WFLS Podcast

Ben Gracewood is one of those rare tech leaders who's done the whole arc—starting in low-level code, scaling product and engineering teams at Vend through to a $400 million exit, and now leading in a world where AI is rewriting the playbook.With a deep background in software development and executive leadership, Ben has built teams, shaped product strategy, and helped grow one of New Zealand's most successful SaaS companies. But he's not stuck in nostalgia. Today, he's laser-focused on what comes next—and he's convinced that we can now do more with fewer people.Ben's current work explores how artificial intelligence can augment product and engineering teams—not to replace humans, but to strip away busywork and let great people focus on what matters. He's open in questioning the bloat that's crept into many tech orgs, and he's even willing to say what others won't: maybe Elon wasn't entirely wrong when he gutted Twitter's headcount. Brutal? Maybe. But Ben thinks it opened up an uncomfortable truth—most tech teams are overstaffed and under-focused.Whether it's scaling with soul, building leaner, smarter teams, or staying close to the craft as a leader, Ben brings a no-BS, high-empathy perspective to what modern product leadership looks like. He's still a builder at heart—and now he's building with AI at his side.This podcast was brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta 

For nearly two decades, Heather has worked across strategy, operations, product marketing, revenue, and executive go-to-market roles in

​Hamish Edwards hasn't told his story in detail before. and so you get to hear it for the first time. Renowned for co-founding Xero with Rod Drury in 2006 in his accounting companies' boardroom, before they ever moved to said apartment. As a practicing accountant at the time and working with Rod, Hamish played a pivotal role in Xero's early growth, shaping the product and expanding its customer base across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom by closely collaborating with accounting firms.In this episode, Hamish tells us how and why Xero was founded and what he is doing now with https://www.firmcheck.com/. We discuss the importance of obsession in achieving success and whether all founders have to be obsessed or not. Now worth in the vicinity of $300 million, we ask Hamish: Has success changed you? If you are a founder looking to go global, this one is not to be missed.This podcast is brought to you by our amazing sponsor in Vanta and could not be done without them.

Lowry Gladwell has been at the forefront of some of New Zealand's most iconic companies, from law to payments, tech partnerships to sales. Playing a key role in Vend's journey through to their successful exit in 2021 and leading Xero's embedded finance strategy and execution, Lowry knows his domain well. Now, as Head of New Zealand at Airwallex—an Australian unicorn transforming banking and financial service, Lowry is focused on building the local team and introducing Airwallex's game-changing product to the New Zealand market.In this episode, we discuss all things revenue and channel partner growth, and how you should build a function and hire a team. If you are a product company looking to go global, this one is not to be missed.

Rowan Simpson has been at the heart of New Zealand's most successful technology companies. As a founding team member at Trade Me and Xero, he witnessed firsthand how great companies are built through consistent execution. His subsequent investments and hands-on work with ventures like Vend and Timely have helped shape a generation of high-growth companies.If you're the kind of person who hates being wrong (let's be honest, that's most of us), then How to Be Wrong is a game-changer. It completely flips the script on failure, showing that being wrong isn't something to fear—it's something to embrace. The book and ultimately this podcast is packed with real-world wisdom, practical advice, and a refreshing perspective on how to navigate uncertainty without letting your ego get in the way.

⁠Nicole Retter⁠ is the sole Founder and CEO of ⁠PAM⁠.

Philip Fierlinger co-founded Xero, playing a major role as Head of Design, leading Xero to become a disruptive platform and an iconic global brand. Now he is the co-founder of Upstock, a B2B e-commerce & logistics platform transforming the food & beverage industry. His early career highlights include work for Beastie Boys and General Magic. In this episode Philip goes deep on the Xero story and the lessons he has learned to make Upstoack a

