Diaspora NZ with David Booth
Profiling the founders, innovators, and emerging leaders of the great Kiwi expat community
Around 20% of New Zealanders live outside of New Zealand. This is our “Diaspora” — and it’s one of the world’s largest, per capita.
Not only is it large, it's insanely talented… early in their lives and careers, many of New Zealand’s most ambitious individuals realise— if they want to make a dent in the universe, they need to get out there… to study abroad, get the experience, build relationships to help them win on a global stage.
Today, those estimated ~1M expats include some of our finest talent. They are founders, top operators/execs at industry leading companies. They are scientists and researchers working at the frontiers of science: artificial intelligence, synthetic biology; global leaders in business, culture, and society… entrenched in all corners of the world, walks of live… largely “heads down”, doing their thing.
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New this week
Diaspora NZ with David Booth
S3 | E8 – Adrian Macneil (Co-Founder & CEO at Foxglove) on Developer Tools for Robotics, and Why Ambitious Kiwis Need to Go — and Come Back Smarter
Adrian Macneil grew up packing kiwifruit in rural New Zealand, now he’s building the core infrastructure powering the future of robotics. After leading engineering teams at Cruise and Coinbase, Adrian co-founded Foxglove, a developer platform used by robotics companies worldwide, from autonomous tractors to warehouse bots.
In this episode, Adrian shares how Foxglove emerged from an internal Cruise demo, why robotics is finally having its “PC moment,” and what it really takes to build a startup that lasts. We cover:
• How Cruise helped pioneer self-driving cars (and what went wrong post-acquisition)
• Why developer tools are the missing layer holding robotics back
• Lessons from Coinbase, Cruise, and scaling teams from 30 to 1,200
• The case for Kiwi founders to leave New Zealand, at least for a while
• What robotics startups can learn from the rise of SaaS
• The value of building boring robots that just move rice
We also dive into Adrian’s early days hacking e-commerce in Thailand, how government jobs don’t prepare you for startups, and why he believes the robotics industry will 100x in the next decade.
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Play Episode
S3 | E8 – Adrian Macneil (Co-Founder & CEO at Foxglove) on Developer Tools for Robotics, and Why Ambitious Kiwis Need to Go — and Come Back Smarter
S3 | E7 - Xavier Collins (CEO & Co-Founder at Wonder) on AI’s creative revolution, building thriving marketplaces, and reshaping the film industry
S3 | E6 Anton Jackson Smith (Founder of b.next) on building synthetic cells, programmable biology, and the future of biotech
S3 | E5 - From Law School to Leading the Future of Creator Platforms: How Georgia Rippin (Kold Open) Is Building the Next Wave of Mid-Form Video, and Sneaking Into Hollywood
S3 | E4 - Bowen Pan (Common Room) on launching Facebook Marketplace, spotting hidden opportunities, and mastering the art of product
S3 | E3 - Joel Little (Grammy-winning producer) on making Royals with Lorde, creative collaboration, and why startups are like hit songs
S3 | E2 - Kathryn Zealand (Skip) on robotic exoskeletons, mobility for life, and spinning out of Google X
S3 | E1 - Jamie Beaton (Crimson Education) on scaling a global education empire, the future of universities, and AI’s role in learning
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