Max Feller is a co-founder of Hey Jodie, where he leads growth and makes sure an AI that never misses a call reaches the trades and small businesses that need it most.
Before Hey Jodie, Max spent years at the heart of the local-services economy at Bark.com, one of the world's largest marketplaces connecting customers with local professionals. Working across growth and product as the business scaled internationally, he saw at enormous scale exactly how local businesses win and lose work, and how often a single missed enquiry is the whole difference between a booked job and a customer who simply calls the next name on the list. That insight is a big part of why Hey Jodie exists.
He has also co-founded and scaled his own data and analytics products, and brings that builder-and-marketer mix to Hey Jodie. He writes about winning more work, getting found online, and turning every enquiry into a booked job.
Guides by Max Feller
Best locksmith software for a small NZ operator in 2026
A vendor-neutral look at the software a New Zealand locksmith business actually runs - scheduling, dispatch, invoicing and call handling - and how a one-van operator should choose. Not key-cutting or key-code tools.
Best towing software in 2026: a plain-English guide for NZ operators
An independent buyer guide to towing software for New Zealand operators. Compare the real dispatch, impound and billing tools in one table, see what each tier costs, and find the one layer of the stack every vendor skips: how the phone gets answered.
How to Win More Accounting Clients: A Practical Playbook for NZ Practices
The marketing channels that genuinely win accounting clients in New Zealand, plus the lead-capture step most firms skip - answering the enquiry call before a rival does.
Pest control pricing in New Zealand: what to charge for profit
How to price pest control jobs and contracts for profit in New Zealand: callout and hourly benchmarks, a per-pest price table, where the margin really hides, and how to quote with confidence. Written for the operator, not the householder.
Setting your accounting and bookkeeping fees in New Zealand: rates and method
A fee-setting guide for New Zealand accounting and bookkeeping practices: real rate benchmarks, the pricing models that beat the hour, a worked example, and how to win the fee you quote.
Best answering service for property management: AI vs human vs voicemail vs in-house
AI receptionist, human answering service, voicemail, or an in-house hire - the four ways to cover a property management phone line, compared on maintenance triage, after-hours emergency routing, 24/7 coverage, and the real monthly cost.
Best cleaning business software for New Zealand operators in 2026
A vendor-neutral comparison of cleaning business software for NZ operators, covering scheduling, job management, online booking, and the enquiry-intake layer most roundups skip.
The best home care software in 2026 for NZ home support providers
A vendor-neutral, category-by-category look at the software a home and community support provider actually needs in New Zealand, with the real products providers run and the one layer none of them cover.
Best gym management software: an honest buyer guide for New Zealand
A vendor-neutral guide to choosing gym management software in New Zealand - the criteria that matter, what it really costs, and the inbound-call gap every platform leaves to you.
What does it cost to start a home support business in New Zealand?
The real line-by-line cost of starting and running a home and community support business in New Zealand: certification, insurance, software, support-worker pay, and the working-capital gap nobody quantifies.
How to get cleaning clients (without wasting your marketing spend)
A practical playbook for booking more cleaning clients - the free and paid channels with the best ROI, plus the step most guides skip: answering the enquiry fast enough to actually win the job.
How to get more customers into your auto repair shop
A practical car-count playbook for Kiwi shop owners: the marketing that actually books work, what to budget, a one-page plan you can copy, and the leak that wastes the rest.
Property management fees in New Zealand: setting your rate and packaging it
How New Zealand property managers set fees: percentage of rent vs flat fee vs letting fee, benchmarks by service tier, and packaging that wins landlords without looking like hidden charges.
Best salon booking software in 2026: the honest rundown
A neutral, owner-trusted rundown of the salon booking platforms Kiwi salons actually use - Timely, Kitomba, Fresha, Booksy, Square, Shortcuts and Phorest - with price, best-for and booking channel in one table, plus the gap every booking page dodges: none of them answers the phone.
How to get more electrical work: a practical playbook for NZ electricians
A step-by-step playbook for winning more electrical work in New Zealand: the lead channels that actually pay off, then the conversion half nobody covers - answering every call so the leads you generate turn into booked jobs.
