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Kiwi coming home

Can you tell us a bit about your career, both in New Zealand and internationally?

In New Zealand I started off working as a corporate lawyer, initially at Minter Ellison Rudd Watts then shifted to a tech-focused boutique law firm Simmonds Stewart (now known as Kindrik). Through my time at Kindrik I was exposed to some of New Zealand’s best entrepreneurs and the local investor community, which really fuelled my interest in the tech sector. From there an opportunity arose to move to Singapore to work at a venture capital fund, where I spent the next 3 years investing into tech startups across Southeast Asia. It was an amazing job but at some point I realised I wanted to get operational experience amongst the startup grind, and also experience living in Europe – so I moved to Amsterdam and joined a local enterprise SaaS company. About a year into my job we got acquired by SurveyMonkey, which was a fascinating experience to then be involved in the post-acquisition phase of merging a smaller tech company into a massive publicly-listed one. 

What was the catalyst in your decision to return home?

I always knew I would return to New Zealand – there’s so much potential here and I love the lifestyle, the people, and our environment. It was just a matter of when I felt ready to finish living abroad and move back, which Covid did help to speed up. In March 2020 I had made a trip back to New Zealand for a holiday just before Covid started blowing up, and was impressed by how much growth there was in the local startup scene since I’d left. It gave me faith that if I did make the shift back home, there would be interesting companies to join. After seeing out the rest of summer 2020 in Europe, I decided to make the shift home and returned here in September. 

How have you found reintegrating back into Aotearoa?

It’s been pretty smooth sailing, especially amidst this pandemic life it’s been wonderful being back home to be closer to friends and family. I’m also grateful for the welcoming ecosystem of the tech sector I work in – it’s been really evident that people want to help. It’s particularly a great time to be back in Aotearoa as many Kiwi expats are shifting home, bringing with them cool ideas/initiatives and diverse experiences.

To what extent do you think your international experience helped your return into the New Zealand job market?

Working overseas exposed me to operating at much larger scale (e.g. my customer success team in Amsterdam was about 20 people spanning 4 different timezones), different ways of tackling problems, and improved my cultural adaptability. This helped to inform my benchmark of what good looks like in a global setting, and coming back to New Zealand has given me a chance to apply my learnings to a local startup context. 

I’m now working at First AML – a software solution that helps law firms, financial services, accountants and real estate agents comply with anti-money laundering regulations while shortening their customer’s onboarding process. My role as the Chief of Staff is quite broad, and in any given week I could be working on legal, operations, customers, marketing, HR, fundraising or sales processes; some of which I know well but a lot also new to me. Working overseas also helped build up a strong professional network that I could easily reach out to for guidance, or seek intel on a particular market / industry. 

Your latest position at First AML has just seen you launch the start-up in Australia. Congrats! Can you tell us a bit about what that process entailed?

We were lucky that First AML already had some early adopter clients in the Australian market that were vocal advocates for us – which helped us build credibility when entering into a new market. One of our co-founders shifted over to start our Australian office to transplant institutional knowledge and culture; and my focus has mainly been on hiring the right people to establish the local founding team. Once we have good people in place, then we can trust them to figure out how to create a solid plan and execute. NZTE has been super helpful also in supporting our growth through funding or networks.

In your experience, what are the key barriers start-ups face when launching into a new market?

There can be many challenges – under-estimating the amount of capital required (or inversely – investing too much into scale too soon), mis-alignment on culture and expectations with the remote office, hiring the wrong people for this stage of growth (entering into a new market requires a scrappy mentality as we are building for the 0 to 1) etc. 

The main one I see is under-estimating the amount of unknown unknowns and relying on untested assumptions when formulating the Go-To-Market plan. Australia may seem culturally similar to New Zealand but we’re already noticing some nuances in how we sell; so we’re taking a pragmatic approach to experimenting and learning about the market, and hiring experienced locals to help us bridge the gap. 

Now that you’ve been home for a few months, what are you hopeful for in 2021?

No more sudden lockdowns, reconnecting with family and friends, and lots of domestic travel. There are so many places in New Zealand I haven’t tried (it’s always a bit embarrassing to meet foreigners who have travelled more of NZ than I have) – keen to check out Gisborne, Christchurch and New Plymouth this year! 

