Custom-built software · Tauranga, New Zealand
Onboarding a new staff member. Chasing an unpaid invoice. Needing to fill a shift. We build the software that takes those jobs off you, and you own it.
We start with your people and the work. Together, we decide what a useful first version needs to do. Here’s how we work.
Maybe it’s one job that eats your Sunday. Maybe the whole business runs through you. The audit shows which, in hours. Here’s what we build.
Where do the hours go in your business?
Take the free snapshotSeven quick questions. You see your first answer before we ask for an email.
Onboarding that walks a new staff member through their first week. Rosters that fill. Job sheets that don’t live in one person’s head. The software your team opens every day, built around how you already work, like SeasonReady.
A store, a booking portal, an app. And the part customers never see: the orders, stock and records behind it, built to fit how you work and kept in your hands instead of rented, like Bloom’s back office.
Keep your accounting package, your bank feed, whatever already works. We connect it, so a job entered once turns up everywhere it’s needed and nobody types it in twice. Count what retyping costs you.
Each one started with someone doing too much by hand. See what each system does, how it compares with what’s on the market, and who owns it.
Online shop backend · yours, not rented
Orders land live, the packing list builds itself, and low stock drafts the reorder. A shop backend you own, with no cut of your sales.
Invoicing · owned, not rented
Stop chasing unpaid invoices from memory. See who owes what, record payments, sort GST and draft the reminder, in one app you own.
Seasonal workforce · app and dashboard
Onboard each new starter, fill a shift from a phone, send a notice to every worker and see how the team is really going.
In their words · The Centre for Health
After the new website and their social media were brought together.
“He brought us along for the journey.”
“Our existing website was difficult to navigate and wasn’t as user-friendly as we wanted it to be. We had updated information about our services but were struggling to bring everything together in a clear, simple and easy-to-use format that reflected who we are and what we offer. We knew what we wanted to achieve but needed help bringing the pieces together and turning our ideas into a website that was easy for people to navigate and understand.
Kory didn’t just take the mahi away and deliver a finished product; he brought us along for the journey. He took the time to understand what we were trying to achieve, guided us through the process and helped us make sense of all the moving pieces. What we really appreciated is Kory's approach, experience and ability to bring our vision to life - the nudges along the way were also helpful!
One of the biggest wins was aligning our social media presence with our new website. Together, these changes helped our website traffic grow by 235%.
Beyond the numbers, the new website has made it easier for people to navigate our services and understand what we offer. Kory is a trusted partner for us and thanks to his amazing mahi, we continue to work together on other projects.”
Quotes at night. Receipts at the weekend. Invoices you chase by text. Put in how often each job happens and how long it takes, and see your hours a year in a minute. Then we measure them properly in a systems audit: $995 + GST, credited to your build if we work together.
Count your hours
You'll work directly with Kory Ihaia, with specialists brought in to suit the project. We work with businesses and organisations across New Zealand and remote clients where the project is a good fit.
Custom-built software, small or big: internal tools for your team, apps, stores and portals for your customers, dashboards, and connections between the tools you already use. We also design and build websites. You own what we build.
Yes. Tell us who it's for and what it should help them do. We can help shape the idea and decide what to explore or build first.
We look at the tools your business already relies on and the information that needs to move between them. We agree the connections, access requirements and business rules before building and testing the integration.
Every project is scoped around what you need. We'll talk through the idea, agree what's included, and give you a quote before work starts.
Book a systems audit ($995 + GST, credited to your build if we work together), or count your hours first with the free calculator on the audit page. If you already know what you need, just talk to us about your project.
Seven questions to explore repeated admin, disconnected information or an idea that needs a clearer plan. You'll see a first perspective before we ask for your email. Rather talk it through? Tell us about your project.
Your first insight appears before we ask for your email.
Estimate the time used by a recurring task using your own figures. It can help frame a conversation about what is worth improving.
8 people × 3 hours × $45 × 46 weeks
This estimates the value of time used. It is not a forecast of savings or revenue.
A new app idea, an outgrown system or information that doesn't join up. We start by understanding what you want to achieve, then agree the right next step. If that step needs more definition, we begin with a .
In their words
“We now have a website that we own, control, and can manage ourselves.”
“We reached out to Kory when we were struggling to get ownership of our website from a provider who had stopped responding. He helped us understand the process, guided us through each step, and ultimately helped us secure ownership before building us a new website that is much easier for us to manage.
What we appreciated most was Kory’s ability to make a challenging situation feel manageable. He was responsive, transparent, and genuinely took the time to understand what we were trying to achieve, ensuring the new website reflected our kaupapa as well as our practical needs.