In this episode, we chat with Derek Handley Derek is an entrepreneur known for co-founding alongside Sir Richard Branson The B Team - a global collective advocating economic systems change to protect our natural environment and secure a safe, sustainable, and equitable future for all Before The B Team, Derek was one of the first young Kiwi entrepreneurs to build a global start-up, The Hyperfactory, an early pioneer driving the transition from the PC world to the mobile world. He started it out of University and took from a balcony in Anzac Ave Auckland to offices across the world from New York to India and almost 200 people, before selling to a 100 year old NYSE-listed giant Meredith Corporation. Have served on the Board of Sky TV, sustainability board of Air New Zealand, as Adjunct Professor at AUT; Innovator in Residence at Wharton University of Pennsylvania and as campaign Chair for Prince Harry Duke of Sussex for his sustainable travel initiative “Travalyst”. Founder of Aera VC, a global climate-tech seed fund investing in transformative technologies to radically reverse climate change. Our 25+ portfolio companies have gone on to raise over $2b NZD. Personal angel investor in over 50 start-ups, still actively backing 2-4 companies a year - most recently examples x.Ai Series B and Tracksuit. Awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Sir Peter Blake Leader, and Victoria University Distinguished Alumni awards He is now building his latest company in Aera. Aera is a new Kiwi fintech start-up helping first-home buyers build a deposit in half the time.

Will Palmer is a seasoned entrepreneur with a successful track record in tech, co-founding Movio, Cupla, and DevRamp. As Movio's CEO, he led its growth to dual listings on the NZ and Australian stock exchanges before exiting to build two entirely different businesses. Consumer app start up Cupla and the developer tool, DevRamp. With the massive success of Movio, we talk with Will on his lessons and learnings. Will is not stopping until he's reached that unicorn status and we can see this happening. Thanks to our sponsor in Talent Army who are NZ's best IT recruiters

For 8 years, Oxygen Advisors has stood behind over 100 New Zealand startups. Amazingly, only 3% of their startup portfolio have not survived and we wanted to know why. In this episode we chat with Matt Dold the founder and Mike Mandis the Co-CEO. As the founder and Director at Oxygen Advisors, Matt has been at the forefront of empowering start-ups and high-growth businesses across New Zealand for over a decade. Matt's served as a Director, Advisor and CFO partner to many of New Zealand's most successful high growth companies such as Auror, Thematic, Archipro, Woop, Thundergrid, Conqa, Weirdly, Preno, Wipster and many more. Mike is Co-CEO at Oxygen Advisors. Over the past four years he has helped technology companies raise over $150m in capital and has supported companies scaling globally from pre-revenue to $15m+ ARR. Tune in and learn how this company has been able to help the ecosystem so much. Thank you to our sponsor in Talent Army

Simon Pound is Managing Partner - Ventures for Previously Unavailable. Simon leads up Venture Studio and Brand Fund activity for Previously, and is host of the entrepreneur-focussed Business is Boring podcast for The Spinoff. Prior to PU, Simon led global brand, creative and communications for Vend, and he loves working with startups on brand and positioning strategy and execution. He is also a director of Ingrid Starnes, the online-first, made-to-order fashion business. Thank you to our sponsor in Talent Army

Coachmate is a purpose-led tech startup on a mission to help kids stay in sports. Research has shown that kids who remain in sports have better mental and physical outcomes throughout their lives. Enter Michelle Walshe is no stranger to sports after directing sports legends like Venus Williams, Kevin Durant, and Richie McCaw's feature films. Michelle is also the co-founder of the successful Augusto, a hybrid creative and production agency. In 2018, Michelle wanted to create more impact in the community and co-founded CoachMate, a platform dedicated to empowering grassroots sports parents and volunteers with world-class tools to help keep kids in sports. In this episode, Troy and Michelle discuss her background in documentary making, her career in film directing, and how Michelle was compelled to solve the issue of helping volunteers in grassroots sports with technology. Follow Michelle on LinkedIn Follow Coachmate on LinkedIn Thank you to our sponsor: Talent Army

TikTok has arrived and set up an office in New Zealand and we wanted to hear about it. In this episode we chat with TikTok's NZ country manager. Carsten Grueber is a seasoned leader in the digital marketing and advertising industry, currently serving as the Country Manager for Advertising Partnerships at TikTok in New Zealand. In this role, Carsten has been pivotal in establishing and leading TikTok's commercial business, building strong relationships with key advertisers, and showcasing the platform's value for impactful campaigns. We discuss Carsten's career after working with Google, Facebook and now TikTok Follow Carsten - http://linkedin.com/in/carsten-grueber-8a9b89 Follow TikTok - https://www.linkedin.com/company/tiktok/ Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

