Notes From The Executive

Notes From The Executive

By Mina Amso

Notes From The Executive is NZ's no-BS business & entrepreneurship podcast for Auckland owners running established companies - $1M-$10M revenue, 5-50 staff - who want to grow faster, protect their... more
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  1. Number 1: The $10 Billion NZ Burns on Foreign Fuel. Your Business Pays

    AcademyEx Stop waiting on developers, build it yourself with AI. Download Free Guide 👉 https://shorturl.at/EgyAj Course Starts 17 September (Applications Close 10 September) · New Zealand spends about as much on petrol and diesel as it earns exporting concentrated milk. Mike Casey says that money leaves the country, and most of it does not have to. · He runs a cherry orchard in Central Otago on 21 electric machines, and a $50,000 diesel bill became a $25,000 revenue stream before financing costs. I asked him what the payback actually looks like machine by machine, what it cost to get there, and what a business owner with a leased warehouse and no roof access is supposed to do instead. · What I Asked Mike 👉 How much money does New Zealand lose every year buying fuel from offshore? 👉 What did it actually cost to electrify 21 machines? 👉 What is the real payback period, machine by machine? 👉 What can you do if you lease your building and cannot touch the roof? 👉 Who should not do this? · Timestamps 00:00 Intro 02:08 how does a business get paid for its power 09:49 what does it cost to electrify 21 machines 11:46 which machines save the most money 17:59 why stay on the grid if you generate your own power 20:01 how do solar unit economics compare to diesel 22:26 what is the real payback on solar and batteries 24:36 how do I get a bank to finance solar 26:08 what can I do if I lease my building 27:40 who should not electrify 54:22 how much money does a nine hectare orchard make 58:02 how much does New Zealand spend on foreign fuel 1:03:45 why can't small businesses get finance for solar 1:07:31 why is New Zealand behind Australia on rooftop solar 1:12:44 what would fix this for the whole country · Mike Casey is chief executive of Rewiring Aotearoa and co-owner of Forest Lodge Orchard at Mt Pisa, between Cromwell and Wanaka. He co-founded GradConnection, an Australian student job board sold to SEEK in 2019, then moved home and planted 9,300 cherry trees with his wife Rebecca and business partners Euan and Rachel White. · Follow Mike Casey Rewiring Aotearoa https://www.rewiring.nz · Follow Me Mina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast Mina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812 Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/ Mina on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso · Notes From The Executive is New Zealand's no-BS business and entrepreneurship podcast for owners of established companies who want to grow faster, protect their margin, and build something worth selling.

    1h 15min
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  2. Number 2: $500K in 11 Weeks: The AI Brain That Runs His Business

    Six New Zealanders used artificial intelligence in a real business. Did any of them actually make money? AcademyEx Build Business Software Using AI Tools (without becoming a professional developer). Sign up 👉 https://shorturl.at/EgyAj Pwrfully Get Recognised and speak to your ideal market on podcasts. Start for Free https://www.pwrfully.com/bookacall Logitech Win Our 2nd Birthday Logitech Productivity Pack Giveaway worth $1,500 To enter: 👉 https://bit.ly/NFTEGiveaway One of them made half a million dollars in eleven weeks with it. The other five explain why most businesses never will. Stanley Henry fed his whole agency to Claude. Perrin Rowland is Chief Product and Experience Officer at AcademyEx, this show's sponsor, and runs marketing with two and a half people. Marisa Fong built and sold Madison Recruitment. Melissa Clark-Reynolds ONZM ran an insurance company on artificial intelligence in 1998. Greg Cross co-founded Soul Machines. Tim Warren spent $200 on AI tools all of last year. The sharpest argument in it: the layoffs are not really about artificial intelligence, they are companies that over-hired in the good years using it as the excuse. What I Asked Them How do you make half a million dollars in eleven weeks, and what do you feed it first? If it does ninety percent of the job, what can you still charge for? Are the layoffs about artificial intelligence or about bad hiring? Why is New Zealand third to last in the world for trusting it? How much should a small business spend before it is a waste? Chapters 0:00 Cold open 0:45 Building the context brain 3:55 What it actually sold 7:16 Why New Zealand is behind 10:13 The industry that just got replaced 12:36 What boards get wrong 16:02 A utility, not a technology 17:43 Why spending is not a strategy 20:17 What has to sit at the centre Watch The Full Episodes Stanley Henry Perrin Rowland Marisa Fong Melissa Clark-Reynolds Greg Cross Tim Warren Follow Me YouTube Spotify Apple Instagram LinkedIn Notes From The Executive is a New Zealand business podcast for owners who want the conversation nobody else is having. I wanted to know whether anyone in New Zealand is actually making money with artificial intelligence, so I asked six people using it in a real business. One made $500,000 in eleven weeks. We covered AI for small business, AI adoption in NZ, headcount, and whether the job losses are real. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist

