TechMates

• Exit at 27: Chasing Bigger Horizons 💳 #fintech

  From 15 clinics and 105,000 patients to a fintech rebrand and a tax ruling with IRD—this New Zealand founder turned “HealthNow” into Extraordinary, a benefits-payments platform winning banks, telcos, and airlines.Steve is a New Zealand tech entrepreneur who scaled an allied-health group to ~$12M revenue at 17–24% EBITDA before exiting at 27, then founded HealthNow—a healthcare BNPL/savings/employer-aid play that evolved into Extraordinary, a modular platform that lets companies control where benefits dollars get spent (travel, meals, gifting, health, more). This episode is a masterclass in ruthless iteration: kill the feature that doesn’t work, follow customer pull, then reprice and reframe until it clicks.What’s wild (and useful): how investor pushback killed the double-sided marketplace, why “breakage” beats “load fees,” and how a binding IRD ruling unlocked pre-tax public transport benefits—turning a compliance headache (FBT/PAYE) into a business moat. We also get candid about the emotional cost of a pivot, Darwinism for founders (“adapt or die”), and going enterprise (yes, sometimes… wear the suit).Key Topics🩺 From clinics to fintech: scaling 15 sites, 120 staff, 105k patients—then exiting to build software.💳 Why BNPL for healthcare didn’t pencil out—and the pivot to employer-funded benefits.🧩 Modular platform & pricing psychology: per-employee + fixed “breakage,” not “card fees.”🧾 Compliance moat: controlling spend categories, FBT vs PAYE, and audit-friendly rails.🚌 IRD binding ruling: pre-tax public transport for employees (and why that matters).🏢 Enterprise sales: telcos, banks, an airline—why credibility (and suits) count.🔁 Founder mindset: grief of a pivot, “persist more than resist,” and 10-15 year time horizons.Connect with the GuestSteve — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-zinsli-💳-aa813184Company (Extraordinary): https://www.extraordinarypay.comLearn more about NZVC & Hosts NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nzMark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/Timestamps:00:00 – Intro01:14 – Steve’s upbringing in Auckland04:13 – Childhood experiences shaping healthcare passion06:19 – Early lessons about healthcare costs07:17 – School years and university path10:26 – First steps in healthcare and scaling clinics13:28 – Building a multi-clinic business15:14 – Growing revenue and why Steve exited17:14 – Shift from clinics to fintech in healthcare26:45 – First concept of HealthNow28:23 – Buy Now, Pay Later for healthcare30:28 – Health savings accounts & employer aid34:56 – Core problem: healthcare affordability37:31 – Pivoting from healthcare to broader benefits42:00 – Advice for founders facing pivots45:39 – Startup persistence and survival48:29 – Birth of Extraordinary from customer demand50:01 – Modularizing the platform & pricing learnings53:03 – Breakage and gift card economics55:23 – Public transport benefit opportunity58:41 – Outlook: next 1–5 years for Extraordinary1:02:03 – Market size, competition, and growth potential1:04:34 – Role models and inspiration1:05:31 – Advice for founders in New Zealand1:06:59 – Closing remarksIf this sharpened your startup/business brain, hit 👍, drop your questions for Steve below, and subscribe for more New Zealand founder deep-dives.#startups, #business, #NewZealand, #fintech, #payments, #employeebenefits, #HRtech, #compliance, #FBT, #publictransport, #BNPL, #founderstory, #productmarketfit, #SaaS, #pricing, #B2B, #enterprise, #NZTech, #TechMates, #podcast

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• Healthcare is a $4.5 Trillion Broken System 💊

  Ari Tulla built, pivoted, exited, and is now using AI to rewire preventative health.Ari Tulla is a Finnish-born, SF-based tech entrepreneur who started in gaming and Nokia’s early app ecosystem, founded doctor-finder startup BetterDoctor (later rolled into a 500-person PE platform), and now leads Elo Health, a nutrition company turning biometrics + AI into real-world outcomes. He shares the gritty founder path: consumer → API pivot, exit, then the hard jump from software to atoms (supply chains, tariffs, fulfillment).This conversation gets unusually candid about what actually scales in healthtech: why “prevention” needs business-model innovation, where AI beats human pattern-recognition, and why even die-hard remote founders end up craving one room for speed and trust. We also roam from wearables and privacy to CRISPR, cloning ethics, and what he teaches his kids about building in an AI world.🧊 Finland roots ➜ Nokia’s app era ➜ Silicon Valley leap.🎮 From MUDs to mobile: early internet, world-building, and dev culture.🏢 Nokia lessons: platform bets, Symbian/MeeGo, and timing risk.🔁 Startup pivots: BetterDoctor—consumer → API/SaaS → PE roll-up.🧪 Elo’s thesis: AI + biomarkers + nutrition as preventative medicine.🤖 AI vs. doctors: pattern recognition, triage, and the “QB” model.💤 Sleep, stress, movement: building real-time feedback loops with wearables.🧬 Bio/ethics: cloning, CRISPR, and data rights in health.🏗️ Why you shouldn’t “recreate Silicon Valley.”🧑‍🍳 Team dynamics: remote reality vs. “one room” excellence.Connect with the GuestAri Tulla — LinkedIn: Company (Elo): Learn more about NZVC & HostsNZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nzMark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/Timestamps00:00 Intro01:50 Ari — Finland & early internet07:00 Gaming (MUDs) & early dev connections12:20 Nokia / Ovi Store & mobile apps36:40 Entrepreneurship → BetterDoctor (growth & pivot)44:10 Sale to PE & running bigger company48:40 Elo.Health origin — nutrition & prevention52:00 Product experiments: blood tests, wearables, supplements57:00 Sleep, stress & health-span discussion01:17:00 Future plans & wrap-up. If this sharpened your startup/business brain, hit 👍, drop your questions for Ari below, and subscribe for more founder deep-dives.#startups, #business, #AI, #healthtech, #preventivemedicine, #nutrition, #wearables, #dataprivacy, #biotech, #NewZealand, #SiliconValley, #founderstory, #productmarketfit, #APIs, #PE, #longevity, #sleep, #stress, #wellness, #TechMates

