New Zealand’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year category winners named

Halter founder Craig Piggott with a cow wearing one of his firm's smart collars. Piggott was named the Tech and Emerging Industries Entrepreneur winner.

Five entrepreneurial trailblazers have been named as category winners in the 2024 New Zealand EY Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

The five entrepreneurs are finalists for the overall title, with the winner to compete at the World Entrepreneur of the Year in June 2025.

Taking out the title of Younger Entrepreneur was Michael Walker, co-founder of fintech company BlackBull Markets.

BlackBull Markets allows everyone from first-time investors to a professional bank trader the ability to access the markets as if they were trading from Wall Street.

Walker has overseen the growth of the self-funded start-up into one of New Zealand’s leading trading platforms. Its New Zealand customers now make up less than 10% of BlackBull Market’s overall customer base, owing to the platform’s exponential global growth, EY said.

Craig Piggott, founder of smart cow-collar company Halter, was named the Tech and Emerging Industries Entrepreneur winner.

Now in its eighth year, Halter has become one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing companies, securing around $200 million in funding, EY said.

The company’s solar-powered collar for dairy and beef cows pairs with an app for farmers and allows cows to respond to guidance cues, enabling virtual herding and fencing while monitoring health 24/7.

Hine Collection founder Miria Flavell took out the Product Entrepreneur category.

Inspired by the limitations of activewear options available for women, Flavell launched Hine Collection in 2018 with the goal to make a difference to women and girls. The brand offers sizes ranging from XXS to 8XL.

EY said Hine Collection has maintained a robust growth trajectory, with significant engagement from international markets such as Australia and the United States. This growth had been bolstered by a recent partnership with retail giant Rebel Sport.

Sam Bridgewater and Maia Royal of The Pure Food Co (TPFC) were named winners of the Services Entrepreneur category.

The multi-award-winning TPFC provides an innovative food and nutrition system for the elderly. Bridgewater and Royal’s efforts have led to significant health improvements among consumers, EY said.

The company is now serving every public hospital in New Zealand, 80% of aged care homes and significant numbers internationally, including in Australia and France.

Completing the list of finalists was Master Category winner Jonny Hendriksen, the founder and CEO of Shuttlerock, an AI-driven creative collaboration technology that empowers marketers to produce creatively effective digital content at scale.

Under Hendriksen’s leadership, Shuttlerock has developed into a global network of sales offices, creative studios, and proprietary technology that offers a “follow-the-sun” solution where production is taking place 24 hours a day, EY said.

Shuttlerock’s workforce spans several continents and speaks more than 40 languages combined.

Jason Macgregor, director of EY Entrepreneur of the Year – New Zealand, said the winners will empower future generations of innovators by showing how individuals can impact their industries.

“Our group of finalists showed the diversity of the entrepreneurial industry in New Zealand. While they all work in different industries, the winners share characteristics of determination, extreme focus and a drive to succeed,” Macgregor said.

“We also noticed an increased awareness of social issues coming through in the finalists and ultimately the category winners. They all showed an incredible willingness to take risks and be bold in pursuing outcomes, whilst being aware of their own and staff wellbeing.”

Cecilia Robinson, Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 chair of judges and competition alumni, said the winners have shown a commitment to persevering towards excellence, despite a challenging economic environment.

“These phenomenal entrepreneurs have shown how they addressed a problem in society, found their niche, tackled hardship and ultimately combined passion, purpose and profitability in their path to success,” Robinson said.

The overall winner will be announced at the Entrepreneur of the Year awards ceremony on November 6.

Last year’s winner was David Yu, creator of the mobile-based digital collections app VeVe.