Business Is Boring

Business Is Boring

Think business is boring? This podcast proves it's anything but. Join Simon Pound as he talks to everyone from accidental entrepreneurs to industry leaders about their business journeys and what propelled them to where they are today. Made in partnership with Deel.

Episodes

How free meal planning is changing food research

August 18, 2025 • 48 mins
What started as a way to escape meal planning admin has turned into a powerful tool shaping the future of food. Appetise is a free, recipe-rich meal planning and smart shopping platform loved by tens of thousands across New Zealand and Australia. Co-founders Toby and Elise Hilliam transformed an admin-killer into a two-sided business: empowering home cooks and providing FMCG brands with authentic, behavioural insights. In this ep...
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The billion-dollar company that's just getting started

August 11, 2025 • 50 mins
From starting Crimson Education as a teenager to leading a company operating at a $300 million revenue run rate, Jamie Beaton has been on an extraordinary journey. In this episode, Simon Pound talks with the Crimson founder about his path from acceptance into 25 of the world’s top universities to scaling a billion-dollar global education business. They cover the creation of Crimson Global Academy, the role of AI in shaping educatio...
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From Aotearoa to the world: how Wai Mānuka is going global

August 5, 2025 • 28 mins
What started as a conversation between three friends in Whakatāne became a new category in drinks - a premium sparkling Mānuka honey beverage rooted in kaupapa Māori. In this episode, Joseph Harawira shares the Wai Mānuka journey - from army discipline and sports high performance to launching at the America’s Cup and landing the brand in New York. We talk about staying true to cultural values, sharing the story of Aotearoa, and b...
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The AI tool that turns conversations into action

July 28, 2025 • 54 mins
What if your meetings, interviews, or coaching sessions could turn themselves into structured insights, ready-to-go content, or instant action points? That’s what Contented AI - a Christchurch-based startup led by Lucy Pink and Hannah Hardy-Jones - is building. In this episode, we talk about the journey from early idea to functioning product, bootstrapping vs raising, building with intention from Aotearoa, and how the Contented t...
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Rowan Simpson on the right way to be wrong

July 21, 2025 • 62 mins
Rowan Simpson has helped shape some of Aotearoa’s most iconic startups - from Trade Me and Xero to Vend and Timely - usually from behind the scenes. But with the release of his new book How to Be Wrong, he’s stepped into the spotlight to share some hard-earned lessons about success, leadership, and the quiet people who build great companies. In this episode, we talk about what startup culture still gets wrong, how stories are told...
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How AF Drinks is leading their space in the US

July 14, 2025 • 42 mins
AF Drinks is the fast-growing alcohol-free beverage brand from Aotearoa that is rapidly expanding into global marketplaces, landing on shelves across the US, and even teaming up with global celebrities like Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Lisa King, founder of AF Drinks, joins the pod to discuss launching with purpose, building credibility in a new, huge market, and how the company is redefining what it means to celebrate withou...
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How Polymath is reimagining maths class

July 7, 2025 • 36 mins
What if maths class looked more like Roblox than a workbook? In this episode, Sophie Silver - co-founder and CEO of Polymath - joins us to talk about building a game-based learning platform that kids actually want to use. From her background in psychology and tutoring to launching through Startmate and now reaching students across the world, Sophie shares how Polymath is reimagining education through adaptive algorithms, immersive ...
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Ben Forman & Kat Lintott - From Wrestler to What’s Next

June 30, 2025 • 54 mins
Kat Lintott and Ben Forman helped build Wrestler into one of Aotearoa’s most forward-thinking creative and production studios – fusing storytelling, technology and culture in work for brands like Allbirds, and pioneering bold new spaces like the Web3 project Soul Aether. After scaling the studio and building a vibrant creative community, they sold Wrestler to UFORodeo – a move that opened the door to a new phase, where they are sti...
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How Pals became Pals

June 23, 2025 • 43 mins
Pals is the pastel-coloured RTD that somehow made ready-to-drink drinks cool for the first time. But it wasn’t always assured to be a success, in fact, it started with a wine brand that was very hard to make a business from, a lot of learning, and a sense that there had to be a better way. This week on Business is Boring, we sit down with Nick Marshall and Mat Croad, two of the co-founders of Pals, to unpack how they turned an ove...
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How timber innovation can protect old growth forests

