Riding the waves: Shaun Quincey on what rowing the Tasman solo taught him about business
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Good morning, Caffeinators!
A few weeks ago Guy Horrocks hosted one of his famous ‘Flat White Meetups’ in Auckland city. The guest speaker was Shaun Quincey and his captivating story [and charisma] had the crowd leaning on every word.
We knew we wanted to share the story with the rest of you so if you need some early week fire power, check out what rowing the Tasman solo taught the Genoapay Founder about business.
The WFH debate has heated up again so we’re sharing the results of our poll with this community from last week. Surprised or…?
Keep the story tips coming and thanks to our new paid subscribers over the past few days. Every single one receives a personal note of thanks because you truly are keeping the lights on.
Have a great day.
Lauren & the CAFFEINE team
Riding the waves: Shaun Quincey on what rowing the Tasman solo taught him about business.
All founders must find the resilience to push through hard times, but Sean Quincey, co-founder of Simfuni and the second person to row solo across the Tasman, has faced more challenges than most.
“I remember sitting on the boat on day four. It was awful, like I wanted to set the boat on fire. I just realised, actually, you know, I was about 50 or 60 grand in debt. I was 23,” he told Caffeine.
“There was bad weather coming. I was lonely, everything was awful. I was like, actually, I don’t want to f**king do it. What is this, this is just terrible.”
Quincey was attempting to row from Australia to New Zealand, following the footsteps of his father, Colin, who completed the journey in the reverse direction back in 1977.
Despite his dire circumstances, including capsizing and nearly running out of drinking water, Quincey never gave up. Or set his boat on fire. Read more.
The food company feeding those who struggle to swallow: When Sam Bridgewater's stepdad struggled with nutrition during cancer treatment, it sparked the creation of The Pure Food Company—now a global business providing nutrient-rich pureed foods to hospitals and rest homes across New Zealand, Australia, and France. Started in 2013, the company addresses the critical need for protein in older adults. Recently, Sam and co-founder Maia Royal won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in the services category. Listen to the RNZ interview here.
Protesters Target NZ Aerospace Summit Over Defence Ties, While Industry Debates Dual-Use Tech: Around 80 protesters gathered outside the New Zealand Aerospace Summit in Christchurch, opposing the sector's ties to defence, specifically Rocket Lab and Rakon’s involvement with military partners. The protest called for the companies to cut ties with defence-related projects. Inside the summit, discussions highlighted NZ’s hesitance to invest in dual-use (civilian and military) technologies, with local venture capitalists reluctant to back firms with military applications. Despite this, aerospace is a growing industry in New Zealand, with companies like Syos Aerospace and Rakon making significant advancements. The debate continues over balancing commercial and military uses of space technology. More here.
![r/NZHauto - [Tech] - NZ Aerospace Summit: Protestors see too much defence work, startups say we’re too squeamish about funding dual-use tech](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F45ec128a-261c-4168-8080-b02bfe4c8b7d_640x360.jpeg "r/NZHauto - [Tech] - NZ Aerospace Summit: Protestors see too much defence work, startups say we’re too squeamish about funding dual-use tech")
Retail Investors Show Resilience: Time for Companies to Engage: Retail investors are becoming more influential and are sticking with companies that actively engage with them. In her recent op-ed, Sharesies GM Susannah Batley highlights insights from seven years of working with 600,000 New Zealand investors. Despite market volatility in August, 4.2 times more Sharesies customers were buying than selling on the NZ stock exchange. Batley emphasises that now is the time for companies to build stronger connections with these resilient investors.
The Icehouse jobs platform currently features over 200 open roles in Kiwi startups: Offering opportunities in areas like marketing, sales, engineering, and science, these positions are available both in NZ and globally, with companies seeking talent in key locations such as Auckland, London, and New York. Explore the full range of roles on the Icehouse platform here.
Marama Labs are hiring a Senior Software Engineer, based in NZ or AUS (Remote)
Re-Leased are hiring a Finance Manager/Senior Accountant, based in London, UK
Ideally are hiring a Growth Marketing Lead, based in Auckland, NZ
Halter are hiring a Key Account Manager, based in Waikato, NZ
ArchiPro are hiring an Infrastructure Engineer, based in Auckland, NZ
Tracksuit are hiring a Senior Agency Partner Manager, based in New York, USA
OpenAI o1: Well, we can’t call a section ‘Power Tool’ without shouting out what is arguably the most powerful tool ever invented. OpenAI is rolling out it’s newest model (for subscribers only but there will be a lightweight free version too) which delivers another leap forward in capability. The mode, at least according to Open AI, now performs similarly to PhD students on challenging benchmark tasks in physics, chemistry, and biology. It also mimics human reasoning by slowing down and taking a longer time to generate more considered answers.
Personally, I think it’s time to start being extra polite to Chat GPT. Incase this is the point it starts making notes on who to get rid of first when it takes over ~ FH.
Did you know that entrepreneurs are twice as likely to suffer from depression as non-entrepreneurs? They face a significantly higher risk of mental health challenges compared to the general population and around 49% of entrepreneurs are reported to experience a mental health condition at some point, including depression, anxiety, and substance use disorder.
Shout-out to Taxi Co-Founder Nicola Taylor for her Mental Health Awareness Week post this morning about why she takes her mental health seriously. It’s a must read.
If you need some time out don’t forget some inspiration from our Founders in the Wild series here.
Back to the office, for good? When the pandemic ended it seemed like work from home could be our new normal but from Silicon Valley to the Beehive, pressure is mounting on employees to be in person at work 5 days a week. Amazon recently announced it was effectively ending work from home for its office workers and yesterday our own Deputy Prime Minister, Nicola Willa, directed the Public Service Commissioner to tighten work from home guidelines.
Below is the result of the pulse check we ran on this last week. A clear 37% of this community favouring an office-first approach however a collective 52% tipped toward somewhere between a hybrid to fully remote preference. The debate rages on…
