Diaspora.nz

• Kathryn Zealand (Skip) on robotic exoskeletons, mobility for life, and spinning out of Google X

  Episode SummaryKathryn Zealand founded Skip to help people stay active and independent through aging and injury, inspired by her grandmother’s painful fall and the inadequate technology available at the time. Skip's flagship product, the MoGo, is an innovative, lightweight robotic exoskeleton that acts like an e-bike for walking, offering just the right amount of assistance, whether hiking up mountains or standing from a chair.Kathryn brings her unique perspective as a physicist-turned-founder and former project lead at Google X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, where she learned the art of rapid prototyping and building breakthrough technologies. In this conversation, Kathryn shares Skip’s journey from idea to hardware startup, the nuances of building consumer robotics, navigating FDA approval, and tackling the manufacturing challenge of moving from prototype to scale.In today’s episode, we cover:• How a personal mission became a company, and why mobility impacts mental health as much as physical well-being• What Skip’s MoGo exoskeleton is and how it empowers people to reclaim active lives• Behind the scenes at Google X: spinning out projects, rapid prototyping, and taking big bets• Navigating the complex hardware funding landscape: equity, grants, pre-orders, and venture debt• The art and science of robotic mobility: why understanding user intent matters• Why Skip chose outdoor brands like Arc'teryx as their first partners, and what’s next in consumer robotics• The skills Kat had to learn (and unlearn) to become a successful CEO and founderWe also talk about Kat’s unconventional career path, from astrophysics to humanitarian law to deep-tech entrepreneurship, and her advice to aspiring founders looking to change the world with impactful technology.Time Stamps00:41 Meet Kat Zealand: Founder, physicist, and former Googler making robotic exoskeletons02:07 How a grandmother’s fall became Skip’s origin story03:32 Introducing MoGo: “An e-bike for walking”05:11 Why mobility technology impacts mental health and quality of life07:50 Partnering with Arc'teryx: From mountain trails to everyday use08:44 Preparing to scale: From 50 handcrafted prototypes to 10,000 units10:23 Navigating FDA approval and the medical vs consumer hardware divide12:53 The robotics software challenge: Predicting user intent accurately15:58 Behind the scenes at Google X: How Alphabet’s moonshot factory works22:34 Spinning out from Alphabet: Lessons from Skip’s journey24:00 Funding hardware startups: Venture capital, non-dilutive grants, and customer pre-orders34:37 Leadership lessons Kat had to unlearn as a Kiwi CEO in Silicon ValleyResourcesKathryn Zealand’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-zealand/Skip website and MoGo rentals & pre-orders: https://www.skipwithjoy.comGoogle X (Alphabet’s moonshot factory): https://x.companyFounders, Inc – SF-based startup community: https://f.inc

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• Jamie Beaton (Crimson Education) on scaling a global education empire, the future of universities, and AI’s role in learning

  Episode SummaryWhen Jamie Beaton co-founded Crimson Education, his goal was simple: help ambitious students get into the world’s best universities. Fast forward ten years, Crimson has 800+ staff, global offices, and a suite of education platforms spanning admissions coaching, an international online high school, and AI-powered study tools.Jamie’s personal journey is just as remarkable—Harvard undergrad, four master's degrees, a JD from Yale, a PhD from Oxford, a Rhodes Scholar. His expertise? Elite admissions, scaling global businesses, and the changing economics of education.In today’s episode, we cover:• Why the traditional university model is broken and which institutions will survive• How AI is making elite education accessible (and why most schools aren’t ready)• Why New Zealand’s smartest students need to get out—and when to return• The right way to build a world-class company, from hiring to leadership• How top universities actually admit students (hint: it’s not just grades)We also hear about Jamie’s biggest mentors, his leadership lessons, and the future of Crimson Education after its recent Series D.Time Stamps01:11 The wildest education history: Harvard, Yale, Oxford & beyond03:40 Crimson’s 10-year journey from a bold pitch to a global business06:48 How the real college admissions process works (and what most Kiwis get wrong)09:52 Buying vs. building: How Jamie makes big bets on acquisitions14:55 The myth of online education and why self-motivation changes everything18:08 How Crimson finds the next generation of ambitious Kiwis25:17 The AI revolution: Private tutoring for everyone—at 1% of the cost35:53 Is there a reckoning coming for the long tail of higher education?44:02 Why Kiwis need to get out—and when to do it56:06 The biggest leadership lessons Jamie had to unlearnResourcesJamie Beaton’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebeaton/Crimson Education – Global admissions and education platform: https://www.crimsoneducation.org/Crimson Global Academy – Online international high school: https://www.crimsonglobalacademy.school/Revision Village – IB study resource platform: https://www.revisionvillage.com/Need-Blind Financial Aid at Harvard – How top universities fund students: https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid

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• S2 | E13 — Rhys Darby and Rosie Carnahan-Darby on championing Kiwi humour around the world, Tall Poppy syndrome, losing creative jobs to AI, and "going direct" with your fans to survive social media.

  Listen/subscribe on * Apple podcasts* Spotify He’s been Murray Hewitt, Psycho Sam, Norman from Yes Man, Guy Mann, Hypno-Potamus, a stand-up comedian, a sit-down band manager, a children’s book author, a soldier… and now Binkle-bonk the Tree Goblin in upcoming “Badjelly the Witch” 🤩In this week’s Diaspora pod, legendary Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby joins us - live from L.A - to talk through his rise from Canterbury to Edinburgh to Hollywood in a career that’s seen him star in multiple comedy specials, voice over countless animated shows and co-star with everyone from Jim Carrey to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Rhys hasn’t made the journey alone: also joining us is his incredible wife & long-time manager, Rosie Carnahan Darby, who talks about her career in entertainment management, production, writing comedy, how comedians can get ahead, how entertainers can be devastated by changes in AI and tech… and shares the creative projects of their two sons in this very funny family. In today’s episode, we discuss* Rosie and Rhys’s entwined journeys over 25 years in the global comedy industry, dating back to Rhys's "Dad's Army"-inspired entry into the NZ Army, and Rosie's rise as one of the most sought after comedy club managers in NZ.* The business of comedy: how they think about new opportunities, structure and finance their ventures... and what the future holds.* Tall poppy syndrome in NZ, and imposter syndrome in the U.S... how NZ's (over?) orientation towards equality and "fairness" actually holds back our highest achievers, and can drive them offshore.* Raising a family in L.A. vs. NZ, finding balance and getting the best of both cultures.* How some projects Rosie and Rhys write together don’t succeed, though the pair focus on creating future opportunities for other projects. * How Rhys found the next phase of his career after Flight of the Conchords finished.* Why and how Rhys is now using Substack to build a direct connection with fans* Advice on how to break out as a comedian and what managers like Rosie are looking for — comparing finding emerging creative talent with seeing talent in startups, from the POV of a talent manager/agent vs. venture capitalist. * Whether AI might be able to help actors and voice actors, and whether AI is taking human jobs in a future in which screen entertainment might be created by robotsMake sure you head on over to Rhys’s substack and subscribe!— Also - quick shout-out from me: Blackbird’s Sunrise festival is coming up soon — November 26th in Wellington, NZ. As we like to say, this is our love letter to startups and the people building them … a one-day festival that brings together ~500 tech founders, operators, policy people and ecosystem supporters to be inspired, challenged and entertained. Tickets are half gone and won’t be around for long… IF you’ve been looking for an excuse to get back to Wellington, this is it! Head over to thesunrise.live for more info + tickets! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diaspora.nz

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• S2 | E12 — Zak Holdsworth (Founder & CEO at Hint Health) on minimising waste in US healthcare payments, considering private equity vs. VC as a founder, Stanford GSB as a gateway to Silicon

