Meet Kevin D’Ambros-SmithBusiness coach to ambitious owners in New Zealand and the USA.Escaped corporate. Now escape your business.
Kevin brings corporate knowledge and systems, distilled for SMEs.
You bring the vision and the local knowledge.
Who Kevin is
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is a New Zealand business coach and the founder of Simple-Growth. With over 30 years in business, he has worked on 60+ global brands at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, founded or co-founded 9 companies, and coached 200+ businesses one-on-one across 30+ industries.
The guide, not the hero.
You are the hero of your business. Kevin is the guide who has walked the path before and knows where the traps are.
His career spans over 30 years: first in advertising at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, working on 60+ global brands including BMW, General Mills, Samsung, Colgate, Nestlé and Johnson & Johnson; 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.
“My focus is on one thing, helping you grow an amazing business faster.”
How coaching worksThirty years, three kinds of experience.
Kevin has sat in the agency, the founder’s chair and the coach’s seat. Each one shapes how he helps you.
The agency years
Over 30 years across DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, working on 60+ global brands. Big-brand thinking, built into every plan.
The founder years
9 companies founded or co-founded: eCommerce in grocery, pet, pharmacy, toy and baby, a digital media agency, engineering innovations and healthcare logistics.
The coaching years
Since 2017, 200+ businesses coached one-on-one across 30+ industries, plus thousands more through webinars, training programmes and workshops.
How Kevin works.
Three beliefs sit under everything he does.
Find the real constraint first.
Most growth problems arrive in disguise. Fix the one that is actually holding you back, before you spend another dollar.
Coalface advice. Zero theory. Zero guru.
No mindset talk and no jargon. Practical steps with owners, dates and measures, ideally a 90-day plan.
Local knowledge wins when it runs on a system.
You already have the local knowledge. Kevin brings the corporate-grade systems, and AI helps put them to work.
What others say about working with Kevin.
Industry leaders and clients, in their own words.
“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.”
“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. You walk the talk with empathy and passion.”
“Dynamic, empowering, and absolutely transformative! Kevin leaves every audience armed for victory.”
+72
Net Promoter Score from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse
“When I organised events at The Icehouse, Kevin was the speaker I wanted in the room. He spoke for us at the Tile Space conference, the Kinetic Electrical conference and a full-day workshop for Mahi Tahi in Nelson. Every audience was different, yet each one felt the session had been built for them. Owners left with a plan, not just a good feeling. Kevin's combination of deep knowledge, broad business experience and ability to connect with any audience means an engaging session with practical impact. I'd book him again in a heartbeat.”
- Years in business
- 30+
- Companies founded
- 9
- Businesses coached
- 200+
- Global brands
- 60+
Coaching since 2017. Net Promoter Score +72 is from coaching clients surveyed through The Icehouse.
Approved Regional Business Partners Network provider. Partner with The Icehouse.
Quick answers about Kevin.
Who is Kevin D’Ambros-Smith?
Kevin D’Ambros-Smith is a New Zealand business coach and the founder of Simple-Growth. He has coached 200+ companies one-on-one across 30+ industries, worked on 60+ global brands at DDB, Ogilvy and Saatchi & Saatchi, and founded or co-founded 9 companies.
Is Kevin an RBPN approved provider?
Yes. Kevin is an approved Regional Business Partners Network provider and a partner of The Icehouse. Eligible New Zealand businesses may qualify for co-funded coaching.
Where is Simple-Growth based?
Simple-Growth, trading as Motherbase Limited, is based in Herne Bay, Auckland, New Zealand. Kevin coaches owners in New Zealand and the USA, in person at The Icehouse in Parnell or online.
Get Started
Back yourself. Run the system.
If you are building something real and want an honest conversation about what is holding it back, Kevin would like to hear about it.
- Free, no-obligation 30-minute conversation
- Honest advice from 30+ years in business
- No pressure. If there is a fit, Kevin will say so
Prefer to talk? Book my free 30-minute call
Kevin’s personal site: kevindambros-smith.com
He will reply personally in his working day. Auckland time runs ahead of the USA, so if you are in the USA your reply may be waiting when you start your day.