Advertise on podcast: Ngahere Talks

Founder Trauma, Liquidation & Other Good Times What happens when you spend more than a decade building the dream — and then have to let it die? Rui Peng is the founder of Critical, an ambitious clean-tech company that set out to turn plastic waste into beautiful, useful building materials. He raised millions, built a factory, grew a team, survived a literal tornado, made plenty of questionable decisions along the way — and, recently, put the company into liquidation. Hosted by Manawa Udy who has known Rui for more than 12 years, from well before Critical existed. And in a slightly ridiculous full-circle moment, after the company closed he came to work with me at Te Ngahere for six weeks — which gave us plenty of time to talk kaka, make RAGEBAIT content, and unpack what the hell just happened. So this isn't a polished founder success story. It's a raw kōrero about ambition, identity, resilience, failure, money, ego, sacrifice, knowing when to stop — and what happens when the thing you've spent years building no longer exists. We talk about what Rui got right, where he f****d it up, what the founder journey really cost him, what liquidation actually feels like from the inside, and the slightly terrifying question of what he might do next. Because sometimes the business doesn't survive. The founder does.

Meet Kushla Okano, wāhine Māori tech entrepreneur on the cusp of a GAME CHANGING clean tech system that will revolutionise how we take care of our taiao. Founder of Biokū Technologies and based in Levin with her Tāne and 5 kotiro, Kushla is a powerhouse. https://www.bioku.co.nz/

Rakai Beazley has been the General Manager at Ngahere (which includes GridMNK, Konei and Tukua) for the last 2 years, and sits down with Manawa on his last day for a leaving interview. It's an open and honest kōrero that goes behind the scenes in this almost 7yr old social enterprise, and the role Ra has played in his season. He also talks about what's next for him on his journey.

A week before launching her new pukapuka Atua Wāhine, Hana and Manawa kōrero through the journey of bringing this taonga to existence, and the impact she hopes it will make. Hana Tapiata (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Porou, Waikato, Pākehā) is a māmā living by Māori philosophies to explore wellness, self-determination and liberation. She freelances in communication and has self-published two books exploring ancestral Māori concepts and systems and their applications in modern life. From Google Books: Ancient wisdom of the Māori goddesses to help you navigate the modern world Atua wāhine are the Māori goddesses who make up the world around us: earth, fire, water, the moon and more. From the earth mother, Papatūānuku, who sustains and nurtures us to the goddess of peace, Hinepūtehue, who transformed pain into beauty, and the misunderstood goddess of the underworld, Hinenuitepō, who created purpose and enlightenment from betrayal - this book is a treasure of knowledge and insight. Drawing on whakataukī (proverbs) and pūrākau (traditional stories), discover how the wisdom of 17 atua wāhine can help us live with courage and confidence in the modern world. With guided steps, these atua will inspire you to foster creativity, acknowledge cycles of change, and embrace self-determination.

Manawa has a hard and fast chat with the bro Rui, founder of clean tech company Critical. and creator of Cleanstone, the fully sustainable, recycled plastic product changing up the NZ interiors industry. They both only had 20 mins to chat so went right in there (and a little all over the place) including a couple of sneak previews about what's next for Critical. and an upcoming product dropppp on Konei. But what we really wanna know is - do YOU want to hear a proper podcast series from these two? *apologies for the audio quality in this one, clearly in our haste we didn;t realise one of the micropohnes was loose and making a wiggly sound... arohamai.

Manawa sits down with Amber, Co-founder adn CEO of ARA Journeys, a digital technologies company based in South Auckland, Aotearoa and expanding across the globe. Manawa and Amber recently travelled to China together as part of the Asia New Zealand Foundation's Māori Creative Business Leaders delegation, and Amber followed that tour with a trip to Thailand. In this episode they share their experiences and insights from visiting multiple companies in the game development, digital storytelling, content creation and other tech sectors in China, along with insights from Thailand's tech sector too.

Manawa sits down with Nikkita Koia, founder of Poipoiā - an Ōtautahi based brand rooted in rongoā Māori. A casual chat about pakihi life and Nikkita's journey so far.

We had a short but sweet kōrero with Ruby of Ako NZ, a brand based in Whangārei specialising in kakahu for pēpi, comfortable clothing for babies that incorporate te reo Māori Ruby talks about normalising te reo Māori in the home with their Milestone Blanket and how they interact with their community. https://akonz.co.nz/ https://www.instagram.com/akonz__/

Based in Kaikohe, Te Tai Tokerau, My Taiao specialise in Reo and Mātauranga Māori inspired clothing. Konei general manager Ra, sat down with 1/2 of the brand - Tamati Rakena, to kōrero. They speak on the brands beginnings when taiao began coming back to life as an effect of the Covid lockdowns, and how they incorporate matauranga Māori into their kakahu, by drawing inspiration from the lifestyle of many Māori who live by the sea and bush https://www.mytaiao.co.nz/ https://www.instagram.com/mytaiao/

Soil & Sand clothing is a business based in Te Tai Tokerau specialising in Māori infused designs incorporated in their kākahu. Our GM Ra sat down with Stephen, one half of the brand and discussed their journey from as a screen printing company to the launch of their apparel and inspiring Māori rangatahi and their artistic abilities. https://soilandsand.co.nz/ https://www.instagram.com/soilandsand_clothing/

Tuhi Stationery has been in the game for 5 years, selling bilingual Te Reo Māori and Samoan educational resources. On EP 5 of Konei Kōrero at Te Matatini, we chat with co-founder, Geneva on her journey so far, what a move to a different country means for her pakihi and what the future holds for Tuhi Stationery.

What do you do when faced with life threatening environmental challenges in your rohe, while a bucket list opportunity awaits you on the other side? That's what we discuss with Ash - co-founder of Nōku Clothing in EP 4 of Konei Kōrero, right from the rainy stall fronts of Te Matatini.

For the 3rd instalment of our Konei Kōrero on day 3 of Te Matatini, we sat down with Awhina, the founder of Whatu Creative. We discuss the challenges and successes of running a start up, as well as the topic of sharing our toi Māori. Is it a yay or nay? Listen on to find out! You can catch us at @konei.nz and Awhina at @whatucreative or www.whatucreative.com

On day 2 of Te Matatini and EP 2 of Konei Kōrero, we sat down with Terina, founder of Poi Yeah! We discuss all things Māori, including what it means to have Te Matatini in your rohe (home ground) and how her pakihi (business) came about. "We can make it happen, kei te pai. Let's move forward!"

In this Konei Kōrero, we bring you a special series right from the marketplace of Te Matatini 2023! Manawa Udy sits down with Liz Liddle - founder of First Nations Gifts, the first Aboriginal owned online marketplace and Mwerre, cold-press artisan soap and bath products. Of course, we discuss business, Indigenous entrepreneurship and the learning opportunities available across the ditch.