S3 | E3 — Joel Little (Grammy-winning producer) in conversation with Rowan Simpson — making Royals with Lorde, creative collaboration, and why startups are like hit songs.

Diaspora.nz

0:00

-49:28

S3 | E3 — Joel Little (Grammy-winning producer) in conversation with Rowan Simpson — making Royals with Lorde, creative collaboration, and why startups are like hit songs.

Diaspora.nz — profiling the founders, innovators, and leaders of the great Kiwi expat community.

, and

Mar 20, 2025

Today's episode is a little different ... but i think you'll approve:

For the first time, i'm happily *not* hosting, and there's a bit of backstory to why.

Sometime in early 2024 Phoebe Harrop Meadows and i sat down with Rowan Simpson for a brainstorm, jam session on potential speakers for the Blackbird Sunrise Festival '24 in Wellington.

Two ideas collided:

Rowan says: you should profile one of the "quiet ones” …his thesis that — founders of startups (rightly, in most cases) get a lot of credit for a given success. But SO MUCH of the impact, the eventual outcome is actually driven by folks behind the scenes... early employees, supporters, advisors— so critical, yet often overlooked when the stories are told.

Second: Sunrise is an ode to Startups & Creativity. Hot on the heals of hosting Joe Brumm (Bluey creator) in Sydney, we wanted to continue pulling that thread, developing the extended metaphor of building startups as a "creative act" - with parallels to the journey of a breakout artist or musician.

At the intersection of those two worlds … Joel Little was at the VERY top of our list.

Joel is epitome of “quietly shaping global hits from behind the scenes” ... producer and songwriter on Lorde’s hits, including "Royals", he's worked with Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, so many more, picking up grammy awards along the way.

While back in NZ today, Joel's success and ambition drew him offshore over the past decade, a good portion of which he spent living in L.A. As a result, so many of his stories resonate deeply with other expats... how to think- and talk about ambition, handle yourself among bravado Americans… the stories i want to tell with this pod/community.

So, TODAY we’re bringing you the live recording of Rowan, sitting down to interview Joel in Wellington…

Joel shares his journey from musician to producer, maintaining his authentic Kiwi self as an insider at the highest levels of the global music industry, to selling his catalog, returning home and launching a foundation for emerging Kiwi artists (BIG FAN in Auckland — check it out!).

He also turns the tables on Rowan, who draws analogies and examples out of his own epic run, building Trademe, Xero, Vend, Timely, and parallels between scouting for talent, choosing what *founders* to work with... coming to the conclusion Rowan is kinda a "producer" in his own way (and, cool title)

Whether you're building a startup, making music or just interested in kiwi culture on the world stage – this is for you.