    21min
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  3. Number 3: “They Stopped Him At Auckland Airport”: This Is What Happened Next” NZ Tax Lawyer

    New Zealand owes $9.4 billion in overdue tax. 65% of it is small business. Why are business owners their own worst enemy when it comes to IRD? · 👉 Stop waiting on developers, build it yourself with AI👉 Download Free Guide: https://shorturl.at/EgyAjCourse Starts 17 September (Applications Close 10 September) · Our 2nd Birthday Giveaway. Be in to win an $1500 Logitech Productivity Pack giveaway. To enter: 👉 Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel 👉 Follow us on Instagram 👉 Like This Video 👉 Comment Why You Should Win. Terms and Conditions Apply. See Video Description. www.logitech.com · Pwrfully. Get Recognised and speak to your ideal market on podcasts. Start for Free 👉 https://www.pwrfully.com/bookacall · Dave Ananth is a tax lawyer and partner at Meridian Partners in Auckland. He spent years inside Inland Revenue on the prosecution team before moving to the other side of the table. · He's negotiated a tax debt down from $400,000 to $210,000, and settled more than 400 student loan cases for Kiwis living overseas. · His central point: unpaid GST and PAYE is a cash flow symptom, not a scam. By the time most business owners call him, it's already a six figure problem. · What I Asked DaveIs IRD too aggressive, or are NZ business owners genuinely bad with money?What's the biggest tax debt you've ever negotiated down?Why do so many people wait until it's a $400,000 problem?Can IRD really stop you at the airport over a student loan?If you were in charge of IRD, what would you change? · Chapters00:00 Intro02:32 Why do NZ business owners owe $9.4 billion in tax?06:37 What are the penalties for not paying PAYE in NZ?09:16 Why don't business owners talk to their accountant before it's too late?14:50 How much tax debt can force a business into liquidation?19:33 Can you negotiate a lower settlement with IRD?23:57 Why does IRD listen to some people and not others?25:36 How does IRD handle cryptocurrency tax audits?37:22 Who gets prosecuted by IRD and who gets a payment plan?38:32 Why is student loan interest going up for Kiwis overseas?41:23 How do you negotiate a student loan settlement with IRD?42:10 Can IRD stop you at the airport for unpaid debt?49:17 Is New Zealand its own worst enemy when it comes to tax debt?50:04 How to fix New Zealand's tax debt system52:42 Is IRD using third-party debt collectors overseas?53:40 Dave Ananth: how to contact a tax lawyer for IRD debt · Follow Davehttps://mplaw.nz/about-meridian-partners/dave-ananth/ · Follow MeYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcastSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcpApple https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso · Notes From The Executive is New Zealand's business podcast for owners who want the real numbers, not the theory. · New Zealand owes $9.4 billion in overdue tax, 65% of it small business. If nz tax debt, ird negotiation, student loan overseas nz or small business tax nz is on your mind, this one's worth the 55 minutes. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist

    56min
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  4. Number 4: No Data Centres, No AI Economy. NZ Is Already Too Late?

