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.
Acron Plastics, a New Zealand thermoforming manufacturer, had been running as a fully paper-based business before adopting MRPeasy. We sat down with Business & Sales Manager Mark Wong to see how the company uses the system to structure orders, manage purchasing and inventory, and reduce the risk of missed jobs.
West Auckland’s Waitākere College has officially opened a new School of Business, founded and seeded by Just Life Group CEO Tony Falkenstein CNZM, with the goal of producing the country’s next wave of entrepreneurs from communities that have historically been overlooked by corporate New Zealand.
As AI rapidly shifts from experimentation to operational reality, AI start-up founder Dave Howden says the businesses that move first – and rethink how work gets done – will hold the advantage.
A new national productivity programme is aiming to back more than 4,000 Kiwi SMEs into AI adoption. But the most useful lesson for business owners, says ASB’s Ben Speedy, may be the simplest: Think small first.
Three decades behind the counter taught pharmacist turned entrepreneur Tim O’Donoghue that patients know exactly what they want. They just rarely get it. Now, with an FDA-listed product live on Amazon and a 14-strong self-care platform behind it, the Healthtex Co-founder is raising capital through PledgeMe and inviting Kiwi investors into a corner of the global pharmaceutical industry usually reserved for big backers.
Are under-performers holding back your sales team? Logan Wedgwood explains how the right discipline and structures can help the whole team succeed. What if an over-reliance on inspirational speakers is the reason your salespeople are failing? Motivation is often bandied around as what salespeople need. That kick in the ass, or coaching and mentoring. Inspirational words and support. But what if that isn’t true? Is a lack of motivation just an excuse for under-performance or laziness? What if what is really needed is discipline? You see, in my work as a consultant, all of the most successful salespeople I work with are disciplined, not motivated. The under-performers are the ones asking for motivation. The high performers show up and do
With online reviews now trusted more than ever before, Mat Wylie highlights the importance of building your business’s reputation both online and off. When you’re asked to name a good dentist, café, mechanic or any other kind of business, you’re being asked to stake your reputation against a previous experience. This happened recently in my neighbourhood’s online group. Someone asked for a good builder, and local people chipped in with suggestions of builders that do good work. Their recommendations reached an audience of hundreds of people who weighed up feedback about this company and were able to make a better decision because of it. The old idea that people would tell five others about a great experience and 25
Todd Westwood has advice on how to get your employees mentally match fit. In the workplace, mental health is sometimes more important than physical health. If a team member gets sick or injured, they take time off work. They’re expected to rest up, look after themselves, and return when well enough. From a business standpoint, it’s fairly straightforward. That’s what sick leave is there for. It’s a dollars-and-cents discussion, right? Mental health is another ball game altogether. If an employee is dealing with the tough stuff – like stress, anxiety, or grief – they might still turn up at work. They’ll clock in, but might be unfocused, distracted, and can weigh down others around them. All of this results in
Darren Hopper explains what data sovereignty is and why storing your business data locally isn’t enough to keep it safe. Data has been dubbed “the new global currency”, but it’s a currency that can rapidly lose its value if companies don’t ensure they have the right protections in place. One of the issues leaving companies and their data at risk is a flawed understanding of the concept of data sovereignty vs data residency – and how the differences between the two can impact governance and access. Data sovereignty provides government with the means to prevent unvetted access by foreign contractors, support staff and other entities to sensitive government data; data residency does not. Data residency designates the physical location where
XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGBSilver DDR4 Memory is designed for gamers and enthusiasts and offers a brilliant RGB design combined with extreme overclocked performance, taking any PC that uses it to the extreme. EPIC-X RGB – Synchronise with mainstream motherboards and control your colour experience Extreme Performance – Pushes the limit with aggressive speed, low latency, and extreme overclocking capabilities XMP 2.0 Support – Super easy overlocking and runs at top speed Cool Under Pressure – Overclocking made simple for top speed performance The ethos behind XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X RGBSilver DDR4 Memory is for its users to destroy the competition on the outside whilst looking good on the inside. PNY has covered every base with its elite DDR4 RGB Silver 3200MHz CL16 and 3600MHz
The G415 is an AX1500 4G Smart Router that allows you to use your mobile carrier’s SIM card to share your 3G and 4G mobile network access through a dedicated Wi-Fi 6 network or any of its three Gigabit ports. With its LTE CAT 4 support, you can also download at up to 150Mbps, enabling you to stream in 4K, make conference calls and surf the web seamlessly, without having a fixed broadband connection. Designed with built-in EAGLE PRO AI capabilities and by using the clever EAGLE PRO AI App, the G415 analyses traffic and optimises the home network through its AI Engine and some very clever functionality. Firstly, the AI Wi-Fi Optimiser continuously scans and monitors the network to keep users connected to
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.
Latest articles
