Growing up in a self-sufficient community on Aotea Great Barrier Island, Tama Toki owes much of his problem-solving nous and deep connection to the whenua to his unique upbringing. As the founder of Aotea (a skincare line rooted in rongoā Māori knowledge) and Aotea Energy (a company focused on renewable micro-grid solutions), Tama’s work blends innovation with purpose.

In this final episode of Business is Boring for the season, we dive into Tama’s journey, the mātauranga Māori guiding his ventures, and his vision for a future where energy and business empower communities. This is the last episode in this run for Business is Boring, and such a fitting guest to end on – Tama embodies the potential of business to build a better world, while broadening our understanding of what business can be.

Thank you to all our incredible guests and listeners for joining us on this journey!

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AI is becoming an integral part of daily life, and chances are you’ve already used the work of today’s guest. Tom Gruber is the co-founder and creator of Siri, the intelligent assistant that revolutionised how we interact with technology with Apple. But Tom’s contributions to AI extend far beyond voice commands—he’s a pioneer of “Humanistic AI”, a design philsophy that champions the idea that artificial intelligence should amplify human potential, not replace it.

While in Aotearoa for the Spark Accelerate Summit, Tom joined Simon Pound to chat about designing human-centered tech, the future of AI, and how to create tools that genuinely enhance our lives.

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AI, smart cities, and the future of urban living aren’t just buzzwords—they’re reshaping our world. Few are driving this transformation more than Dr. Ayesha Khanna, co-founder and CEO of Addo, an AI advisory firm dedicated to harnessing technology for the greater good. A futurist, thought leader in AI ethics, and passionate advocate for diversity in tech, Dr. Khanna’s impact spans continents, from shaping smart city initiatives in Asia to empowering young women through her education nonprofit 21st Century Girls.

While Dr. Khanna was in Aotearoa for the Spark Accelerate Summit, she joined Simon Pound to chat about her vision for ethical AI, smarter cities, and tech that uplifts humanity.

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AI can be a superpower, but like all tools, if you know what you’re doing you’re going to get a better result. In a nutshell: the better the inputs, the better the outputs.

That’s what Edmundo Ortega is here to help with. He’s an AI educator at Section - the business education and up-skilling platform - who was here in New Zealand to teach a course on AI prompting, and to present at the Spark Accelerate summit. Edmundo is a seasoned entrepreneur and Silicon Valley expert and he joined us to talk about his journey, his views on the future of tech, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

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How can organisations proactively disrupt themselves to stay ahead in rapidly changing markets while optimising costs? Nadine Higgins hosts a panel of international business and technology leaders for an engaging discussion on creating a culture of innovation that encourages risk-taking and experimentation, balanced with smart resource allocation and efficiency improvements.

Expect transformative ideas from frontline disruptors, as they explore the importance of continuous reinvention to maintain competitive advantage and organisational resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Featuring: Edmundo Ortego (partner, Machine & Partners), Brian Northern (group CIO, Fulton Hogan), Dave Scullin (chief digital officer, Zespri), Sarah Carney (Australia / NZ CTO, Microsoft)

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Karma Drinks and All Good Organics are among the best examples of businesses putting purpose and social impact at the heart of what they do. While providing great products, they also provide fairer wages to the growers and entrepreneurs involved in the production of goods, and part of all proceeds go to the Karma Foundation, which works to provide opportunities to people in Sierra Leone. The chair of that foundation is Albert Tucker, who has been a pioneer and advocate for Sierra Leone and fair-trade practices globally. Albert was in New Zealand to share more about the foundation’s work, and he joined us with Simon Coley, co-founder of Karma Drinks and All Good Organics.

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Recruitment can be a great business if you do it well. You get roughly 15% of the salary of the people you place as a success fee, and if you have a good relationships with companies and talent you can repeat the process over and over. But it’s not a simple gig! Great recruiters need to understand the people and the businesses they work with - and every job you place directly affects your reputation.

Troy Hammond is a recruiter who specialises in the high growth space who has become a sounding board, support person and champion for so many people in the start-up scene. Through his company Talent Army and the work he does with his podcast We F#$king Love Startups, he generates amazing impact. To talk the journey, big goals, and what’s next, Troy joins the podcast.

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Nature Baby is the organic baby wear company creating natural, long-lasting and well-made clothing, with a retail model that’s big on community. Co-founders Jacob and Georgia Faull have built to four stores, 55 staff and stockists around the world, and have ridden many waves of business, fashion and commerce to get there. To talk the journey, what’s next and their new circularity initiative Worn Again, co-founder Jacob Faull joins the pod.

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When a client didn’t pay Max Semmons-Russell’s plumbing business for a completed $30k job it nearly knocked his company over. When it happened again he decided there had to be a better way. Asking around he saw the problem was huge, and there might be a solution that had fallen out of use. Escrow is a concept where people put a payment with a trusted third party until the product or service has been delivered. Max built Green Light Escrow to make it easy for trades businesses to use escrow to have certainty of payment, and customers to know they only pay when the job is delivered. To talk solving the big problem, starting a tech business on top of a successful plumbing business and what’s next, Max Semmons-Russell joins Simon Pound. 

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Although the biggest spending line for most startups is people, most startups don’t get serious about people until they get pretty big. Doing so earlier might just be the biggest lever startups can pull to increase their chances of making it in the long run, and making the journey along the way as smooth as possible.

Kimberley Gilmour is one of New Zealand’s most experienced people leaders, having been instrumental in the scaling and operations of Icebreaker, Groov and Vend. Now the founder and CEO of Sprinklr, a new “people operations” company that is partnering with early-stage companies to help them grow, Kimberley joins the podcast to discuss her story, the origins of Sprinklr, and the two main pillars of great people management that she swears by.

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Concrete is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, with around 8% of global carbon emissions linked to its manufacture and use - but it wasn’t always like this. Local sustainable startup Neocrete has taken inspiration from 2000-year-old Roman methods to make concrete with half the carbon emissions today and a path to being entirely carbon neutral in a few years.

This world leading innovation has attracted top international VC support, and the co-founders Matt Kennedy-Good and Zarina Bazoeva are now poised to make huge impact on the biggest of industries. Kennedy-Good joins the pod to discuss making change in an established practice, the path to innovation and what’s next for the concrete industry.

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