CONTRIBUTOR

Lucy Luo

Chief of Staff

First AML

Kea member

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PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Borders May Close – Minds Need Not

As a Kiwi who lived offshore for almost eight years, I relished the opportunity to build on my New Zealand based skills and perspectives. 
Operating a digital business in a highly competitive market sharpened my ability to understand audience behaviour. It taught me how to use data to drive strategy, ways to develop alternate revenue streams and importantly, how to lead teams through change.
I was beyond excited at the prospect of bringing these, often hard-learned skills home to Aotearoa to see how I might be able to help grow a company on the soil where I grew up.  

Rude awakening

Arriving home four years ago, however, proved to be a rude awakening.
I was told by more than one recruiter that my skills were irrelevant in NZ, that I should be ready to halve my salary and hope to work my way back into a leadership position over the coming years. 

This is my story, but it is also the story of so many Kiwi returning home.  
We are a passionate nation, proud of what we achieve collectively. 
We love to see companies like Xero and RocketLab on the world stage. 
Yet we are also more than a little unwelcoming of tall poppies, particularly if they come in the form of Kiwi returning home. 
For some reason we feel a sense of abandonment that they left us, and more than a dash of incredulity that in a reality-shifting moment like a global pandemic, they would want to be home amongst family, familiar faces and places. 
As a small island nation on the edge of the globe we have learnt to be self-reliant and to build things our way.
Our response to the covid-19 pandemic was also purpose-built to make the most of our natural maritime border.  

Risk of closed minds

But I sense that in the current moment we are at risk of closing our minds, as well as our borders. 
As a country we need more high value innovative companies like Soul Machines and Seequent, we need to increase our frontier firms and our productivity. 
Part of this could be achieved through driving diversity of thought and including not only cultural differences from amongst our resident population, but also the different perspectives gleaned from our whānau offshore and recently returned.
In my work with Kea, I have seen the breadth and depth of passionate thought leadership and experience within our offshore network. 
These unique global Kiwi deliver innovation in a wide range of industries, for other nations. What might it take for NZ to open our mind to what they have to offer us?  
With the country riding high in global brand perception, we have more global Kiwi than ever wanting to support the country they are so proud of – through the talent or investment of those who choose to return, or the ideas and perspectives of those who remain offshore.

Carpe Kiwi

It is up to us as a community to navigate the solution, grabbing on to the amazing opportunity that exists.
On my return to Aotearoa, I had some soul searching to do. 
I needed to rethink my skill set and find the right terms of reference to appeal to a New Zealand-based company. 
Importantly, I had to find the right way to integrate myself into its team and culture. 
Returning Kiwi would do well to do the same.
But an enormous opportunity also exists for NZ to be open to new ideas and to find ways to amplify returning Kiwi skills that might not sit in a job description. 
We need to lose the fear of being told there’s another way of doing things and be ready to embrace healthy challenges to the status quo – the impact could be far-reaching.

Open minds

While it may take a few years to improve cost of living, housing and traffic issues, the one thing every one of us can do right now, is to open our minds.
We are the employers, the policy makers, the community and the whānau who can welcome these valuable Kiwi back home.
 And for a group who largely made the call to give up their lives to return to the familiar, this emotional support could go an awfully long way to securing their ongoing loyalty and value.

CONTRIBUTOR

Toni Truslove

CEO

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

COMING HOME?

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Resources

We’re here to support returning Kiwi. Here’s our list of resources to help you plan your return and next steps.

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Looking for a new role in New Zealand? Visit the Kea job portal and find your next career opportunity.

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  • How to get a head start on finances, including opening bank accounts from offshore, what you need to know about Kiwi Saver, and handy insights around living costs.
  • Tips on the relocation process including what to expect in your first few months in Aotearoa
  • The different visa pathways available for non-NZ family members, the pros and cons of each option and timeframes.

A huge thank you to BNZ Business Development and Operations Manager Chantal Groothengel, Mobile Relocation Principal Bridget Romanes and KPMG Immigration Manager Caren Donald for joining the conversation!

Make sure to take a look at our full coming home resource list here.

Watch the full webinar recording below.

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Your career in journalism has spanned much of the globe. Can you give us some background into the last few years, and a couple of highlights from your global experience?

Joining Reuters News Agency after spells as a kid on New Zealand newspapers was transformational and I spent 15-years around the world. I was fortunate to cover stories from the fall of the Soviet Union, to Nelson Mandela’s election, and the first Gulf War. I moved into digital news at The Times, Microsoft, and CNN. In the US, I led an investigative reporting group, which did the Panama Papers. I’ve been very lucky.