How to get more HVAC leads: a complete playbook
Where heat pump and air conditioning leads actually come from for Kiwi operators, ranked by cost and conversion - plus the lever most guides skip: answering the call.
Landscaping pricing in NZ: charging rates that actually make money
How to price landscaping and gardening jobs so you make money: New Zealand day-rate and hourly benchmarks, a simple cost-plus-margin method, and the ute, insurance and downtime your rate has to cover.
The true cost of salon no-shows and missed calls
Most salon advice stops at "wages and rent stay fixed." Here is the actual maths on what empty chairs, no-shows, and unanswered calls cost a New Zealand salon in a year, plus a cancellation policy that holds up and the always-on fix.
What to charge as a self-employed electrician: NZ rates and a pricing formula
A pricing model for self-employed electricians in New Zealand: benchmark hourly and day rates, the overhead and non-billable-time maths, and how to set a rate that hits your take-home target.
Chiropractic software compared: PMS, EHR, scheduling and the front desk
A vendor-neutral guide to chiropractic practice management software for New Zealand clinics, from EHR and scheduling to ACC billing, plus the call-handling layer most roundups skip.
What it costs to start a private therapy practice in New Zealand
The real cost of starting and running a private therapy practice in New Zealand: itemised startup and monthly numbers, what to charge per session, what owners take home, and the revenue that quietly leaks away.
How to get more dental patients without losing the calls
Where new dental patients actually come from, ranked by cost and conversion, plus the decisive last step the agencies never mention: capturing the call your marketing paid for.
How to get more clients for your veterinary practice
A no-fluff growth playbook for independent New Zealand vet practice owners: which marketing channels are worth the spend, how to win on reviews and word of mouth, and why the demand you already pay to create is wasted if nobody answers the phone.
How to get more roofing leads: a New Zealand playbook
Where roofing leads really come from in New Zealand, ranked by cost and conversion, and the final step most guides leave out: picking up the phone.
The true cost of a vet front desk: software, staff and missed calls
An honest operator breakdown of what a veterinary front desk costs a practice owner in New Zealand: practice management software pricing, the real cost of a receptionist seat the software cannot replace, and the lost-appointment maths on calls nobody answers.
What plumbers charge and earn in 2026: an owner pricing guide
What the market pays for plumbing work in New Zealand and what a plumbing business owner actually takes home: typical call-out, hourly and day rates, how to set your own prices, and what quietly eats your margin.
Best Answering Service with CRM Integration in New Zealand (2026)
An honest, transparently-priced guide to choosing the best answering service that integrates with your CRM in New Zealand, with real NZD costs, how each approach syncs calls into HubSpot, Salesforce and the tools you run, and how to choose between human and AI.
Best Answering Service for Multi-Location Businesses in New Zealand (2026)
An honest, transparently-priced guide to choosing the best answering service for a New Zealand business running multiple locations, with real NZD costs, how call routing works across sites, and how to choose between human and AI.
The best real estate agent software in New Zealand for 2026
A vendor-neutral guide to the software a New Zealand real estate agency actually needs in 2026, organised by job rather than brand, with the well-known tools in each category and who they suit.
What missed calls really cost real estate agents
No agent ever sees the listings that slipped away while the phone rang out. Here is the honest maths on what a missed enquiry costs, plus a simple sum you can run on your own numbers.
Best Answering Service for Small Business in New Zealand (2026)
An honest, transparently-priced guide to the best answering services and virtual receptionists for New Zealand small businesses, with real NZD costs and how to choose between human and AI.
The best software every plumber needs in 2026
There is no single best plumbing software. Here is an honest, vendor-neutral guide to the categories a plumbing business actually needs, the tools worth knowing, and how to choose without overpaying.
Answering service vs voicemail vs a hired receptionist for plumbers
Voicemail, a callback habit, a hired receptionist, or an AI answering service. A straight-talking look at what each one really costs a New Zealand plumber and which one comes out ahead.
How to get more Google reviews as a plumber and turn them into jobs
A practical, plumber-specific system for getting more Google reviews: when to ask, how to make it one tap, how to reply to every review, and how those reviews turn into booked work.