Lance Wiggs has over 10 years of experience as a venture capitalist and considerable experience helping to start, grow, turn around, and exit companies as a consultant, investor, co-founder, and director. He is a principal with Punakaiki Fund and Climate VC Fund, and has invested in well over 40 companies. In this episode, we discuss the importance of making good decisions in business and how Lance helps CEOs and founders make better decisions. We talk about the Government and whether they should invest in our ecosystem and many more topics including Lance's Aphantasia. Follow Lance: Follow Punakaiki Fund: Thanks to our sponsor - Talent Army

Janine Grainger is one of the most requested shows we've had to date. Janine is a kiwi-born entrepreneur and a highly respected leader in tech. She's the co-founder and CEO of Easy Crypto, New Zealand's leading cryptocurrency trading platform. Easy Crypto was established in 2017 to offer a secure, simple and easy-to-understand way for everyone to get involved in the cryptocurrency market, and has since helped hundreds of thousands of people get started with crypto. Janine is on the Executive Council for FinTechNZ and sits on a number of government advisory and working groups, both in NZ and internationally. Follow Janine - http://linkedin.com/in/janine-grainger Follow Easy Crypto - https://linkedin.com/company/easy-crypto/ Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

In this episode, we chat with Ralph Highnmam only days after his company Volpara was acquired for $300m by Lunit. Ralph is no stranger to success as he founded and built a medical imaging AI company in Oxford, UK that was also acquired. In this conversation, we go deep into how he has achieved this and why he decided to move to Wellington NZ, and help our ecosystem to grow further. Follow Ralph - linkedin.com/in/ralph-highnam-a9352314 Follow RPH Ventures -https://www.rphventures.co.nz/ Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

If you have not heard of a highly successful startup runn in New Zealand then you must be living under a rock. Tim Copeland was one of the founders of SilverStripe, one of New Zealand's leading digital transformation companies, equally famous for our open-source content management system used today by tens of thousands of companies. Now Tim has turned his passion to resource management software for the modern workforce and Runn is growing very fast globally. ⁠ Follow Tim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timcopeland/ Follow runn -https://www.linkedin.com/company/runwithrunn Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

In this episode we chat with Leighton Roberts the Co-CEO & Co-Founder of Sharesies. It's the second WFLS episode on Sharesies and we explore the growth story of how Sharesies has become the success story it is today. This podcast explores the highs and lows of the Sharesies story coming about partly from Leighton's school friends investment club. Follow Leighton - http://linkedin.com/in/leightonroberts Follow Sharesies - https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharesies Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

Bron Thomson founded Springload in 2002 and grew it to one of Aotearoa's most successful and longest-standing independently-owned digital agencies. Springload is a bi-cultural lead, purpose lead digital agency and Bron is one of the nicest and most admired founders in Wellington. Troy and Bron talk about the highs and lows of service businesses and teaches us how to navigate the highs and lows of business. Follow Bron: linkedin.com/in/bron-thomson Follow Springload: https://www.linkedin.com/company/springload-te-pipitanga/ Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.talent.army/

Asantha Wijeyeratne QSM provides us with our most emotional and uplifting episode to date. From founding Smart Payroll, the most successful SMB payroll company in NZ above a bakery in Lower Hutt. To then selling it to Datacom and now re-upping and founding Paysauce to now be the best in the world. In 2013 he was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for his duty to NZ business and community. We talked with Asantha to learn how he has decided he could not retire and is now building a product that is bigger than ever. Follow Asantha - linkedin.com/in/asanthawijeyeratne Follow Paysauce - ⁠https://www.paysauce.com/ Thank you to our sponsor: Talent Army - ⁠⁠https://www.talent.army/

