Origin Stories

About Origin Stories

Everyone has an origin story to tell. In Origin Stories, I chat with people from all walks of life about how they discovered their superpowers to go from zero to hero. And what you can learn from their mistakes. I've spent most of my working life as a journalist interviewing business leaders, athletes and high achievers. I also consult to businesses on brand storytelling. Whenever I interview someone I focus on their origin story. I want to know about their journey, not the destination. I want to know who they are and why they do what they do. I want to know what makes them tick.

Publisher

Robert Tighe

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Nov 2020

Latest episode

20 Jul 2021

Latest episodes

15 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Jul 2021

   Ep.14: David Downs on the value of curiosity and reasons for New Zealand to be positive

   David Downs was recently appointed as the CEO at New Zealand Story Group, the the ambitious initiative to tell Aotearoa New Zealand's stories to the world. David has one of those CVs that makes you question your own life choices. He’s packed so much into a career that has included 13 years at Microsoft as Regional director for South East Asia and senior roles with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise specialising in technology and more recently agritech. He’s written and published four books, two on New Zealand innovation and innovators, one about his battle with cancer, and this year he published Silver Linings, a book about the positive stories to come out of the Covid-19 crisis. He’s an ex-comedian, TV and Radio actor and a popular MC and speaker. In this episode David talks about... — what he learned from his Irish parents; — how he almost ended up becoming a priest as a teenager; — escaping the clutches of the Catholic Church and discovering comedy and acting at university; — becoming the first person in his family to attend university — graduating proved a bit trickier; — his first big breakthrough and how it led to a job in TV; — how the skills he learned as a comedian and actor translated to the corporate world; — giving up comedy in exchange for a real job; — why curiosity and innovation have been key motivators in his career; — the five different careers he's had and why you should never be afraid to start again; — his incredible cancer survival story; — why he's so positive about NZ's ability to bounce back from Covid; ... and much more.

2. 

   22 Jun 2021

   Ep.13: Zac de Silva on coaching business owners to growth and profit

   Zac is an award-winning business coach, consultant and strategist based in Auckland. In simple terms, Zac makes businesses better. His company Business Changing works with some of New Zealand’s leading companies and each year hundreds of owners, founders and senior managers attend Business Changing business planning & strategy workshops. Before he started Business Changing in 2011, Zac was the Managing Director of Barkers Menswear and before that he was the finance guy behind House of Travel and Flight Centre. In this episode Zac talks about... — the importance of managing your mental health as a business owner; — why he reckons it will be 2024 or 2025 before we are anywhere near pre-Covid normal, whatever that will look like; — the frustration for business owners who are not in control of their own destiny; — how his personal life suffered as a result of prioritising business; — how analysing his Dad's sales figures game him a great grounding in numbers; — running his first business which was 100 percent pure profit; — why he focuses on income not costs; — Buying Barkers Menswear and how winning the All Blacks account was crucial in turning the business around; — Why he left Barkers to go out on his own and set up Business Changing; — how to grow and scale a business; ... and much more.

3. 

   10 May 2021

   Ep.12: Maria Devereux, award-winning creative on the advertising industry and tackling mental health issues in the workplace

   Maria Devereux is an Executive Creative Director with Colenso BDDO and a passionate member of the Mentally Healthy Change Group. She won six Cannes lions in her first six years as an Art Director with Colenso. Since then she has held creative leadership roles at TAXI Canada, Special Group and Y&R NZ. She's motivated by that perfect mix of innovation and optimism which leads to seemingly inevitable creative solutions. In 2019 Maria was named in Adweek’s Creative 100 and in 2020 she was awarded a Certificate of Excellence at Campaign Asia’s Women Leading Change Awards. In this episode Maria talks about... — why understanding what makes people tick is the key to marketing; — how she graduated from a graphic design role to creative leadership roles with some of the best agencies in the world; — whether creativity is an innate skill or something that can taught and learned; — being brave as a creative and why you're only as good as your last idea; — her passion for bluegrass and cross-stitching and what hobbies have to do with the creative process; — the importance of being provocative in order to stand out from the crowd; — her husband's battle with mental health illness; — why she's obsessed with bringing more empathy into the workplace; — why it's okay to be yourself at work and live an authentic life in and out of work; — how advertising can help change the world for the better; — attracting more diversity into the advertising industry; ... and much more.

4. 

   6 Apr 2021

   Ep.11: David Trubridge, iconic Kiwi designer on taking risks and learning from failure.