  Listen/Subscribe on:* Apple Podcasts* SpotifyHint Health co-founder and CEO Zak Holdsworth retains a strong Kiwi accent - after all, he grew up on a farm near Gisborne. It was no ordinary farm, however, as Zak tells us.Considering his mother was a diplomat and his father an inventor and pioneer of pultrusion, Zak developed a taste for innovation in the wider world, and eventually headed off to Stanford Graduate School of Business to achieve his MBA. Zak worked briefly as a VC prior to joining the founding team ofWellnessFX in 2011, a California company which diagnosed health conditions through blood analysis.He then went on to co-found Hint Health in 2014 – a platform which has raised $64 in investment and today handles over a billion dollars worth of payments per year.Based in San Francisco, Hint is a vertical SaaS platform powering Direct Primary Care practitioners allowing them to to focus on patients in an industry which has until recently been far too dependent on the insurance system to cover patient costs and which - as Zak tells us - wastes more money annually than NASA’s 60-year budget. Disrupting the $4 trillion US healthcare industry is a topic also shared by our previous guest Dr Zachary Tan.Zak joins us to share his ideas about finding and investing in disruptive startups, the future of cryptocurrency, and how New Zealand might be a great place to run the next Xero from.In today's episode, we discuss:* Hint Health’s mission to step away from insurance, give everyone a transparent rate of costs and connect patients with unlimited access to primary care, telemedicine, urgent care and other services - the way Zak remembers it when he was a child in NZ* Getting into Stanford business school, realising which paths weren’t ideal, before taking on US healthtech with Hint Health* How Zak’s passion for startups included forays into venture capitalism as well as patenting a phone charger* The staggering percentage of each dollar Zak feels is wasted when handled through health insurance.* Reasons for lack of change in US healthcare* Becoming respected in the healthtech community with the Hint Summit annual conference* Whether the startup community's expectations of how quickly a startup should triple or 100x its revenue are fair expectations or not.* DeFi Summer, and lessons learned while investing in crypto currency* Faith in Bitcoin* Zak's balance between being plugged into Silicon Valley but having peace and tranquility to focus on his family.* …and whether New Zealand’s tech startup ecosystem is ready to host another Xero.Referenced:* Hint Healthhttps://www.hint.com/* Stanford Graduate School of Businesshttps://www.gsb.stanford.edu/* The Hint Summithttps://summit.hint.com/Where to find Zak Holdsworth:* LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakholdsworth/X/Twitter https://x.com/zakholdsworth?lang=en This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diaspora.nz

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• S2 | E11 — Clint Van Marrewijk (Zelandez, SaferMe) ‘drills down’ on mining South American lithium to drive us into the future and how his safety software company pivoted to enjoy massive growth.

  Listen/subscribe on:* Apple Podcasts* SpotifyClint Van Marrewijk (pronounced Marra-vick) is director and co-founder of Zelandez, a leading lithium brine technology company building cutting edge sensors and production plants for lithium brine mining operations in the ‘Lithium Triangle’ of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, as well as the USA and Canada. It’s a long way from the Waihi dairy farm on which he grew up before undertaking a mechanical engineering degree then moving to Colorado and setting up a Kiwisaver scheme. If you don’t know why people get so excited about lithium, it’s because lithium ion rechargeable batteries are cleaner, greener, more powerful and longer-lasting than most other battery options. This is why lithium ion is the battery of choice for many of the world’s top ten biggest companies, including Apple, Google and Tesla- and why the lithium battery market it worth USD 54.4 billion. Clint has been running Zelandez from Austin, Texas since his Kiwi-founded safety software company, SaferMe, entered the American market in 2019, having gone from strength to strength - including huge growth with its workplace sign-in and tracking tools, which were massively in demand during the recent COVID pandemic, spurring huge growth.Today Clint talks about SaferMe’s journey, explains how the services Zelandez offers leave less of a toll on the environment and better lithium yield, and Clint gives advice for young people who want their career to take them from Christchurch to Colorado to the Lithium Triangle and beyond.In today's episode, we discuss:* Using oil and gas extraction techniques to get lithium brine out of the ground to help create the lithium-based batteries so many of our electric cars and digital devices rely on* The history of lithium use in batteries - who pioneered it, who has under-valued it, and how lithium is ready to be hugely valued as a commodity.* Advice on the right age to transition into an energy/minerals career.* How a degree in engineering led to working in investment analysis for Kiwi Wealth before Clint moved into SaaS startups.* How Clint’s bank managers reacted when they saw how much he was investing in lithium extraction technology.* How SaferMe pivoted during the pandemic to sell contact tracing tools - backed by the NZ government - which could have resulted in up to 20x company growth.* Getting a business deal with a Fortune 500 CEO through a LinkedIn “spam note”* Fallacies in New Zealand’s thinking about the best way to provide the cleanest electricity for the national grid.Referenced:* Zealandez: https://www.zelandez.com/* SaferMe: https://www.safer.me/* The Lithium Triangle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_Triangle* Best practices for reinjecting brine during lithium extraction: https://www.zelandez.com/news/the-lithium-brine-industry-must-share-reinjection-best-practices/Where to find Clint van Marrewijk:* LinkedIn* Twitter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.diaspora.nz

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