We now have a website that we own, control, and can manage ourselves. Reflecting his values, Kory continues to make himself available whenever we need advice or support, meaning we’ve gained not only a website, but also a trusted collaborative partner.”
Tell us what you want the system to do, even if you're still working out how it could happen.
Talk about your projectA worker app and employer dashboard designed around seasonal life in New Zealand. Read the SeasonReady story.
Working demonstration · Explore it live
Write down each step, who touches it, and where time disappears. A clearer picture starts there.
A starting point based on your answers, with a suggestion for what to explore next.
A self-assessment, not a tailored diagnosis.
Your details and assessment answers have been saved. Download your assessment summary below.
Want to work through it together? .
I’m Kory Ihaia, the person behind MindLabs. I live in Tauranga Moana with my partner and our two kids. Family is at the heart of why I do what I do.
I called Australia home for 18 years before returning to New Zealand in 2017. Coming home wasn’t easy. It took time to find my feet again, but I’m now grounded here, enjoying life back home and raising my family.
My digital journey began in 2010, importing products from China and growing a successful eBay business. In those early days, I also started an SEO company while working full-time. That curiosity has carried me into marketing, design and building custom digital systems.
Along the way, I spent 14 years as a chef. Running a business, working in busy kitchens and raising a family have all shaped the way I work: stay practical, care about the people involved, and keep moving forward.
I’ve worked with many different businesses, from corporate organisations to restaurants, across different kaupapa. I’ve met some amazing people, and every experience has reinforced the value of listening and understanding what matters to them.
I love giving back and helping people see what’s possible within their own business. That’s what MindLabs is here for: bringing ideas to life and building something useful around the people who will use it.
The journey isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it.
In their words
“Kory did an exceptional job on our recent project. Working with him, I found a partner with great knowledge and a deep understanding of modern solutions. Kory is an innovative strategist who has the ability to make good, sometimes bold decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him on the various projects we took on. He is incredibly collaborative and never refuses when you ask him for help.”
What I can help you build
Maybe the business only runs because you remember everything. Maybe onboarding a new staff member costs you a week, or the same job gets typed into three apps. I measure where the hours go, then build the software that gives them back: one small tool or the whole system, and yours to keep.
Onboarding, rosters, job sheets, stock and reporting, in software your team opens every day and that works the way you already do.
Apps, stores and portals, plus the orders, records and rules behind them, built to fit your business and kept in your hands.
Your accounting package, bank feed and the apps that already work, joined up so a job entered once shows up everywhere it’s needed.
The complete system
A storefront, product landing page or dashboard is where people interact with your business. Behind it are the information, permissions and processes that make it useful.
The right starting point might be a reusable interface or an existing code foundation. We adapt what fits, then scope the backend, data and connections around your requirements. Explore Atlas and SeasonReady below, and imagine what your own version would need to do.
Illustration of how a custom system fits together
Project workspace
Explore how tasks, calendars and team views can come together. Your organisation’s shared records, permissions and data connections are the next requirements to define.
Concept showcase · Sample content
Worker app and employer dashboard
Explore how notices, shifts and reports can connect the two sides of a season. A commissioned version would be scoped around your people, records, access and operational requirements.
Working demonstration · Illustrative client and briefWorking together
You’ll work directly with me. We start with your people, the work and what you want to make possible. When a project calls for specialist input, we agree how that fits into the delivery. Here’s how we work, step by step.
Bring the idea or a real example of how the work happens. We talk through the purpose, the people involved and whether the project is a good fit.
Explore the workflow, existing systems and constraints. Agree what a useful first version needs and which assumptions need testing.
Agree the scope and responsibilities, then build and test. Handover, ownership, hosting and ongoing support are part of the project discussion.
Your next step
Tell me who it’s for, what should become easier or possible, and what the system needs to connect to. You don’t need a finished technical brief. We can work through a useful next step together.
Talk about your projectA new app or service, a dashboard your team needs, or systems that should work together. Tell us what you have in mind and what you'd like people to be able to do. Still exploring? Try the free assessment first.
No payment or booking has been made.
An app and employer dashboard exploring how seasonal workers and employers can stay better connected in New Zealand.
Workers need practical support in a new place. Employers need a clearer way to stay connected throughout the season.
Built with an industry-informed partner, around Pacific seasonal workers and RSE employers.
A worker app and employer dashboard, designed to bring support and information together.
Working demonstration · Explore it live
Have a challenge that needs a clearer direction?
Let’s talk ↗