   David Trubridge is one of the world’s preeminent designers and a recognised leader in environmentally responsible design. Countless influential international publications have featured Trubridge’s iconic work, which ultimately launched the 'raw sophistication' design trend. In 2008, the French magazine Express listed him as one of the top 15 designers in the world. He is the recipient of the 2005 Antarctica fellow and in 2007 he was given NZ’s highest design award, the John Britten Award, by the Designer’s Institute of NZ. In this episode David talks about... — making matchstick models growing up on the Isle of Wight; — nature versus nurture; — studying naval architecture and how it influenced his design philosophy; — how a broken leg led to him taking up wood carving and designing furniture; — Margaret Thatcher's role in his decision to leave the UK and sail to the other side of the world; — how living in the Pacific Islands and learning about Polynesian culture changed his perspective; — settling in New Zealand and the challenges of starting all over again; — how designing and building his own house led to a second career as an architect; — the role free-form experimentation played in his iconic lighting designs; — why the lack of market research helped him come up with a design that no knew they wanted; — his sobering opinion on climate change and why our relationship with the planet has gone so badly wrong; — the problem with greenwashing and the changes he's made to run a more sustainable business; — why taking risks and learning from failure are so important ... and much more.

5. 

   22 Mar 2021

   Ep.10: Nick Roud, award-winning executive coach on the gift of dyslexia and why executives need a coach.

   Nick Roud runs Roud Career Coaching, an award-winning executive coaching business he started in 2016 after successful careers in accountancy, the events industry and his own recruitment business. In 2020, Nick was awarded Best Executive Coaching Consultancy at the Asia Pacific Business Awards. He works with CEOs, C-Suite Executives, Senior Leaders and Future Leaders and has coached over 700 leaders and professionals, including some of New Zealand's best-known business leaders. In this episode Nick talks about... — being a proud Pom and falling in love with New Zealand; — why he considers being diagnosed as dyslexic at the age of 8 a great gift; — why numbers made sense to him and accountancy gave him such a good grounding in business; — the importance of mentors including his father; — the difference between coaching and mentoring; — how his first rugby coach gave him one of his most valuable life lessons: to play what's in front of you; — the knee injury that put paid to his promising rugby career; — why senior executives need a coach and why Nick reckons he's got the best job in the world; ... and much more.

6. 

   8 Mar 2021

   Ep.9: Sharn Piper — The choices you make define your life and your career

   Sharn Piper describes his childhood as a mix of Once were Warriors and Gloriavale. Despite growing up surrounded by gangs, violence, drugs and alcohol, Sharn managed to avoid following in the footsteps of his father. He left school at the age of 14, qualified as a builder, started his first company at 17 and grew it to over $20million dollars by the age of 20. Then the Global Financial Crisis hit and Sharn had to start all over again. Today, he's the CEO of Attain, a Revenue Growth Agency, specialising in Sales and Marketing integration. In this episode Sharn talks about... — the power of choices and the decisions we make; — how his dysfunctional childhood forced him to grow up fast and fend for himself; — lessons learned as a teenage labourer on the building sites; — coping with depression, pride and ego to rebuild his life and career from the ruins of the GFC; — how selling fire extinguishers helped him find his spark again; — why he's so passionate about sales and helping other businesses achieve their targets; ... and much more.

7. 

   23 Feb 2021

   Ep.8: 'Mad Mike' Whiddett — Pursuing your passion and building a personal brand

   Motorsport has dominated ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett’s life since he started riding a dirt bike at 6-years-old. In 2000, he took part in one of the first freestyle motocross demonstrations in New Zealand where his crazy stunts earned him the nickname ‘Mad Mike’. Four years later he discovered drifting. He crashed in his first drift event in 2007 but finished second next time out. That same year he made his debut in the USA and he’s competed in Formula Drift in the US in 2010, 2015 and 2016. He won the World Powerslide Championship in 2012 and came up with the concept for the Red Bull Drift Shifters event in Auckland. In 2013, a video of him drifting the Crown Range went viral and it has over 6 million views on YouTube. He has over 2 million followers on Facebook more than Dan Carter, Richie McCaw or Kiwi UFC star, Israel Adesanya. He's sponsored by Red Bull and Mazda and he recently opened a new store and workshop he calls MadLab at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park where he runs regular drifting clinics. In this episode Mike talks about... — why drifting is the circus of motorsport; — why he hated the name ‘Mad Mike’; — surviving broken bones, 20 concussions and being told he was paralysed for life; — selling everything and going all in with his then partner, now wife, to try and make a career from drifting; — the vital role his wife Toni has played in building the business; — how he built a personal brand by accident, how his former career as a signwriter helped and his natural eye for design; — the importance of engagement on social media and managing it yourself; — cracking 10,000 followers on Facebook and how he got to over 2 million! — how having their first child made Mike and Toni more determined than ever to succeed; — growing up without his Dad and why his Mum made sure he never missed having him around; — signing his first sponsorship deals and how being himself paid off big time; — the sacrifices he made for success and living the dream; — on living life full throttle; ... and much more.

