POP co-founder Alan Tsui is shaking up the billion-dollar pet wellness industry with AI
PLUS: Big job law changes ahead, US trade war risks for Kiwis, Wellington’s startup scene heats up, Super Bowl ad madness, global AI tensions in Paris, NZ Hi-Tech Awards countdown, coffee price + more
Good morning, startup land.
Today, the paywall is down—so your daily shot of news is on the house. In future, chip in the cost of 25 coffees for a whole year’s worth of intel that keeps you ahead of the game (and keeps us in business).
Here’s what’s brewing today:
Big Employment Law Changes Coming – What it Means for Kiwi Workers
How a US Trade War Could Hit Kiwi Households
Wellington’s Startup Scene is Pumping—Here’s What’s On
Super Bowl 2025: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Commercials
Global AI Power Struggles Dominate Paris Summit
Three weeks left to enter the NZ Hi-Tech Awards
Why Your Morning Coffee is About to Get More Expensive
From Rising Star to Fraud Trial: The Cautionary Tale of Charlie Javice
Honouring New Zealand’s Trailblazing Women in Science
Stay sharp, and stay caffeinated [while prices are still under $10 😬]. Have a great Tuesday.
Lauren & the Caffeine team
Big Employment Law Changes Coming – What it Means for Kiwi Workers: New Zealand’s employment laws are set for a major shake-up, with several changes on the way that could impact both employees and business owners. The Coalition Government is looking to push through new policies that will limit unjustified dismissal claims for high earners, redefine contractor status, ban pay secrecy clauses, and allow pay deductions for strikes. Based on reporting from Stuff and 1News here’s what may change:
One of the most controversial changes is a proposal to stop workers earning over $180,000 a year from claiming unjustified dismissal. The argument is that those on higher salaries have more bargaining power and do not need the same legal protections. A similar policy already exists in Australia. However, this would not affect other personal grievance claims such as discrimination or harassment.
The Government is also planning to cut back on personal grievance payouts. If an employee is found to have contributed to the breakdown of an employment relationship through their behaviour, they could lose the right to reinstatement, compensation, or other remedies.
Another key change is the introduction of a contractor gateway test to help businesses clearly distinguish between employees and independent contractors. This could reduce disputes and bring more clarity to gig economy jobs.
For workers, one of the most significant reforms is the end of pay secrecy clauses. If passed, the Employment Relations Amendment Bill will ban contracts that prevent employees from discussing their pay. This move aims to improve transparency and reduce wage gaps, though small and medium-sized businesses worry it could lead to pressure to match salaries across the board.
The Government is also reintroducing pay deductions for partial strikes. Employers would be allowed to dock wages if workers take part in limited industrial action rather than issuing a full strike or lockout. Supporters say this could encourage faster negotiations, while critics argue it weakens workers’ bargaining power.
With these changes expected to roll out later this year, business owners and employees alike will need to prepare for a very different employment landscape in New Zealand.
The Conversation: How a US Trade War Could Hit Kiwi Households: New modelling from The Conversation, published by Professor Niven Winchester of Auckland University of Technology, suggests that a US-led trade war could leave New Zealand households slightly worse off, with an estimated income loss of NZ$163 per year. Winchester’s economic analysis models a scenario in which Donald Trump imposes widespread tariffs, triggering global retaliation that slows economic growth and disrupts trade.
Trump has already introduced a 10 percent tax on Chinese goods and is set to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminium imports. While Canada and Mexico have been temporarily exempted, his broader stance indicates a willingness to extend tariffs to other major trading partners, including the European Union. In response, key economies are preparing countermeasures, increasing the risk of a full-scale trade war.
What This Means for New Zealand: According to Winchester’s modelling, a scenario where the US imposes 25 percent tariffs on all imports and faces retaliatory tariffs from other nations would have a modest but noticeable impact on New Zealand. Total trade levels would remain relatively stable as exports to the US decline by NZ$4.4 billion but shift to other markets. However, disruptions to trade flows would lead to an overall decline in household incomes, costing the country NZ$322 million per year.
While this represents just a 0.1 percent drop in household income, the effects are more pronounced in larger economies. The US would see a 1.5 percent decrease, translating to an average loss of US$2,963 per household annually. Canada and Mexico, which rely more heavily on US trade, would be hit even harder.
Global Economic Consequences: The modelling confirms a well-established economic principle that trade wars harm all involved. Globally, Winchester estimates that a tariff war would reduce total income by US$414 billion annually. The US, as both a major importer and exporter, would suffer the largest shock, with merchandise trade dropping by US$565 billion.
For New Zealand, the primary concern is long-term economic uncertainty. While exporters would likely find alternative markets, the broader impact of reduced global trade could create ongoing challenges for businesses and consumers alike. Read the full article from The Conversation here.
