Caffeine introduces the 'I Wish I Knew' Series
Plus: Healthcare providers team up to usher AI into healthcare.
Happy Tuesday!
Kia ora Caffeinators, hope you enjoyed the sun’s cameo in our skies because it looks like the rain has returned with a vengeance. Kicking off this morning with a the announcement of a NEW in person event - ‘I Wish I Knew’, all about hearing founders share the lessons they wish they’d heard earlier in their careers.
More details below along with some interesting healthtech news, a word from our new presenting partner at SyncHub, a great pod pick and a wonderful excuse for me to talk more about the Coldplay affair meme.
What’s not to love.
Here’s what’s brewing in your Daily Shot:
Healthcare providers team up to usher AI into healthcare
Caffeine Presents: I Wish I Knew Series with Hadleigh Ford, SwipedOn
Pod Pick: The AI tool that turns conversations into action
Astronomer leans into Coldplay affair meme with tongue and cheek campaign
As always, thank you to everyone who has upgraded to a paid subscription or simply recommended Caffeine to friends and whānau. We couldn’t do any of this without you.
Finn and the CAFFEINE team
You can’t build a startup today without considering the AI factor, but its ubiquity means everybody else is doing it - so how can your investment stand out?
The answer? Quality data and context. SyncHub supercharges your AI by integrating realtime feeds from the services your startup runs on - like Xero, Stripe, Hubspot and 70+ more.
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And just like any good startup - we eat our own dog food! At SyncHub, we use our own software to keep track of MRR and project overruns, and get a weekly Slack summary of how the business is looking. Before SyncHub, we spent 20+ years building data integrations around the world. We understand data, and we understand how it can support the next generation of AI-powered startups.
So if you’re interested in how we can help your startup (or just want to nerd-out about AI with us), grab a free trial or book a chat - we’re happy to help.
Healthcare PHOs team up to usher AI into healthcare: Interesting news on the Healthtech front as four Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) team up under the banner of ‘Health Accelerator’ with a focus on trialling A.I tools. The new company’s goal is to empower primary healthcare teams by reducing administrative burden, improving clinical workflows and enhancing patient experiences - so doctors, nurses, and practice staff can spend more time doing what they do best: caring for people.
The four PHOs make up New Zealand’s largest general practice networks - Pegasus, Pinnacle, ProCare, and Tū Ora Compass Health - collectively supporting more than 500 general practices and caring for around 2 million patients across the country. We also saw Auckland based healthtech startup HeartLab nab a $2m raise last week and I think the next 12 months will see the rubber meet the road as practical, everyday applications of emerging technology begin making their way into primary care.
Caffeine Presents: I Wish I Knew Series with Hadleigh Ford, SwipedOn - Caffeine’s latest in person event is on tomorrow for Auckland based Caffeinators (if you somehow missed the memo more details are available here) but we’re already unveiling our next project.
Building a company isn’t a single event – it’s a long game. One with messy middles, unexpected pivots, and the odd “what now?” at 2am.
Join us for a series of raw and real conversations with successful Kiwi founders who’ve taken the hits, made the calls, and kept showing up. This is about the stuff they wish they knew earlier – the kind of lessons that only come from doing the work (and a few things going sideways).
This event is for founders, early-stage teams and leaders who are serious about growing. We screen all registrations to make sure appropriate criteria is met.
More on our speaker:
SwipedOn is a workplace sign-in system turned global SaaS success story, built in Tauranga and scaled to thousands of businesses worldwide.
Hadleigh Ford didn’t set out to build a SaaS company and definitely not one that would be sold twice. He started in the maritime industry, worlds away from term sheets and cap tables. But SwipedOn scaled globally, was acquired by a public company, and later snapped up by private equity. And oh boy, has it been a ride.
The one thing he wishes he’d known sooner? Back yourself. Especially when things get noisy and complicated.
“There were times I overthought things or waited too long for more certainty,” he says. “But you rarely get certainty. You just make the best call you can and keep moving.”
Life inside a listed company came with its own lessons: constant reporting, shifting priorities, and investor pressure. It taught Hadleigh to let go of perfect timing and to move with clarity, not consensus.
These days, he leads with gut instinct and a steady hand. Even when things get messy.
“No ragrets,” he laughs. “You learn far more from the rough patches than the smooth sailing.”
Date and time
Wed, 20 Aug 2025 5:15 PM - 6:45 PM NZST
Location
BNZ Cameron Road
639 Cameron Road Tauranga, Bay of Plenty
Get your tickets here.
Pod Pick: The AI tool that turns conversations into action - Well, with AI in medicine on the agenda this morning there is a very well timed content drop from our friend Simon Pound over at Business is Boring looking at the AI market more broadly with a great startup to spotlight. Contented AI founders Lucy Pink and Hannah Hardy-Jones join Simon to discuss the challenges, the advantages and the possibilities of running an AI technology startup from Christchurch. Check out the full episode here.
Astronomer leans into Coldplay affair meme with tongue and cheek campaign: Fantastic, a vaguely good excuse to shoehorn in talking about the Coldplay thing into this newsletter again. Following the affair which launched a million memes, the little known tech company Astronomer has been launched to a household name and has capitalised with a tongue in cheek response video from its ‘temporary spokesperson’…Gwyneth Paltrow.
In a 60 second clip posted to the company’s X account she answers some ‘common questions’ the brand has received since the scandal broke. It’s a clever bit of PR you can check out here.
Jokes aside, I think the Coldplay saga is a fascinating look at how brands, attention and PR operate in 2025. The internet is more a splinternet now with us all in ever shrinking echo chambers but these occasional moments which grab the entire world’s attention are fascinating to watch. I think the real currency of the modern economy is attention even more than cash. Attention can be turned alchemy like into money but it’s hard to do it the other way around. Good on the team at Astronomer to taking this moment to capitalise on this moment where the whole world’s eyes were on them.
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