From 15 clinics and 105,000 patients to a fintech rebrand and a tax ruling with IRD—this New Zealand founder turned “HealthNow” into Extraordinary, a benefits-payments platform winning banks, telcos, and airlines. Steve is a New Zealand tech entrepreneur who scaled an allied-health group to ~$12M revenue at 17–24% EBITDA before exiting at 27, then founded HealthNow—a healthcare BNPL/savings/employer-aid play that evolved into Extraordinary, a modular platform that lets companies control where benefits dollars get spent (travel, meals, gifting, health, more). This episode is a masterclass in ruthless iteration: kill the feature that doesn’t work, follow customer pull, then reprice and reframe until it clicks. What’s wild (and useful): how investor pushback killed the double-sided marketplace, why “breakage” beats “load fees,” and how a binding IRD ruling unlocked pre-tax public transport benefits—turning a compliance headache (FBT/PAYE) into a business moat. We also get candid about the emotional cost of a pivot, Darwinism for founders (“adapt or die”), and going enterprise (yes, sometimes… wear the suit). Key Topics 🩺 From clinics to fintech: scaling 15 sites, 120 staff, 105k patients—then exiting to build software. 💳 Why BNPL for healthcare didn’t pencil out—and the pivot to employer-funded benefits. 🧩 Modular platform & pricing psychology: per-employee + fixed “breakage,” not “card fees.” 🧾 Compliance moat: controlling spend categories, FBT vs PAYE, and audit-friendly rails. 🚌 IRD binding ruling: pre-tax public transport for employees (and why that matters). 🏢 Enterprise sales: telcos, banks, an airline—why credibility (and suits) count. 🔁 Founder mindset: grief of a pivot, “persist more than resist,” and 10-15 year time horizons. Connect with the Guest Steve — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-zinsli-💳-aa813184 Company (Extraordinary): https://www.extraordinarypay.com Learn more about NZVC & Hosts NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/ Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/ Timestamps:00:00 – Intro 01:14 – Steve’s upbringing in Auckland 04:13 – Childhood experiences shaping healthcare passion 06:19 – Early lessons about healthcare costs 07:17 – School years and university path 10:26 – First steps in healthcare and scaling clinics 13:28 – Building a multi-clinic business 15:14 – Growing revenue and why Steve exited 17:14 – Shift from clinics to fintech in healthcare 26:45 – First concept of HealthNow 28:23 – Buy Now, Pay Later for healthcare 30:28 – Health savings accounts & employer aid 34:56 – Core problem: healthcare affordability 37:31 – Pivoting from healthcare to broader benefits 42:00 – Advice for founders facing pivots 45:39 – Startup persistence and survival 48:29 – Birth of Extraordinary from customer demand 50:01 – Modularizing the platform & pricing learnings 53:03 – Breakage and gift card economics 55:23 – Public transport benefit opportunity 58:41 – Outlook: next 1–5 years for Extraordinary 1:02:03 – Market size, competition, and growth potential 1:04:34 – Role models and inspiration 1:05:31 – Advice for founders in New Zealand 1:06:59 – Closing remarks If this sharpened your startup/business brain, hit 👍, drop your questions for Steve below, and subscribe for more New Zealand founder deep-dives. #startups, #business, #NewZealand, #fintech, #payments, #employeebenefits, #HRtech, #compliance, #FBT, #publictransport, #BNPL, #founderstory, #productmarketfit, #SaaS, #pricing, #B2B, #enterprise, #NZTech, #TechMates, #podcast
