Recorded At Red Nine

What if you never had to worry about tax again?

In this episode, we sit down with Luke Kilworth, the founder of Lodg, a New Zealand startup solving one of the biggest problems for self-employed people: tax.

From dropping out of school and working for free for 18 months…

to losing an entire dev team overnight…

to building a platform now used by thousands of Kiwis — this is a real, unfiltered look at what it takes to build a business.

We also dive into:

• The biggest mistake new business owners make

• Why most people fail (and how to avoid it)

• Lessons learned from top NZ entrepreneur Nick Mowbray

• And the mindset shift that can fast-track your success

If you’re self-employed, starting a business, or thinking about it — this episode is a must-watch.

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Check out Lodg

👉 https://www.lodg.co.nz

👉 https://www.instagram.com/lodg.nz/

Lodg automatically takes your tax as you earn, pays it to the IRD, and handles your returns, so you never get caught out with a big bill again.

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🎙 Produced by Red Nine Studios

👉 @redninestudios.com

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📲 Follow for more

@recordedatrednine

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Listen on podcast platforms

Spotify / Apple / wherever you get your podcasts

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

00:13 What is Lodg?

01:05 The problem with tax when you go self-employed

01:27 How Lodg is different to Xero

02:09 Where the idea came from (age 15)

03:03 The Brooksfield connection

04:29 Turning a problem into a product

05:29 How Lodg actually works (GST, expenses, tax)

06:40 Growth plans (sole traders → companies)

07:13 The reality of the first 6 months

07:41 Working for free for 18 months

09:07 Why more people are going self-employed

09:37 The brutal truth about business

10:44 Losing the entire dev team overnight

11:43 The “fail fast” mindset

12:40 Dropping out of school

15:02 Learning from successful people

16:40 What makes Nick Mowbray successful

18:52 Why environment matters

22:38 What success looks like for Lodg

23:38 Growth to 3000 users

24:41 Advice for building a business

26:55 Where to find Lodg

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucas Cawte didn't grow up planning to run one of Canterbury's most recognised irrigation companies. From servicing medical equipment in London hospitals to becoming CEO of Rainer Irrigation, his journey is anything but straight line.

In this episode we talk about the Briggs family legacy, how Mid-Canterbury went from flood irrigation to spray, why farmers are doing more for the environment than the media gives them credit for, and what it really takes to build a team in a small town with near-zero unemployment.

Plus Lucas gives some genuinely good advice for anyone in the trenches of growing a business.

🌿 Rainer Irrigation - https://rainer.co.nz/

📲 Follow the podcast

Instagram: @recordedatrednine

🎙️ Recorded at Red Nine Studios

Instagram: @redninestudios

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro

00:39 The Briggs Family & How Rainer Started

03:03 From London Hospitals to CEO

05:38 Why Irrigation is the Lifeblood of Canterbury

07:41 Border Dikes, the Rule Change & the Shift to Spray

12:24 How Irrigation Technology Has Evolved

15:09 How Data is Driving Modern Farming

17:10 The Biggest Misconceptions About Water Management

18:29 Are Farmers Ahead of the Environmental Narrative?

19:06 Expanding into Oamaru

21:33 Attracting Good People in a Small Town

24:14 Business Advice for Year Two

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Pullen is a town planner and founder of LG Consulting — a Christchurch-based planning firm that helps developers, homeowners, and businesses get through the council approval process.

In this episode we get into what's really going on behind the scenes of building and development in New Zealand right now. Why the granny flat law isn't what you think it is, what happens when the rules change while your consent is sitting with council, and why Jessica walked out of her job at council mid-career to start her own firm — two weeks before the first COVID lockdown.

We cover:

— The granny flat trap (and the $29,000 fee nobody talks about)

— Why getting a planner early saves you thousands

— How council's fear of liability is slowing everything down

— What good development actually looks like

— Why Christchurch is the fastest growing city in NZ right now

— The mindset that got Jessica through starting a business in a lockdown

🌐 LG Consulting — https://lgconsulting.co.nz/

Red Nine Studios - https://www.redninestudios.com/

INSTAGRAM - @recordedatrednine & @redninestudio

CHAPTERS

0:00 Highlights — best moments from the episode

0:36 What does LG Consulting actually do?