How has the media landscape changed over the course of your career?

I have managed to work at reputable organisations with strong ethics. Journalism is still the “rough first draft of history” rather than being definitive. We’ve never had more access to higher quality journalism: there was no past golden age, it’s now. The financial challenges of an advertising-led business model are clear but I fear the move to subscriptions will mean more and more high-quality sources are closed off and that the free space risks being left to sensational journalism and misinformation.

In an age where fake news is more prevalent than ever and mistrust in journalism is growing, where do you believe the future of media is heading?

Media organisations have brought some of this on themselves by blurring what is opinion and news, let alone entertainment, which leaves readers confused as to what the intent is. There’s also a general trend in society to favour belief over fact which is evident in New Zealand. Fortunately, during Covid-19, New Zealand has been well-served by politicians, experts, and to a large extent media. I think brands that stand clearly for trust and accuracy will do well.

What influenced your decision to return to Aotearoa?

I came back for a family funeral and then the first lockdown happened. I normally live in the UK and there has been very little good reason to go “home” and every reason to re-embrace Aotearoa. I have also been very fortunate – after so many years away – to have some fascinating work projects here. I’m grateful.

What has your work looked like since returning home? What differences are there between NZ media and outlets you’ve worked for around the globe?

Peter with his beloved Renault near his home in Spain

I recently judged some investigative news nominees for the Voyager Awards and was deeply impressed by the quality of the work and the commitment of news proprietors to funding it. It’s great to see start-ups like Newsroom, Business Desk, and The Spinoff doing so well. I have written the odd thing for all three. I did a wonderful project with New Zealand On Air related to public interest journalism, and I’ve consulted to Sinead Boucher since she bought Stuff – which is one of the most interesting media projects anywhere in the world. New Zealand is well served by public and commercial media and I suspect a renewed emphasis on quality and a focus on trust will help raise standards. Personally, I’d like a little less “New Zealand exceptionalism” which I’d hope we abandoned since the days of cultural cringe when we asked visitors if they liked New Zealand on the tarmac at Mangere.

What has your experience been of resettling here after living so many years abroad?

I’m grateful to have been accepted back in a professional sense. On a personal level it has been quite discombobulating, but I have a wide whānau to reconnect with more deeply than you do on holidays. I am well aware how fortunate I have been to be in New Zealand during the pandemic and I respect how the government, citizenry, and media have handled the science and the rebound.

What would your advice be to Kiwis looking to do the same?

This period of  a diaspora returning is remarkable. I’ve met – often through Kea – great talents in all sorts of fields. It means having or reactivating networks and I think in some industries that can be more difficult. You absolutely can’t swagger in with a “don’t you know who I am attitude”. You have to respect those who made different choices and made a contribution to New Zealand by staying.

What do you believe the opportunities are for New Zealand in 2021 and beyond?

I sometimes worry that there is an anti-growth climate in New Zealand and yet there is a vibrant start up culture and some world-leading innovation as well as established world-class companies. It would be great to see returnees creating new businesses and adding talent to existing firms to create a burst of activity and growth. The opportunity to capitalise on that returning talent (and I don’t mean me) is immense and I hope investors, employers, and colleagues can embrace that stimulus.

CONTRIBUTOR

Lucy Luo

Chief of Staff

First AML

Kea member

COMING HOME?

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WHAT ROLE IS THE MIND LAB PLAYING WITHIN THE DIGITAL BOOST PROGRAMME? 

The Mind Lab has partnered with MBIE to deliver the learning platform that enables businesses to jump on to DigitalBoost.co.nz  to learn how to digitise their business. This includes a range of key categories including Websites – eg. design, search engine optimisation, eCommerce, autoresponders, Digital Marketing, Social Media and Digital tools that make business easier. The learning journey is self-paced and video based, which means businesses can start their learning focused on the topics they are interested in and at the level of understanding they already have. These videos are either ‘How-to’ instructional videos or real-life case studies that showcase how other businesses have adopted digital tools and channels to grow their business.

The Mind Lab’s Digital Boost team also hosts daily Q&A sessions with experts from organisations including Xero, Google and Shopify, as well as local providers who provide expertise on everything from developing brands, integrating booking systems or optimising email marketing databases. Twice weekly we host live online ‘Fireside Chats’ with small businesses owners who have adopted new digital processes in response to Covid-19, even in lockdown. 

