A Kiwi Original

Hi I'm Ryan Jennings and this is episode 61 of A Kiwi Original. Joseph Yip is CEO of AMS Advanced Management Systems and wants to see New Zealand create our own playbook for ways of working digitally. AMS has a broad range of workforce management, finance, rostering, HR, employee relations for large organisations that don't have the capacity to manage compliance complexities for big numbers of employees.

In this episode we explore what digital transformation means and  what's possible for large government organisations to manage employee wellbeing across rosters, shifts while ensuring staff compliance on permitted work, health and safety, holidays acts.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://ams.co.nz

KEY TIMESTAMPS

2 mins 8 secs The profound changes of Covid and the shifts that the questions this raises for government agencies with digital transformation. 

4 mins 43 secs Working from home the second time around in Auckland, the wellbeing risks vs the advantages.

8 mins 38 secs Shifting the mental mindset to shift the technology to solve business problems. 

10 mins 53 secs Keeping track of people with AMS and going beyond payroll.

13 mins 3 secs Organisational design as a framework for managing large numbers of people including rosters, shifts that follows safe staffing with the right skills and permitted people doing the right things. 

15 mins 15 secs Moments organisations decide to start working differently, such as a change in the Holiday's Act.

18 mins 3 secs An AMS success story. 

21 mins 8 secs Why AMS promotes remote working via their offices in Australia and the Phillipines.

26 mins 55 secs Data sovereignty, privacy, security, compliance and New Zealand's personal data.

28 mins 54 secs The journey of digital transformation. 

34 mins 47 secs What's stopping New Zealand government from investing in New Zealand coded software. 

38 mins 15 secs The key buyer of AMS software. 

43 mins 13 secs What AMS looks for when hiring New Zealand talent.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Hi I'm Ryan Jennings and this is episode 60 of A Kiwi Original - uniquely Kiwi stories contributing to New Zealand's future. Today I'm joined by Shawn Beck Founder of Skinny Fizz, a company who is taking on the multi-nationals with a  delicious sparkling water flavoured with real fruit and none of the bad stuff.

LINKS MENTIONED

Skinny Fizz Drinks

KEY TIMESTAMPS

2 mins 12 secs Shawn Beck's origins that led him on the journey to start Skinny Fizz.

3 mins 27 secs Why American carrots didn't fare too well next to New Zealand's and the parallels to sparkling water.

5 mins 22 secs Shawn's mission to change the world for the better through Skinny Fizz.

10 mins 44 secs The difficulties of starting out and the importance of focus.

14 mins 45 secs Why the drinks called Skinny Fizz and why there's no added sugar, preservatives or anything bad for you. 

18 mins 52 secs The David and Goliath battle in beverages globally. 

25 mins 1 secs The challenges of beating incumbents and why Shawn's relying on his career of experience.

32 mins 5 secs The mission for growth, the need to create a volume business and peoples reaction to the drink.

33 mins 28 secs When the word spreads.

35 mins 18 secs The benefits of not owning plant and warehousing and instead investing in people.

36 mins 1 secs Getting to Melbourne and the United States.

40 mins 27 secs Getting introduced to Lila Ma at Manudy as part of the Buy New Zealand Made Group.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Today I'm joined by Angus Brown, Founder of Arepa who shares the science behind their drinks that can juice your brain just when you need it. We talk about the performance moments or the maintenance support that Arepa nutritional drinks provide and what this innovation means for the New Zealand beverage economy. 

GET THE DRINK
Mental clarity with Arepa

KEY TIMESTAMPS

2 mins 42 secs How nutrition can affect brain performance. 

6 mins 15 secs Improving your brain performance. 

9 mins 51 secs The real time 'felt effect' of taking Ārepa for either a) a performance moment (students, corporate professionals for key moments and sports people) 

11 mins 50 secs The brain maintenance benefits for the 1 in 6 people who need ongoing brain function support for conditions such as alzheimers, dementia, concussion recovery or depression. 

15 mins 14 secs How the search started and the Ārepa journey since then. 

24 mins 25 secs The magic of New Zealand blackcurrants. 

26 mins 05 secs The regulatory framework. 

29 mins 14 secs Ārepa - the Te reo meaning of the name. 

