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.
Grant Thornton New Zealand’s latest NFP research paints a picture of an agile industry, but also indicates a breaking point is on the horizon for many organisations. Barry Baker, Partner and Co-Leader of Not for Profit services at Grant Thornton says, “The report clearly demonstrates the great work the sector has done over the last few years in creating more robust and financially secure organisations, but it also uncovers some major gaps that will ultimately prevent many from delivering on their purpose”. Not for Profit organisations have seen a raft of legislative changes in recent years, with more to come. “Engagement with, and understanding of certain legislative changes has been unexpectedly low,” says Baker. “For example, nearly a quarter of
Malaysia is a diverse and emerging market full of potential. This INCITE guide is intended for food and drink brands looking for export led growth in Malaysia. Malaysia offers significant export led growth opportunities for food and drink brands, a cosmopolitan Southeast Asian nation with a population of 32 million. Known for its diversity, Malaysia is made up of three main ethnicities; Malay (67.4%), Chinese-Malays (24.6%), Indians-Malays (7.3%) and Others (0.7%). This blend of cultures has led to Malaysia having the one of the most diverse cuisines available in the region. Indeed, food is at the centre of the Malaysian culture. So much so that Malaysians tend to greet people by asking ‘Have you eaten?’ rather than the traditional “Hello”. Malaysia’s rich
Structural and civil engineering firm Batchelar McDougall Consulting took out the top award at the recent Ignite Wānaka Business Excellence Awards. The local firm was acknowledged for its impressive company growth, strong customer relationships and R&D investment and its focus on staff and robust governance at the Awards, run by Ignite Wānaka Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Milford Asset Management. Batchelar McDougall also won the Outstanding in Professional Services category. WAI Wānaka chair and Criffel Station co-owner Mandy Bell was awarded the Outstanding Individual award (sponsored by Cardrona Alpine Resort). More than 200 people attended the awards gala dinner, which took place at Rippon Hall. Winners were selected by an independent panel of local judges: Wayne Hudson (convenor), Ann
Half of New Zealand’s SMEs report multiple digital solutions are hindering, not helping, business. A new MYOB survey has revealed that businesses are wasting $334m annually on unused digital tools. New Zealand’s small and medium sized enterprises are collectively investing half a billion dollars ($501m) each year on digital solutions to help improve business operations. However, half of these businesses are finding some of these tools are in fact hindering them, according to new research from business management platform, MYOB. In a survey of more than 500 New Zealand SMEs, half say they are currently experiencing ‘bad digitisation’ – where some of their business management software apps and tools are running in silos, rather than seamlessly integrating with each other. The research
Education Perfect is a Kiwi global education company that has experienced impressive growth in 2021/22. Its CEO Alex Burke shares the top five fundamentals driving that growth. Over the past two years Education Perfect has employed an additional 100 people across 12 countries and expanded its service offering into a further 38 countries, bringing the total to 80. In mid-2021 it completed a successful investment deal, with global firm KKR taking a majority stake in the company, to the value of more than NZ$450 million. While many tech companies were handed a ‘blessing in disguise’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which sped up the world-wide digital revolution. More people are spending time online working, learning, socialising and transacting.
Want to build relationships with your ideal international clients? Cynthia Dearin has four steps that will help get you started.
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.
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