Trent Mankelow is currently the acting CEO of Summer Of Tech whilst Ruth McDavitt is off being a parent for the year and is loving it. With Trent's contacts he's looking to bring many more companies into the fold (you could be reading this in one right now, get involved with the link below). Trent has had a life of entrepreneurship co-founding Optimal Experience, being the Chief Product Officer for Vend, and most recently as Trade Me's inaugural Chief Customer Officer - not a bad Kiwi lineup of ...
Aug 12, 2019•34 min
With Duncan Greive, Managing Editor of The Spinoff website and co-host of the #realpod, you know you're going to get insight into the New Zealand media scene and where it's all heading to with Facebook and Google gobbling up all the advertising revenue. At the time of recording with Viv The Spinoff were in the throws of launching their Members feature, allowing readers (like all of us at AG) to help support the ongoing work - do it here: https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/25-06-2019/announcing-the-s...
Aug 07, 2019•36 min
Marie-Claire Andrews for a long time ran the event app start-up Show Gizmodo, and with a life change out to the Wairarapa she keeps connected to the industry via various international event groups. Being out in Carterton however she looked for a co-working space, couldn't find one, talked to the local mayor at a BBQ, and we now have 3Mile :) Marie-Claire is bursting with enthusiasm for the region, the community, and most of all the possibilities that the Wairarapa and all NZ regions have over an...
Aug 06, 2019•36 min
Brough Johnson, co-founder of Narrative Muse, and a person that is happy bringing together and community is very important to her. Coming from the TV and film industries for a number of years Brough she discovered that yes there is the content out there for LGBTQ+ audiences but it was harder to find than the mainstream and so from a review site to a full recommendation service Narrative Muse serves this community. Ever asked, “How do I ensure we have a diverse company?”, well Brough has a very s...
Aug 01, 2019•30 min
A bubbly and busy Hiria let's us know that the product is ready to go, she's prepping for some talks and is focusing her last week in the Zero Carbon Challenge on the PledgeMe campaign to get 200 kits to organisations. btw: product pricing is very hard :) Hiria has also published a stack of updates as LinkedIn videos, go check them out And finally, as Hiria hear's others are now able to "pitch" the product she is looking for a co-founder by asking around and gonna go 50/50. - TEDxWellington: htt...
Jul 30, 2019•12 min
John Hart, otherwise known as FarmGeek, has had a life in tech for a number of years however with a change of lifestyle to become a farmer he has now combined tech and a rural viewpoint to take on introducing tech to the community and how New Zealand needs to be more than sheep. Recently Raj and Mike were invited to "Hemp & Crickets - Oh My!" at which John and the Breadcraft team showed off, "sustainable food using alternative sources of protein - the way of the future" using crickets. And t...
Jul 29, 2019•26 min
Paul Brislen is a well known voice on 'lesser radio', TV, media, and all over the webs with his commentary on the New Zealand tech industry alongside a deep understanding of the telecommunications field. Some fascinating truth about 5G, the Russian fake news, how in-building 5G needs help ... oh, and those extra darned 5G radio waves will NOT give you cancer, sheesh! Paul and Viv cover the latest tech trends, how data has become key but then ugh use of our personal information, taxing the tech m...
Jul 24, 2019•44 min
On a recent Wairarapa road trip Mike and Raj caught up with John Hart and Tamara Olliver at the current location of the Masterton Fab Lab, a space for them to, "equip our whole community with 21st century skills so we can all participate in the world of making with technology!" John and Tamara explained the Fab Lab's mission, successes, current home, and their future! We are left wondering WHY AREN'T THERE MORE IN NEW ZEALAND - you will to! - https://www.facebook.com/pg/fablabmasterton - https:/...
Jul 22, 2019•24 min
Whilst Whare Hauora has been around for 2+ years we only joined them on their journey 1 year ago ... but SO MUCH has happened in the intervening 12 months that we thought we'd have a wee celebration (coffee and tea all round, thanks Dom) and a review of how far Hiria and the ever growing Whare Hauora has come ... ------------------------------------------------------ The Whare Hauora update is brought to you by Hiria Te Rangi and Access Granted NZ. All the updates: https://www.accessgranted.nz/w...
Jul 17, 2019•29 min
Looking after the team is spoken much on our podcast but we've yet to have had such a focused discussion on what that means day-to-day as we had with Nathan Donaldson (CEO) and Rebecca Jones (Agile Coach) from Boost. We cover a bit of background, especially how Rebecca made the move from hospitality to Agile Coach, before diving into how to support, grow, and love the teams within your organisation. We even talk about what the means for salary increases using Boosts medieval 'grading' approach -...
