NZ Innovation & Export Podcast

How FTN Motion Built New Zealand’s Electric Motorcycle Brand Manufacturer for Export From a BMX frame with batteries strapped on, to 160 pre-orders, cost reduction, production challenges, customer feedback, test ride events and early export traction. In this episode, Luke Sinclair from FTN Motion shares how a garage-built electric bike became New Zealand’s only motorcycle manufacturing business in...

Mānuka honey may be world famous, but it is only one part of New Zealand’s native plant story. Helen Paul-Smith, co-founder of Ōku, a Māori-owned wellness brand using native plants like kawakawa, horopito and mānuka to create teas, balms, elixirs and soaps. Helen shares how the business grew from farmers markets and boxes under the bed into a New Zealand and export-focused brand, and why sustainab...

FileInvite Founder James Sampson on SaaS Growth, Export Revenue and Enterprise Sales James Sampson from FileInvite shares how an internal tool built inside a New Zealand web agency became a global SaaS platform serving banks, lenders and financial institutions. James talks about the pressure of moving from service business to software, the shift from small customers to enterprise contracts, why ni...

Why a New Zealand Business Coach Built an 80-Person Global Team Tony Fraser-Jones has taken Profitable Tradie from one-on-one business coaching in New Zealand to a global coaching company with 80 staff, 700+ clients, and revenue across New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Canada. In this episode, Josh Moore talks with Tony about scaling beyond yourself, hiring better people, building a va...

How Kiwi-Owned US Pharmaceutical Company Healthtex Launches OTC Products in America Tim O’Donoghue is the co-founder of Healthtex, a Kiwi-owned US pharmaceutical company built around a simple but powerful idea: listen closely to what customers actually say. Tim explains how decades of pharmacy conversations led to Asteroid, an over-the-counter (OTC) haemorrhoid product designed from real customer...

How PaySquad Is Building “Buy Now, Pay Together” For E-Commerce Cam Richardson is building something different: buy now, pay together. Cam shares how a surprising 21st birthday gift sparked the idea for PaySquad, a Kiwi fintech startup creating a “pay with friends” checkout option for retail, ticketing, and travel. Josh and Cam unpack the customer problem, the merchant opportunity, the funding jou...

How Parklink Is Solving Water Quality Problems Across New Zealand and Australia Regan Senior from Parklink, a Hastings-based company working in one of New Zealand’s more niche environmental industries. Regan shares how Parklink moved from wastewater bacteria dosing into broader freshwater solutions, why the business chose to manufacture selected products in New Zealand, and how it is navigating Au...

Can a Kiwi company’s innovation crack the US live events market? Joe Bradford, co-founder of Fiasco Cases, shares how a small Cambridge company became a supplier to major names across sport, entertainment, and live events, including the NBA, Disney, Fox Sports, UFC, and more. In this episode, Joe explains how Fiasco rethought the humble road case, pushed into the US market, survived the collapse o...

What does it take to turn a farm fix into an export business? What happens when a farmer solves a problem no one else has cracked, then turns it into an export business? In this episode, Wilco Klein Ovink shares the Number 8 Wire story behind The Wrangler, from farm-built prototypes and Fieldays wins to distributors in Australia and the US. This conversation goes beyond invention into commercialis...

What does it take to turn everyday warehouse risks into controlled, trackable systems? Jason Buckley from ARC breaks down how combining cameras, GPS, and custom coding created a safer working environment for a major manufacturer. From preventing forklift incidents to unlocking unexpected efficiency gains, this conversation explores how practical innovation happens on the ground. Follow ARC here: W...

Episode 2: Competing With Giants: How Rocketspark Took on Wix and Squarespace In this episode, Grant Johnson (Rocketspark Founder) shares how a small New Zealand team built a global product by doubling down on customer insight, operational discipline, and smart AI execution. Follow Rocketspark here: Facebook - www.facebook.com/Rocketspark Instagram - www.instagram.com/rocketsparkwebsites YouTube -...

Episode 1: How Q Golf Turned an Unusual Idea Into a Global Product Business In this episode, Jamie Moore shares how Q Golf went from a rough prototype and a COVID-era grant to a patented product sold in more than 60 countries. This conversation covers Kickstarter, manufacturing in China, quality control, shipping, branding, and the real-world impact of influencer marketing. It is a practical look...

Something new is coming. The New Zealand Innovation & Export Podcast launches on Thursday 9 April and will share real stories from New Zealand businesses building innovative products, growing strong companies, and exporting to the world. Get your first look at what’s ahead, including interviews with founders and business leaders from companies such as Q-Golf, Rocketspark, Arc, Parklink, and Th...