Speakers
Hear from a mix of industry professionals and Rocketspark experts to discover tactics for growing your design business.
Kylie Rae
Director - Nature & Nosh
Kylie began her career in the corporate marketing world in NZ and then the UK. Coming from a family of small business owners, she had the entrepreneurial bug and knew she wanted to start a business of her own one day. The corporate life didn’t do it for her. She yearned for a calling that merged her love for the outdoors, marketing and business.
After many months hiking around the globe with her husband, the idea for Nature & Nosh was born - hiking tours with foodie experiences. Shortly after returning to New Zealand in 2016, the idea shaped into a business attracting international clients, working with global trade and balancing mum life with growing a young business. With international clients off the cards, the focus over the last year has shifted to Kiwi’s and local businesses, and keeping with one foot in front of the other.
Monica Shepherd
Copywriter - Mark My Words
Monica Shepherd runs Mark My Words. She’s a copywriter and messaging strategist who loves the power that language has to connect, inspire, change, make people think, ignite emotions and take people on a journey.
With an understanding of SEO copywriting, compelling storytelling techniques, persuasion and buyer psychology, she helps purpose-driven brands craft digital content and brand stories that attract their ideal clients.
Since 2010, she has worked with a range of B2B and B2C organisations, from start-ups to global corporations, with a focus on creating high-performing digital content that supports wider marketing and sales strategies, she knows how to set a business apart from the rest.
Tonia Hill
Creative Director - Greenhouse Creative
Tonia Hill is a brand strategist and website designer based in Auckland who designs with a carefully considered blend of purpose and creativity. Tonia has a clean, crisp design-style that she adapts to fit the values and individual personalities of her clients’ brands. Tonia works with clients across a broad range of industries and geographic locations and enjoys the challenge of getting to know a business and its customers intimately.
Tonia started her business, Crisp Graphics, in 2003 and has never looked back. Rebranding to become Greenhouse Creative in 2020, she’s done everything from running brand strategy group workshops to packaging and retail design, to creating content for award-winning websites and digital marketing campaigns. Tonia is a house-plant obsessed, green-fingered, designer who is seriously passionate about helping businesses to grow.
Liora Pine
Creative Director - The Little Acre
Originally born in California, Liora spent years working in the graphic design industry before settling down in New Zealand in 2007. It was during her design gypsy phase that she developed an understanding of what makes design work, not just aesthetically, but effectively.
With hands-on experience across a range of design businesses, from small creative studios to large agencies, Liora brought all that experience together with The Little Acre.
Liora brings her knowledge of owning an international e-commerce store herself to all her clients. She loves helping businesses tell their story through their branding and marketing.
Kendyl Haultain
Director - Make Social Click
Why do some businesses seem to propel themselves online with social media whilst others struggle to gain traction? That’s the question that Make Social Click was founded on.
Kendyl Haultain is an entrepreneur with over 12 year's experience marketing businesses online. She works with brands to establish clever and unique marketing strategies that set them apart from their competitors.
Jo Jensen
Founder - Strictly Savvy
As Founder of New Zealand’s leading virtual assistant company, Strictly Savvy, Jo is a rising female leader. For her outstanding leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity and vision for the future, Jo was awarded the Young Business Person of the Year 2015 at the Wellington Region Business Excellence Awards. Strictly Savvy was also honoured with the best Professional Services Business award in 2017.
In true entrepreneur style, Jo has many ventures on the go and also runs Savvy School where she teaches other women how to create their own virtual assistant business, runs her short term rental in Ohakune, and invests in property with her husband.
Natalie White
Creative Director - Magic Fingers
Natalie White, is a branding and website design expert, leading clients on their creative project journey. From hand illustrations to a stunning online presence, she is committed to crafting authentic brands and websites that really capture an audience and fit clients perfectly.
Natalie runs Magic Fingers Graphics, design studio from her coastal family farm up in the winterless Far North of NZ.
Alexander Wastney - Pre-event Speaker
Design Director - Designwell
Alexander is an industrial designer by training and has spent the last decade working across design businesses in NZ, the UK and in NYC. He's designed connected sports equipment for Gatorade, aircraft interiors for Emirates and spatial designs for numerous work-spaces and restaurants. Alexander started Designwell in 2016 with a goal to build better experiences across brand and spatial design.
Grant Johnson
CEO - Rocketspark
As the least technical of Rocketspark’s founders, Grant is always looking for ways to make the complex simple. His career prior to Rocketspark spanned a broad range of industries which provides a great depth of business knowledge. With his wife, Grant launched, grew and sold an online store which provided him with deep insight into what it takes to grow an ecommerce business.
Jeremy Johnson
Co-founder and Head of Product - Rocketspark
Jeremy balances his time between product management, UI design and the marketing of Rocketspark. He's passionate about crafting user experiences that are beautifully simple and people love to use. Before co-founding Rocketspark, Jeremy was a freelance graphic designer and experienced first-hand the frustrations of working with web developers and complicated content management systems when designing an overall branding package for clients.
Jason Tiller
Head of Partnerships - Rocketspark
Jason has worked on e-commerce startups of varying size and success. Moving into a sales and advisory role at Stuff and Tracta, he worked alongside many businesses, big and small, which gave him significant insight into the challenges that these companies were facing. Specialising in the digital space, he sees a real need for a well planned and executed website strategy to play a part in the promotion of the small business sector, and the people within it. At Rocketspark, Jason works with the partner channel to develop and grow their businesses as well as helping Rocketspark take off.