the wider SME community.
AI is having its “peak hype” moment, but beneath the noise there is a very practical question most New Zealand business owners are asking: Will this actually help my business run better, or is it just another shiny tech distraction?
Most of the AI conversation right now is about what the technology will eventually do for everyone. Not much of it covers what you should actually start doing, this week, to make sure your business can use any of it. Let’s change that.
Keynote speaker, educator, author, recording artist and Solo Meo Award winner Julia Grace, has turned her mental health journey into inspiring talks, workshops, and performances across New Zealand and beyond. She’s also made a success of being an entrepreneur in the process.
Setting a big, bold goal feels like strategy. It isn’t. Ryan Sproull explains why picturing success can actually work against you, and what to do instead.
After a punishing economic cycle Kiwi businesses are emerging into something of a stabilisation period. Cautiously optimistic, past the worst, but with operating costs still biting and reinvestment held back. Why the next six months will define the recovery, and what business owners need to be doing in that period.
New data from Employment Hero shows New Zealand’s small and medium business sector continuing to add headcount in May, even as wage growth stalled completely on an annual basis, highlighting a labour market where businesses are growing cautiously rather than competing hard for talent on pay.
Turning a dreaded parenting challenge into a science-powered solution, ISpy Nits is making head lice detection accurate, stigma-free, and even fun for kids, and in the process earning Kate Ricketts a well-deserved David Award.
After burnout and a corporate career, Nikki Taylor started her own business at 44, and discovered that midlife isn’t a crisis, but a chance for clarity, on what kind of work, and life, actually fits.
New Zealand’s productivity gap with countries like Finland isn’t about effort, it’s about clarity. Elliot Royce argues that as businesses grow, complexity quietly crowds out a shared understanding of what actually creates value, turning productivity into a symptom rather than the real problem.
A pilot programme’s runaway demand has exposed just how many promising New Zealand startups are being turned away by traditional bank lending.
New Zealand’s sustainable innovators remain confident about growth, but a new report shows many are struggling to access the capital and conditions needed to actually scale.
New Zealand’s small business productivity has flatlined, with the country continuing to trail Australia and the UK, even as Deloitte’s latest CFO survey shows finance leaders remain confident about growing their businesses despite economic uncertainty.
Solar retailer Lodestone Energy is opening up its “virtual rooftop” solar product to residential and small business customers for the first time, choosing Hawke’s Bay as the launch region for its new EASY Plan.
New Zealand tourism businesses are committed to becoming more sustainable, but new research shows the journey from good intentions to genuine change is anything but straightforward.
Spacebar Design won Most Innovative Business at The David Awards 2025, also taking out the Supreme Award, recognition that cements its role as a trailblazer in sustainable interior design.
New Zealand’s longest-running sustainability awards programme is calling for entries, with expanded categories and a direct pathway to a global million-pound prize.
Kiwibank has become the first New Zealand bank to roll out open banking across all its digital channels for both individual and business customers, delivering most of the data‑sharing capability required by regulators six months ahead of its statutory deadline.
Christchurch’s Tait Communications has been named PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year at the 2026 NZ Hi-Tech Awards, capping a record-breaking night for New Zealand’s third-largest export sector.
Full-scale loyalty programmes are expensive, complex and slow to roll out, but a gift card programme can deliver many of the same benefits in a fraction of the time, and customers pay you upfront for the privilege.
Inside MOXX Brands, the Kiwi FMCG company growing at 512 percent and rewriting the export playbook in the process.
Hawke’s Bay’s Rockit has landed one of China’s most bankable celebrities as its brand ambassador.
Tuesday, 27 September 2022 You’re invited to a special event where they will present the findings and host a lively panel discussion with guest importers and distributors from across the region. Date: Tuesday, 27 September 2022 Time: 2pm NZT / 11am AEST (75 mins) Ticket price: $39 USD (Promo Code: The code to access free tickets is NZBMGUEST when registering by 22 Sept) Register: www.exportincite.com/products/anz-event-27sep(link is external)
For the fourth consecutive year, Incite has surveyed their network of over 1,900 leading food and beverage importers and distributors across Southeast and North Asia to get insights on the state of the industry. You’re invited to a special event where they will present the findings and host a lively panel discussion with guest importers and distributors from across the region. Date: Tuesday, 27 September 2022 Time: 2pm NZT / 11am AEST (75 mins) Ticket price: $39 USD (Promo Code: The code to access free tickets is NZBMGUEST when registering by 22 Sept) Register: www.exportincite.com/products/anz-event-27sep(link is external) This event will be of value to anyone with an interest in the Southeast and North Asian F&B sector. Results will be presented from Incites Annual Distributor
Bridget Scanlan’s Wellington-based start-up business is out to turn the daily diabetes experience on its head with a range of unique designer bags. Bridget Scanlan’s pancreas died when she was 20. Blurry vision and dramatic weight loss swiftly followed. It was a scary time, made more so by a confronting diagnosis she knew little about: Type 1 Diabetes. Overnight she went from independently producing insulin and regulating blood sugar, to manually handling dozens of blood sugar tests and insulin injections every day. It’s a similar story shared by millions of Type 1 Diabetics worldwide. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the world, affecting 422 million people globally – of which approximately five to ten percent are Type 1. Stanford University research
Australia’s online payments provider Pin Payments has recently expanded its offering to New Zealand SMBs. The strategic expansion comes less than two years after the Melbourne-based startup was acquired by global payments unicorn Checkout.com, which recently reached a $40 billion valuation. Pin Payments, which supports Aussie brands like PetRescue, Fig & Bloom, Finders Keepers and Obee, will now be able to provide the New Zealand small to medium business market with an online payments service that is quick to onboard. Chris Dahl (pictured), Co-CEO of Pin Payments, said New Zealand was the perfect location for the fintech’s expansion given it’s the natural stepping stone for many Australian businesses looking to grow overseas. “Banks in New Zealand can be somewhat risk-averse
Auckland Council recently celebrated its ongoing partnership with Papatoetoe-based charity and social enterprise Will&Able with an event at Auckland House. Will&Able, which provides cleaning products for Auckland Council’s offices, kitchens and cafeterias, is a charity dedicated to employing people with disabilities, who struggle to find permanent, fully paid employment elsewhere. Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the partnership will provide employment and livelihoods to people who might otherwise be excluded from the labour market. “Auckland Council’s support for Will&Able is part of our broader social procurement programme, which enables us to support wider social, economic, cultural, and environmental outcomes that go beyond the immediate purchase of goods and services, to generate positive outcomes and improve quality of life for our
A new report has identified four key ways to expedite New Zealand’s progress towards an efficient circular economy. The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and Grant Thornton New Zealand have released their joint report into the barriers New Zealand’s current financial system creates for meaningful progress towards a low carbon circular economy. The Circular Revolution backs the movement towards a circular economy in Aotearoa. However, their research reveals a lack of incentives for businesses to switch to more sustainable circular business models, and how our financial systems help perpetuate the country’s current linear economy. James Griffin, General Manager, Projects and Advisory at SBN explains: “The vast majority of businesses operate on a linear basis with a take, make, waste mindset. We take
Upcoming event
Thursday 24 September 2026 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm
📍 The Icehouse, Textile Centre, Level 4, 117 Saint Georges Bay Road, Auckland
If you’re looking to unlock capital to help your business grow then our Funding that Accelerates Your Business networking event and panel discussion on September 24 is for you.
Latest issue
Practical AI insights, Kiwi tech innovators, and the tools helping Kiwi SMEs compete on a global stage. It’s all packed into this special tech issue of NZBusiness.
Latest articles
