Waikato Business News August/September 2021

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS August/September 2021
3
From zero to Xero this Waikatoborn
virtual assistant and her
creators are ready to help millions
From page 1
“Back then I didn’t have an
active email or know how to
use one, like I do now. I knew
my kids were growing up and
they were going to be doing
stuff online and I wanted to
be able to help them, so I
had to go back into learning
mode.
“At Te Wānanga o
Aotearoa, I met up with
other tauira and we quickly
became whānau. I was basically
a sheep and I followed
them. There were four of us
that continued to Wintec.
Without them, that journey
would have been really hard.
But as a whānau, we supported
each other through our
school mahi and our crazy
home lives. I know for a fact
I couldn’t have done it without
them and I am so grateful
to have journeyed together on
the same waka.”
At Wintec, her whānau
found support through the
Māori Achievement team
and Blaine Rakena, officially
Team Manager at
Wintec Centre for Information
Technology and unofficially
referred to as “Uncle”
by the group.
“Elysia was one of our
mana wāhine who, like many
of our mature Māori students,
wanted to provide a better life
for her and her whānau and to
change her course to be financially
self-sufficient. Her
tenacity, commitment and
dedication showed continuously
throughout her studies
with us here at Wintec,” says
Rakena.
“I’m so proud of her and
what she has done.”
A turning point for Wanakore
was landing an internship
at Vexecute, a Māoriled
company that developed
Tania.ai a voice activated
reporting assistant.
In March 2021, Wanakore
graduated from Wintec with a
Bachelor of Applied Information
Technology and landed a
job as Chief Customer Officer
at Tania.ai.
“I love taking on whatever
I can and working to
do things differently. There
is always an opportunity to
learn and everyone at Tania.
ai brings something different
to the table.
“I enjoy learning and
feeling accomplished. Study
was tricky for me as there
was a lot of reading, and
programming math without
The answer is
finding what people
are good at, so I try
to match interns
with areas they
will excel in. If they
land in an area that
makes their heart
sing – that’s the
magic, and then we
all get results… if
they fail, then we
fail.
numbers….don’t get me
started... I’m more of a
hands-on learner, meaning, if
you just show me, I will learn
easier and faster.”
Wanakore’s first task as an
intern at Tania.ai was to build
a skill for Alexa, Amazon’s
voice-based AI-powered
digital assistant app called
‘Know your numbers’. Now,
as Chief Customer Officer,
she is working on the company’s
CRM setup (an inbound
marketing and sales platform)
and Customer Support
Model.
“I have been assigned to
be our ‘Customer Guru’ and
am currently setting up a
webinar campaign for Tania.
ai. I’ve never done any of this
before, but I will do it, one
foot in front of the other, and
I will get there because the
team is so supportive.”
Tania.ai is the brainchild
of Vexecute and Tania.ai
CEO, Donnamaree Ryder,
who wanted to give back
to whānau and the business
community, by replicating
her skills into a virtual assistant
for small-medium businesses.
When her passion
to help small and medium
organisations understand
their financials got the better
of her, Ryder gave up
her day job as Project Manager
at Fonterra. Her dream
was to create a world-leading
voice-activated personal
reporting assistant. By supporting
Wintec and University
of Waikato IT students
with work experience, she’s
achieved it, while sharing
her knowledge and creating
opportunity along the way.
“The answer is finding
what people are good at, so I
try to match interns with areas
they will excel in. If they land
in an area that makes their
heart sing – that’s the magic,
and then we all get results…
if they fail, then we fail.
“Elysia had never developed
a voice app before, but
she has now built a voice-activated
learning portal.”
Ryder who is from the
Waikato and based in Hamilton,
is no stranger to a challenge.
She is the first Māori
to graduate with a master’s
qualification in Finance from
Victoria University and is
excited most of her staff are
Māori too.
“I am passionate about
Māori in business, but only 2
percent of our tech workforce
are Māori. Tania.ai shows we
have the capability within our
own people.”
Wanakore says: “I could
never have imagined myself
being where I am now, I didn’t
even finish high school".
“I might be the first in
my family to have a degree.
They probably thought I’d
be the last one with all my
children. Thanks to my
friends and whānau, it was
made possible.”
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Deidre Morris
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Security Business
Waikato
Property Services
Hamilton
This business comprises of sales, manufacture
and installation of bespoke joinery products.
EBPITD of over $700k per annum.
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Price $1,850,000
Price $1,670,000 + SAV
Price 549,000
Price $1,200,000
Graeme Finch
027 495 3413
Scott Laurence
027 473 5425
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027 293 0377
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027 293 0377
Tony Begbie
029 200 6515
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FHGC
Service Station - Fully Managed
Waikato
Combine Income & Lifestyle
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Price on Application
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029 200 6515
Tony Begbie
029 200 6515
Scott Laurence
027 473 5425
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0272 321 516
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