Jul 15, 2019•45 min
Viv first met Tash Bettridge when volunteering with kids at a STEAM workshop at OMGTech - from being a teacher to reinventing herself as a cyber security consultant Tash is one to watch out for. "Aesthetically Pakeha", is a phrase Tash uses and whilst it's funny it's also slightly sad how passing privilege affects us all in different ways. Sometimes, like Tash talks about, it really works against you when you least expect it. We wish Tash good luck with her Google adventures, and perhaps we'll c...
Jul 11, 2019•30 min
Ed Abraham certainly has a background to wonder at, and Mike most certainly did geek out about the times Ed spent in university with Professor Stephen Hawkins. And it's that big brain of his that see's Ed heading up a company, Dragonfly Data Science, full of very VERY clever people working with data, computers, and making them solve problems that clients bring to them - gotta have a reason, otherwise it's just playing A great example is Dragonfly's work on the Te Hiku Media Kōrero Māori project ...
Jul 09, 2019•39 min
Kerry Topp is the Associate Director of Transformation and Innovation for Datacom, but fancy titles aside, he is one of those humans that is naturally full of energy and genuinely want to do good for the world. Viv and Kerry talk about tech change through a human lens, developing capabilities through hackfests, and student led innovation before tackling psychological safety, Google’s Project Aristotle and workplace bullying! Whew, get your notepad out, this one is a doozy! - https://www.linkedin...
Jul 04, 2019•36 min
Ronja Gustafasson came over to New Zealand a year ago and started working as business development at Nowsnapp, a startup based all over the world but developed and delivered out of Kapiti. We also talk Pirate Party from Ronja's Sweden and how it's hiding out in Miramar (who knew). The app itself takes the crowd sourcing / "share economy" approach to all those jobs that you need doing but really can't be bothered with - from taking the dog for a walk, writing that proposal*, or even just popping ...
Jul 01, 2019•23 min
A catchup with a smiling Hiria as she rides the Zero Carbon Challenge team work, and has a focused future of GETTING THE MONEY! As with all startups it's not the promises of support everyone makes it's the putting the organisational hand in the deep pocket and standing alongside. ------------------------------------------------------ The Whare Hauora update is brought to you by Hiria Te Rangi and Access Granted NZ. All the updates: https://www.accessgranted.nz/whare-hauora/ Get all the Whare Hau...
Jul 01, 2019•15 min
Blockchain and digital identity was on Andy Higgs lips on his recent Wellington visit to the GOVIS annual conference ... we got the scoop before the attendees :) Andy works for Centrality* but in a previous life was "chasing the rainbows" building MTV in Europe, working at Deloitte Consulting, and co-founding Accelerate Sport (now CSM) based in London. Awesome talk, loads of hints & tips, and plenty of links for the developers out there to use Centrality's open source code. We also get a hin...
Jun 27, 2019•38 min
Our regular chat with Hiria Te Rangi and her journey with Whare Hauora, the social enterprise startup, giving residents data about how their homes are killing hem. A visit to the Band Rotunda in Wellington on a gorgeous winter’s day finds Hiria cogitating upon all the work to do, how tiring it is, and how excited and useful it is being a part of the Zero Carbon Challenge … and she has a team member! - https://www.zerocarbonchallenge.nz/ ------------------------------------------------------ The ...
Jun 25, 2019•10 min
JP Tocker shares a similar cloud journey* with Mike and they discuss this, podcasting with and about successful people, the All Blacks, but mostly the passion that has driven JP to continue doing what he does ... which can include getting you married. - https://www.jptocker.com/ - https://www.facebook.com/thejptockershow/ - https://twitter.com/jptocker - https://nz.linkedin.com/in/jptocker - https://www.instagram.com/jptocker/ * “cloud journey”, sounds distinctly Flash Gordon-esque eh ----------...
Jun 24, 2019•43 min
Talofa Lava and Kia ora! Welcome to Access Granted, taking you behind the scenes with conversations from the most interesting people of New Zealand tech, media or startups. Today Viv chats with Saia Mataele about what makes him tick and a wee bit about a few things he is doing in his spare time, from a social enterprise to connect Māori & Pasifika people here in Aotearoa to working on a Pacific-wide e-commerce platform - it's a wonder that he has anytime to sleep! So grab a drink, put your f...
Jun 24, 2019•28 min
It was perfect timing for Raj to chat with Ben Forman, co-founder at Wrestler, as he was recently announced by Forbes as a top 30 under 30 ... what an amazing story he has to tell. Ben is passionate about storytelling through technology, with a strong focus on future technologies - did you know he started one of NZ's first commercial drone companies, has been at the forefront of the online video wave since before it was cool, and now runs one of NZ's top VR / AR production companies. Check out t...