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• Startups vs Hype: VeVe’s Real Web3 Business 👾🎮

  From $5 stamp packs on Queen Street to ~$1.5B in VeVe marketplace GMV—New Zealand entrepreneur David Yu built one of the world’s biggest digital collectibles businesses!David Yu—founder/CEO of VeVe—grew up in Taipei, moved to Auckland, and turned a teenage collecting habit into a retail chain, a global licensing career, and ultimately VeVe, the NFT platform behind 3D, AR-ready drops from top studios and car brands. He explains how years of community-building in hobby stores and a nose for IP deals translated to landing Marvel/DC/Disney, while making onboarding “frictionless” for mainstream collectors.We dig into real numbers and roadmap: ~600k funded/holding accounts, ~250k MAU, ~$1.45–1.5B+ secondary GMV, $300–400M primary sales, 4.5M+ digital comics, the launch of VVverse, and why the next wave is a creator economy built on fandom + AI. Plus: the first 3D Steamboat Willie, how to pitch licensors when the category “doesn’t exist,” and why Gen Z will value digital scarcity like previous generations prized paper comics.🌏 From Taipei to New Zealand: retail → licensing → VV founder journey.🧪 “Frictionless” onboarding and why Web3 UX has to feel Web2.🤝 Pitching Disney/Marvel/DC when NFTs “sounded like a scam.”📊 VV by the numbers: users, GMV, comics, brands, and AR features.🏗️ VVverse and the rise of creator-built shops, galleries, and car dealers.🚗 Licensing playbook: from Pokémon cards to Maserati/Lamborghini in AR.🧠 AI’s role in content generation, NPCs, and smarter collecting.Connect with the GuestDavid Yu – LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidyunzCompany (VeVe): https://www.veve.meLearn more about NZVC & HostsNZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nzMark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/00:00:00 — Intro00:02:26 — Origin: Taipei → Auckland; collecting → first businesses00:09:39 — Pokémon boom & the power of community00:19:04 — Expanding to Asia: China exports (WFOE) & licensing lessons00:22:01 — Bentley stroller case — fighting grey-market/daigou00:36:55 — From blockchain to CryptoKitties: the spark for VeVe00:41:40 — Why digital collectibles win (space, logistics, Gen Z)00:47:34 — App Store onboarding: no crypto hurdles00:54:11 — Pitching Disney/Marvel with mockups & AR demos00:58:24 — VeVe today: product verticals, key metrics, VV-Verse vision01:12:43 — Beyond the 2021 hype: NFT recovery & outlook01:18:55 — 5–15 years ahead: skills & asking AI better questions01:21:31 — Favorite digital collectible (Steamboat Willie) & wrap-upIf this sharpened your startup/business brain, smash 👍, drop your questions for David below, and subscribe for more New Zealand founder stories.#startups, #NewZealand, #business, #NFTs, #digitalcollectibles, #VeVe, #VVverse, #blockchain, #web3, #AI, #augmentedreality, #comics, #Marvel, #Disney, #licensing, #creatorEconomy, #gaming, #venturecapital, #TechMates, #podcast

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• Ads Are Broken. Feedback Fixes Them 📲

