In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Nick O'Neill
Nick O'Neill is the co founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Hype and Dexter, a HubSpot focused digital transformation agency operating across Australia and New Zealand. With decades of sales experience and a front row seat to hyper growth as an early employee at GrabOne, Nick shares an honest account of building and scaling a professional services business.
The conversation covers the shift from CRM agnostic consulting to specialising in HubSpot, the realities of cash flow pressure and making payroll in the early years, and how modern sales has evolved from cold calling to inbound led growth. Nick also explores how AI and automation are reshaping customer acquisition, the value of a single customer view, and what businesses should focus on when implementing CRM systems for sustainable growth.
The episode also touches on Hype and Dexter joining the Avidly Group in 2023 and what it means to be part of the worlds largest HubSpot partner network.
#podcast #nzstartup #sales #crm #hubspotcrm #startups #businessgrowth #automation #ai
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Melissa Beer!
Melissa Beer grew up in a Mennonite farming community in Canada and now leads a New Zealand based tech company focused on bridging primary sector agriculture with modern data and AI solutions.
After starting her first business at seventeen selling grass fed organic beef direct to consumer, she moved to New Zealand and built a technology venture that is designed to help the value chain express and transfer value from farm to consumer.
In this conversation, Melissa and Charlie explore her journey from agriculture to tech entrepreneurship, the realities of being a mission driven founder, and how she built her business without external capital while maintaining a job to support early relationships. They discuss the complexity of agricultural value chains, why innovation can stall inside commodity systems, and how her product automates sustainability reporting and supports processors in matching farm attributes with evolving customer preferences.
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#waystowealth #podcast #melissabeer #agriculture #technology #entrepreneurship
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Lucia Dore!
Lucia is a financial journalist, former economist, and co-founder of Learn Business English at Scripters. She previously worked at the New Zealand Treasury forecasting inflation and operating surplus before spending nearly two decades in the UK and Middle East, where she led a mergers and acquisitions news service across global markets.
Charlie and Lucia explore information advantages across the financial world, comparing the transparency of Western markets with the opacity of parts of the Middle East. They discuss leverage as the consistent cause of financial crises, from the Great Depression to the recent challenges in New Zealand’s property market.
Lucia shares insights on the shift from property speculation to building personal IP and vocational wealth, emphasising the long-term mindset required to create meaningful financial security. The conversation also dives into cryptocurrency volatility, US dollar reserve status, global liquidity differences, and how geopolitics shapes both risk and opportunity for investors.
At the heart of the discussion is a timeless insight: patient, unleveraged long-term investing reliably outperforms short-term speculation. Anything good, as Lucia says, takes 10 years.
Find out more about Lucia Dore Consultancy here: https://www.luciadore.com
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: https://www.eccuity.com/podcasts
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Alex Guichard!Alex is a French designer and serial entrepreneur who relocated to New Zealand 11 years ago. As co-founder of Le Velo Studio, he has spent nearly four years engineering what has become the world’s lightest e-bike, weighing just 12 kilograms. Drawing on decades of carbon fiber experience across automotive, aerospace, luxury goods, and performance sport, this marks his fourth invention and a return to bicycle design after first building a bike in his early twenties.Charlie and Alex explore the journey behind creating a timeless, Art Deco-inspired e-bike with a compact e-wheel that houses both the motor and the battery, eliminating the bulky frames typical of electric bikes. They discuss circular economy design, ensuring all components are non-proprietary and easily replaceable, and how the bike can convert seamlessly into a traditional push bike.Alex shares how he bootstrapped the company for years, later brought in investors, and pre-sold the first 40 bikes in New Zealand through a nationwide tour. He explains his commitment to slow, sustainable growth, expansion plans into Australia and Japan, and the decision to stay direct-to-consumer. The conversation also touches on his philosophy of timeless quality over flashiness, taking cues from luxury brands that prioritise elegance and durability.Find out more about Le Velo Studio here: https://www.levelostudio.comWatch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: https://www.eccuity.com/podcasts#WaysToWealth #AlexGuichard #Entrepreneurship #NZBusiness #Design #Innovation #Sustainability #LuxuryDesign #Ebike #WealthBuilding
Get the full story behind this week’s biggest market movers in our latest episode. We break down Bitcoin’s recent slide and what’s happening under the hood, dive into Nvidia’s post-earnings twists and the options signals nobody saw coming, and put global macro trends in context—from currency pivots to energy swings and ETF surprises. Whether you’re trading, investing, or just love following market narratives, this is your front-row seat to the key shifts shaping the financial landscape right now.
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Carl Meyer!Carl is the founder of BioGold, a New Zealand natural health company creating high quality testosterone support supplements made from pine tree pollen.
