TechMates

Zenno's CEO just made history — first superconductor ever run in space. And he thinks a war in orbit is now "highly likely." 🧲🚀Max Arshavsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics, the company building the world's first superconducting technology platform for space. Since launching from New Zealand in 2018, Zenno has gone from a $100K university challenge win to landin...

Stefan Powell scaled a New Zealand space company to eight-figure revenue — quietly dominating 82% of a satellite propulsion market, flying a space plane 64 times, and closing a $25M Series B — all before most of the world even knew Dawn Aerospace existed. In this episode of TechMates, Hendrik and Mark sit back down with Stefan Powell, CEO and co-founder of Dawn Aerospace — and this time, the conve...

What do you do when a foreign missile cruiser does a "hot lap" around your country? You build the manufacturing tech and deploy the VC capital needed to turn your nation into an unattackable "porcupine." In this episode of TechMates, we dive deep into the sobering reality of national security and the tech revolution rushing to protect our future. We sit down with three heavyweights tackling defens...

She left a comfortable corporate career to build a Sensory AI startup that listens to pigs—and just secured a major global distribution deal. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Saba Samiei, the visionary founder and CEO of MACSO. Named after MACS0647-JD, the furthest known galaxy, MACSO was built on a "how, not if" culture that forces the team to think outside the Milky Way....

He built a bank-grade fintech platform while his twin daughters were napping, bootstrapped it for seven years through 677 investor rejections, and is now rewiring the entire financial system. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Dermot Butterfield, the Founder and CEO of Wych, the startup building the essential "pipes" for Open Banking in Australia and New Zealand. Dermot’s fou...

She beat TikTok to #1 on the App Store with a $0 marketing budget—now this solo founder is using a consumer app as a "Trojan horse" to disrupt a multi-billion dollar legacy industry.🎧 Listen On: YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gQnb_WbB Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4is21QI Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/42KZ2x1Steph went from pressing API buttons at 15 to building Bonnet, which hit #1 on the App...

Why is teaching a robot to fold your laundry actually harder than building an autonomous surgical robot or a self-driving car? In this episode of TechMates, we cut through the sci-fi hype of humanoid robots and dive into the gritty, high-stakes reality of deep tech. We sit down with three visionary founders—David Inggs, Nick Damiano, and Harrison Crowe-Maxwell—who are deploying autonomous systems...

What do you do when you're so frustrated with your legacy bank that you can't take it anymore? You hire a "Chief Imaginer" and build a financial app designed to rival Instagram and TikTok. In this episode of TechMates, we dive deep into the revolution ripping power away from massive banking monopolies and handing it back to consumers. We sit down with three heavyweights of the Au...

In a world where software features can be "vibe coded" by AI in 30 minutes, brand expert Simon Pound explains why community and customer obsession are the only moats left for startups. In this episode of TechMates Podcast, we sit down with Simon Pound, a true cornerstone of the New Zealand innovation ecosystem and the master brand architect behind massive successes like Vend, Ideally, an...

From hypersonics and space-based hyperspectral imaging to "Starlink for energy" - three deep tech founders are defying the laws of physics to build the future. In this episode of TechMates, we dive into the deep end of hard tech with three visionaries who are redefining the boundaries of aerospace, satellite imaging, and global energy distribution. We hear from Stefan Powell of Dawn Aero...

He advised HBO’s Silicon Valley for five seasons, was part of a database team built and acquired by Apple, and helped run an "eBay for seized, stolen, and abandoned goods"—now tech veteran Andrew J. Nash is revealing his startup secrets. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Andrew J. Nash, a tech veteran who has been coding for 50 years. After spending 28 years in the US at the epicenter...

The former London financier who funded Harry Potter now controls the single biggest lever in New Zealand’s startup ecosystem—and he’s on a mission to deploy billions. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with James Pinner, the Chief Investment Officer of New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP). James isn't your typical government official. After spending 15 years in London’s cutthroat...

From his daughter’s kitchen table tip about a new app called Snapchat to building a $300 billion venture empire—legendary VC Barry Eggers reveals how he spots the next big thing. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Barry Eggers, founding partner of Lightspeed Venture Partners, one of the most iconic venture firms in Silicon Valley history. Barry takes us inside the legendary "Snapc...

