PowerUp

May 06 2024

PowerUp Podcast artwork

Welcome to PowerUp, a podcast by Venture Taranaki and produced by Roar Collective. Here we celebrate the region’s entrepreneurs and innovators who are leaving their mark on the world, while living the famous Taranaki lifestyle. Each episode features a prominent local entrepreneur, making waves both nationally and internationally with their trailblazing spirit and can-do attitude. They'll share their successes, ah-ha moments and celebrated wins, as well as their struggles and behind the scenes failures. Our guests also reflect on how being from Taranaki influences their work and the lives they lead. Hosted by long time business advocate and honorary Taranaki local David Downs, this series illustrates the thriving business environment within Taranaki by telling the stories of everyday people who've been able to achieve remarkable things. Taranaki is a region where the unique natural and entrepreneurship ecosystems collide to create a place where people can flourish and achieve their full potential. Nau mai haere mai, we welcome you to hear our enterprising stories like no other.

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Simon Singh / Innovation HQ

May 06 2024 20 mins

As a nine year old growing up in New Delhi, Simon Singh dreamed of being CEO of an IT company. Now, he’s made that dream happen, but not in a way he could ever have imagined. In this episode of Venture Taranaki’s PowerUp Podcast, one of Taranaki’s most restless entrepreneurs tells the story of how he came to New Zealand and grew an ever-expanding tech network. Simon talks thr

Gemma Adams / Vizlink

Apr 29 2024 24 mins

Vizlink is a clever business based on a simple problem - how hard it is to communicate things using just words. Gemma Adams started the business to give farmers simple maps of their land and other tools to help communication and planning. It’s a perfect fit for her - Gemma has a design background, is a dairy farmer, and is also dyslexic. She would often struggle to understand peo

Graham Nelson / Manifold & Doso

Apr 22 2024 23 mins

Graham Nelson is at the heart of entrepreneurism in Taranaki, in more ways than one. He is the founder of Manifold co-working space, which regularly hosts dozens of founders, contractors, remote workers, digital nomads and more, and he’s also a founder of Doso, a start up support organisation helping people bring their ideas to life. Originally from Ireland, Graham talks about ho

Mihi Henry-Hatcher / Mihi’s Place

Apr 15 2024 26 mins

Mihi’s Place is centred around traditional Māori health and healing, which is an area of health and wellness that’s becoming more and more popular. And when you listen to founder Mihi Henry-Hatcher speak, you can see why. Mihi’s journey to becoming a business owner is remarkable. She talks about the family intervention that changed her life, her discovery of holistic Māori

Nick Carey / Green Meadows Beef

Apr 08 2024 25 mins

Green Meadows Beef started as a two-person family business in a small pocket of rural Taranaki, and 11 years on they’ve sold more than a million packs of sausages, burgers and steaks all over the world. The business started with a discussion over the family dining table, and was a trailblazing operation in the direct-to-consumer model that’s since become mainstream. General Man

Rachel Church / Feastival

Apr 01 2024 19 mins

When Rachel Church first moved to Taranaki, she noticed how the food and hospitality sector was a well kept secret. Before long, it was her mission to spread the word by creating an annual festival that celebrated local produce and the amazing things Taranaki people were doing with it. And not long after that, that annual festival was so popular it became a quarterly event. Feastiv

Hannah Hunt / Roar Collective

May 03 2023 19 mins

It’s one thing to listen to podcasts, but what about producing them? Hannah Hunt and Laura Leadbetter started Roar Collective with a shared love for the platform, but not much experience in actually making podcasts. Four years on, they’re one of New Zealand’s only podcast production companies with an impressive list of corporate and celebrity clients. In this episode of Ventu

CJ Mahony / AGTRANS & South Taranaki Business Park

Apr 26 2023 17 mins

CJ Mahony left school at 16 and started a transport company as a bit of a side hobby. Nearly 20 years later, he employs 35 people and is the man behind one of the largest commercial developments in South Taranaki in living memory. CJ’s AGTRANS business has grown and shifted to be a popular crane transport option in the oil and gas industry. At the same time, his desire to put a p

Elliot Taylor / ThroughLine

Apr 19 2023 30 mins

**Content warning: this podcasts discusses issues around mental health, addiction and abuse** Elliot Taylor created ThroughLine to help people in distress get access to critical helplines. In just a few years, it’s grown to offer more than 1,400 helplines to people in more than 100 countries. This is a fantastic example of using technology to solve problems. Research shows the hu

Nick Jackson & Brett Rogers / Elemental

Apr 12 2023 23 mins

Nick Jackson and Brett Rogers reckon New Zealand’s goal of being carbon-free by 2050 isn’t ambitious enough. They think we can grow the country’s renewable energy by 600%, and use it to export energy around the world. They’d know too. As energy sector veterans and directors of energy consulting firm Elemental Group, Nick and Brett are at the forefront of helping people to s