Rowan Simpson has been part of most of NZ's most well known and loved software startups: TradeMe, Xero, Vend, Timely and many more.

Peter sits down with Simpson to talk about his new book, his advice for founders, and how NZ can light a fire under its startup scene.

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It's been a tumultuous first year for NZ's first AI-focused company to list on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX).

Following on from a recent article on BusinessDesk, we unpack that journey so far and look ahead to what might be next for the contentious but ambitious company.

This week, we have a double feature with an interview with entrepreneur extrodinaire Rowan Simpson to follow on Sunday, so make sure you subscribed to get that in your podcast feed when it drops.

The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees Business.

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This week we speak to Max Ferguson who started Lumin in 2010 to address a growing need for a robust, cloud-based way to edit and share portable document format files, better known as PDFs.

15 years on and Lumin has over 100 million users worldwide and is successfully rolling out more document collaboration products and features, managing to find success with the often-tricky freemium model.

Plus, what's the latest on Deepseek, and the unpacking the NZ government's plans for using generative AI.

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Last week, Te Hiku Media chief executive and one of Time magazine's most influential people in AI, Peter-Lucas Jones, spoke to the world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

As our featured guest this week, Jones explains how the Kaitaia-based media company is using AI to save native languages across the globe.,

Plus, cutting through the noise on what DeepSeek actually is and does.

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SailGP's chief technology officer Warren Jones goes deep into all the ways he and his team have integrated digital technologies into the very foundation of the sport changing the nature of racing.

Plus, the ramifications for New Zealand and the world-at-large of the technology billionaires buying their way into US President Donald Trump's good graces.

The Business of Tech is sponsored by 2degrees for Business.

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Other than a few big-swing failures, it’s been a bit of a holding pattern for consumer technologies this year, with many minor improvements but nothing truly revolutionary.

This week, Peter and Ben are unpacking all that and more as they dive into the consumer products and services from 2024 they thought were good, bad, and just plain silly.

Topics include the series of disappointments that were built-in artificial intelligence (AI) assistants, Dyson’s $800 headphones, the AI services they actually found useful, hot digital travel tips, a skin-smoothing LED mask and a whole lot more.

This is the last episode for the year and The Business of Tech will be back again with more great guests and tech news analysis on Jan 23, 2025.

Additional music by Music Unlimited from Pixabay.

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We're joined by four stellar journalists who discuss what they saw over the last year and look ahead to what may be yet to come. 

BusinessDesk’s senior markets reporter Rebecca Stevenson offers a deep dive into Rakon's failed takeover and unpacks Gentrack’s success – and the questions that success raises. 

Rob O’Neill, senior reporter at IT industry news outlet Reseller, unpacks the waves of redundancies and talks about AI in big business. 

Finn Hogan, a writer at startup-focused Caffeine Daily, talks through the coolest tech startup highlights, the ups and downs of finding funding, and the industries worth watching. 

The Spinoff founder and media writer Duncan Grieve outlines his concerns over the future of the news amid big tech’s continued domination of the media landscape.  

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Steve Vamos' career in tech has spanned decades, starting with IBM straight out of university in the 1980’s, followed by stints at Apple, NineMSN, Microsoft, and Xero.

He says that connecting with people and being open to criticism are key skills for leaders navigating through times of major change.

Vamos also shares more specific advice on navigating change, having hard conversations, and the importance of character.

Plus, Ben and Peter discuss why the Australian social media ban may not be a great idea.

Ben's Bluesky

Peter's Bluesky

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Projectworks founder Matthew Hayter and new CEO and Silicon Valley veteran Mark Orttung dive into the details on what’s happening with the $100 million company's international push. 

Plus, Ben and Peter discuss Bluesky’s sudden rise in popularity as people leave Elon Musk’s X by the millions.

Ben's Bluesky

Peter's Bluesky

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Peter was in California for the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying more satellites to support One NZ's satellite to mobile connectivity. 

We dig into the details of that deal, including whether competitors can possibly keep up.

Then, our featured guest is Alex Kendall, one of NZ's most successful tech expats in recent years.

Alex Kendall is the founder of Wayve, an autonomous vehicles company that raised US$1 billion earlier this year. 

He talks about his journey from being raised on a farm in Canterbury, to leading one of the most promising artificial intelligence companies in the world.

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