Mahesh Muralidhar has done it all. From helping to take Canva globally as employee number 25, to launching PhaseOne Ventures in New Zealand and even running for Auckland Central in politics. We talk with Mahesh to learn how he has been helping founders to take on the world from NZ and listen to his sage advice from being so early at Canva and now sharing this with his home in NZ. Follow Mahesh - linkedin.com/in/maheshmuralidhar Follow PhaseOne - https://www.phaseone.ventures/ Thank you to our sponsor: Talent Army - ⁠https://www.talent.army/

Creative HQ recently released their 20 years of Impact report where they provide insights on the 1029 founders they've worked with. We wanted to share the learnings of this highly impactful organisation who has helped create $1.3B in total valuation for the startup industry. Catherine Jones is the highly talented CEO of Creative HQ and we discuss the opportunity of wealth that the startup ecosystem has for us all. For the founders, investors and more importantly for the NZ Government and us tax payers. Watch how some 1029 founders have provided Creative HQ with the compounding knowledge over 20 years to help you on your journey today! Follow Catherine: http://linkedin.com/in/catherine-jones-431213b Follow Creative HQ: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-hq/ Thank you to our sponsor: Talent Army - https://www.talent.army/

Too many Kiwi startups spend so much time getting things right in the New Zealand market before heading overseas.  We need to go global from day one! Hear how Tim Boyle took Whip Around to the US immediately and found product market fit in the United States before they had even picked up a kit customer.  Our host Troy Hammond talks with Tim who has recently joined HealthNow as their Chief Marketing Officer to help simplify employee benefits For modern companies. We ask him what he has learned from his first startup, what he failed, and what changes he will make this time around.  Follow Tim - linkedin.com/in/timothyjboyle Follow HealthNow - https://healthnow.co.nz/ Thank you to our sponsors  Talent Army - ⁠https://www.talent.army/⁠ Talent Army is NZ's premier startup recruitment company Oxygen Advisors - https://www.oxygenadvisors.co.nz/For 8 years, Oxygen Advisors has stood behindover 100 New Zealand innovators

Healthcare is broken. We all know it, though too many were scared to take on the behemoths who have owned this space forever. Enter Vital.io the product built by kiwi Te Riu Warren as their founding CTO. Hear how Te and Founder & CEO Aaron Patzer formally of Mint.com got together and Decided to take on the United States healthcare tech industry from New Zealand. Our host Troy Hammond talks with Te about his journey. They discuss the challenges of not being able to just build an MVP in healthcare and how they've been able to succeed. Follow Te - https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriu Follow Vital - https://vital.io/ Thank you to our sponsor - ⁠https://www.talent.army/⁠ Talent Army is NZ's premier startup recruitment company.

50% of marriages end in divorce and 75% of those divorces cite "quality time" as the killer. Enter Erika Palmer, a Kiwi tech founder with the app Cupla on a mission to help relationships flourish. Hear how over 70% of users say Cupla is reducing stress and friction in their relationship. Try the app here https://cupla.app/the-app/ Our host Troy Hammond talks with Erika about her journey. There are extreme highs and extreme lows in the pit of despair. Follow Erika - linkedin.com/in/erika-palmer-b709a836 Follow Cupla - https://cupla.app/ Thank you to our sponsor - https://www.talent.army Talent Army is NZ's premier IT recruitment company for growing teams.

How has marketing changed and why has Tracksuit just raised $22m to help customers understand their brand? In this episode, we talk with Conor Archbold who talks us through his journey and the explosion of Tracksuit. Connor Archbold is the co-CEO and Co-founder of Tracksuit, a Kiwi startup creating the world's best brand tracker. Connor founded Tracksuit in 2021 alongside his co-CEO Matt Herbert. GUEST LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connor-archbold https://www.instagram.com/connorfranklinarchbold SPONSOR INFO: https://www.oxygenadvisors.co.nz

