We Are Build

Founders Thoughts | "I'd rather be in the trenches with people I love than comfortable with anyone else."

It's been a pretty hectic week. Four tenders out the door. Eight projects live. One new staff member starting, two more on the way, a few tough conversations, interviews and a new org chart somewhere in the mix. An event. A billboard. And then all the stuff that never makes the to-do list: training for a marathon, trying to be a present dad, trying to be a present partner, and trying to fill my own cup up.

It's a lot. Business is a grind, and I won't pretend otherwise. But this week reminded me that doing it around people you actually care about changes everything. I'm running on empty and still buzzing, because it's Friday, team coffee day. We get out together as a team, grab a coffee, shoot the sh*t. No agenda. And it's those moments that matter to me.

The billboard is the one that stuck with me.

Twenty thousand people saw it. It could've been me being funny, or us building shops, etc. It wasn't. It was something that mattered. And if one person drove past, looked up and thought, "hang on, am I okay? Is my mate okay?" then we made a difference. Out of twenty thousand, you only need it to reach the one who needs it.

That's what fills my cup. Watching it come together as a team, in our own words, sounding like us. Dev felt it, Macca felt it, all of us did. You can't fake that.

So yeah, I'm tired. But my cup is full, and I mean that. I'd rather be exhausted alongside people I love than in the trenches with anyone else.

Thank you to everyone who's backed us and let us grow, build and keep building this thing. Hardest week, best week, the kind you don't forget. But it's just the beginning, the start of us realigning our focus with who we really are.

So, let's PUSH. 🖤

- Sam

Men report lower rates of mental health struggles than women in New Zealand, yet they account for nearly 75% of suicides. The problem isn't the numbers. It's that men aren't talking about it.

The Last Chance Project is doing something about it. They created the Check In model, a preventative, evidence-informed approach to men's mental health that's already reached 500+ rangatahi and supported more than 200 men in 2025. When a man heals, families stabilise. When families stabilise, communities follow.

We had billboard space across New Zealand. We gave it to The Last Chance Project instead, carrying seven messages, each one prompting people to check in on the people around them. Their work deserves to be seen. Not just by the people already looking for it, but by our brothers who don't know they need it yet.

Follow The Last Chance Project and check in on your brothers.
No brother left behind.