Before BioGold, he built and sold Vic Deals, a student community platform with more than 200,000 members, at just 23 years old.
Carl shares his journey from robotics student to multi million dollar business owner, including the periods of severe anxiety and depression that shaped his approach to entrepreneurship.
He tells the story of raising capital while mentally struggling, the lockdown yoga retreat that shifted his life, and why he chose to build BioGold without selling a single share of equity.
Find out more about BioGold here: https://www.biogoldnz.com
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: https://www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#waystowealth #entrepreneurship #bootstrapping #mentalhealth #nzbusiness #wealthbuilding #biogold
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Jahred Dell!
Jahred is one of New Zealand’s top jiu-jitsu competitors and a black belt under Pedro Fernandes at Tukaha. But beyond the medals and mats, his story is one of discipline, humility, and transformation. From growing up in South Africa and finding purpose through martial arts, to balancing teaching with elite-level competition, Jahred shares how jiu-jitsu became the defining force that reshaped his life.
Charlie and Jahred explore what makes a great gym culture, how community and mentorship build resilience, and the balance between self-competition and external validation. They also discuss burnout, overtraining, and the mindset required to perform at a high level — whether in sport, business, or life.
This episode is a raw, reflective look into what it takes to pursue mastery over decades — and the importance of staying grounded, curious, and connected along the way.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:06 Jared
02:08 Origins
07:21 Gyms
18:53 P.E.Ds
24:18 Accusations
26:27 Progression
38:56 Impact
42:47 Outro
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Yaela Raber!
Yaela’s journey is one of radical honesty, courage, and reinvention. Originally from Amsterdam, she built a multi-million-dollar marketing agency across five countries before realising that success — as the world defined it — left her completely disconnected from herself. After selling the business and walking away from everything she’d built, she began a new mission: to help women redefine what it means to be powerful, successful, and fulfilled on their own terms.
Now based in New Zealand, Yaela is the founder of The Powerhouse Alliance and host of The Powerhouse Diaries Podcast, an ecosystem dedicated to helping female founders tear up the rulebook, rebuild from authenticity, and lead with connection instead of competition.
Charlie and Yaela explore the dangers of resilience culture, the myth of balance, and how chasing constant growth can disconnect us from our purpose. They unpack how to tune out the noise, build discernment, and embrace both “flow” and “hustle” in business and life — a concept Yaela calls Flussle.
This conversation is a reminder that rebellion isn’t about chaos — it’s about returning to connection, courage, and clarity in a world that celebrates burnout.
Check out The Powerhouse Alliance here: www.powerhouse-alliance.com
Check out eccuity here: www.eccuity.com
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 Yaela
02:42 Female Founders
06:27 The Rebellion
11:22 Success
13:28 Start-up Help
21:04 Noise
39:01 How to adapt
53:37 Running your own race
55:35 Outro
#WaysToWealth #YaelaRaber #FemaleFounders #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #Mindset #Reinvention #WealthBuilding #NZBusiness
In this episode of Macro Mondays, Charlie and Dave MacLeish dive into a busy week of global market moves and central bank decisions. They unpack Australia’s upcoming rate call on Melbourne Cup day, rising inflation pressures across the US and New Zealand, and how governments are walking a fine line between cutting rates and keeping prices stable. The pair also analyse Big Tech earnings, AI’s growing role in productivity, and Elon Musk’s bold claim that apps will disappear within five years. They finish by exploring whether governments could one day use crypto to strengthen — not weaken — their control of money.
#macromondays #markets #inflation #investing #ai #bigtech #usd #finance
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Matthew Jackson!
Matthew’s story is one of reinvention, courage, and conviction. From creating one of New Zealand’s first streaming platforms that challenged the global media industry, to founding a telehealth start-up that brought doctors into people’s homes, Matthew has spent over a decade building products that challenge the status quo.
Now, as co-founder of Alimentary, he’s tackling one of the world’s biggest problems — waste. Inspired by the biology of a cow’s stomach, his team is developing bioenergy systems that turn organic waste into clean power, fertiliser, and profit. Backed by the largest innovation grant in New Zealand’s environmental history, they’re proving that sustainability and scalability can go hand in hand.
Charlie and Matthew dive into how courage fuels entrepreneurship, what it takes to build deep tech in New Zealand, and how to design a business model that captures both economic and environmental value.
They also explore new ways of raising capital, the changing venture landscape, and what it means to lead with values at the core of innovation.
Learn more about Alimentary here: alimentary.systems
Learn more about eccuity here: eccuity.com
Timestamps:
#WaysToWealth #MatthewJackson #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Sustainability #ClimateTech #WealthBuilding #NZBusiness
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Sanjeev Jangra!