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Samantha Wong⁠

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Justin Teo

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠⁠Jon Gelsey

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠⁠Niki Scevak

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠⁠Cameron Adams

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠Jodie Imam

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠Mike Carden

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Harry Wilde

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with ⁠James Powell

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Constant Meiring.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Levi Fawcett.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Dr Angela Lim.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Barney Chunn. Barney is the Co-founder and COO of CONQA.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Claudia Batten. Claudia is currently is Chairperson of NZX and ASX listed digital travel company Serko and a Director of NZX and ASX listed Vista Group and NZX listed Air New Zealand. Are you subscribed to us? Only half our listeners are subscribing and we are hoping the rest of you will follow and subscribe. We talk on this podcast about a lot of topics, from Claudia's roots in commercial law to how she has been a founding member of two highly successful entrepreneurial ventures. As part of the founding team of Massive Incorporated, a network for advertising in video games, she helped pioneer “digital” as a media buy. Massive was sold to Microsoft in 2006, where Claudia then spent 3 years scaling the in-game network. In 2009 she co-founded Victors & Spoils, the first advertising agency built on the principles of crowdsourcing. After two years in market, V&S was acquired by French holding company Havas Worldwide. Claudia also spent three years running North American operations for NZTE, supporting disruptive thinking for the growth of NZ exports in North America. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsor: - Talent Army: ⁠www.talent.army⁠ EPISODE LINKS: Claudia's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/claudiabatten Claudia's Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/claudiabatten/ Claudia's Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/ClaudiaBatten Claudia's Information Share (book): ⁠Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Marian's Information Share (podcast): ⁠The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish www.squigglylife.com PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: ⁠https://linktr.ee/wefuckinlovestartups⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://lnkd.in/g8Ae8czg⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8⁠ RSS: ⁠https://tr.ee/E4yOBnw-OW⁠ YouTube Full Episodes: ⁠https://lnkd.in/dq6ZsuZD⁠ YouTube Clips: ⁠https://tinyurl.com/4tnxp2ze⁠ SUPPORT & CONNECT: - Check out the sponsors above, it's the best way to support this podcast - Twitter: ⁠https://twitter.com/WFLSPodcast⁠ - Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/wefuckinlovestartups⁠ - LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/company/wflspodcast⁠ - Facebook: ⁠www.facebook.com/WeFKINLoveStartups ⁠- TikTok: ⁠www.tiktok.com/@wefukinlovestartupspod⁠ OUTLINE: Here are the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players, you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. [00:02:17] Natural flow state in conversation. [00:04:43] Power dynamics in conversations. [00:06:18] The power of listening. [00:10:40] Māori Pacifica Technology [00:14:40] Tech boom and e-commerce. [00:18:26] Relational networking over transactional. [00:21:09] Deep diving topics and information. [00:24:17] Massive Incorporated pivot. [00:27:12] Software pirate. [00:30:16] Solving problems for companies. [00:33:41] Traits to look for in a board. [00:37:36] Making hard decisions. [00:39:04] Making hard decisions with grace. [00:44:28] AI and human interaction. [00:47:22] Changing the game with AI. [00:50:06] Squiggling philosophy. [00:55:03] Thinking Fast and Slow. [00:57:06] Share your knowledge and stories.