    AcademyEx Build Business Software Using AI (without becoming a coder) 👉 Download Free Guide: https://academyex.com/courses/micro-credential/understanding-software-development-processes-and-tools-micro-credential/ Course Starts 17 September (Applications Close 10 September) · Pwrfully Get Recognised and speak to your ideal market on podcasts. Start for Free 👉 https://www.pwrfully.com/bookacall · Data centres are not a technology story. Greg Cross calls them the infrastructure of the AI economy, in the same way dams and power lines were the infrastructure of the electrical one. His view on where New Zealand sits: very late to the party, with a pretty embarrassing record on infrastructure decisions behind us. · Greg co-founded Soul Machines in 2016 with Dr Mark Sagar, the two-time Academy Award winner behind the facial animation work in Avatar and King Kong. The University of Auckland spinout raised more than US135 million dollars, about NZ225 million dollars, and worked with Pfizer, General Motors and the golfer Jack Nicklaus. · What I Asked Greg 👉 Is New Zealand already too late on data centres 👉 What does being late actually cost someone running a business here 👉 Are AI data centres going to make power more expensive for the average Kiwi 👉 Who owns your business data once it gets processed offshore 👉 Is AI really the reason big companies are laying people off · Follow Me Mina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast Mina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812 Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/ Mina on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso · Follow Greg Cross LinkedIn: Greg Cross NZ Email: [email protected] · Timestamps 00:00 Intro 05:57 Why are data centres infrastructure and not technology 08:33 Why do we keep getting infrastructure decisions wrong 15:45 Who owns your data in an AI world 37:12 What does all of this mean for a business owner 49:05 How did a New Zealand company raise 225 million dollars 59:07 Why does raising a lot of money not make you safe 1:10:43 Why did the company go into receivership 1:43:49 Is AI a growth tool or a cost cutting excuse 1:48:39 How to contact Greg Cross · Notes From The Executive is New Zealand's no-BS business and entrepreneurship podcast for owners running established companies. · Data centres are the infrastructure of the AI economy and New Zealand is late. I asked Greg Cross what that costs an owner running a real business here, and who holds your data once it is processed offshore. If you follow the New Zealand economy, power prices, data centres or AI adoption in NZ, start here. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist

    1h 51min
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  5. Number 5: Is New Zealand Actually Going Broke: A 9 Out Of 10 Crisis?

    I asked eight people whether New Zealand is actually broke, or whether that is a false narrative. They do not agree with each other, the question is, do you? AcademyEx Build your own software (without coding) at https://academyex.com/courses/micro-credential/understanding-software-development-processes-and-tools-micro-credential/ Pwrfully If you're a business owner who is lacking visibility book a call to discuss your options at https://www.pwrfully.com/bookacall Watch The Full Episodes Phil O'Reilly ONZM https://youtu.be/smuSEOkp6lg Damien Grant https://youtu.be/pz-btE8ge1M Bernard Hickey https://youtu.be/BktT8wXe-2w Nick Tuffley https://youtu.be/dS_qDECbCV4 Shamubeel Eaqub https://youtu.be/96TvHjL5a0M Paul Spoonley https://youtu.be/ex4fQY5zDaA Luke Kemeys https://youtu.be/3y2CXX5Yx-A Simon Bridges https://youtu.be/np6gYsXroLQ Follow Me YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso Timestamps 0:00 Are we actually broke as a country 1:27 What is the myth New Zealand keeps telling itself 1:42 How bad is this compared to the global financial crisis 5:34 Why is this still a housing market with bits tacked on 6:20 Is a real economy beyond housing just a myth 9:29 Why can a business only borrow against the owner's house 11:34 What do you do when you cannot pay the tax bill 14:38 How many New Zealanders are actually leaving 23:42 Why one father tells his own daughters to leave Nick Tuffley is Chief Economist at ASB. Shamubeel Eaqub is Chief Economist at Simplicity. Bernard Hickey is an economist and journalist at The Kākā. Phil O'Reilly ONZM is Managing Director of Iron Duke Partners. Damien Grant is a liquidator at Waterstone Insolvency. Paul Spoonley is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Massey University. Luke Kemeys is a director and accountant at Next Advisory. Simon Bridges is Chief Executive of the Auckland Business Chamber and a former Minister of Energy. Nick Tuffley rates this shock nine out of ten, against six or seven for the global financial crisis. Unemployment hit 5.6 percent in the June 2026 quarter, the highest since 2015, and liquidations sit at a fifteen year high. If you want the New Zealand economy explained without spin, the New Zealand recession in plain terms, or a straight answer on cost of living and the New Zealand housing market, this is the episode. Grab my free list of NZ podcasts to get booked on: https://pwrfully.com/freepodcasts?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=freelist

    26min
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How many episodes does Notes From The Executive have?

The podcast currently has 151 episodes available.