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.
A new four-day week pilot is underway, as over 30 companies and almost 1000 workers across Australia and New Zealand get an extra day per week back with no loss of pay. The six-month coordinated trial, run by non-profit 4 Day Week Global, operates off the 100-80-100™ model where workers get 100% of the pay for 80% of the time, in exchange for a commitment to maintaining at least 100% of the output. Participating companies operate across a diverse range of industries, offering services in the manufacturing, fashion, healthcare, real estate, finance, technology, education and PR sectors, to name but a few. In New Zealand the companies include Cook Costello Limited, Haemata Limited, Kowtow Clothing and BVT Engineering Professional Services’
Brett Ashley shares four key actions to help business owners and leaders create greater resilience and buoyancy in business teams. Owning or managing a business will provide many challenges but once you have made that decision, the biggest challenge will be understanding your role as a leader. The first question you need to ask yourself is what type of leader do you want to become? I believe that we all have the ability to become effective leaders of people, and that leaders are created, not born. But to be both an effective and successful leader you have to be prepared to commit to a number of personal and organisational beliefs. Firstly, effective leaders need to understand the difference between leading
For many business owners social media has a reputation for being ‘too hard’ and a ‘time-wasting pain’. Christine Westbury is on a mission to change this perception. “We are noticing that businesses who are leveraging social media for story-telling, brand building and employment attraction are standing out among the crowd,” shares Christine Westbury. “The truth is, social media has evolved the way we perceive and learn about businesses. People want to see the humans behind a brand, who they will be working with and the ‘good’ they are doing in the world.” A human-centric approach to social media helps employee recruitment, too. This has been a major headache for many businesses over the past 18+ months and it’s been difficult
Businesses must view digital capabilities and platforms as an investment that strengthens their offering. Damon Kelly explains the how’s and why’s. Technology has rapidly integrated itself into every aspect of our lives these past few years – whether it’s the way we work, order food, shop, or even communicate. New Zealand’s move to digital has been fast-tracked by the pandemic, with every four percent growth in tech sector creating $2.7 billion additional GDP. But what does this new digital wave mean for Kiwi businesses? It means that enhancing your digital capabilities and presence is now even more essential to staying relevant in a competitive market. Large enterprises have always been ahead of the pack when it comes to digital transformations
In finally hosting its annual Event Awards Gala Evening, the NZ Event Association has experienced first-hand the frustration, heartbreak, challenges, and ultimately triumphs faced by its members over the past two years. As the events industry emerges from a long Covid-induced hiatus, the NZEA has announced the winners of its 2021 Awards after its premier gathering finally took place in Napier, more than 15 months and four postponements later. An enthusiastic crowd of nearly 350 event professionals from across the country made the trip to Napier to celebrate the industry’s best. It was a great night out much anticipated after so much disruption for the sector to celebrate excellence, innovation, resilience and evolution in New Zealand’s world-class events industry. The
Hospitality, fashion and luxury retail are at greatest risk as Kiwi consumers reduce non-essential spending, leading companies to rethink their customer propositions and omni-channel offerings. Consumer confidence in New Zealand has taken a hit in 2022, leading consumers to restrict non-essential spending amid some of the world’s highest levels of concern about COVID-19, rising inflation and other global events. The findings are drawn from Boston Consulting Group’s inaugural New Zealand Consumer Sentiment Survey, which is part of the firm’s global consumer sentiment series. Phillip Benedetti (pictured), a BCG managing director and partner and head of the firm’s New Zealand office, said New Zealand consumers showed a higher level of concern than those in most other markets surveyed around the world.
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.
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