Inside the room built to fix New Zealand’s tall poppy problem
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.
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.
Demand for Tapuwae Roa’s Tupu Accelerator keeps climbing, with a new cohort of ten high-growth Māori-founded ventures welcomed for the programme’s third consecutive year.
A new Christchurch start-up wants to turn the security cameras already watching your warehouse into a real-time safety system that spots risk before it becomes an incident.
As New Zealand businesses face mounting productivity pressure, new research from 2degrees shows AI is already delivering measurable gains for SMEs. From streamlining operations to unlocking new growth opportunities, the challenge now is turning early experimentation into lasting business impact.
The 14th Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) recently concluded in Sydney with strengthened trans-Tasman commitments in multiple fields.
A recent survey of EMA members showed that 100 percent of responding employers with vacancies were struggling to fill them.
BOINZ 2022 Conference & Exhibition has a great line up of speakers this year! We look forward to seeing you at this fantastic industry event where the opportunity for networking and collaborating in person is happening once again. Rotorua, August 8th-10th, 2022 Registration closes at 5pm on Sunday 17 July register today to secure your spot at our conference.
Price is only one lever in a good negotiation. Are you considering all the other facets you could use during a negotiation? Boost your negotiation skills to create more value and build win-win partnerships with our one-day immersive workshop – Negotiating with Confidence. This workshop offers fundamental and practical negotiation techniques applicable to negotiation in many contexts and situations. Participants will gain hands-on experience in a risk-free and interactive environment. For more info, please read the brochure here – Negotiating with Confidence. Location: Hyundai Marine Sports Centre, 8/10 Tamaki Drive, Okahu Bay, Auckland 1071 Date: 25 Aug 2022 Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm This workshop will be facilitated by Michael Fooks, Indicator Head Trainer.
Self-employed New Zealanders are losing around two million hours a week (approximately $3.2 billion per year) in productivity, due to the burden of tax and financial administration. Meanwhile 75 percent believe the 2022 Budget would have either zero or a negative effect on their business, according to the latest results from the independent Sole Trader Pulse survey. Sole traders are a significant part of New Zealand’s economy, making up almost 20 percent of the workforce. The independent survey, commissioned by Hnry, also reveals many have a pessimistic outlook on the economy’s health, with just over 40 percent saying conditions will be poor, or very poor, in six months’ time. James Fuller (pictured), CEO and co-founder of accountancy firm Hnry, says despite increased earnings
Rubber Monkey has launched a NZ$2.5m capital raise to fund further Australian expansion and drive growth. Rubber Monkey, the e-commerce platform for creatives, is seeking to raise up to NZ$2.5m of new capital through online investment platform, Snowball Effect, to expand its Australian presence and drive its growth plans. The company was founded through a shared passion for music and film by Laurence Alexander and Nigel Stanford, former TradeMe CEO and Mighty Ape major shareholder. Laurence and Nigel identified the opportunity to create a specialist offering for the creative community. Rubber Monkey brings industry-leading audio, visual and photography products to New Zealand and Australian shores at competitive prices with superior customer service. It has more than 94,000 products listed on
Upcoming event
Thursday 30 July 2026 | 7:00am – 9:00am
📍 Covert Theatre, 51 Mackelvie Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland
Everyone talks about the importance of business strategy, but what does it actually mean in practice? Strategy trainer Ryan Sproull cuts through the jargon to give SME owners a clear, practical framework for thinking strategically about their business.
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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