Tamati has spent over a decade speaking to thousands of tradespeople and heard their stories as well as having lived their experiences as a builder himself. Tamati has the credentials and the connections to the trade schools.  Together he and Astrid are passionate about increasing the local opportunities for young people to take advantage of, by getting a foothold into the trades industry.

With Astrid as a driving force, Let’s Get Building is ready to take advantage of the fact that a post-covid world has shown the crack in the bridge between supply and demand. As the population grows, so does the demand for housing and infrastructure and we’re always going to have a demand for tradespeople, and who better to fill that demand than our rangatahi. We need sustainable solutions to aid the local market in finding the workforce needed to support the rapid growth in demand that society faces. The industry has always needed this, and Let’s Get Building is ready to take on the challenge.

Tamati has been working on a prototype for this product for some time, and since coming through Kōkiri, has identified the need for additional validation of the product that they are building. The team are making sure that the platform meets the needs of both sides of the marketplace before they go live.

In the next year Let’s Get Building will continue to work to achieve validation of the platform (MVP) and get busy with the onboarding of 6000 apprentices and/or students. They are actively exploring potential partners who can aid in that growth.

If you are a young person looking to get into the trades industry or you are a trades-based business owner, and you are interested in being an early adopter/customer connect with the Let’s Get Building team by emailing Tamati and Astrid at [email protected]

Tamati McLeod (Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi) and Astrid van Uden.

Here’s what the Let’s Get building team had to say about their Kōkiri experience – Co-founder Astrid says “What I can now offer my daughter from what I’ve learned in this programme, I feel so comfortable using Māori words in this space. I’ve learned so much about the reality of Māori in business and can now be an ally in this space”.

Tamati also adds “The awesomeness of being Māori, far outweighs all the business learnings. But from a business perspective, we’ve learned a lot specifically how to properly articulate your problem and solution.”

Tamati continues on to say “personally, being in a group of likeminded Māori entrepreneurs has been most special, it’s more than a sense of comradery. It’s synergy. It’s unity. It’s true whanaungatanga.”

The duo acknowledges that after going through Kōkiri, they have a more directed use of energy. “Beforehand we had a good idea, but without direction, we potentially could have spent years before taking the steps we are now.”

Tamati admits “more than anything letting go of the past for a much-needed pivot. My ten-year journey developing Let’s Get Building had me stuck thinking my idea was solid. It wasn’t. After so many discussions with experienced entrepreneurs, Let’s Get Building has made the necessary pivots needed to show its true value and potential to the world.”

Tamati recommends applying to Kōkir for any Māori-led start-up, “For the reality check. Business is hard for a reason because being an entrepreneur isn’t taught in schools.”