8. 

   9 Feb 2021

   Ep. 7: Dave Rouse — From saving lives to saving the planet

   Carbon Click CEO Dave Rouse pivoted from saving lives as a medical student to saving the planet and being a part of the global reset. Carbon Click makes it easy for people to take action on climate change by buying carbon offsetting credits at the point of sale, making every purchase climate friendly. According to Dave's LinkedIn profile: "Our planet like the Titanic, has been on an unsustainable "collision course". Businesses seemed asleep at the wheel or distracted by short term financial profits. The ship has almost stopped during CoVID-19, representing perhaps the only opportunity IN OUR LIFETIME, to change it's course!" He's driven by Triple Bottom Line profitability (social, environmental, and financial returns), one of the reasons he fell in love with Carbon Click as an investor and agreed to take on the role of CEO. In this episode Dave talks about... — choosing to try and save the planet instead of saving lives as a doctor; — investing in struggling businesses and how eliminating wastage is the key to profitability; — growing up in the bush and how it inspired him to become an environmental entrepreneur; — how COVID impacted the climate change movement and his own business; — working 80-hour weeks during lockdown; — the importance of a Plan B and getting fresh eyes on a business; — on being motivated by hope as well as fear; — the opportunity for New Zealand to be a world leader when it comes to sustainable and environmentally friendly products and services and charge a premium; — getting into politics; ... and much more.

9. 

   25 Jan 2021

   Ep. 6: Jonathan Sweeney — On bullying, business failure and stepping off the corporate treadmill

   Originally from Wales, Jonathan Sweeney has worked in different countries, across a variety of roles and functions. He emigrated to New Zealand in his mid-30's where he is currently the Director of the Immersion Group, working with SMEs on business fundamentals (Finance, Governance, Planning and Strategy, Sales & Marketing, People and Leadership). He's known success, failure (and the F word) and come across a few too many Trump-like bosses during his days in the corporate machine. We recorded this conversation on January 7, at the same time as an angry mob stormed the US Capitol in a failed coup. In this episode Jonathan talks about... — bullies in business aka Snakes in Suits; — being brave enough to not only change course but jump ship in order to find a career that gives you a sense of purpose; — how The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell inspired him; — changing jobs as a search for meaning or a means of escape; — why he felt a new sense of possibility when he moved from the UK to Australasia; — swapping the corporate machine to work with small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs); — why SMEs are the backbone of the NZ economy and the biggest challenge they face; — the importance of being present and open to opportunities; — New Years resolutions and why there's never a perfect time to start a new habit or take on a new role; ... and much more.

10. 

    4 Jan 2021

    Ep. 5: Cassie Roma - Social media, content marketing and the power of stories

    Cassie Roma is a social media guru and brand strategist who has headed up Content Marketing for some of New Zealand’s biggest brands including: Air New Zealand, ANZ Bank, The Warehouse Group, Mighty River Power and New Zealand Media & Entertainment (NZME). She's been passionate about stories and the people behind the stories since the early days of social media. In this episode Cassie talks about... - launching her new company in March 2020 and how she managed to find the positives despite her well-laid plans being scuppered by Covid; - the heartbreak of watching family and friends back home in the US struggle to cope with the crisis; - growing up in small town USA and her gypsy soul; - how her brother turned her onto The Facebook when it first started and how she dismissed it as a fad; - the power of combining stories with data to connect with people; - finding and losing her dream job; - the danger of investing too much of your identity and self-worth in a job title; - coming out in her 30's; - doing a TED talk with just 48 hours notice; - a lifehack to double your potential lifetime earnings; - sharing the stage with Elton John in Las Vegas; ... and much more.

11. 