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES/BARRIERS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES TO DIGITISE?

There are plenty of common challenges between the thousands of New Zealand businesses using DigitalBoost.co.nz. The first barrier is the very real fear of not understanding what to do first (or second) or being out of their comfort zone. This can include an unfamiliarity of language or concepts. It has to be said that digitalisation has a lot of acronyms which can have a high intimidation factor for someone starting out.

Another common fear is the perceived high cost of ‘going digital’. Many businesses we talked to have previously been burned by spending a lot of money on technology, systems or advice only to see little business growth. We have found it is really important to explain how low cost digital has become and how many of the tools are free or only have a low monthly subscription cost.

We also have a 7-day a week support team who can help demystify any of the areas where a business owner has questions or needs more help. Often this can be around what order they should do things? eg. should they start with a Facebook page and then create a website or vice-versa? What we have discovered is the process of learning is often a family affair. We see plenty of children (of all ages) helping their parents to digitalise.

WHAT EFFECT DID COVID-19 AND SUBSEQUENT LOCKDOWNS HAVE ON SMALL BUSINESSES WILLINGNESS TO DIGITISE?

The rate of digitalisation has been super-charged in a way we could never have predicted. Globally the rate of digitalisation sits between two and five times faster than pre Covid-19 and the advancement of digital tools to support online shopping, banking and collaboration has advanced (according to McKinsey) by five years in a period of eight weeks in 2020. It’s hard to imagine that in December 2019 there were just 10 million daily Zoom users that increased to 300 million users each day by the end of March 2020.

This truly shows how quickly people created workarounds to combat the lockdown effect that made millions of businesses move fully online almost overnight. In Aotearoa our digital adoption rate has been much lower than other countries.  Oddly this is a negative in the overall scheme of keeping our economy going and bouncing back stronger. Our shorter lockdowns deflected the significant turmoil that was experienced in countries where 2020 was almost a continuous series of lockdowns. As a result, our initial wave of digital adoption slowed down very quickly once we got back to a more ‘business as usual’ environment. 

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO YOU BELIEVE THIS RESURGENCE IN INTEREST IN DIGITISATION WILL HAVE FOR NEW ZEALAND?

There is plenty of excitement and progress by the Kiwi businesses who used 2020 to learn and to adopt new business practices –  but we have a long way to go to come even close to the digitalisation adoption rates of other countries. The high percentage of small businesses in Aotearoa has somewhat buffered our business owners from the massive technological advances that other larger markets have made over the past year.

While some local businesses might celebrate our ability to go back to old ways faster, the reality is the new rules of online engagement have been rewritten through the chaos of Covid-19 and there is no going back to the ways of the past. The very minimum requirement for a business today is a highly functional website – designed to be viewed on a mobile phone – and daily engagement with customers via social media eg. Facebook and Instagram.

WHAT WOULD LONG TERM SUCCESS LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

I am the biggest champion of the New Zealand small business economy. As a small business owner I know all too well the pressures and time constraints that come from growing a business from the ground up. However, having oversight of how businesses have changed over many years has provided me with first-hand experience of how beneficial digitalisation is. Even low levels of digitalisation can immediately improve business processes,  and remove risks and time challenges of having people manually processing sales data, invoices and payroll. 

It doesn’t take long before you realise how much unnecessary time you can spend doing things that software does faster and more cost effectively. My dream would be for business owners to start with baby steps and see how quickly digital pays off in terms of money and time. The global digital adoption curve is already well ahead of where New Zealand is and soon it will be very hard to catch-up as that boat will have sailed.

IF YOU COULD GIVE ONE CHALLENGE TO NEW ZEALAND, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I would love Aotearoa to become a learning nation. Right now, as it stands, we spend a very small amounts of our time actively involved in formal learning. In a given year the vast majority of adults in New Zealand commit no real time to the development of new skills and knowledge. Compared with other small advanced economies we have become complacent about learning and to staying in-the-know about the technologies and tools that have changed the business world. This is truly a case of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.

My challenge to business owners is to jump in and start the journey of learning as there is nothing more rewarding than the feeling of success that comes from knowing how to grow your business and what is possible, even on the smallest of operational budgets. I would love to see 2021 as the year we all commit to deploying new ways of working, selling and connecting through digital adoption. It may be a year or more until life starts to feel a little more familiar but I know that even if outwardly the world looks the same after vaccines have been widely administered the way we buy, sell, share, work and trade has changed forever.