1:42 12 years in the industry — how it's changed

2:28 Is it getting easier to build in NZ? Not quite.

2:40 The granny flat law — what they didn't tell you

4:26 Development contributions: $8k to $29k per unit

6:11 What people get wrong before they come to us

7:31 The #1 mistake — getting a planner in too late

9:12 Covenants, consent notices & the fine print on your title

10:12 Council's fear of liability — and why it's gone too far

11:14 "I'm writing a 30-page document to prove innocence"

12:51 What a typical client looks like

13:30 Christchurch — fastest growing city in NZ

15:00 How high can you build in the city right now?

17:27 Shoeboxes vs quality — what good development looks like

19:42 What goes wrong mid-development (flood zones, rule changes)

22:07 Liquefaction, TC3 land and displacement flooding

24:00 Passive surveillance — council's wildest planning requirement

24:42 "We insert common sense into an industry where it no longer exists"

25:27 Why Jessica quit council and went out on her own

26:35 Starting a business two weeks before COVID lockdown

27:36 "The universe tests your decisions for authenticity"

29:57 The Instagram highlight reel vs the reality of business

31:36 Freedom as a core value — why the job will never win

32:23 Where to find LG Consulting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Gough was elected to Christchurch City Council at 25 years old. Two months later, the earthquake hit.

In this episode, James takes us inside the rebuild of one of New Zealand's most iconic cities — from his uncle Anthony's decision to pour everything into the Terraces when the banks were begging him not to, to the behind-the-scenes fight that saved Christchurch Stadium from being cut by 5,000 seats.

He also gets honest about his own journey — learning to stop people-pleasing, doubling down on what he's good at, and why he'd rather be voted out making the right call than keep his job making the wrong one.

Topics covered:

- The Terraces — Christchurch's landmark post-earthquake development

- Why overseas investors never came and locals rebuilt the city

- The stadium capacity fight and how public pressure reversed the decision

- Life as a councillor during disaster recovery

- Business advice: passion, refining your craft, and knowing your limits

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:02 What is the Terraces?

01:01 The earthquake and the decision to rebuild

02:00 Family, business, and buying out his aunt

04:23 The Christchurch rebuild — who actually did it?

06:37 "If people like me don't back our home, who else will?"

08:56 Elected to council at 25

10:05 The epiphany — why he ran

11:23 The earthquake hits, two months into council

12:43 The government blueprint vs. the council plan

17:29 Stop people-pleasing — his come-to-Jesus moment

19:22 The stadium — why cutting 5,000 seats was wrong

23:37 How public pressure reversed the decision

26:36 Christchurch today — a city his kids will love

27:32 Business advice

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What does it actually take to run a professional netball franchise? Kate Agnew — General Manager of the reigning ANZ Premiership champions, the Mainland Tactix — has spent over two decades in the sport, from delivering the 2007 Netball World Cup in nine months to helping save the Tactix from liquidation during COVID.

In this episode, Kate unpacks the business of live sport: how she thinks about the fan experience from arrival to exit, why she believes the NBA faces the same challenges as a netball franchise, the "Passionate Model" that drives her event philosophy, and what it was like being the first live sport in the world during 2020 — including the courtside betting behaviour that came with it.

Plus: the story of Fast Five (yes, Kate helped make it up), why Donna Wilkins is the perfect coach for the Tactix, and what success looks like in 2026 after winning it all last year.

Tactix Netball

🌐 Website: https://tactixnetball.co.nz

📸 Instagram: @tactixnetball

Youtube:  ⁨@tactixnetball⁩ 

Red Nine Studios

🌐 Website: https://www.redninestudios.com

📸 Instagram: @recordedatrednine

🎧 Recorded at: @redninestudios

Chapters

0:00 – Intro

0:50 – Who are the Tactix? The history of elite netball in NZ

3:09 – Hosting the 2007 Netball World Cup in nine months

5:47 – The Tactix territory and the Mainland Zone

7:34 – COVID, liquidation, and how the Tactix survived

9:02 – How the Tactix are structured under Netball New Zealand

10:00 – Being the first live sport in the world during COVID

11:31 – Courtside betting: how to spot it and why it matters

13:31 – Leaving NZ for the 2023 World Cup in South Africa

14:56 – What does a Tactix GM actually do?

