Caleb Kutia and Jackie Moses
Founders, Calebtekotiri
Traditional Māori Crafts, Auckland

Kim: From our initial Zoom hui and then my in-person planning hui at The Icehouse in Auckland, I remember thinking what an awesome young power couple I have here. Caleb and Jackie are real, driven, and hard-working entrepreneurs with a clear plan set to meet their future aspirations.

First stages were all about assisting them in unpacking their why, their purpose, and most of all, their vision for Calebtekotiri. It was all there, I just needed to work my magic to help them crystalise what they had!

I always say I am not unique in what I do, but I am unique in how I do it. Once you lay the vision out for everyone to see, things become much clearer around the whole of the business.

They have very busy lives; juggling full-time careers, studying, and growing the business. We had some courageous conversations as we went on a journey to power up the future plan, and then map out how to get there.

I help them focus on what they have capacity to do for their pakihi now, so that they are building something that can power up as and when the timing is right. Being on the same page for their business makes it easy to introduce new ideas and thinking, and they absorb that so, so well.

They have built an excellent support team around them, know how to make their business and brand rock, they take on board advice and get stuff done, which I love.

Caleb and Jackie: We originally heard about Kim through Lyn, Caleb’s mum, who owns Whenua Whanau, another of Kim’s clients. They told us they had this awesome business mentor, and our first thoughts were, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to get to that stage one day.’

During the 2021 lockdowns we contacted Te Puni Kōkiri and Activate Tāmaki Makaurau, telling them that we’re a relatively small business now, asking if we’re eligible for funding and to understand what's available and who can help us. 

They got back to us, advising us on we needed and gave us a list of business mentors who can help. We got on the phone to Lyn and said, ‘Guess who is at the top of the list?’ It was Kim.

We began working with Kim early in 2022. I come from a corporate background and I'm very comfortable speaking with people whereas for Caleb, who is in the Navy, this side of the business, running it and liaising with different people, is very new.

On our first meeting we got such a warm vibe, and she made us feel so welcome in a world that we aren’t particularly known. The first thing she asked us was what we wanted to get out of this, and the overwhelming feeling was that she really wanted to help and was invested in our success.

We needed her business overview. We had a few directions on where we wanted to take the business, but we didn't really know which one to execute because our full-time jobs are quite intense, so getting that real focus on several key things that are going to help lift us and set us up for the future was so important.

She has really helped us define a vision for the overall brand and how to develop our unique proposition. Our website needed to promote our entire product range as some customers didn’t fully know what we offered. So, she has helped us with that and also how to better-target who our customer is specifically.

Kim’s provided advice and expertise in helping is elevate our logo design, which is great for now, but when we want to expand into other areas, such as apparel, YouTube videos, training – which is about just opening that space and exploring possibilities.

We both feel that having Kim is so valuable that once the initial funding finishes, we are going to continue the relationship. Kim is a powerhouse! She keeps you on track, and makes it clear what you need to do. We feel very grateful and thankful that we've had this opportunity to tap into Kim’s expertise and see another side of what's out there for people who aren't familiar with owning their own business or who don't fully appreciate the ins-and-outs.

It's amazing to have someone that you can lean on and support you. She’s a lovely human being but she also is a master of her craft who wants the best for you and your business.