Business Is Boring

Shotgun co-founder Dan Necklen joins Simon Pound to talk about designing a new type of kids’ bike seat and taking it to the world. From a couple of mountain biking mates turning over an idea – what if a child could sit between the arms of the rider and have their own set of handlebars – the idea has grown to now be sold all over the world. With new products in the works, the company now has a bigger goal of helping get kids off screens and ultimately raise the next generation of mountain bikers.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Jane Ormsby is an online ad industry innovator. She built online advertising inventory network Response Directive into an Australasian market leader before using her online publishing expertise to work with APN (now NZME) as it tackled digital, leading the paywall at The Listener and launching Bite. Her current company is Scroll Media, a network of trusted publishers and advertisers. To talk about the journey, the future of advertising and share tips for selling a business, Jane joined Business is Boring this week for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Thomas Dietz is the founder and CEO of Woop – short for world on our plate – a company whose inventive offering has found a strong foothold in the hyper-competitive food box space. He joined Business is Boring this week to talk about his journey from France to New Zealand, and from makeup marketing to food boxes.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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New Zealander Georgia Robertson is the CEO of Humanitix, an Australian ticketing app with a difference. The company was started by two friends in Sydney, who pooled their resources to make a ticket booking platform that would donate 100% of profits to charity, using the power of better tech to deliver lower costs to customers and clients. Georgia joined Business is Boring this week to tell Simon Pound about working at the intersection of tech and social good.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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New Zealand company Myovolt has been at the cutting edge of innovation in wearable technology the last 20 years, with founders Dianne Jones and Steve Leftly working on wearable tech with Nasa, Apple, Adidas and Nike. Now they’re launching their first major consumer products, a series of devices to help with muscle recovery.

To talk about Myovolt’s journey, their new range and ongoing innovation, Steve Leftly joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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Isabel Pasch is the majority owner of Bread and Butter, bakeries and cafes that focus on traditional sourdough fermentation and using as many locally sourced and organic ingredients as possible. Unlike most supermarket white bread, which she believes is about as nutritional as a fizzy drink, Isabel’s Bread and Butter aims to make bread that’s good for you, your gut, and the planet. To talk about the journey, a mission for sustainable food, the politics of bread and what’s next, Isabel joined Business is Boring this week for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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If you’re listening to this podcast on a smartphone in New Zealand, chances are you have an app today’s guest helped create – and hopefully you use it every day. Pavan Vyas is the CEO of Rush, makers of NZ COVID Tracer, an app which was brought to market in crisis response speed in 2020 and since improved on to the point it’s been adopted by the NHS in the UK.

To talk about how they made the app, and about growing the company to count Google, Disney Plus and Microsoft among its international customers, Rush CEO Pavan Vyas joined Business is Boring for a chat.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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New Zealand has an addiction to using plastic cling wrap – and it goes without saying that’s no good for the environment. Jon Reed’s startup Compostic is out to change that with a range of home compostable cling wrap and other kitchen products. In the last few years the company has grown from a product only available in specialty stores to now be available in most New Zealand supermarkets, along with hundreds in Australia, and now it’s launching into the US market too. Founder and CEO Jon Reed joined Business is Boring this week to talk about the journey.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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If flowers are so often bought by men, how come florists aren't designed to appeal to them more? That’s the (extremely paraphrased) gist of the Jerry Seinfeld routine that helped inspire Vanisha Narsey to start Bouqo, an online platform that helps people select the right floral solution, see examples of bouquets at their price point and get them delivered. With 15 florists onboard across Auckland and plans for expansion, Vanisha joined Business is Boring this week to talk about the idea and its development, how it's going and what’s next.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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In this week’s episode, Simon Pound talks to Dr Robert Feldman, CEO of Covid-19 Vaccine Corporation, about the fascinating science behind developing a vaccine.

Covid-19 Vaccine Corporation (CVC), brings together some of the top figures in local pharmaceutical, deep tech and life science commercial enterprise. The chair is the managing director of Douglas Pharmaceuticals, and the CEO is Dr Robert Feldman, who has had a career working at Harvard Medical School and Imperial College, London, founding the UK vaccine company Microscience among other enterprises, before moving to New Zealand as Executive Director of Pacific Channel and after that, his own life science consulting company.

To talk about the fascinating science behind vaccine research and development, Dr Feldman joined Business is Boring this week.

Business is Boring is presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation.

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