33 mins 30 secs If you want to hydrate, drink water. If you want to be on your A game, drink Ārepa. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Peri and I talk about the shifts in New Zealand apparel over the last two decades, how face masks have helped spread the brand values of Untouched World and what sustainable fabrics are bringing to garment innovation including what we can expect next.

We also talk about why new apparel in every new Instagram post has become uncool and how the Untouched World foundation is helping young adults to find the leader within at just the right time.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://untouchedworldfoundation.com

https://www.untouchedworld.com

KEY TIMESTAMPS

3 mins 11 secs Retail planning during Covid and the lack of visibility. 

4 min 58 secs When luxury product spend happens during the year.

5 mins 47 secs Why Peri was amazed with the support from New Zealanders during 2020 that's helped keep Untouched World in good shape.

7 mins 34 secs The 'causal-isation' of wardrobes brought about by remote working. 

8 mins 6 secs Why new apparel for new Instagram posts have become uncool. 

9 mins 47 secs Getting Callaghan Innovation involved to manufacture face masks in New Zealand and using face masks to find their way into the hearts of minds of a broader group of Kiwis. 

11 mins 18 secs What to look for when buying face masks and the engineering of face mask fit.

12 mins 51 secs Introducing new fabrics from new materials like soya-bean and aloe vera as the latest innovation chapter by Untouched World.  

16 mins 13 secs Fabrics for lifestyle wardrobes that tick the boxes of sustainability to protect our environment. 

18 mins 55 secs Apparel manufacturing as a career and why it can be so rewarding. 

25 mins 11 secs The merino mink brand and how it connects with the desires of a demographic as a marketing approach. 

26 mins 17 secs How markets mature and trends evolve. 

29 mins 45 secs What to wear for virtual meetings. 

31 mins 32 secs Leadership programmes that make a difference beyond the reach of the Untouched World company to open the eyes of young adults and help them find the leader inside them. 
 
36 mins 40 secs Getting accepted to the Untouched World Foundation programmes. 



 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Mutu is a sharing platform that could one day be doing more trades per day than TradeMe. That's the vision. We look at what you could share from your garage, as well as the opportunity for Kiwi businesses looking to rent spare inventory. Toby also shares where the idea came from and the importance of joy to the Mutu experience. Toby's got a huge amount of passion about making a positive change to how we access the goods we need without having to own so much stuff. Well worth a listen.

LINKS MENTIONED

Mutu Sharing Platform

2 mins 36 secs The renters and the lenders on Mutu to search, compare and locate an item.

4 mins 17 secs What might you share via the Mutu platform and the benefits you receive for sharing.

6 mins 36 secs Why we have a funny relationship with stuff we own. 

10 mins 11 secs What market research Toby did before getting Mutu started and why there's demand for power tools and kitchen appliances. 

11 mins 59 secs have we reached peak consumption and will leasing and sharing replace it?

13 mins 45 secs What John Lewis has has done in the UK to incorporate leasing and hiring furniture for millennials and Gen Z who want access without ownership.

19 mins 15 secs Why building a marketplace is difficult and why Christchurch is first.

22 mins 27 secs The joy of sharing your treasured goods with people who you want to experience that joy too.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Stellar Library started a decade ago solving the problem of securing board papers for management teams and now the broader enterprise. In this episode I'm joined by Dipti, Mike and Johnny at Stellar Library to talk about custody of information, developing intuitive software and keeping close to customer needs. We also discuss the values that StellarLibrary lives by and advice from the Co-Founder on why NZ Coded software is world class.

Johnny Louie - Stellar Library Co-Founder
Dipti Deesai - Head of Sales
Mike Dunn - Head of Marketing

LINKS MENTIONED

Board Management software

Enterprise Management software

https://www.stellarlibrary.com

KEY TIMESTAMPS


4 mins 35 secs How StellarLibrary got started a decade ago with Co-Founders Johnny and Brett. 

5 mins 15 secs Controlling the custody of your information and why email is too open for publishing sensitive and confidential documents. 

8 mins 3 secs The excitement in New Zealand SaaS companies for young employees. 

8 mins 25 secs Document for board and governance papers, assisting Iwi with using StellarLibrary and making digital businesses easy.

