The next big startup idea often comes from repeatedly feeling the same pain over and over. Like many business owners, Kate and Jonny found financial reporting confusing, stressful and difficult to translate into everyday decisions. They tried every product on the market, but everything felt overly complicated, accountant-focused and disconnected from the real questions they were needing the answers to day-to-day.
So they built their own solution. Next, they turned that into a business other SME’s owners can benefit from. Meet Hello Cashflow, founded by CEO Jonny Wilson, CTO Nigel Pinkerton, CPO Kate Wilson, and COO Shehan Joseph.
Today, they’re helping small businesses across New Zealand and internationally make smarter financial decisions through simple, visual cash flow insights. But the journey to building the Fintech startup began long before the first line of code was written.
This isn’t the founder’s first rodeo.
Before entering the Fintech world, Jonny and Kate built New Zealand’s largest private music school, Goodtime Music Academy, before selling the business. Next, they launched Build a Music School, which grew into the world’s largest coaching community for music school owners, supporting more than 400 schools across 25 countries.
Their entrepreneurial journey also included founding the Goodtime Foundation, a charitable trust that has raised more than $1 million to provide free music lessons and mentoring for underprivileged children. Their impact earned them recognition as Young Business Person of the Year and Local Hero Medal winners in the New Zealander of the Year Awards.
Together, the founding team brought equally impressive experience from across the technology and not-for-profit sectors. Nigel Pinkerton previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Infometrics and helped lead the company through a successful exit, while Shehan Joseph managed operations for one of New Zealand’s largest not-for-profit organisations, leading thousands of staff and volunteers.
Yet despite these achievements, there’s one part of running a business they could never quite crack: Cashflow.
Solving the problem every small business owner faces
This all started by exporting their accounting data into a large spreadsheet that translated complex financial information into something they could understand. This process reduced financial stress, improved decision-making and became an essential part of growing their businesses.
When they began coaching music school owners around the world, they shared the tool with them and the response was immediate. Business owners across industries experienced the same transformation.
That was the moment everything changed. The founders realised this wasn’t a problem unique to music schools. It was a problem shared by millions of small businesses.
And that’s how Hello Cashflow was born.
The platform connects directly with Xero and QuickBooks, and transforms financial information into simple, visual insights that help business owners understand exactly what’s happening in their business and make better decisions faster.
Their mission is simple: To help business owners reduce financial stress, improve cashflow and never have to wonder whether they can afford their next big decision. As the founders put it:
“You shouldn’t need an accounting degree or an expensive CFO to feel confident running your business.”
Building More Than Software
Small business owners are the backbone of our economy, but many are operating under enormous financial stress and uncertainty.
“People start businesses because they want freedom, independence, meaningful work, financial security and the opportunity to create jobs and build something they’re proud of. None of those dreams are possible without healthy cashflow.” says Jonny.
The founders highlighted that the problem is that most business owners don’t truly understand their numbers. They’re scared to spend money sitting in their bank accounts, they make decisions based on gut feel rather than data and they often don’t know how today’s choices will affect them months from now.
Hello Cashflow aims to change that by making financial information accessible, understandable and actionable.
Early days, with major milestones already hit
Since launching, Hello Cashflow has attracted its first 500 customers across New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and other international markets.
It now integrates with both Xero and QuickBooks, the world’s two largest accounting platforms.
The startup also won the startup pitch competition at FinTech Hui and successfully raised $750,000 from investors including Angel HQ, Booster and NZ Growth Capital Partners.
But for the founders, the biggest achievement isn’t measured in revenue or investment. It’s hearing from business owners who now feel confident making financial decisions that previously caused anxiety.
Growing a Global Team
What started as four founders with a spreadsheet has grown into a team of twelve serving customers around the world and they are on a clear path towards their next major milestone of reaching $1 million ARR.
The founders are focused on building a world-class New Zealand Fintech that helps business owners everywhere feel more confident about their finances.
“We’re excited about the size of the problem we’re solving and the opportunity in front of us. Small businesses power communities, create jobs and support families, yet many owners carry enormous financial stress every single day. If we can help business owners feel more confident, make better decisions, and improve their cashflow, the ripple effects are massive. We’re incredibly passionate about building a world-class New Zealand fintech company that creates meaningful impact both here and internationally,” the founders explain.
Why Wellington Matters
The founders are quick to credit Wellington’s startup ecosystem as an important part of their journey. One of the city’s biggest strengths, they say, is its willingness to help. Whether it’s making introductions to investors, sharing practical advice, or mentoring early-stage founders, Wellington’s startup community has consistently shown remarkable generosity.
The team points to leaders such as James Fuller from Hnry and Melissa Cheals from Smartly, who both invested significant time sharing their experience and challenging the founders’ thinking. Creative HQ’s Fintech Lab accelerator also played a transformational role, providing mentorship, coaching and support that helped shape the company’s growth.
“The programme, our coach Chris O’Neill and the wider Creative HQ team created an experience that was second to none. We’re incredibly grateful for the role they’ve played in our journey,” the founders say.
So we asked the team: How can our Wellington community help Hello Cashflow grow from here?
The founders would love to see the continued activity in the ecosystem – highlighting that more support for founders around different ways of growing your business will always come full circle for the community.
“One of the best events we’ve attended was a product workshop where a panel shared real examples of how they overcame product related challenges. It wasn’t about the stories from billion-dollar companies – instead connected to the realities of early-stage founders,“ they explain.
There’s enormous value in hearing from businesses that have just reached their first million dollars in revenue, their first five million, or their first ten million, and understanding exactly what worked, what didn’t, and what they learned along the way. The more practical, transparent, and hands-on we can make the ecosystem, the stronger it will become.
Looking Ahead
The Hello Cashflow team believes the success of small businesses has a far greater impact than most people realise.
“Building Hello Cashflow has reinforced something we’ve believed for a long time. When small businesses thrive, families thrive, communities thrive, and economies thrive. We feel incredibly fortunate to be building this company in New Zealand and deeply grateful to every person, mentor, customer, investor, and supporter who has helped us along the way. The journey has only begun and will have many more painful and testing moments, but we have a team and a support system that will help us run through brick wall after brick wall.”
If there’s one message the founders hope people remember, it’s this:
Every small business owner deserves to understand their numbers, make confident decisions, and never have to stress about cash flow again.