Harry Gestetner’s great-great-grandfather invented the photocopier and nail clippers—now Harry is reinventing how the world sleeps after selling his first startup for eight figures at 21. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Harry Gestetner, a serial entrepreneur who sold his creator economy startup, Fanfix, for tens of millions while still in college. Harry shares the incredible story o...

From challenging big banks with a $120M fintech to generating $2.2B in digital collectibles sales—this is how New Zealand founders are conquering the global stage. In this power-packed panel from NZVC Portfolio Day, we sit down with three of New Zealand’s most successful modern founders: Leighton Roberts (Co-founder of Sharesies), David Yu (Co-founder of VeVe), and Penelope Barton (CEO of Crimson...

From early days at Rocket Lab to running global marketing for Les Mills, these founders reveal exactly how to build world-class startups from the edge of the world. In this "Born Global" panel from NZVC Portfolio Day, we explore what it takes to launch a company in New Zealand that is designed to dominate international markets from Day One. We are joined by Jamie France (Founder of Newto...

Harrison Crowe-Maxwell turned a flooded street on his way to work into a robotics startup that just raised seed funding from Sequoia’s Peak XV. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell, co-founder of Puralink, a robotics company building "ferrets" to inspect and repair critical pipe infrastructure from the inside. Harrison takes us from his early days buildin...

What happens when you put a crypto veteran, a Xero co-founder, and a high-stakes lawyer on stage with a robot dog to debate the future of AI? In this special panel from NZVC Portfolio Day, we dive into the "Agentic Future" with three experts operating at very different layers of the AI stack. We are joined by Bradley So (Principal at QCL), who is disrupting the legal billable hour; Phili...

Emily Blythe skipped university to launch a quad-bike accessory business, spent years trying to clear airport fog with drones, and eventually pivoted to solve aviation’s biggest headache through data. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Emily Blythe, the New Zealand tech entrepreneur and CEO of Pyper Vision. Coming from four generations of pilots, Emily seemed destined for aviation—but...

Jamie Beaton managed a hedge fund portfolio at Tiger Management while simultaneously taking maximum course loads at Harvard and building a startup that now generates over $300M in revenue. In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Jamie Beaton, the New Zealand tech entrepreneur and CEO of Crimson Education. Jamie’s story is nothing short of relentless; he breaks down the massive cultural shif...

In this live NZVC Portfolio Day panel, Jovan Pavlicevic (Emerge & SquareOne), Dermot Butterfield (Wych), and Steven Zinsli (Extraordinary) join hosts Mark Pavlyukovskyy and Hendrik Remigereau to show what it actually looks like to build fintech in New Zealand. They talk candidly about lobbying for access to ESAS and Payments NZ, designing products around tax law to make public transport salary...

Four founders: tackling milk without cows, carbon-free composites, AI farming, and plant-grown proteins—only in New Zealand could this panel exist. This special Portfolio Day panel brings together four New Zealand innovators building companies that literally couldn’t have been born anywhere else: Nicole Freed (Daisy Lab, precision-fermented dairy proteins), Ben Scales (KiwiFibre, high-performance...

SAP’s youngest hire at 19, Dominic Pym went on to build Up—Australia’s first cloud-hosted bank—and sold three companies during COVID. Dominic Pym is an Australia-based, New Zealand-minded tech entrepreneur, builder, and investor behind products used by millions—from Up (the mobile bank he co-created and later sold to Bendigo & Adelaide Bank) to Buildkite (CI/CD rails powering top tech companie...

How founders, investors, and institutions are shaping the next decade of ANZ innovation. Live on stage with TechMates (hosts Mark Pavlyukovskyy & Hendrik Remigereau), three heavyweight voices dive into the state of the NZ startup ecosystem: Shaun Quincey (rowed the Tasman; now building Simfuni for insurers), Janine Grainger (co-founded Easy Crypto; exited earlier this year), and Jacques Richte...

Five New Zealand–linked founders drop hard-won truths! This highlight episode brings together five New Zealand tech entrepreneurs at very different stages—Shaun Quincey, Liam Kampshof, Nick Damiano, Steven Zinsli, and Anna Henwood. It’s a punchy reel of what actually moves the needle in startups: selling into enterprise, building brutally simple products, and staying alive long enough for the comp...