Sanjeev’s story is one of grit, risk, and reinvention. From working night shifts at a gas station to becoming one of New Zealand’s top mortgage advisors, Sanjeev shares how he left the safety of a corporate banking job to build his own business during a pandemic, with no network and no clients.
He talks about the strategies that helped him scale from a one-man operation to a team of six, his approach to growth in good and bad markets, and why focusing on service over sales created exponential results.
Charlie and Sanjeev also dive into the broader economic trends shaping New Zealand’s property and currency markets, and how everyday investors can think differently about building wealth.
Check out Loan Market here: loanmarket.co.nz
Check out eccuity here: eccuity.com
#WaysToWealth #SanjeevJangra #FinancialFreedom #NZBusiness #WealthBuilding #Entrepreneurship
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Vanesha Naidu!
Vanesha is the founder of Role Call Recruitment and the tech start-up Birdeey, where she’s reshaping how companies hire and scale their teams. She shares her journey from 18 years in recruitment to building a global product from New Zealand, tackling the deeper issues behind hiring inefficiencies.
Together, Charlie and Vanesha unpack the challenges of scaling a services business, bootstrapping tech without venture capital, and how today’s founders can balance income, equity, and sustainability in a changing economy.
Check out Role Call Recruitment here: rolecall.co.nz
Check out Birdeey here: birdeey.com
Check out every episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: eccuity.com/podcasts
#WaysToWealth #VaneshaNaidu #Recruitment #StartUps #Entrepreneurship #Hiring #NZBusiness #Bootstrapping #WomenInBusiness #Innovation #TechFounders #FoundersJourney
In this episode of Macro Mondays, Charlie breaks down the week’s major market moves — from surging gold prices and a stubbornly strong US dollar to Bitcoin’s fading momentum. He also unpacks the strange “circular revenue” dynamic between OpenAI, Nvidia, and Oracle, where investment and chip purchases are looping back on themselves. With gold hype hitting Main Street and risk assets acting oddly, Charlie questions whether speculation is overtaking fundamentals and what it means for investors watching the next big unwind.
#macromondays #markets #investing #usd #gold #bitcoin #openai #nvidia #finance
In this episode of Macro Mondays, Charlie is joined by Dave MacLeish, founder of Wedge, to unpack one of the most dramatic weeks in markets this year. From a $19 billion crypto liquidation to a sharp rally in bonds and a weaker Kiwi dollar, they explore what’s driving volatility, how leverage is reshaping risk, and why “buy the dip” might not work forever. The conversation covers rate cuts, private credit stress, Trump’s latest market influence, and what these shifts could signal for a potential recession ahead.#markets #macromondays #investing #finance #crypto #usd #nz #economy
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Anthony Sage!
Together they unpack the latest shifts in monetary policy, interest rates and the ripple effects of the US Fed’s unexpected rate cut.
Anthony shares his perspective on how New Zealand’s housing-driven economy compares to the more dynamic US market, and why falling mortgage rates might not mean what most think. The pair also explore how immigration, private credit, and global money flows are shaping what could be a decade-long economic realignment.
Check out eccuity here: https://www.eccuity.com
Learn more about Advice Knight here: https://www.adviceknight.co.nz
#WaysToWealth #AnthonySage #Finance #Economy #Investing #NZFinance #KiwiInvestors #InterestRates #USMarkets #RBNZ #FederalReserve #Property #Wealth
Expert guidance to help you grow, adapt, and plan for what’s next. Try it for free⤵️www.eccuity.com/privateIn this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Dave McLeish, founder of Wedge!Dave shares his journey through the world of fixed income and investments, reflecting on lessons from the 2008 financial crisis and the misconceptions many investors have about bonds. Together, they explore the importance of trust, transparency, and financial literacy in shaping better outcomes for savers.Wedge is on a mission to deliver better savings rates than traditional banks in New Zealand. This conversation highlights why financial innovation matters, the role of active management in fixed income, and how small steps in financial literacy can empower consumers to make smarter choices.Check out Wedge here: www.wedge.co.nzCheck out all of the episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts#WaysToWealth #DaveMcLeish #Wedge #FixedIncome #Investing #FinancialServices #FinancialInnovation #Savings #FinancialLiteracy #Trust #transparency
Expert guidance to help you grow, adapt, and plan for what’s next. Try it for free⤵️
https://www.eccuity.com/private
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Liam van den Berk!
Liam is a self-taught cinematographer and director working with agencies and production companies across a wide range of projects. His skills span filming, editing, directing, color grading, and drone operation. Recently, he has been involved with major productions like Minecraft: The Movie, working behind the scenes alongside Jack Black and Jason Momoa. Beyond film, he is passionate about health, fitness, and is currently writing his own feature film.
