Vic Harris is the founder of The Curve Investments, on a mission to close the gender investment gap and get more women building real wealth.
She's become one of New Zealand's clearest voices on money, translating a topic that can feel intimidating into something approachable, practical and genuinely empowering. She also happens to have great hair and has been a long-time fan of CZE, so we caught up with her not just for the Curve 101, but to find out how life is, too.
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You've built a career making finance feel less scary. Was there a moment early on when you realised how much confidence, or lack of it, shapes the way women approach investing?
There wasn't really one pivotal moment, it crept up on me slowly. It was things like my girlfriends always asking me for advice about money and investing, while at dinner parties my male friends would happily debate the stock market with each other. It was being the only woman, or the first woman, in every finance job I held. It was walking into rooms of thirty plus men in suits, and sitting through all the masculine jargon that made the whole thing feel like a closed club I'd somehow been let into, while so many women I knew hadn't been. That's when I realised I wanted, actually needed, to do something about it. I didn't just want a seat at that table, I wanted to open the doors and build a new, more inclusive club altogether.
As we built Curve, we realised that a lot of that lack of confidence isn't really about ability at all. It comes from conditioning. Women have spent decades being told to save and not spend, while men are told to invest and grow. That difference in messaging shapes how each of us shows up around money, long before confidence even enters the picture.
The Curve Investments exists to close a very real gap. What does progress actually look like to you, day to day, not just in the big headline numbers?
Honestly? It's the daily DMs. The beautiful emails. The LinkedIn messages. The women who stop me in the street, and I mean literally stop me in the street, to say thank you. Thank you for changing my life.
And every time I want to say, no, you changed your life. Not me. Not The Curve. You're the one who pressed play on the podcast on your commute. You're the one who asked the questions you'd been too embarrassed to ask for years. You're the one who opened the account, set up the auto invest, and stuck with it. We just made it feel less scary. You did the rest.
And honestly, it's also what keeps the fire lit. Because for every woman who messages me, there are thousands out there who don't know The Curve exists yet. Who still think investing is for men in suits, or that they've left it too late, or that they need to be rich to start. They don't know how simple it can be to build financial confidence.
You've made finance feel less intimidating by stripping away the jargon and making it personal. Do you take the same approach to your own style, cutting out the noise and keeping only what actually works for you?
100%. Running your own business brings a certain level of chaos, so I've learned over the years that everything else in my life needs to run as smoothly as possible. My time is so scarce that routine has become paramount.
There's another layer to it too. Managing other people's money is a real privilege, but the pressure of it can take its toll if I'm not grounded. I'm making investment decisions all day, every day, so I try to remove decision-making from as many other parts of my life as I can. I personally need everything else working in harmony so the stress never gets a chance to overwhelm me.
That applies to my skincare, my wardrobe, my fitness. I have my core essentials, the reliable ones I come back to time and time again. Once I find something I love, I stick with it. I'm very loyal, and it means one less decision to make.
Reading and learning is my 'me' time and an absolute non-negotiable. Beyond that, I'm a total creature of habit: the same favourite coffee shop, the same route I walk my dog, religiously the same wake-up and bedtime. Gosh, I sound pretty boring, but honestly, the boring bits are what make everything else possible.
What does your own relationship with money look like behind the scenes? Has building The Curve Investments changed the way you manage your personal finances?
Honestly? I'm not perfect with money, and we'd never expect anyone in our community to be either. Our relationship with money starts forming when we're just five or six years old. How our parents talked about it, whether it felt scarce or abundant, all of it shapes us, which is why everyone's relationship with money looks so different.
Mine has been tested plenty. I went from earning hundreds of thousands in my early twenties to about a quarter of that when I left the finance world to build The Curve. The psychology of navigating that drop, not just the practical side, was a massive learning experience. Life will always throw you curveballs (excuse the pun!), and knowing how to pivot and adapt is the best tool you can have.
Building The Curve Investments has definitely changed how I manage my own money. Being so open and transparent with our community makes me far more conscious of my decisions, because I'm not just accountable to myself anymore. But I'm also still learning alongside them, growing and developing my own investing skills every single day. I feel incredibly honoured that I get to share that journey with so many women who want to improve theirs.
That's the thing I always come back to: there's no right or wrong way to manage your personal finances or grow your wealth. Everyone has different goals, values and starting points. Our job is to break down the space and empower you to make your own decisions.
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If you could get one idea about money to stick with every woman in New Zealand, what would it be?
Money equals power. It means choice, it means freedom, and it gives you options to live life on your own terms. Want to fly home last minute to be with your sick grandma? That costs money. Want to shout your friend dinner because she's going through a rough patch? Money. Want to leave a shitty relationship, or walk out of a shitty job without another one lined up? Money, money. With everything going on in the world right now, women need this freedom, power and choice more than anyone.
And here's the thing: you can be good with money. It doesn't matter how much you earn, how old you are, or how much debt you're carrying, you can improve your financial picture. All it takes is patience and a little knowledge. Nobody came out of the womb knowing how to budget. Money management is a muscle, and the more you use it, the stronger it gets. The worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand, or blindly hand it all over to someone else to sort out. Around 80% of women end up managing money solo at some point in their adult lives (thanks to divorce rates and the fact we outlive men), so why not learn this now, while you want to, rather than later, when you have to?
One more thing: we can't grow real wealth without investing. Tucking 10% of your salary into a savings account isn't going to move the needle. You need to take some risk and invest it. And risk, like anything in life, comes with reward. Taking a punt in dating could mean meeting the love of your life. Moving overseas is a huge risk, but the rewards are invaluable. Starting my own business was a massive risk, but honestly? The wealth we've created through The Curve has made it so, so worth it. Embrace the risk.
Quickfire questions:
Whose hair are you envious of?
I’ve always admired Dakota Johnson and more recently I’m loving Daisy Edgar Jones. Maybe it's a sign I need to get bangs….
The CZE product you swear by?
I’m obsessed with - and have been for a very long time - the nourishing perfume hair oil. I ALWAYS get comments on my hair when I wear it. And the Shampoo and Conditioner are also a staple. I also travel a lot and the mini sizes are always with me.
What does effortless beauty mean to you?
Confidence and kindness.
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What's your current recommendation (book, podcast, song, restaurant, drink, food - anything?)
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I am a big book worm and I've just finished Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell - oh my goodness it’s enlightening. It's all about reclaiming your hours and spending them on what you actually care about, rather than letting the week disappear on you. If your to-do list runs your life (guilty), this one's worth a read!
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And I can't wrap up without a shameless plug for The Curve podcast. Whether you're completely new to investing or already know your way around a portfolio, I promise there's something in there for you.