12 mins 15 secs Ensuring the chain of custody with data and being able to keep granular control. 

15 mins 28 secs The three themes of simplicity, robustness and speed of delivery that guides the software development teams.

22 mins 43 secs How pass-through communication between StellarLibrary sales, marketing and the development team keeps the team close to customer needs.

24 mins 15 secs On being a New Zealand based business serving global customers. 

27 mins 8 secs How bigger trends play into why the need for information platforms like Stellar are now greater than ever. 

30 mins 5 secs The silving lining of bringing people closer together due to Covid.

40 mins 32 secs Finding the right talent to build the business. 

47 mins 17 secs Manaakitanga and the caring attitudes to care for the collective StellarLibrary team and customers. 

53 mins 37 secs The values of StellarLibrary. 

56 mins 21 secs Advice from the CEO on starting a software company and what makes New Zealand software developers world class. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Asa Cox is the CEO of Arcanum AI... a company that is empowering New Zealand businesses to see things previously unseeable or unknowable and that's translating into better business outcomes. Arcanum has built over 50 machine learning models that can learn from your video, text and data across a number of problems that humans can't solve on our own. While AI may sound futuristic, Asa makes it sound like now is the time to start exploring what you might want to see or know with the help of a dash or two of AI.

LINKS MENTIONED

https://www.arcanum.ai

KEY TIMESTAMPS


2 mins 18 secs When machine learning and AI helps to achieve business outcomes. We look at some business examples.

4 mins 31 secs Getting quality data from factory floor manufacturing machines into a data lake to extract insights.

8 mins 16 secs Getting the business side of an organisation to understand the meaningful impact that technology can have.

10 mins 23 secs Successful business use cases deploying computer vision across sports, shopping malls and even power line maintenance. 

12 mins 25 secs The 50 machine learning models for video, text and structured data. the problems they've been built for and how Arcanum's models are different from GPT-3.

14 mins 21 secs Narrow AI.

15 mins 45 secs The Arcanum AI full stack team that goes from research through to support and maintenance. 

17 mins 41 secs Finding the next customer. 

20 mins 17 secs New Zealand's software skills and the advantage of dealing with a broader range of business problems.

23 mins 8 secs Data security, privacy and who owns the algorithm. 

27 mins 52 secs Trusting algorithms or humans?

33 mins 7 secs Why AI isn't like the movies, how it's more accessible than ever and why now's the time to start exploring it's capability for any sector.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Sri shares what her experience has been like opening up export markets in India and the Middle East, we talk about how Zealandia is going going beyond Manuka honey using research led innovation to create new products and what it feel likes as to bring her vision to life with business co-founders Sunil and Robin.

LINKS MENTIONED

Zealandia Honey Shop


KEY TIMESTAMPS

3 mins 8 secs The Zealandia Honey origin story and how Sunil, Robin and Sri got started in a research laboratory growing into the market they know, India. 

7 mins 37 secs Going beyond UMF and MGO ratings with research led innovation that goes beyond standard manuka honey in a jar.

9 mins 27 secs Zealandia Honey MGO 17+ The worlds highest Manuka honey. 

10 mins 11 secs The initial market reaction in India with a product 15x the price. 

12 mins 38 secs Being based in the Middle East to open up new business relationships and partnering with big retailers. 

16 mins 43 secs Why Zealandia Honey came to getting the New Zealand Made Kiwi trademark a little later than they would have hoped.

19 mins 47 secs Where the Zealandia name comes from.

21 mins 21 secs Market knowledge on how honey can be used in recipes, why you should heat the honey and how chef's are using it.

24 mins 28 secs Zealandia world headquarters... in Taupo. 

27 mins 10 secs Sri's aspirations to become a Kiwi entrepreneur now realised. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

**Covid-19 Face Masks Special Edition**

Lanaco had been developing air filtration media for a decade when Covid hit at the beginning of 2020. In this special episode I speak with Nick about Lanaco has geared up this year. We talk about protecting the lives of New Zealanders, why a sustainable and environmentally friendly mask material is so important in our new world and the initiative Lanaco and NZ Made undertook to protect New Zealanders through the community mask initiative.