In this episode, we chat with Marian Johnson the CEO of Ministry of Awesome

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Nick Houldsworth. Nick Houldsworth is co-founder of AI tax startup Prosaic, a board member of Ambit and Melodics, and an investor at Tradify, Spotrisk, and Redshield. Nick was the first employee and CMO at Vend, and Exec GM for the Developer API and App Store at Xero. Sadly, he's no longer available for children's parties. In this episode, we chat about Nick's journey from being the #1 employee at Vend and then leading the Ecosystem marketplace at Xero. Nick gives his advice to people that want to be in a startup and why you should sit when you are offered a seat on a rocket ship. He talks about life now and what he is up to with his latest startup. Nick talks about his band Hobotalk as his information share and you can check them out here. He believes that you should join a startup and 'start a movement' and you can see the video "How to start a movement" to see how it evolves. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode. Timestamps: [00:03:25] Taking a career break. [00:06:36] Filtering through creative ideas. [00:10:22] Finding balance in work and life. [00:14:47] User-friendly accounting software. [00:16:17] Consumer brands building business applications. [00:20:10] Failed entrepreneurial attempts. [00:23:24] B2B marketing and emotional motivation. [00:26:00] Creative marketing strategies. [00:29:23] F bomb gate. [00:32:06] Writing job descriptions and blow-up. [00:36:34] Obsession with Trade Me. [00:38:05] Sliding door moments. [00:42:28] Midlife crisis and hobbies. [00:45:20] Music archives and Virgin Records. [00:47:26] People smarter than you. [00:51:30] Marketing team and business growth. [00:53:37] Leaving for new opportunities. [00:57:55] Entrepreneurial mindset and prioritization. [01:00:27] Career trajectory and joy. [01:03:52] Building a marketing team. [01:08:07] Personal cashflow struggles. [01:09:09] Open banking and AI opportunities. [01:11:32] Companies thriving and growing. [01:16:37] Hobo talk on Spotify. [01:19:26] Getting involved in startups. [01:21:08] Nick's imposter syndrome.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Justin Soong. Justin is the founder of Authsignal, an engineer by craft, and product and customers are his passion. He is no stranger to success as Justin has been part of multiple FinTech successes in Australasia. Justin has been CTO of ASX-listed NZ company Laybuy. Was a vital member of the team working on the Afterpay code base at Paloma Group, and launching P2P lending at Harmoney. During this journey Justin's teams have processed billions dollars of payments and lending, and he's taken his learnings from scaling and managing risk consumer applications into Authsignal. We talk about why he decided to found AuthSignal with Paloma Ventures and how he loved it. Justin shared many lessons on his journey and his information share is doing Toast Masters. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Miriana Lowrie. Miriana is the Founder & CEO of 1Centre - Trade Credit & Customer Management Platform. Her laser focus is on solving everyday problems for their Sales & Finance Teams when they onboard business customers and manage their ongoing credit risk. She is highly motivated and driven, Miriana founded 1Centre as a result of supporting other businesses by setting up systems and processes in her spare time. Miriana says: “I just couldn't quite figure out why opening accounts was so laboriously manual, repetitive and time-consuming” – so she set out on a journey spanning over two years to interview as many suppliers and business consumers as she could, about what their experiences were like with opening trade accounts – as a result, 1Centre came to life. With over 20 years of banking experience, a passion for making life easier for business (herself included), and a BBS in management and sales, she has all the right ingredients to roll her sleeves up and drive 1Centre forward. In this episode, we chat about Mariana's journey from being a single Mum at 17 to going back to University to give a better life to her children. Mirinana says being a Wāhine Māori founder has taught her many lessons and she shares a lot of these on the podcast. Her information share is to go and watch the TV show Silicon Valley and you can check out her son's Instagram we mention on the show here. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Barnaby Marshall. Barnaby is a Partner at Icehouse Ventures, a leading NZ venture capital firm. He has also been an early investor in Dawn Aerospace, First AML, Basis, Narrative, Jasper, and many more. Barnaby is an entrepreneur and investor, his previous role before Icehouse Ventures was as the managing director of I Love Ugly. He is also a co-founder of New Ground Coffee. In this conversation, Troy and Barney go deep on investing, and the mindsets needed for founders and Barney sets out to debunk the myth that: "More money means more results" At 20 mins we reference his old bFM show and you can listen to that here, and Barnaby's information share is The Star Principal book by Richard Koch. You can read Barnaby's blog on The Startup Efficiency 'Boiling Point'​ here where he goes deep on "Some are calling this new start-up funding environment a period of financial "austerity," and startups need to adjust to the "new regime." Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we chat with Frances Valintine CNZM Frances Valintine CNZM is a passionate educator and technologist who is focused on developing education opportunities that connect professionals to the knowledge they need to be successful in today's rapidly advancing world. For 25 years she has been dedicated to shifting education and business practice to develop the capabilities, knowledge, and mindset needed to respond to the future of work, changing societal expectations, and the protection of the planet. Frances is an education futurist from NZ. She has won numerous awards for her educational programmes and is the Founder and CEO of AcademyEX which includes: The Mind Lab, Tech Futures Lab, and Earth Futures Lab. She is known for her commitment to working to improve the outcomes for the next generation through contextualising education delivery and content in the 21st Century. Frances's information share is Hard Fork podcast. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you and enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we chat with David Downs. David is CEO of The New Zealand Story and a director on several boards, including as Chair of The Icehouse. David is an ex-comedian, TV, and radio actor, semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year, cancer survivor, and a published author of books No.8 Re-wired, No.8 Recharged, A Mild Touch of the Cancer, and Silver Linings. We spoke about the relationship between board and exec, government and startups, and everything else in between. David is a lovely and amazing man and someone who has championed tech startups and New Zealand for his lifetime. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we chat with Simon Brown. Simon Brown is co-CEO at Banqer, the financial education platform which has been used by over 300,000 Australasian school students. His role leverages his passion for finance, technology, and education to support teachers in enhancing their students' financial literacy and overall wellbeing, making a positive impact on the world. We chat about how and why Banqer was founded to help kids become better with money. Simon is no stranger to founding startups with CrashCram being his first and Banqer his second with co-founder Kendall Flutey. Banqer is on a mission to prepare the next generation for their financial future. They believe that everyone should have access to a quality, engaging, effective financial education that sets them up for financial success - whatever that means to them.They started with a vision to teach one student about money (their co-founders' little brother), and since then they've helped financially educate over 300,000 students. The impact they've had through their innovative approach to teaching critical life skills has been celebrated externally, but most importantly it's what motivates them each day. Please help us to continue producing these podcasts by subscribing. Thank you.

