What if you never had to worry about tax again?
In this episode, we sit down with Luke Kilworth, the founder of Lodg, a New Zealand startup solving one of the biggest problems for self-employed people: tax.
From dropping out of school and working for free for 18 months…
to losing an entire dev team overnight…
to building a platform now used by thousands of Kiwis — this is a real, unfiltered look at what it takes to build a business.
We also dive into:
• The biggest mistake new business owners make
• Why most people fail (and how to avoid it)
• Lessons learned from top NZ entrepreneur Nick Mowbray
• And the mindset shift that can fast-track your success
If you’re self-employed, starting a business, or thinking about it — this episode is a must-watch.
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Check out Lodg
👉 https://www.lodg.co.nz
👉 https://www.instagram.com/lodg.nz/
Lodg automatically takes your tax as you earn, pays it to the IRD, and handles your returns, so you never get caught out with a big bill again.
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🎙 Produced by Red Nine Studios
👉 @redninestudios.com
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📲 Follow for more
@recordedatrednine
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Listen on podcast platforms
Spotify / Apple / wherever you get your podcasts
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:13 What is Lodg?
01:05 The problem with tax when you go self-employed
01:27 How Lodg is different to Xero
02:09 Where the idea came from (age 15)
03:03 The Brooksfield connection
04:29 Turning a problem into a product
05:29 How Lodg actually works (GST, expenses, tax)
06:40 Growth plans (sole traders → companies)
07:13 The reality of the first 6 months
07:41 Working for free for 18 months
09:07 Why more people are going self-employed
09:37 The brutal truth about business
10:44 Losing the entire dev team overnight
11:43 The “fail fast” mindset
12:40 Dropping out of school
15:02 Learning from successful people
16:40 What makes Nick Mowbray successful
18:52 Why environment matters
22:38 What success looks like for Lodg
23:38 Growth to 3000 users
24:41 Advice for building a business
26:55 Where to find Lodg
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