Wellington’s Startup Scene is Pumping—Here’s What’s On: The capital’s startup and tech community is firing up with a packed calendar of events. If you’re a founder, investor, or just startup-curious, here’s what you need to know thanks to our friends @ Creative HQ:
🐦 Blackbird Giants Roadshow – Thinking about raising capital in 2025? Blackbird is back in Wellington to talk all things funding. Register here.
🔹 PledgeMe: How to Raise Funds Through Your Crowd – Anna Guenther shares the ins and outs of crowdfunding your investment. Sign up here.
🧠 Wellington Startup Collective – A new community for founders looking to learn from those who’ve been there, done that. Join here.
🥳 Startup Weekend Wellington Launch Party – Get a taste of what’s to come and a chance to win free tickets to the main event on Feb 20. Details here.
🤖 Is AI Better Than Your Board? – Angel HQ hosts a fireside chat with Asa Cox, Diana Minnée, Scott Houston, and James Green on AI’s role in governance. Register here.
🧡 Creative HQ Startup Sessions – This week’s topic: How design can unlock your startup’s growth. Sign up here.
Super Bowl 2025: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Commercials: This year’s Super Bowl was packed with high-stakes football, but as always, the commercials were their own spectacle. From nostalgic celebrity cameos to bizarre advertising choices, brands went all out to grab attention. Tom Cruise set the tone for the night with a dramatic Mission: Impossible-style intro, but what followed was a mix of genius, chaos, and straight-up weirdness. Among many others, Washington Post has a great review here summarised below. USA Today also just released their top 10 based on a live consumer poll here and Fast Company’s list has a slightly different take here.
Mountain Dew takes the crown for the most unsettling ad of the night by turning singer Seal into an actual seal, belting out a remix of Kiss from a Rose in honour of the brand’s Baja Blast flavor. The visual? Horrifying. The song? A certified banger. Watch.
Ritz nailed wordplay with a “Salty Club” ad featuring Aubrey Plaza and Michael Shannon battling for the title of the grumpiest celebrity. Their deadpan quips were cut short only by their mouths being too full of crackers to argue any further. Watch.
Dunkin’ leaned into meta humour with Jeremy Strong’s cameo as a method actor who takes his role in a coffee commercial way too seriously. Emerging from a vat of coffee bean sludge, he declared, “I’m just trying to find the character.” Someone get this man an Oscar. Watch.
Tom Brady, unsurprisingly, was everywhere, but his best moment came in Duracell’s ad, where the former quarterback was portrayed as a robot who runs out of power mid-broadcast, only to be recharged by the brand’s batteries. Retirement crisis averted. Watch.
Nike delivered the night’s most inspiring moment with a star-studded montage of female athletes, featuring Sha’Carri Richardson, Caitlin Clark, and A’ja Wilson, all set to a rousing voice-over urging women to defy expectations. Goosebumps were inevitable. Watch.
Angel Soft embraced practicality with a bathroom break ad, reminding viewers to use their 30-second spot as the perfect “potty-tunity” before halftime. Finally, an ad that truly understands its audience. Watch.
Little Caesars and Pringles had an oddly specific shared theme—flying facial hair. Eugene Levy’s legendary eyebrows took flight after he bit into a pizza puff, while Nick Offerman’s mustache mysteriously lifted off his face in Pringles’ ad.
Hellmann’s made a bold choice with a When Harry Met Sally parody, reuniting Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal for a scene that involved a mayonnaise-fuelled moment of pleasure. Let’s just say, it might not have been the best way to sell sandwich spread. Watch.
Bud Light closed out the night with the most ridiculous, yet somehow desirable, product placement—a rolling beer cooler with leaf-blower-powered beer guns, helmed by Shane Gillis, Post Malone, and Peyton Manning. Expect frat houses nationwide to be trying to recreate this by next weekend. Watch.
Global AI Power Struggles Dominate Paris Summit: The geopolitics of artificial intelligence has taken centre stage at a major summit in Paris, where world leaders, tech executives, and researchers are debating the future of AI. While the event is officially focused on ensuring AI development is ethical, sustainable, and accessible, discussions are being overshadowed by the growing tensions between the United States, China, and Europe.
According to The Associated Press, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are co-hosting the summit, bringing together officials from 80 countries. Notable attendees include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and executives from OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. The presence of US Vice President JD Vance, marking his first trip abroad, and China’s decision to send a high-ranking envoy instead of a lower-tier official, reflects how high the stakes have become.