Jun 18, 2019•32 min
Andrew Watkins has been working in tech for a while including embedded systems, navigation tools, and at NZTA. Aaaaad at an NZTA-run hackathon that Andrew met Walter Lim and then on to an actual Voluntarily hackathon before both joining the company. They discuss OMGTech! and, of course, the new Voluntarily system that is: "... a platform that connects corporate volunteer time with classrooms to teach science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship, arts and design with the help of engaging co...
Jun 13, 2019•31 min
Tim Packer is a 'smart city' advocate having worked with NEC and the Wellington City Council on the potential use of sensors to help bring the heartbeat and incidents closer to those that need to monitor and respond. He now heads a startup, the gloriously named BucketLabs, to help cities collate their data in order for the stories to be told and for a "digital twins" to be created and used. But Tim's not all about data, he has a passion for gardening and permaculture! - https://nz.linkedin.com/i...
Jun 07, 2019•40 min
Sean Audain works at the Wellington City Council and has been a civil servant in one manner or another all his professional life ... wait, wait, come back, this is NOT boring! This is a story of how one man endeavours to bring silos of data together to open up to the true owners (citizens of the city and New Zealand). It is a story of one man guiding community groups through the red tape to successful outcomes. It is a story of one man who is passionate that measuring the city will mean better a...
Jun 03, 2019•49 min
The ups of running a startup can be few and far between and once the rush of having your own company wears off it's pure grind to keep going. Hiria has a few ups to share, and a lot of downs to show how she can show the world she will not give up. ------------------------------------------------------ The Whare Hauora update is brought to you by Hiria Te Rangi and Access Granted NZ. All the updates: https://www.accessgranted.nz/whare-hauora/ Get all the Whare Hauora updates: - http://www.whareha...
Jun 03, 2019•25 min
Melody stares at the perceived Kiwi reticence to talk about anything uncomfortable and shouts SEX! (or rather BANG!), and takes the subject head-on with her ongoing and very successful RNZ podcast. Now, before you get all flustered under the collar this was Raj and Mike chatting to Melody and not the other way around, so no sex talk this time. Melody discusses how she got into podcasting, what the show itself has unleashed, and how and why she is hoping to do more live BANG! shows around the cou...
May 29, 2019•36 min
Steve Paea, ERP (Netsuite) expert during the day and a Pasifika tech leader and advocate during the … night? From a small coffee meetup/networking informal organisation Steve has, alongside Tovia Va’aelua, Fred Piliu, Bernadette Ah Loo, Joanna Welch, and Joey Nanai, created Pasifika IT that is now partnering with government, and other organisations to provide not just events and networking but now tech mentoring for Pasifika kids, - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevepaea/ - https://www.pasifikain...
May 28, 2019•35 min
Terry Miller has a passion for engineering, making stuff, and getting out there ... just listen, you can hear it in his voice. Terry chatted to Mike about how and why he came to co-found a hardware (with software) company aimed at bringing a VR experience that will have you flipping all over the place. AND, the Eight360 is (currently) working in a garage, the true startup myth comes to life. It's a fascinating product, best to check it out in action with their latest video: https://www.facebook....
May 21, 2019•41 min
Deep in the lounge at Hashigo Zake we catch up with Hiria as she takes us through this weeks bumpy road to running a startup and the big blocks she needs to put in place very soon. ------------------------------------------------------ The Whare Hauora update is brought to you by Hiria Te Rangi and Access Granted NZ. All the updates: https://www.accessgranted.nz/whare-hauora/ Get all the Whare Hauora updates: - http://www.wharehauora.nz/ - https://www.facebook.com/wharehauora/ - https://twitter....
May 17, 2019•10 min
Rochelle Stewart-Allen and Wael Aldroubi are looking to bring together 50 devs, designers, lived experiences, and problem solvers to tackle the issues refugees to New Zealand have on entering and settling into Aotearoa. As part of the worldwide Techfugees movement empowering displaced people with technology the New Zealand team are looking to not only create (or built upon) apps to solve real world hurdles for refugees but also connect them to the community ensuring New Zealand is utilising all ...
May 15, 2019•32 min
Don Christie has made New Zealand, and Wellington especially, his home and fights for everything open tech knowing it will help grow NZ into a world leader of how to 'do tech and data' for the benefit of all. Don takes us through his weird early Gloucester (UK) connection with Mike, how Catalyst came to be and where it is with it's many off-shoots around the world, what+why NZRise, why open source is the key to everything, and how Worser Bay (Wgtn) is a fine fine yachting place. An honour to hav...
May 14, 2019•45 min
