The age of the owner begins. Business coaching for ambitious SME owners in New Zealand and the USA.It’s your time. Build the business
you always envisaged.
You bring the vision and the local knowledge.
Kevin brings corporate knowledge and systems, distilled for SMEs.
AI puts them to work.
For a long time, scale decided who won. The big names had the systems, the data and the money. Owners had nerve, a laptop and a long week.
That is changing.
The systems that once needed a head office now fit a small team. AI does the admin that ate your evenings. And what scale cannot buy is local knowledge: the names, the habits, the weather, the way this town does things.
You already have the local knowledge. Now you can have the systems.
Three things have come together.
Your vision. Kevin’s corporate knowledge and systems. The power of AI. Where they meet is the sweet spot.
your local knowledge,
your customers
and systems, distilled
for SME owners
to work, now
for your business
scaled
automated
OF THE
OWNER
“My focus is on one thing, helping you grow an amazing business faster.”
- Companies founded
- 9
- Businesses coached
- 200+
- Client NPS
- +72*
- World-class agencies
- 3
* Net Promoter Score from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse.
Approved Regional Business Partners Network provider. Partner with The Icehouse.
Kevin has worked with 60+ global brands, including:
At DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi
- McDonald’s
- BMW
- General Mills
- IBM
- GSK
- Heineken
- Unilever
- Telecom
- Kimberly-Clark
- Daewoo
- Woolworths
- Lion Breweries
- NZ Dairy Foods
- Monsanto
- NZI
Running his own businesses
- Samsung
- Nestlé
- Johnson & Johnson
- Westpac
- Mattel
- BNZ
- Fonterra
- Colgate
- Hasbro
- Purina
- Heinz
- Reckitt
- Procter & Gamble
- Clarins
- Fujifilm
What the sweet spot can open up for your business.
Time back
Close the laptop at midday on Friday. The business keeps running.
More productive
Your team knows the three things that matter this week. AI takes the admin that ate your evenings.
Scale sooner
Growth without growing the chaos, on systems proven in global brands and set up at your size.
Sharper targeting
Know your bullseye customer, and show up where they already are.
Personal offers
Offers made by name and season, because you know your people and now you can act on it.
The life you built it for
The business you imagined still exists. Kevin finds the real constraint first, before you spend another dollar.
Results depend on your business and your effort.
Four pillars. One plan. Your next most valuable move.
The Simple-Growth System™ distils what works for 60+ global brands into the few things that actually move the numbers in your business, then tells you which one to do next. Plans, templates, training and coaching you can use straight away.
See all programmesBusiness strategy
Know what success looks like in 3, 5 and 10 years, and which numbers prove you’re on track.
Explore strategyMarketing & communications
Find your secret sauce and tell a story only you can tell, built the way global brands build theirs.
Explore marketingSales
Turn conversations into customers with the opening lines, offers and follow-up that do the heavy lifting.
Explore salesProductivity & implementation
A weekly rhythm, clear priorities and real accountability, so the plan actually gets done.
Explore productivityWhat you’re telling yourself, and what’s usually going on.
Most growth problems arrive in disguise. Simple-Growth finds the real constraint first, then fixes that, before you spend another dollar.
Find mine on a free call“I need more leads.”
Usually the offer, the conversion or the follow-up is leaking. More leads just leak the same way.
“Marketing doesn’t work for us.”
Usually it’s tactics without a strategy: no clear target, no clear position, and stopped too early.
“Cash is always tight.”
Usually under-pricing, thin margins or growth running ahead of working capital.
“I can’t find good people.”
Usually there are no clear roles or systems yet, and the owner hasn’t let go.
“I just need more time.”
Usually there are no clear priorities, so everything feels urgent.
“We’re too small for strategy.”
Usually the opposite. Small firms have the least room for wasted effort.
Real world practical advice from the coalface.
No theory and no guru mindset talk. The Simple-Growth System was built by doing the work:
- Working with 60+ global brands, at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi and in his own businesses
- Founding or co-founding 9 companies, from eCommerce in grocery, pet, pharmacy, toy and baby to a digital media agency, engineering innovations and healthcare logistics
- Coaching 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries since 2017
- Reaching thousands more through webinars, training programmes and workshops
“Tried these big name mentors — all about ‘mindset’. What Kevin delivers is solid, practical insights and strategies you can apply from the first session to grow your business.”
Brett Abeille, business owner
200+ businesses coached one-on-one, across 30+ industries. From 7-figure operators to companies turning over $100m+ a year.
Backed by 30+ years in business, 60+ global brands and 3 world-class agencies.Hear it from owners who’ve done it.
Founders, CEOs and industry leaders on what it’s like to grow with Kevin.
“Kevin is an absolute powerhouse! He doubled our business’s profits in the first month alone with lots more of his recommendations still to be rolled out.”