In this episode of the WFLS podcast we were lucky enough to speak with not only one crime fighting Aurors, though two in Kirsti Grant & Phil Thomson. Kirsti is the VP People Experience and all around amazing person. Phil is the CEO and Co-founder and NZ Entrepreneur of the Year 2022. We sat down with them both to learn how People Experience is helping to shape the future of Auror. In this episode, Phil and Kirsti share the story of Auror from being founded by friends realising that $100B+ was lost every year by retailers but there was no effective technology being used to report, solve, or prevent crime. Now in Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the United Kingdom, Auror needed to re-look at their company values and how to scale this rocket ship for grown. Kirsti and Phil go deep on the successes and attempts they have taken over the years and how they are now seeing magical moments across their business by letting the people in their business shape the next phase of growth at Auror. We also asked Kirsti and Phil to share some things that have moved them recently: Kirsti suggests you watch "How AI could save (not destroy) education" by Sal Khan and Phil suggests you look at two books that he learned from life and death situations. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink (Author), Leif Babin (Author) and the second is Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal  Thank you so much for watching and listening to the podcast and please subscribe wherever you are reading this.

On this episode of the WFLS podcast, we chat with Bobby Lloyd. Bobby Lloyd is the CEO and co-founder of Fussy, a new personalised catering tech that allows guests to order their own meal. He also launched NZ's first reusable packaging system for food - Reusabowl. Bobby is a young and driven entrepreneur who is wise beyond his years and this podcast is packed with success stories, attempts and that means lessons for you. We managed to get Bobby on the pod before he moved to London and take Fussy global. When not working, Bobby is likely surfing, making jewellery, or out with friends and family. This was an amazing chat covering many topics and so we hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe to help us keep providing you with this content.

In this episode of The WFLS Podcast, we chat with Kat Lintott. Kat (Ngai Tahu) is a world builder experimenting with storytelling and interactive media. Her passion is to use new technology and creative platforms to empower people in the real world and have a positive impact on themselves and their community. She is the co-founder of Wrestler which is a creative agency. Kat's focus is VR and MR. Her goal in life is also to change the way people approach life. She says: "Our purpose should be to live, not to work. Feeling comfortable and being valued for our individual identity without it being attached to a job or career would be an amazing future to live in!" She is also the creator of Soul Æther which is a young adult sci-fantasy world exploring past lives, science, magic, and alchemy. It spans NFTs, an animated series, games, metaverse experiences, and more. We talk about all of the above, her year of transition, and how Kat reconnected with my purpose. We also talk about the famous Time Jackers video Wrestler made for Troy many years ago, and if you dare to watch it - you can find it here. This was an amazing chat covering many topics and so we hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe to help us keep providing you with this content.