From spreadsheet to stadium: how Hnry found its footing in Wellington

When James and Claire Fuller cracked open a spreadsheet in 2017 in an effort to get on top of their tax payments, they didn’t expect to be securing naming rights to the Wellington stadium less than 10 years later. But they had found a problem that needed to be solved, and they never gave up on finding the best solution for themselves and their customers.

As contractors trying to manage their own tax payments, James and Claire looked for advice on how best to calculate what they owed. Their accountant told them to put aside one third of what they earned, and he’d let them know what to pay Inland Revenue later.

Unnerved by the uncertainty of that approach, they created a spreadsheet to more accurately estimate their monthly tax bill. They discovered a whole community of friends and acquaintances in the same position, and shared the spreadsheet, which quickly became a sought-after commodity. The idea for Hnry was born.

Now 1% of tax paid to Inland Revenue is paid, and 0.5% of New Zealand’s GDP is processed through the Hnry platform. Putting Hnry’s name on the Wellington Stadium might seem like the crowning glory for the company, but after talking to James Fuller, I get the impression they’re only just getting started.

Sole traders now make up 17% of New Zealand’s GDP. James and Claire have always been motivated by the need to balance the scales for such an important part of New Zealand’s economy. Wage and salary earners have almost no tax compliance obligations, as the tax system requires employers to take care of most of it for them; however, the self-employed need to work hard to understand how much tax to pay, and when and how to pay it, on top of all the other administration of running a business. For many sole traders, it’s a huge and daunting task. Hnry exists to automate tax and accounting for them.

The team at Hnry don’t even want their customers to spend a lot of time in the Hnry app. “We took the approach of actually nobody wants to log into your app,” James says. “Nobody wants to actually do admin in the first place. People just want to know that it's taken care of by high-quality professionals.” 

When reflecting on the key ingredients to building a business, James is very clear that they would never have got Hnry to where it is today without teamwork. Starting with himself and Claire, he explains they have complementary skills.

“Between the two of us, Claire and I come from quite different backgrounds. The ability to almost split an emerging business down the middle and say, you take half and I'll take half, has been very beneficial.”

They’ve also embraced the Wellington community and found it’s been incredibly supportive in their journey. In their early days, it was easy to meet with their customers in person to talk to them about what they needed.

“One of the great things about Wellington is the proximity that we have to each other, and in particular, the close proximity the CBD has to the creative industries. Whether that’s creatives in Cuba Street, the film industry in Miramar, the industrial manufacturing sector in Lower Hutt, we were so close to our very early-stage customers that we could actually go and meet them in person and have those conversations.” 

James sees a key part of their success as focusing on the problem, rather than the product. They’ve lived through the nightmare of tax administration, and they want to take the burden off other people. But they don’t keep assuming they know all the answers. Customer experience is the top priority, and they don’t allow themselves to be distracted by the ability (thanks to AI) to build more and more features very quickly, just because they can. James is proud of their ISO 27001-certified platform (an international standard for information security management systems), the depth of their security, safety and expertise, and the fact that their customers can talk to real human beings if they need help.

James is a huge advocate for Wellington and thinks Hnry’s success is due in part to being founded in a city that outsiders might not realise is highly collaborative and supportive. That local foundation has helped Hnry grow well beyond the capital. In 2025, the business ranked 33^rd on the Deloitte Fast 50 index, recording 145% revenue growth. But for James, that success has also created an opportunity to give back to the community that supported Hnry from the beginning.

“People who haven't lived in Wellington don’t understand that community aspect, the strength of that community,” he says. “We got our start with a bunch of people believing in us, whether that was early-stage staff believing in us, or people we were working with or customers. And now we can turn around and say, well, actually, what can we do to support?”

By sponsoring the Wellington stadium, the Hnry team has come full circle, once again giving support where they can see it’s needed.

“It's not about slapping a logo on the side of it,” James says. “It's our commitment to Wellington. We’re saying, if we can put money back into the stadium and get behind it, at a time when Wellington needs some positivity, then we should absolutely do so.” 

Rapid-fire Wellington round with James Fuller

Favourite Wellington café or restaurant: Little Grump. The sandwiches with a gherkin and Proper chips on the side make it an easy choice. 

Favourite Wellington walk: Local walks around Khandallah, especially the lookout near Onslow Road with sweeping views back across the city and harbour. 

Last book, podcast or show you enjoyed: The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle, particularly its insights into building strong organisational culture. 

Beach or bush: Beach.

One Wellington business more people should know about: Eight360, a Petone-based company building advanced motion simulators used around the world in aerospace, defence and research. 

Best thing about Wellington: The openness of Wellington, a place where people support each other, share introductions and genuinely want local businesses to succeed.