Show Notes
"Emma Grede disease" is TikTok's new shorthand for our collective obsession with founder culture - the private jets, the polished business profile, the highlight reel version of building something from nothing. This week, Soph and Emma unpack where the term came from and whether it holds up, using Grede's Start With Yourself as the springboard for a wider conversation about what success in business actually requires: the trade-offs, the years of unseen graft, and why the aesthetic of success is so often mistaken for the substance of it. They cover the rise of the creator economy and Time's 100 Creators list, why personal brand has become a career asset in itself, the case for staying employed longer in your 20s to build skills before going out alone, and why women get punished for failing publicly in a way men rarely are.
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Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve
Credits:
Hosts: Sophie Hallwright & Vic Harris
Guest: Emma-Louise Boynton
Producer: Emily Rigby
Editor: Kate Callaghan
Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro
Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline)
For more from The Curve:
Website (https://thecurveplatform.com/)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/)
YouTube (https://youtube.com/@thecurveplatform?si=nlCWqqqySWOzYlj3)
TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform)
Newsletter (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)
Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)
Chapters
00:00:00 Coming Up In This Episode… 00:00:39 The Curve x Generate 00:00:57 Birthdays, Watches & Being In the Green (Quick Catch Up) 00:03:34 What We're Unpacking Today 00:05:33 What Is "Emma Grede Disease"? (The TikTok Term Explained) 00:16:51 Inside Time's 100 Creators List: Who's Actually Making Money 00:29:22 Take Our Listener Survey! 00:30:18 Do You Need a Personal Brand to Build a Successful Business? 00:38:23 The Curve x Generate 00:39:00 Your 20s vs 30s: Employed, Freelance or Founder? 00:47:00 The Last Taboo: Why We Can't Talk About Failure 00:56:44 Thank You For Listening 00:57:22 Financial Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.
Generate’s Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider License can be found here: GenerateKiwiSaver.co.nz/disclosures.
*Morningstar KiwiSaver Survey March Quarter End 2026. The Generate Focused Growth Fund returns have ranked in the top three of NZ Multi Sector Aggressive Category Funds for 10 year returns every quarter since becoming eligible in June 2023. Most recently the fund ranked 2nd out of 10 funds for 10 year returns to 31 March 2026.
More from The Curve
Part two of Meet the Founders. After Soph shared her money story, the requests for Vic's kept coming, so we sat her down for the full version. Vic takes us from selling her sister's clothes on Trade Me as a kid to choosing a South America trip over a job offer at Goldman Sachs, then starting out answering phones at Milford Asset Management. She shares the employee share offer she nearly turned down and what it grew into, what she learned as one of the only women in the room, and how her salary went from $45k to over $400k. Then it's on to The Curve. She talks about the friends who wouldn't stop telling her to start it, what raising money from investors was really like, her lowest point with money, and why she launched The Curve Investments. She also answers your community questions and gives her advice for anyone on the edge of a big decision. We're so proud to have created a fund shaped by you, The Curve community. To find out more, visit thecurveinvestments.co.nz. The Curve Investments Limited is the issuer and manager of The Curve Fund. The Product Disclosure Statement is available at thecurveinvestments.co.nz/pages/the-legal-stuff. The Curve Investments Limited is part of The Curve group, and the hosts of this podcast have an interest in it. This is general information only, not financial advice. Investing involves risk and returns aren't guaranteed. Credits: Hosts: Sophie Hallwright & Victoria Harris Producer: Kate Callaghan Editor: Emily Rigby Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline) For more from The Curve: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Substack: https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ Website: https://thecurveplatform.com/ The Curve Investments: https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFT_HdjhtoRIwPTmQy2TNLw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform Chapters