June 16, 2025 • 51 mins
When you think of premium feature timber for cladding, decking or façades, your mind likely goes to cedar -  that rich, beautiful wood loved by architects and homeowners. But there’s a cost. Cedar and other prized timbers are often harvested from ancient, irreplaceable forests. Logging them disrupts ecosystems, accelerates climate risk, and destroys biodiversity -  all to meet demand for aesthetic and performance expectations from...
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The virtual CFOs with very real results

June 9, 2025 • 52 mins
You’ve probably come across Oxygen Advisors if you’ve spent any time around Aotearoa’s startup scene. And if you haven’t, well - you’ve almost certainly heard of the companies they’ve helped grow. They’ve been behind the scenes with the likes of Tracksuit, Auror, Ideally and dozens more - helping them grow, operate best in class finance teams and raise capital - guiding them through the tough parts of building. With over 100 startu...
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The compostable cling wrap winning big in the US

June 2, 2025 • 48 mins
In a world drowning in plastic waste, Jon Reed of Compostic is pioneering a revolutionary approach to everyday kitchen products. Through sheer determination and innovative thinking, Jon transformed a personal frustration with single-use plastics into a thriving business that now sits on the shelves of major US retailers like Whole Foods and Target. His home compostable cling film and kitchen bags represent more than just a product...
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Changing the face of investment

May 26, 2025 • 43 mins
Finance, investment and better money habits have traditionally been areas mainly staffed by, led by and advocated by men. Boring men. Two friends, Sophie Hallwright and Victoria Harris, saw a need for interesting and relevant information, advice and community for women. They launched The Curve, a platform boasting an internationally popular podcast, investing club, courses and community. The Curve is now a fantastic example of ho...
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Why great operators can make for great venture capitalists

May 19, 2025 • 50 mins
Venture capital is one of the most prominent types of capital out there. But it isn’t necessarily a great fit for every business. We’re joined by Barnaby Marshall, partner and investor at Icehouse Ventures, to talk VC, when it is good, when it is not helpful, and also to chat about his path into the space. Barnaby has invested in and supported great companies like Dawn Aerospace, Basis Tracksuit, and Ideally - and is part of Bran...
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How Keep the Change changes lives

May 12, 2025 • 44 mins
Being good with money is not easy. The whole credit, consumer, and hedonistic world are built to try to get people to spend too much on things they don’t need, for short term gain. The actual tips for how to be better with money are quite simple. Spend less than you earn, save a good percentage even when you don’t earn a lot, stay away from expensive debt, invest in upskilling and invest for the long-term as compounding benefits ar...
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Doing better at business by doing better

May 5, 2025 • 49 mins
In theory every business has the potential to bake doing good into how it makes money. But very few do. Brianne West has shown with first Ethique, and now Incrediballs, that with intentional action you can make a brand, business, product and movement for change, where everything you sell means you create a net positive for the world. Brianne joins us to share how she does this, and how the opportunity is there for everyone else t...
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Why people leaders make great CEOs

April 28, 2025 • 53 mins
People leaders are often the quietly most vital parts of a business. Great people leaders are like a cross between HR and an executional chief operating officer - someone who takes the business strategy and breaks it down into what everyone needs to do, and then helps every manager in a business stay accountable. There are no great companies without great people policy and execution, and people leaders need to understand culture, ...
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How to build a community of 10,000 marketers

April 21, 2025 • 44 mins
Building community can be one of the most important parts of building a brand and business. When people talk about businesses and customers, we are really talking about a community of people. What does it take to become a valuable and useful member of a community, rather than just a business selling into a community? What are the benefits? And how do you set out to give enough value that people want to do things with you and for y...
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Creating an Extraordinary new category

April 14, 2025 • 47 mins
On this season of Business is Boring we’re talking to leaders who are great examples of the best of business - and today we are looking at the opportunities and challenges of creating your own category. Creating a category allows you to be the leader and get away from the competition. But it is one of the hardest things to do - as you need to create awareness, trust, new habits and understanding in the market. It takes energy, pos...
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A banking challenger emerges

April 7, 2025 • 51 mins
This season on Business is Boring we’re talking to people who are examples of better ways to do business. This week we meet Jovan Pavlicevic, co-founder of SquareOne, a financial empowerment and spending card for kids, and now, Emerge, the challenger for small business banking. In many ways Emerge is the classic disruptor, coming in and taking share from the big bank incumbents by being faster, nicer, smarter and more customer-cen...
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