CONTRIBUTOR

Lucy Luo

Chief of Staff

First AML

Kea member

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After almost 20 years in London, Paris and Australia, Helen Fitness is grateful to be home. But that joy can be undercut by awareness of the living conditions facing her network of close friends across the globe.  ‘It’s almost like we are living in two different worlds. During the last lockdown I didn’t really feel I had the right to feel lonely or sad when I compared the restrictions on my life to what friends were going through.’

Expat Mental Health Expert, Dr Sonia Jaeger works remotely with clients worldwide and agrees that different COVID experiences are having an impact on those of us who live in places like New Zealand where the effects on health and daily life have been less extreme.  ‘It’s a complex thing – some people feel guilty for not feeling guilty all the time, others feel guilty for having a good time while friends and family are suffering.’

Survivor guilt shows up in many ways.  Physical symptoms include appetite changes, difficulty sleeping and feeling unwell with headaches or nausea.  Dr Sonia says, ‘There’s also a full range of psychological effects ranging from irritability and feelings of shame/helplessness/unworthiness through to flashbacks and suicidal thoughts, which can lead to PTSD if not treated.  So do seek professional help if you or someone you know is really struggling.’

Like many wellbeing issues, successful strategies for tackling survivor guilt are quite individualised.  I find that this toolbox of approaches gives people a menu of options to find solutions that work for them.

Address your guilt

It can be easy to minimize survivor guilt as irrational or self-indulgent.  The first step is to acknowledge that it’s real.

As a People and Culture Consultant, Helen says she coaches herself through.  ‘Having those feelings is OK, it’s whether you stay in them or not.  I find that if I acknowledge them, they can disappear quite quickly.’

Dr Sonia recommends self-compassion and mindfulness, which is especially important for handling guilt and shame.  Be kind to yourself about experiencing survivor guilt and remember you’re unlikely to be alone in feeling this way.  Over 50,000 Kiwis have returned home since COVID and many are now living in a much better COVID situation than people they love offshore.

Take action to help offshore whanau

Expats commonly tell us of their specific guilt about elderly parents and friends who are unwell overseas.

Find ways to help those who are more affected than you.  ‘Taking action will boost you, and them – there is always something you can do, ‘advises Dr Sonia.  Ensure they have a support system (whether professional or family/friends) and keep in touch.  Some people like to get surprises such as flowers or gift baskets.   ‘I’m based in Australia, but I can order my mother’s groceries in France or research doctors, make appointments and send her directions for how to get there,’ shares Dr Sonia.

You do have the power to make the lives of your loved ones better, even if you can’t be there.

Find out how THEY feel about your life in New Zealand.

Have the conversation to understand what your family and friends want for you.

When expat Kiwi Geraldine Collett returned home after 26 years in London her elderly mother chose to stay in the UK.  ‘My Mum was adamant that we should go and is thrilled that our life is now so normal,’ adds Geraldine.

There will always be guilt about leaving.  But having the approval of your family or friends makes a big difference.  Often, they will only want the best for you.

Be sensitive with what you share

Having so many communication tools at our disposal makes it easier to maintain distance relationships.  But oversharing about how good life is in New Zealand can make you feel more guilty.

Geraldine has remoted her business development role to New Zealand and toggles between different levels of information depending on who she’s interacting with.  ‘I can talk to colleagues in Australia about popping out for coffees with clients.  When reporting to the UK and the US, where life is more constrained, I keep it factual and business-like’.  She is comfortable reassuring family and friends in the UK that her daughter is happy at school, but she refrains from sharing images of everyday life here. 

It’s also important to realise when life is getting better offshore.  There’s less reason to feel guilty as COVID comes under control in some parts of the world.  ‘I posted about a recent trip to Wellington for friends in the US who are now able to travel interstate.  It felt good to rationalise that they were in an improved situation, and to resume more relaxed communication with them,‘ recalls Helen.

Returning to New Zealand is major logistical and emotional exercise. As a Kiwi expat you want to enjoy coming home to a relatively COVID-free life.  Understanding and addressing survivor guilt will put you in a good place to do just that.

Wondering what else you need to consider when moving to New Zealand? Our free Move to NZ checklist can help you think about the various pieces of relocating internationally. 

Thanks to our partners at Mobile Relocation for this piece.

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