Raygun founder John-Daniel Trask describes Wellington as a ‘talent repellent’

• Entrepreneur John-Daniel Trask has described Wellington as a “talent repellent” saying he wouldn’t set up business in the capital today.
• Trask says he has lost staff because of the “abject wokeness” in the city.
• Jugnu’s Little India owner Jugnu Gill agrees, saying after 28 years running restaurants in the city, Wellington is “not the right place at the present time” to open a restaurant.

A successful Wellington entrepreneur says if he was starting again he would not launch his business in the capital, describing it as a “talent repellent”.

John-Daniel Trask founded Raygun, a software products company based in Wellington and used by subscribers around the world.

The company employs about 25 staff and has helped build other software platforms such as Givealittle, Mindscape and Valuecruncher.

Trask joined Jugnu’s Little India owner Jugnu Gill on a business panel with Newstalk ZB’s Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills today.

The tech entrepreneur said he had been building businesses for 18 years, starting his first proper one when he was 23.

Asked whether he would start his business again in the current climate, Trask was positive about the tech industry.

“I would absolutely start a business now in tech. The AI super cycle that is just kicking off is going to dwarf the internet. It’d be like saying to someone if it was 1995, ‘Do you think you should get into tech?’ and we know in retrospect that would have been a great time.

“Whether you should do it in Wellington, though, I would say no.

“I think Wellington is actually a talent-repellent system at the moment.

“We’ve had people in our own organisation who have left and said I’m going to places like Auckland because they are so tired — their own words — of the abject wokeness that is in this city.

“As an employer who is bringing money into this country, paying people who are spending in our city, the relentless — relentless — attacks from the keyboard warriors who never leave their house. It’s a very sad state of affairs.

“I moved here about 20 years ago, and I’d say Auckland was counter cycle then. Nobody really wanted to move to Auckland around 2000, and Wellington was amazing. That is now inverted, in my opinion.”

Trask said his biggest concern was whether it was going to take another 20 years for Wellington to “turn it around”.

“The psychology of Wellington is the problem. Business is something that provides value to other people in the community.

“And that’s one of the most despised structures by many of the people in this city. It’s the most bananas set-up you can consider.”

Raygun founder John-Daniel Trask says Wellington is currently a "talent repellent" system. Photo / Supplied

Trask said he finds the situation very concerning and has been actively taking moves to try to help the city, including having all staff working back in the office for the past 18 months.

But he worried it wasn’t enough.

“It’s the same people we see walking around. You go out at lunch, and we feel like we’re one of the few sets of folks investing and spending money locally.

“I like to make the joke that Courtenay Place KFC only really exists because Raygun comes to the office.”

Jugnu Gill opened his first restaurant in Wellington in 1997, but like Trask, said he would not set up business in the capital today.

“Wellington is not in good shape. There are very few places that are doing really well in Wellington at the moment.

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“To be successful in Wellington, with all of the work going on over the streets and the council not having good leadership, today you have to think outside the box to really set something up that will be successful.

“I would say I would not be looking to open, even if I was younger. I feel that Wellington is not the right place at the present time. Unless you have an extremely different idea.”

Gill said Wellington was in need of good leadership, and he was confident that with that would come change.