LINKS MENTIONED

Shop Lanaco Face Masks

Shop Cactus Face Masks

Shop NZ Made Face Masks

KEY TIMESTAMPS

2 mins 27 secs The origins of Lanaco filter media starting in 2010 to build wool into an air filter media for air quality particularly Asia, Europe and North America. 

4 mins 20 secs Nick's background in industrial marketing and manufacturing and helping NZ wool manufacturers get globally competitive as a personal pivot away from his plastics polymer expertise.

6 mins 3 secs The narrowing of the focus to health solutions and respiratory filtration. 

7 mins 1 secs The science and engineering expertise for making air filtration media and Lanaco's unique position. 

8 mins 27 secs When Lanaco realised that New Zealand was going to need to get protected to reduce the transmission of Covid-19.

9 mins 50 sec Making product close to its source and the community mask making project. 

12 mins 20 secs January 2020 - How Cactus Outdoor got to market first with face masks and then the evolution from there. 

13 mins 13 secs April 2020 - Reducing community transmission and how everyone got in behind it to get 10 companies sewing face masks. 

17 mins 18 secs The cultural change New Zealand is going through to adopting face masks and what to do to minimise your risks.

18 mins 16 secs Choosing a good face mask, wearing it effectively and why breathability is so important.

20 mins 30 secs Looking after New Zealanders first, the different future we face with Covid-19 and the importance of face masks that are made from a sustainable, renewable source.

22 mins 10 secs What the shift means for New Zealand wool farmers, making profitable farming for wool again and investing in the scientific breeding programme.

24 mins 32 secs The intellectual property that Lanaco has created to keep out sub-micron particles between 100 and 300 nano metres and at a high efficiency rate.

26 mins 32 secs Nick talking about Buy New Zealand Made as a model to adopt and take forward. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com

Whisper quiet bikes make for quieter fleets of pizza drivers in the city (or better hunting results in the bush), but UBCO Bikes have cut their teeth on solving the needs of farmers who need a safer, more effective alternative to quad bikes.

This is a New Zealand success story in the making as UBCO Bikes heads towards their target of building and selling 10,000's of their bikes into an eager global market that's embracing electric utility bikes for every sort of purpose and desire you could imagine.

LINKS MENTIONED

UBCO Bikes

Get The 2X2 Utility Bike

TIMESTAMPS

2 mins 18 secs Electric motorbikes.. are they competing with motorbikes, utility terrain vehicles or something else?

4 mins 6 secs The safety risks with quad bikes that's creating the need for utility electric vehicles like UBCO Bikes. 

6 mins 22 secs Why storage isn't the issue when using vehicles on farm or on orchards. 

7 mins 10 secs Why the 'throttle and go' ease of use bike is becoming more important in New Zealand. 

10 mins 44 see The business case for commercial fleets of UBCO Bikes in the city with high usage, 20,000 delivery kilometres per annum.

11 mins 42 secs The integrated stack advantage with hardware, firmware and software layers built by UBCO Bikes...and what benefits that provides to fleet managers.

15 mins 13 secs The UBCO University and training service agents digitally and globally. 

17 mins 33 secs The UBCO Bike ambassadors, overlanding trips and charging the battery using PV. 

19 mins 35 secs Promoting New Zealand through UBCO Bikes and the referencing to our Kiwi'ness as part of the UBCO Bike profile to add to the credibility of the brand. 

23 mins 2 secs The silence of an electric bike and the advantage that gives UBCO bike riders who are always on their bike, who are hunting and quieter city delivery drivers plus many more attributes. 

26 mins 56 secs How UBCO bike technology is enhancing safety capabilities through proactive preventative measures. 

29 mins 55 secs The hardware, firmware and software are all coded, built in New Zealand including engineering, testing, validating and R&D. 

31 mins 31 secs On the growth path towards selling tens of thousands of UBCO Bikes per annum.

35 mins 31 secs The origin story of UBCO Bikes and how Timothy Allan got started. 

39 mins 25 secs The New Zealand advantage internationally. 

42 mins 45 secs The operating system of the car and the global competition that's heating up. 
 
52 mins 38 secs Taking an agnostic view of the market applications for UBCO Bikes and why Timothy prefers a horizontal market approach. 

56 mins 16 secs What UBCO Bikes will need from the broad manufacturing ecosystem. 

 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.akiwioriginal.com