One of New Zealand’s most ambitious startups, Zenno Astronautics, is undertaking pioneering work with superconducting magnets to address one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity’s future in space - space junk.

On The Business of Tech podcast this week, Max Arshavsky, co-founder and CEO of Zenno Astronautics, charts his journey from the steppes of Siberia to the University of Auckland, where in 2017 he founded Zenno Astronautics with Sebastian Wieczorek and William Haringa.

His motivation? To build technologies that can make space exploration more sustainable and less dependent on Earth’s finite resources.

“The vision I have is that technologies in space should be independent of Earth when it comes to reliance on fuel or radiation protection or an ability to construct anything,” Arshavsky, who is now a New Zealand citizen, told me.

“We should be able to construct things in space, and they should be autonomous.”

Listen to the full interview with Zenno Astronautics Max Arshavsky on episode 107 of The Business of Tech, powered by 2degrees Business, on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Perpetual Guardian chief executive Patrick Gamble shares his best and worst money stories with Liam Dann, including his family's life changing move to Ireland when he was a toddler, his experiences dabbling in the property market while at university - and failing - and how he ended up as a Special Envoy for Ukraine.

The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should your job provide health insurance coverage?

There are calls for a fringe benefit tax break as a Council report reveals people are twice as likely to have car insurance than life or health.

It says 78% of Kiwis pay for their own insurance, rather than employers footing the bill.

Enriched Retirement Founder Liz Koh told Andrew Dickens that New Zealanders tend to think they’re bulletproof, and they don’t tend to put health insurance at the top of their priority list.

She says that if you don’t have good health, it impacts your ability to work, and employers have a vested interest in making sure their employees are healthy.

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The podcasts in the SME Stream contain general information only, not financial or professional advice. Any opinions expressed in the podcasts are not necessarily shared by BNZ, or its related entities. BNZ is not liable for any losses resulting from the content of the podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.