Bumble was once worth US$14 billion. Now it’s being bought for US$1.3 billion and taken private, and the app built on women going first will be run by two men. Soph and Emma get into what went wrong, what happens to your shares when a company leaves the stock market, and why LVMH shares are down around 40% while Uniqlo keeps breaking records. Plus, is a Chanel bag ever really an investment? In case you missed our lab-grown vs natural diamonds episode … https://youtu.be/0qCN7Z1XFKM?si=KLlYJa-2hA5wu4Lt Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve Credits: Host: Sophie Hallwright & Emma-Louise Boynton Producer: Kate Callaghan Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline) For more from The Curve: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Substack: https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ Website: https://thecurveplatform.com/ The Curve Investments: https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFT_HdjhtoRIwPTmQy2TNLw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform Chapters
Vic is officially back in New Zealand with big news: The Curve Fund is now live on Sharesies. She explains why September is so often a rough month for markets, the best analogy you’ll hear all year for how AMD became a trillion-dollar company without making a single chip, and why the company everyone should be watching isn’t Nvidia. Plus, how Warner Bros.’ CEO walked away with US$606 million after losing his job, and why stock options are worth asking about next time you negotiate your pay. Can’t get your head around bonds? https://youtu.be/BVhMzrp9jo0?si=IJF7VYP2PyZjwGGH How to ride the peptide wave … https://youtu.be/cKoNDrtjp_U?si=fIOe6BzImsgkDSO7 We're so proud to have created a fund shaped by you, The Curve community. To find out more, visit thecurveinvestments.co.nz. The Curve Investments Limited is the issuer and manager of The Curve Fund. The Product Disclosure Statement is available at thecurveinvestments.co.nz/pages/the-legal-stuff. The Curve Investments Limited is part of The Curve group, and the hosts of this podcast have an interest in it. This is general information only, not financial advice. Investing involves risk and returns aren't guaranteed. Wondering whether an investment actually lines up with your values? 👉 Submit your money and morals question to The Ethical Hotline: https://form.typeform.com/to/BZHujjGM Credits: Hosts: Sophie Hallwright & Vic Harris Producer: Kate Callaghan Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ For more from The Curve: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Substack: https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ Website: https://thecurveplatform.com/ The Curve Investments: https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFT_HdjhtoRIwPTmQy2TNLw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform Chapters
Today we're talking lab grown versus natural diamonds, and by the end of it, neither of us landed exactly where we thought we would. Sophie sits down with Martha (@martha.stewish) to unpack where diamonds actually come from, why the cut matters more than the size, and how a 90-year-old marketing campaign convinced generations of women that a natural diamond equals real love. We get into resale value, the celebrity engagement rings we assumed were natural, and why some of the richest people you know are quietly choosing lab grown. Full community data in this week's Substack! https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ This episode is proudly supported by Michael Hill. We've teamed up to give one of you a diamond tennis bracelet, details on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Credits: Hosts: Sophie Hallwright & Victoria Harris Producer: Kate Callaghan Editor: Emilly Rigby Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline) For more from The Curve: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Substack: https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ Website: https://thecurveplatform.com/ The Curve Investments: https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFT_HdjhtoRIwPTmQy2TNLw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform Chapters
Emma Louise Boynton is back, filling in for Vic. Sydney Sweeney’s “just sports” ad caused a stir, but the bigger story is that she’s an investor in Novig, the prediction market now reportedly worth $2 billion. Soph breaks down how prediction markets work and whether they’re anything more than sports betting. Then Emma brings the story of Sarah Creal, the Victoria Beckham Beauty co-founder who’s just launched a brand in the UK for women over 40, the generation with the most money to spend and the fewest products made for them. Check out Emma’s book! https://geni.us/pleasureelboynton Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve Credits: Host: Sophie Hallwright Guest: Emma-Louise Boynton Editor: Kate Callaghan Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline) For more from The Curve: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecurveplatform/?hl=en Substack: https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/ Website: https://thecurveplatform.com/ The Curve Investments: https://thecurveinvestments.co.nz/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFT_HdjhtoRIwPTmQy2TNLw TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecurveplatform Chapters