    14 Dec 2020

    Ep. 4: Julie Raine — On making it in the male-dominated world of engineering against the odds

    Julie Raine left school at the age of 16 with basic qualifications. A youth training scheme placement in the office of a mining company in her native Yorkshire led to an opportunity to work in the technical drawing office which in turn led her to pursue a degree in engineering, even though she had no idea what engineering was when she signed up to do the course. She just wanted to develop her technical drawing skills and knowledge. It took Julie 12 years to get her degree while working full-time and coping with the sexism that was rife in the industry at the time. 30 years on and after a stint in the Middle East working on some high-profile construction projects, Julie moved to New Zealand where she runs her own engineering consultancy company managing multi-million tenders and bids. She also started Industry Ready, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at improving diversity in the industry which led to her being nominated for a Westpac Women of Influence award in 2016 and 2020. Julie chats about the challenges she's had to overcome and why asking questions and challenging the status quo is so important.

12. 

    1 Dec 2020

    Ep. 3: Glenn Marvin - From a university dropout to a digital marketing powerhouse for SMEs

    Glenn Marvin has spent his life running, initially running from himself and his formative years in South Auckland. He's one of those individuals who's lived a full life and come close to death on numerous occasions. He dropped out of university and spent a few years travelling the world, partying hard and learning some valuable life lessons along the way. Next he became a police officer before leaving the police for the corporate world and a private equity firm. Ironically he found peace within himself and success in business when he tarted running in his 30's. In 2017 he founded Konnector, a very successful agency that helps SMEs with digital marketing, business planning and strategy. Glenn has grown the business from scratch to a $5milion + turnover in a little over three years. He talks about some of the lessons he's learnt along the way and how his lost years help him find what he was looking for.

13. 

    23 Nov 2020

    Ep. 2: Aaron Carter: 'How Not To Start A Business' and Why Purpose, People and Passion are Essential For Running An Events Company

    Covid has hit the events industry hard and for Aaron Carter, the man behind Total Sport, one of New Zealand’s largest and well-known sports event companies, it put paid to his exit strategy from the business. He's just thankful to still have a company and is hoping the events industry bounces back in 2021. Despite his mistakes, Carter has built a tribe of outdoor enthusiasts with trail running and mountain biking events a speciality. "We aim to deliver inclusive events that make people feel like champions," says Aaron. "What we do reminds me a little bit of Fight Club. We offer people an escape from high pressure jobs and take them to some wonderful locations." Aaron chats about the loneliness of running a business and how he wish he knew about the importance of the 3 P's — Purpose, People & Passion —when he first started out in business. His advice to anyone starting out in business today is to watch Simon Sinek's TED talk , Start With Why to help you understand your purpose. "Once you get clear on your purpose, making decisions becomes a lot easier," he says. Aaron started his career at Sport Auckland, where he was employed as an Event Manager. His job was to deliver a portfolio of events but after a couple of years he wandered into his boss’s office, convinced him to make his position redundant, give him a contract to deliver a number of events, and Total Sport was born! "If there’s a book in me it’d probably be called “How not to start a business – lessons learnt over the years,” Aaron admits. "I did little or no planning and I was a reluctant boss."

14. 

    16 Nov 2020

    Ep. 1: Tony Quinn - 'There's Money in Shit' and other lessons learned while building a FMCG brand

    In the very first episode of Origin Stories, find out why 'There's Money in Shit' and other lessons Tony Quinn learned from building a global pet food and FMCG business. Listen as Tony talks about his childhood in Scotland where he worked in his father's pet food business before buying his first business, a signwriting company. Next came the brave decision to move his family to Australia at the age of 22 and how it all went horribly wrong. A holiday in New Zealand convinced him to get back into the pet food industry and changed everything. Tony talks about the importance of believing in yourself and in delivering what you promise and why he believes every entrepreneur and business leader should tell their story.

15. 

    5 Nov 2020

    Origin Stories Trailer

    Welcome to Origin Stories with Robert Tighe. For the last 18 years, I’ve spent most of my working life writing origin stories, in my case, about elite athletes and successful business people rather than men in tights. Whenever I interview someone I focus on their origin story. I want to know about their journey, not the destination. It may not be as iconic as Spidermans, Batmans or Captain America but everyone has an origin story to tell. Superheroes are usually orphans or outsiders who don’t fit in. They have strong values, they’re idealistic and they want to change the world. Sounds a lot like founders and business leaders, right? They want to do things their way. They want to do things differently. The best entrepreneurs discover what their superpowers are and make the most of them. But like superheroes, entrepreneurs face challenges and obstacles along the way. Every company starts out small. What makes good companies great is the choices the owners and founders make along the way. But they were all started by ordinary people just like you and me. It’s only in hindsight that we can trace the transformation from ordinary to extraordinary. In Origin Stories, I chat with founders and entrepreneurs about how they discovered their superpowers to go from zero to hero and more importantly what you can learn from their mistakes.

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.