Jessica Manins is a Kiwi pioneer in the Augmented and Virtual Reality space. Her studio, Beyond, makes games, experiences and virtual worlds for immersive entertainment and storytelling. They are one of the first developers to be releasing a game for the new Apple Vision Pro, and they have been leaders in shared, positive experiences in the space for years. After the pandemic stopped their business in its tracks, Jessica has totally rebuilt and (at the time of recording) has just arrived back from SXSW and GDC with the latest on where virtual worlds are now, and where they are going.
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The Spinoff has just launched a brand new series called Behind the Story, where site editor editor Madeleine Chapman sits down with a staff writer or contributor to gain more insight about a big story on The Spinoff from the week. We thought you might like to check out the first episode, and if you enjoy it please follow it wherever you get your podcasts!

On Friday, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell sent her final newsletter, and took the opportunity to share what she’s learned about the news over two years of curating it for thousands of New Zealanders. Earlier in the week, she’d seen reports of Auckland dog owners discarding their pets’ turds on the ground after Auckland Council removed bins across the city.

And so, the column “If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit” was born. Anna joins Madeleine Chapman to talk about the power journalists have when framing a story and how to find the middle ground between boring and sensational.

For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters 
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Introducing Behind the Story: If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its sh*t

Blackbird VC recently netted $800m from a sale of a portion of their holding in Canva. They are, by some distance, the largest and one of the most successful VC firms in Australasia. In Aotearoa they have backed Tracksuit, Veve, Partly and Halter and their work to lift up the venture ecosystem includes Sunrise, Startmate and the Giants programme. Phoebe Harrop is the new local lead, with a background in consulting at Bain, working for Al Gore’s investment firm Generation and a few years growing the business in NZ. She joins Simon Pound to dig into what makes a good VC investment, what makes a great founder and how does NZ stack up against Australia?
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The new Aotearoa lead of Australasia’s biggest VC firm

David Yu’s company VeVe has sold more than 10 million digital collectables licensed from some of the world’s leading IP owners like Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Lamborghini, and James Bond. As leaders in this fast growing space they have grown so fast they won the 2023 Deloitte Fast 50, and David won EY Entrepreneur of the Year. But what is a digital collectible? How did VeVe partner with the world’s most protective brand owners? And how have they grown so fast and done so well? Get the download from one of the best to do it!
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David Yu: 2023 EY entrepreneur of the year with Aotearoa’s fastest growing company

Albert Cho burst onto Aotearoa’s food scene in 2017 with Eat Lit Food, an Instagram account that dishes out forthright (and often profane) food reviews to an ever-expanding audience. What started as an attempt to redefine a problematic relationship with food quickly grew into a fully fledged career as an influencer, critic and writer. Last year, with the help of David Lee’s Namu Group, he opened Tobi on Ponsonby Road to rave reviews. Albert joins us for a candid chat about the origins of Eat Lit Food, and the journey to opening his first restaurant.
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