Eric Clark, CEO of Manhattan Associates, believes complexity is becoming a permanent part of the operating environment. Clark discusses why that can create opportunity, what other industries can learn from retail, and how technology and AI can help businesses manage it.
Two years after leaving corporate life, Josh Burgisser built Burgs Digital into a full-stack marketing agency. He talks to David Nothling-Demmer about the attention economy, why video isn’t optional for small businesses showing up online, and convincing his own father to become a client.
Kiwi innovation meets smart marketing. Telescopicgoal is transforming the way football is played and trained around the world, all with a clever, adjustable aluminium goal and a creative, targeted approach to reaching customers.
More than 60 exhibitors, 75 speakers, leading franchise brands and 1,600 attendees are expected at Due Drop Events Centre this September.
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.
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
As New Zealand’s small businesses emerge from two years of sporadic lockdowns and restrictions on trade, many may now be at risk of not having adequate insurance in place. The environment is ripe for small business owners being underinsured – where you don’t have enough insurance to cover a loss – and they may need to be on high alert to not get caught out. “Insurance is not a set-and-forget product. It covers the risk of what a business faces, which is constantly changing,” says Jane Mason, Head of Product, Channels & Risk for SME insurance platform BizCover. “There are many risks in the current operating landscape for small businesses, and with it changes the amount of risk they take
Empathy, pragmatism and playing the long game are key in current lease negotiations. Damian Botherway offers this useful guide to leasing for business owners. The Covid pandemic has caused economic turmoil for business the effects of which are likely to be felt for some time yet. The vast majority of SMBs operate from leased premises and it goes without saying that the effects of this uncertain landscape are spilling over to both tenants and landlords. What we are seeing as this pandemic rolls along are businesses suffering reduced turnover, reduced business confidence and a softening in demand for commercial rental space as businesses close or relocate. Putting aside the specific terms of Deed of Lease for a moment there is
Webflicks Founder/Producer Lou Harness shares ten ways to prepare for your on-camera appearance. In this age of remote working and digital-first communication we’re all on-camera now more than ever before – whether we like it or not. From the now ubiquitous video conferencing, webinar panels and shoot and share social video through to brand video featuring employees – video is everywhere in business. And while we’re all pretty down with Zoom or the odd candid social moment, it’s another thing when you need to face the camera for website brand or evergreen video projects. We’ve interviewed an incredible range of people – from Founder and CEO level through to private individuals on deeply personal subjects. Some people are naturally confident and articulate
West Coast eco-business Glacier Valley Eco Tours suffered a major hit during Covid’s lockdowns. DOC’s Jobs for Nature initiative proved to be a lifesaver for its owners. Tash and Cliff Goodwin from Glacier Valley Eco Tours are passionate about their backyard. While the borders were closed due to Covid-19, they were quietly working together with other businesses and organisations to maintain and enhance their local environment. Development West Coast (DWC) chief executive Heath Milne says it has been an incredibly difficult couple of years for businesses in Glacier Country, who have been hard hit by the border closures. “During the downturn many local businesses have been putting in hard mahi through Department of Conservation’s Jobs for Nature programme as well
A new $20 million fund and incubation initiative designed to address the high failure rate of New Zealand startups with a social or environmental purpose has launched. According to latest Government data, startup survival rates in New Zealand, including those with a social imperative, have declined by 45 percent over the past six years – a trend that began prior to the current pandemic.[1] Nous Labs, a new organisation which provides investment, mentoring, coaching and marketing support for environmentally and socially focused Kiwi enterprises in their early stages of growth, is the creation of Brianne West founder and CEO of the country’s largest regenerative beauty product exporter, Ethique. West (pictured) says it is critical Kiwi startups which are purpose-led be
Upcoming event
Wednesday 11 November 2026 | 7:00am – 9:30am
📍 New Zealand International Convention Centre, 101 Hobson Street, Auckland
One week after the election, Ready to Rise returns for ‘After the Result’ to help Kiwi SME owners plan ahead for their next bold move, and hard-won growth. Get your tickets for this must-attend business breakfast.
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
