Capstone Business Talks: Recent Episodes

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Justin Lim, founder of Quashed about his entrepreneurship journey.

Justin is the CEO of Quashed, an Auckland based tech startup transforming the consumer insurance experience by enabling the exploring, purchasing and managing of all insurance on one digital platform.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics: 

1. Why did you start Quashed?
2. What are some of the challenges you faced in the early days?
3. What do you see as the greatest risk to your business, and how do you manage that risk?
4. How did you build your customer base?
5. What kind of culture exists in your company, and how did you establish it?
6. How do you manage your employees and ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction?
7. What would you say are the top 3 skills required to be a successful entrepreneur?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we spoke with retired Judge Rosemary Riddell about her book "To Be Fair: Confessions of a District Court Judge". In her book, Judge Riddell shared stories and insights about her life on the bench.

After juggling law school whilst raising 3 children with her husband Mike, Judge Riddell only became a lawyer at the age of 40. Judge Riddell was appointed as a Judge of the District Court in 2006 and she served in the Hamilton Court until retirement.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics:

1. Why did you become a lawyer and what was that journey like of you?
2. How did you become a Judge?
3. Can you give us an example of a day in the life of a Judge?
4. Why did you write your book “To Be Fair”?
5. After you became a Judge, what was something you wish you had known when you were a litigator?
6. What are 3 characteristics an effective litigator must possess?
7. Some of my Chinese clients have fears that New Zealand Judges may have biases against counsel who are not Pakeha, what would you say to people with such concerns?
8. How could someone become a Judge?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Dr Nikhil Agarwal, CEO of the Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), which is associated with the Indian Institute of Technology.

SIIC is one of the largest startup incubators in India, which is essentially the Silicon Valley Y Combinator equivalent in India.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics: 

• Can you tell us a bit more about SIIC
• Can you tell us some of the successful Indian technology businesses that you have helped to scale at your incubator
• What do you think are the most exciting areas or markets of growth for Indian technology startups?
• What are the most important things you look for in a business when you accept them into your incubator?
• What do you think are the 3 characteristics that a successful entrepreneur must possess?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Rachel Yang, founder of Ysquared Chartered Accountants, Ysquared Education and Trusted AML Services about her entrepreneurship journey.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics: 

1. Why did you start YSquared?
2. What are some of the challenges you faced in the early days?
3. There are many accounting firms, but very few can grow to your size.  What did you do differently?
4. What do you see as the greatest risk to your business, and how do you manage that risk?
5. How did you build your customer base?
6. What kind of culture exists in your company, and how did you establish it?
7. How do you manage your employees and ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction?
8. What would you say are the top 3 skills required to be a successful entrepreneur?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Luke Chong, Client Success Manager at Inbound NZ, about marketing strategies in the digital age.

Inbound NZ is an award winning digital marketing agency. They offer end-to-end digital solutions and consulting for mid-cap to large-cap companies. Some of their clients are Ministry of Education, Vodafone, AMI Insurance, State Insurance, IAG just to name a few.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics:

1. Can you explain what inbound marketing is?
2. What is the main difference between traditional marketing (e.g. TV, radio, print advertising) and inbound marketing?
3. Can you explain a bit about the journey that a buyer goes through in the digital age?
4. How does inbound marketing fit in with the buyer’s journey?
5. Can you give some examples of effective content that businesses can create?
6. If a business adopts an inbound marketing strategy, is it still necessary to pay for advertising in social media platforms such as Google / Facebook / Instagram?
7. If a business pays for social media advertising, should we simply promote the business, or should we promote the content?
8. Is email marketing still effective nowadays?
9. What’s one simple thing that businesses can do right now online to improve sales?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Lachlan Nixon, Investment Manager at Pacific Channel, about investing in technology start-ups.

Pacific Channel is an early stage investment firm that invests in deep-technology ventures in New Zealand.  Since 2006, Pacific Channel has invested over NZD $50 million in New Zealand technology companies.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics:

• Can you tell us about the successful kiwi businesses that Pacific Channel has invested in?
• What are the most important things you look for in a business when making investment decisions?
• What can a business do to make itself investment ready?
• What characteristics should a company founder look for in an investor?
• As a rule of thumb, what percentage of a business should a founder give away to investors?
• What could the founder do to get the most out of its board?
• Any tips for anyone who is going to be a board director for the first time?
• Do you have any cautionary tales of corporate governance failures?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Daniel Zhang, senior manager at Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, about how to survive business failures and to live on to fight another day.

Daniel specialises in business recovery, restructuring, receivership and liquidation.  He has over 12 years of experience in helping turn around businesses in distress.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics: 

1. Tips for minimising risks for entrepreneurs planning to start a business
2. What business owners can do to avoid giving a personal guarantee
3. What is the concept of a creditors’ compromise?
4. What restructuring options are there for companies in distress?
5. What is the difference between receivership and liquidation?
6. What happens to a business owner’s credit rating if he or she goes out of business?

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Capstone Business Talks is a podcast about the better ways to work and to grow a profitable business.

In this episode, we speak with Ted Jordan, founder of practice management software ActionStep, about how he built a successful New Zealand technology company.

ActionStep is a cloud based practice management software for lawyers, which allows law firms to centralise all of the administrative functions such as matter and document management, business process workflows and billing.  In addition to New Zealand, ActionStep is available worldwide including Australia, USA, UK and Canada.

Please join us for our discussions on the following topics: 

• What led you to start ActionStep and why did you focus on the cloud?
• What were some of the challenges you faced in the early days?
• What was the process you went through to raise capital
• How did you build your team?
• How do you manage close to 100 people and ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction?
• You have expanded to international markets including US, UK, Canada and Australia. What was it like entering into these major international markets?
• What do you see as the greatest risk to your business, and how do you manage that risk?
• What would you say are the top 3 skills required to be a successful entrepreneur?
• What is your view on Artificial Intelligence and its potential to replace jobs?