The conversation unpacks Liam’s unconventional journey, from leaving school at 16 to work as a plumber, to discovering filmmaking through taking photos on construction sites. His first big break came filming for Spades from a hot air balloon, which set him on the path to a thriving freelance career.
Topics include the realities of freelancer life, the importance of networking and building trust on set, and how to manage finances without the safety net of traditional employment. Charlie and Liam also discuss travel experiences, government policy, and the role of discomfort and new environments in driving creativity and personal growth.
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#WaysToWealth #Filmmaking #Cinematography #FreelanceLife #CreativeCareer #Networking #Storytelling #CareerGrowth #Innovation
Expert guidance to help you grow, adapt, and plan for what’s next. Try it for free⤵️
https://www.eccuity.com/private
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Steven Kempton!
Steven is a recruitment executive with an international career spanning Silicon Valley, Japan, and New Zealand. He has worked with major tech companies like Apple, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Huawei, and even placed candidates who interviewed directly with Steve Jobs. After time in Japan teaching English and starting a family, he returned to New Zealand where he launched his own recruitment company while raising two young sons.
The conversation explores Steven’s holistic view of wealth, which he defines as the freedom to control your time and foster meaningful relationships, rather than simply accumulating money. He reflects on his rural upbringing in 1970s–80s New Zealand, where he saw his parents run multiple businesses, including a seven-day-a-week fruit and vegetable store.
Key themes include how New Zealand’s economy has shifted since the 1980s, the rise of instant feedback loops in modern life, generational differences in how people access information, and the importance of families having open conversations about money. Steven also shares lessons from a personal health scare that reshaped his perspective on success, leading him to prioritize health, balance, and family experiences alongside professional achievement.
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#WaysToWealth #WealthMindset #LifeBalance #Recruitment #CareerGrowth #FamilyWealth #Leadership
Expert guidance to help you grow, adapt, and plan for what’s next. Try it for free⤵️
https://www.eccuity.com/private
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Chris Parnell!
Chris is the co-founder of SetSeed, a platform designed to create smarter websites without the heavy reliance on plugins. His entrepreneurial journey began in marketing, moved through graphic design training, and eventually into self-taught web development. After seeing a product from a previous company go global, Chris was inspired to build his own venture, teaming up with UK-based partner Ben Vallack to launch SetSeed.
The discussion covers the challenges small and medium businesses face with plugin-heavy platforms like WordPress, where security, maintenance, and complexity can become serious pain points. SetSeed’s plugin-free model offers an alternative with built-in functionality designed for simplicity and reliability.
Chris and Charlie dive into the realities of bootstrapping versus pursuing venture capital, exploring how founders can maintain control while still taking advantage of growth opportunities. They reflect on the trade-offs between ambition and family balance, and how recent VC interest has created both potential opportunities and distractions for SetSeed.
The episode also looks at strategic advice for businesses considering platform migrations, stressing the importance of long-term planning over reactive decision-making, especially in a market increasingly influenced by AI-driven hype.
Find out more about SetSeed here: www.setseed.com
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#WaysToWealth #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #WebDevelopment #Innovation #SmallBusiness #Leadership
Expert guidance to help you grow, adapt, and plan for what’s next. Try it for free⤵️
https://www.eccuity.com/private
In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Brent Coleman!
Brent runs a fast-growing YouTube channel dedicated to educating New Zealanders about personal finance, covering saving, investing, and money management. With a finance degree and international experience, including two years at a Singapore-based family office, Brent brings both practical and global perspectives to his content.
The conversation explores Brent’s content creation strategy, where he shares how he develops video ideas, scripts, and edits — spending roughly an hour per minute of final content while keeping a pipeline of 10+ ideas. They also dive into economic analysis, discussing issues with New Zealand’s CPI data, the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decisions, and new tools like Truflation for real-time inflation tracking.
Brent explains his investment philosophy, built around a conservative index fund approach with an 80/20 core-satellite strategy balancing stable long-term holdings with smaller speculative plays. He also gives behind-the-scenes insights into life inside a Southeast Asian billionaire’s family office, from 80-hour weeks to exclusive private investment opportunities, highlighting the reality versus perception of ultra-wealth management.
The discussion expands into cryptocurrency, where Brent and Charlie examine Bitcoin’s institutional adoption, transaction costs, and the practical challenges of secure storage.
This episode shows how deep finance expertise can translate into engaging education, while underscoring the importance of discipline and balance in building wealth.
Find out more about UDC Finance Limited here: www.udc.co.nz
Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts
#PersonalFinance #Investing #WealthBuilding #MoneyManagement #FinancialEducation #IndexFunds #EconomicInsights #CryptoInvesting #FamilyOffice #WaysToWealth