“What we achieved in the last 3 months working with Kevin would have taken 2 years.”
“Make tripling the size of my business go from seeming impossible to really possible.”
“Kevin being from a creative, advertising agency background, he just sees different opportunities so clearly.”
“Within an hour Kevin had us thinking about our business and our goals in a totally different way.”
“Kevin has the ability to make everything so simple.”
“Kevin, you distilled business, marketing and sales strategy into powerful simple concepts and actions with real life stories of your start-up business and corporate life.”
+72
Net Promoter Score from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse
Steve Holloway, Founder, Between Two Beers Podcast“Kevin D’Ambros-Smith presented on the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme and he was brilliant… it was the most notes I have ever taken from any speaker.”
Richard, Chem Suppliers“I have grown my business 5x since working with Kevin. … Everything Kevin told me to do was the complete opposite of what I had been doing.”
Jonathon Taylor, General Manager, M2 Overland“Kevin helped us understand Marketing and develop a strategy for the business that captured the true essence of the M2 Overland Brand.”
Meet Kevin D’Ambros-Smith.
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is the founder of Simple-Growth and an approved Regional Business Partners Network provider. His career spans over 30 years: first in advertising at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, working with 60+ global brands including McDonald’s, BMW, General Mills, Samsung, Nestlé, Unilever and IBM; then as a founder or co-founder of 9 companies across eCommerce, digital media, engineering and healthcare logistics.
Since 2017 he has coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries, from 7-figure operators to companies turning over more than $100m a year. Coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse return a Net Promoter Score of +72.
“Working with Kevin D’Ambros-Smith has given us the space to pause and reflect — on where we are now, where we want to be and how we get there.”
Gabby Kirk, Papier HQRBPN co-funding may apply
Eligible New Zealand businesses may qualify for co-funded coaching through the Regional Business Partners Network. Ask Kevin if yours qualifies.
The Inside Track
Big-brand growth ideas, before breakfast.
Kevin’s free newsletter lands every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30am NZT, with ideas you can put to work in your business that same day.
- A practical growth tip you can use this week
- A famous campaign from around the world, and the lesson inside it
- An idea from a great business leader, past or present
- Real stories from the coalface of growing a business
Start where you are.
Work with Kevin directly, learn at your own pace, or start with a free training.
One-on-one coaching with Kevin
A growth plan built around your business, your numbers and your goals, with someone in your corner every step.
- In person in Auckland, or online wherever you are
- 1 or 2-hour sessions built around your agenda
- RBPN co-funding for eligible NZ businesses
Quick Wins
15 ideas to attract and keep customers and lift sales, in under an hour.
Get Quick WinsMake It Happen
Prioritise what matters, beat procrastination and get the important things done.
Start Make It HappenKnow Your Future
Map a 3, 5, 10 or 20-year growth plan with the numbers and KPIs that matter.
Map your futureFree training
The World’s Greatest Sales Line
Learn probably the greatest opening sales line ever written, and start winning more of your sales conversations.
Show me the free trainingQuestions owners ask.
What is the Simple-Growth System?
A practical growth system for SME owners, built on four pillars: business strategy, marketing and communications, sales, and productivity and implementation. It turns Kevin’s 30+ years across global agencies and 9 companies founded into step-by-step plans, templates, training and coaching you can apply straight away.
Who is Kevin D’Ambros-Smith?
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is a New Zealand business coach who has coached 200+ companies one-on-one across 30+ industries. He has worked with 60+ global brands, at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi and in his own businesses, founded or co-founded 9 companies, and has run Simple-Growth since 2017.
Is Kevin an RBPN approved coach?
Yes. Kevin is an approved Regional Business Partners Network provider. Eligible New Zealand businesses may qualify for co-funded coaching. Ask Kevin on a free call whether yours qualifies.
What types of coaching does Simple-Growth offer?
One-on-one coaching with Kevin, in person in Auckland or online; self-paced online programmes; live online masterclasses; and RBPN co-funded coaching for eligible New Zealand businesses.
What results have Simple-Growth clients achieved?
Coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse returned a Net Promoter Score of +72. Individual clients report results such as doubling profits in the first month (Give A Sh!t) and growing 5x (Chem Suppliers).
Do you work with businesses outside New Zealand?
Yes. Kevin coaches owners in New Zealand and the USA, with online sessions on Google Meet.
Get Started
Arise, owner. Your time is now.
The vision you started with is still yours. Tell Kevin a little about your business and he will personally get back to you to arrange a free, no-obligation conversation.
- Free, no-obligation initial conversation
- Personalised advice from over 30 years in business and 9 companies founded or co-founded
- No pressure. Just a genuine conversation about your business
Calls run on Google Meet, or in person at The Icehouse in Parnell, Auckland.