A key talking point is China’s DeepSeek chatbot, which has quickly gained traction as a competitor to Western AI models. Its success has sparked controversy, with the US accusing DeepSeek of using stolen OpenAI data. Investigations and restrictions are already underway, highlighting the broader tech rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
Macron is attempting to shift the focus towards collaboration, announcing the launch of "Current AI," a public-private initiative aiming to raise $2.5 billion to provide open-source AI tools. The French president argues that AI should be developed for public good rather than being dictated by corporate giants or geopolitical battles.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has taken a different approach, prioritising America’s dominance in AI. He has withdrawn the US from international climate agreements and rolled back previous regulations, instead pushing for a market-driven AI strategy. This stance could complicate efforts to reach a unified global agreement at the summit.
With Europe pushing for stricter regulations, China seeking greater influence, and the US focused on securing its lead, the Paris summit is a battleground for competing AI strategies. The challenge now is whether leaders can find common ground or if AI will become yet another fault line in global politics.
Three weeks left to enter the NZ Hi-Tech Awards: If you’ve been thinking about throwing your hat in the ring, now’s the time. Winning (or even being a finalist) can open doors—new customers, investment, industry recognition, and valuable connections.
But even beyond that, the process itself is worth it. It forces you to step back, refine how you talk about your business, and take stock of everything you’ve achieved.
Here’s what’s in it for you:
✅ A chance to raise your profile and attract new customers
✅ Exposure to top judges and investors
✅ Networking with some of NZ’s best in tech
✅ The opportunity to sharpen your value propositionEntries close 5 pm, Monday 3 March. Get all the details HERE.
Why Your Morning Coffee is About to Get More Expensive: We’ve been following this story for awhile but New Zealand’s coffee industry is heading into rough waters, and your daily flat white is about to cost a lot more. Richard Corney, Managing Director of Flight Coffee offers up excellent insight here in ‘The Bitter Reality’. While global coffee prices are at their highest since 1977, that is only part of the story. A combination of climate change, supply shortages, geopolitical instability, and a weak New Zealand dollar is creating a perfect storm for coffee roasters and cafés.
What’s Driving the Price Hikes? The cost of green coffee beans is determined by two key factors—the international coffee commodity price (known as the New York "C" price for Arabica beans) and the exchange rate between the New Zealand and US dollar. Both are working against us.The price of Arabica and Robusta beans has been climbing for years, hitting record highs in early 2025. At the same time, the New Zealand dollar remains weak, making imported coffee even more expensive. The result? Roasters are facing a 25-35% drop in margins, and they simply cannot absorb the hit any longer.
What Does This Mean for Your Coffee? Expect price increases across the board, from supermarket shelves to your local café. Roasters are already looking at passing on an additional $5-6 per kilo in costs, which translates to at least 10-12 cents more per cup. But for cafés, it’s not just about coffee—rising costs for wages, rent, power, and supplies mean they’ll likely need to increase prices by 50 cents or more per cup just to stay afloat. Even that might not be enough. Corney suggests that when factoring in inflation and rising operational costs over the past 10-15 years, a coffee should already be $8 per cup. If the market continues to climb, $10 coffees may not be far off.
The Bottom Line: Your morning coffee is about to get more expensive. Cafés and roasters have held off on raising prices for as long as they could, but the numbers no longer add up. Either consumers will need to pay more, or many in the industry won’t survive.
From Rising Star to Fraud Trial: The Cautionary Tale of Charlie Javice: The world of startups often celebrates young, ambitious founders who shake up industries with bold ideas. But the case of Charlie Javice, once named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, is shaping up to be another cautionary tale, drawing comparisons to Theranos’ Elizabeth Holmes.
Taking insights from Guardian coverage here and Forbes here, reporting shows Javice founded Frank, a platform designed to simplify student loan applications, and sold it to JP Morgan Chase for $175 million in 2021. Less than a year later, the bank accused her of fabricating millions of users to inflate the company’s value. Now facing four counts of fraud, her trial in New York is expected to expose the high-stakes world of startup acquisitions and investor hype.
The case raises familiar questions about how thoroughly big institutions vet their acquisitions. JP Morgan says it was misled, while Javice’s defence argues that the bank should have done its due diligence before making the deal.
For the startup community, this serves as a reminder of the risks of overhyping growth and the importance of transparency when raising funds or securing acquisitions. The tech world moves fast, and investors are always looking for the next big thing, but this trial may reinforce that rapid success without accountability can lead to a dramatic fall.
Honouring New Zealand’s Trailblazing Women in Science
As the world marks International Day of Women and Girls in Science today, it’s a perfect time to recognise the incredible contributions of New Zealand’s wahine in the field.
One standout figure is Ellen Dougherty, who made history as the world’s first registered nurse. A pioneer of Victorian nursing, her impact continues to inspire generations of healthcare professionals.
Learn more about her legacy here thanks to our friends at NZ Story.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Want to get in touch with a news tip, bit of feedback or just to chat? Email hello@caffeinedaily.co