15:38 – Creating great memories: the philosophy behind the fan experience

17:19 – Why podcasting and live sport share the same emotional goal

18:03 – You can't control the game — but you can control the event

19:29 – Should players speak their mind?

21:50 – Coach Donna Wilkins: passion, farming, and life experience

23:43 – What does success look like in 2026?

25:18 – The arrival, the exit, and why parking matters more than you think

29:14 – The Passionate Model: eight reasons people attend live events

30:36 – Fast Five: Kate helped create it (and nearly lost it to the party)

33:37 – Wrap-up

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Catherine Leonard, co-founder of Māori-owned research firm Ihi Research, has spent 13 years studying the hardest problems in New Zealand society — youth crime, drug harm, family violence, mental health, and poverty.

In this episode she cuts through the noise: what does the evidence actually say about boot camps, ram raids, and drug checking?

Why do simple solutions to complex problems almost always fail? And what can New Zealand learn from Scotland's approach to youth incarceration?

A conversation full of data, empathy, and a few uncomfortable truths.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction — what is Ihi Research and where the name comes from

01:30 Doing research with people, not to people — Catherine's founding philosophy

03:00 The myth of "just work harder" — why lifting yourself out of poverty is harder than it looks

05:30 Meritocracy and the 50-metre head start — how privilege shapes opportunity

08:00 How the government invests in society — and how Ihi measures whether it's working

09:30 Boot camps: what the evidence actually says (spoiler: don't do it)

12:00 What does work — community-based youth mental health in Lower Hutt

15:00 Why empathy isn't just kindness — it's how we build a safer society

17:30 150 unintentional drug deaths a year in New Zealand — and why we don't talk about it

20:00 Drug checking at Electric Ave — how it works and why police support it

23:30 New Zealand first in the world — drug checking legislation that actually saves lives

25:30 Are we measuring the right things? Wellbeing economics vs social investment

27:00 Ram raids and moral panic — youth crime was actually decreasing

29:00 Scotland's bold move: zero under-18s incarcerated — and what NZ could learn

31:00 Why Catherine is starting her own podcast — and the wrap

Links

Ihi Research - https://www.ihi.co.nz

Instagram - @ihiresearch

Red Nine Studios - https://www.redninestudios.com

Recorded at - @redninestudios

Podcast - @recordedatrednine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded at Red Nine is Canterbury's home for real business stories. From iconic organisations like the Crusaders and the Canterbury Tactix, to the founders quietly building world-class companies from the Canterbury Plains — we sit down with the people behind the businesses, dig into the stories that don't make the highlight reel, and pull out the advice that could change how you grow your own.

This season we sit down with: 

Max Ferguson – Lumin 

Colin Mansbridge – The Crusaders 

Kate Agnew – The Tactix 

Nathan Taylor – Partly 

Lucas Cawte – Rainer Irrigation 

Kaila Colbin – Boma 

Ollie Law – Fixinc 

Willie Leota – Fresh Moni & Ethos Mortgages 

Nicola Grigg – MP for Selwyn 

Dr Catherine Leonard – Ihi Research 

Kimberly Bray – Everee Woman & Tertiary Extracts Otautahi 

Hannah Davison – The Untidy Podcast & My Big Moments 

Jessica Pullen – LG Consulting 

James Gough – The Terrace 

Philip Wareing – Phillip Wareing Ltd 

Tim Bateman – O-Studio 

Amy Hislop – Addy And Lou 

Di Foster – Difoster.com

These are the businesses building Canterbury.

Subscribe and follow along → @recordedatrednine 📍 Recorded at @redninestudios

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.