  🎙️ Rural Kiwi roots, global marketing leadership, and now startup innovation — Anna Henwood helps brands get real consumer truth in just 48 hours with Stickybeak.Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4is21QIApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/42KZ2x1Anna Henwood is a New Zealand tech entrepreneur and co-founder/CEO of Sticky Beak, a fast, affordable, global consumer-testing platform that recruits real people via social and panels to help marketers validate names, packs, claims, and ads—before they burn media dollars. She shares how leading Les Mills’ marketing through COVID’s chaos (and a rocket-ship D2C pivot) primed her for startups, why “test ingredients, not the cake,” and how tariffs and export shifts are reshaping where brands grow next. 📈Sticky Beak just passed 100 customers and leans into hard-to-reach markets (Africa, Eastern Europe, SE Asia) while expanding in the UK and Australia. We dig into defensibility, platform-agnostic recruiting (Meta, TikTok, research panels), and smart ways founders can use AI as an “expert co-pilot,” not a synthetic audience replacement.🤝 From corporate CMO to startups: lessons from the jump📲 How Sticky Beak recruits real people globally (Meta/TikTok/panels)🧪 “Test ingredients, not the cake” — pre-testing creative & packs📈 COVID’s D2C surge at Les Mills and agile marketing pods🧭 Tariffs, exports, and why UK/EU/Asia are hot for NZ/AU brands🤖 Using AI for expert guidance vs. synthetic audiences🛡️ What makes the model defensible beyond simple A/B adsConnect with Anna HenwoodLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-henwood/Sticky Beak: https://www.stickybeak.co/Learn more about NZVC & HostsNZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nzMark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/Timestamps:00:00 – Intro00:47 – What Sticky Beak does (fast, global consumer testing)01:00 – Rural NZ roots → marketing career02:04 – Waikato Uni, marketing path (sports focus)09:16 – First roles, overseas stints, London vs. ANZ work styles11:32 – Les Mills: brand story & global scale21:25 – COVID hits: daily taskforce & D2C app surge24:48 – Tens of thousands → hundreds of thousands subs25:25 – Equipment sold out; LTV and CAC math33:52 – Why Anna joined Sticky Beak; what changed36:37 – Re-platforming; hyper-global reach (incl. Africa/E.Europe)42:54 – Pre-testing vs. ad A/B; “test ingredients, not the cake”48:42 – Where AI helps (expert co-pilot)51:10 – Competitors, agencies, legacy panels53:48 – Defensibility & platform-agnostic recruiting57:10 – How respondents are sourced; charity option with Oxfam1:10:59 – Vision: 100 customers, UK/AU expansion over US1:16:37 – Tariffs, exports, and consumer sentiment1:19:29 – Founder life: what Anna loves about startupsIf this helped your startup or business brain, hit 👍, drop your questions in the comments, and subscribe for more New Zealand founder stories and global growth tactics.#startups, #NewZealand, #business, #FMCG, #CPG, #marketing, #marketresearch, #consumerinsights, #AI, #SaaS, #D2C, #LesMills, #StickyBeak, #export, #ecommerce, #branding, #advertising, #productmarketfit, #founder, #TechMates

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• Australia's Most Ambitious Defense Tech Startup

  From building websites in high school to revolutionizing Australia's defense capabilities—Vu Tran is redefining what tech entrepreneurship means. 🔥Join us in this insightful conversation with Vu Tran, co-founder of Go1—one of Australia's most successful EdTech startups—and now Black Sky Industries, an ambitious Australian defense tech startup. Vu shares his incredible journey from growing up in an immigrant household, running entrepreneurial ventures from a young age, to scaling Go1 into a global platform and now pivoting into the defense industry to address critical national security challenges. ⚙️Discover Vu's candid insights into the importance of grit, risk-taking, and resilience gained from years of entrepreneurial struggles and triumphs. We explore how Vu approaches deep tech startups, the critical thinking behind pivoting from education tech to defense, and his compelling vision to enhance Australia's defense capabilities to ensure peace through strength and innovation. 🚀 Key Topics:🌍 Growing up as a second-generation immigrant in Australia💡 Why Vu transitioned from EdTech to Defense🔥 The importance of grit, pain tolerance, and resilience🤖 How tech innovation impacts national security🎖️ Defense as a force for peace and stability📈 Maintaining core values amidst startup growth🌐 Global threats and Australia's strategic role🧩 The intersection of AI, autonomy, and defense🤝 Connect with Vu Tran:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vutrango1Black Sky Industries: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bsaero🔗 Learn more about NZVC:Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nzMark Pavlyukovskyy – https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/Hendrik Remigereau – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/⏰ Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction 02:28 - Growing up in an Immigrant Family05:34 - Balancing Medicine Studies & Entrepreneurship09:32 - Pivoting to EdTech with Go113:02 - Importance of Risk and Resilience17:12 - Challenges & Learnings from Scaling Go123:13 - Why Vu Pivoted from Go1 to Defense Tech27:20 - Understanding Australia's Defense Needs32:26 - Global Threats & Defense Preparedness35:44 - Black Sky Industries: Defense Innovation41:09 - Why Defense is Vital for Australia47:47 - Future of Warfare and Drone Technology53:11 - AI & the Future of Global Security56:21 - Australia's Strategic Defense Role01:02:00 - Final Reflections & Advice for Entrepreneurs🙌 Enjoyed this episode?Hit like 👍, drop your thoughts 💬, and subscribe 📲 for more visionary startup insights!#️⃣ Hashtags:#startups, #business, #Australia, #EdTech, #DefenseTech, #innovation, #entrepreneurship, #BlackSkyIndustries, #nationalsecurity, #techpodcast, #resilience, #grit, #AI, #autonomy, #VuTran, #AustralianStartups, #globalsecurity, #futuretech, #Go1, #venturecapital

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