I had a great discussion with my friend Greg Durst the other night about what drives people.
Greg has a Harvard MBA, worked at Bain, McKinsey, Chase Manhattan and in South Africa was the MD of the joint venture between DiData and Tata Consulting. He has an incredible network of big cheeses worldwide and is one of the most energetic and passionate businessmen I know. He could work anywhere in the world and demand enormous pay packages.
Currently Greg heads up Endeavor, a Non-Profit Entrepreneur network that provides support to high-impact entrepreneurs identified through a rigorous selection process.
So I asked Greg during candle-lit dinner (it wasn't romantic, the power was out again) why he chose to stay in South Africa, with it's crime, a corrupt government and constant blackouts?
Greg told me that there are 3 'primal drive' factors (once you have a roof over your head and food in your stomach): Power, Wealth and (often unacknowledged) Impact.
I live my life by a simple (& selfish) philosophy of "Change The World, So That I Have a Better Place to Live In". However, I never realised that the motto by which I lived my life was perhaps a more primal instinct, rather than an intellectually motivated altruistic philosophy!
The fact is, Greg said, in South Africa he can have a much higher Impact! There is so much that could be fixed and improved if we set our minds to it. In many ways, South Africa is a frontier country. It is possible for individuals like you and me to have a significant and lasting impact if we simply decide to do so! Our actions today can make a big difference to the future of this country!
And of course, just like on any frontier, it doesn't hurt if we become Wealthy while we're at it...
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Here's to Sheldon Cohen
It was with great sadness that I read about Sheldon's murder this week. The Times quite rightly had an article titled "Sheldon was a Legend"
My wife and I met Sheldon at last year's Endeavor panels, where he's been helping high impact entrepreneurs to make an even bigger impact on the South African landscape. On the first night we sat at a table with Sheldon, and spoke about appliances, sports, children and all sorts. Over the next few days we had a few drinks together and he regaled me with wisdom learned from both good and bad experiences.
It struck me how incredibly down to earth he was and the respectful way he treated me, even though I'm just a small upstart entrepreneur and he's been running a listed business with a R500 million market cap!
Since then every time I saw one of AMAP's products on a store shelf, I remembered Sheldon and the amazing impression he made on me within a few short days.
Sheldon, I will never forget you. You have achieved immortality in my mind. And I'm sure you'd have a good chuckle about the fact that I'll be reminded of you every time I switch on our Russell Hobbes kettle for a cup of tea.
My wife and I met Sheldon at last year's Endeavor panels, where he's been helping high impact entrepreneurs to make an even bigger impact on the South African landscape. On the first night we sat at a table with Sheldon, and spoke about appliances, sports, children and all sorts. Over the next few days we had a few drinks together and he regaled me with wisdom learned from both good and bad experiences.
It struck me how incredibly down to earth he was and the respectful way he treated me, even though I'm just a small upstart entrepreneur and he's been running a listed business with a R500 million market cap!
Since then every time I saw one of AMAP's products on a store shelf, I remembered Sheldon and the amazing impression he made on me within a few short days.
Sheldon, I will never forget you. You have achieved immortality in my mind. And I'm sure you'd have a good chuckle about the fact that I'll be reminded of you every time I switch on our Russell Hobbes kettle for a cup of tea.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
South African Web 2.0 Startup Gets 35 Million Rand
I'm really stoked to see that my friend and Skyrove shareholder, Vinny Lingham, has just raised $5 million venture capital for Synthasite!
To put that in context: $5 million is almost R35 million.
This is by far the biggest Web 2.0 investment in South Africa to date and is even more significant considering that SynthaSite only launched into Beta two weeks ago.
The greatest thing about this is that it proves that anyone with a great idea and a lot of energy can launch a multimillion Rand business right here in South Africa. So if you have anything up your sleeve and happen to be graduating this year, say "no" to McKinsey/Accenture/Deloitte and start your own business!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Surf the Net While Taking a Crap
Although this isn't quite what I had in mind, Rafiq Philips saw one of Skyrove's Wi-Fi hotspot stickers in the Woodstock Lounge's bathrooms, took a photo and posted it on Facebook with the following label: "Woodstock Lounge's Skyrove hotspot in the Gents. Surf the net while taking a crap."
27dinner October
What a great evening! Once again some of Cape Town's finest young geniuses and technology entrepreneurs getting together to generally be merry and learn from each other. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Here's a quick video from the great folks at Zoopy:
Here's a quick video from the great folks at Zoopy:
Monday, October 22, 2007
Backpackers Lodge for Bloggers
I generally try to stay in backpackers' lodges when I travel and don't have friends to bunk with.
The nice thing about backpackers' lodges is that you can mingle with other young people from different countries with different ideas.
The problem is that I'm starting to feel a little bit older, am travelling mostly on business and find myself not wanting to mingle as much with the raucous beer-drinking Aussies as I used to.
Wouldn't it be great though, if we had a few backpackers around the country that were focused on new media travellers? You know, the young "big idea" types who would prize a lounge with plenty power plugs, good coffee and Wi-Fi over a common room with a pool table and DSTV?
Please leave a comment if you think it's a good idea, know of something similar anywhere or if you have any ideas to add!
The nice thing about backpackers' lodges is that you can mingle with other young people from different countries with different ideas.
The problem is that I'm starting to feel a little bit older, am travelling mostly on business and find myself not wanting to mingle as much with the raucous beer-drinking Aussies as I used to.
Wouldn't it be great though, if we had a few backpackers around the country that were focused on new media travellers? You know, the young "big idea" types who would prize a lounge with plenty power plugs, good coffee and Wi-Fi over a common room with a pool table and DSTV?
Please leave a comment if you think it's a good idea, know of something similar anywhere or if you have any ideas to add!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Animal Lessons in Management
I got this by email recently:
Lesson One
Lesson One
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing ?"
The eagle answered, "Sure, why not."
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle, and rested. Suddenly, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Management Lesson ?
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.
Lesson Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree, " sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.
Management Lesson ?
Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.
Lesson Three
A little bird was flying South for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.
Management Lesson ?
1. Not everyone who craps on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who gets you out of crap is your friend.
3. And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!
This ends your management course.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
GeekRebel Launches
I've started a new site called GeekRebel!
I wanted to refocus Yeah!Fi on my personal experiences as an entrepreneur and have another space to discuss tech topics that are of interest to me. It's still early days, but I envision that GeekRebel will have a handful of contributors.
The focus will be mostly on technology, the people behind it and how it can change our world.
Head over to GeekRebel, grab the feed and watch it closely!
I wanted to refocus Yeah!Fi on my personal experiences as an entrepreneur and have another space to discuss tech topics that are of interest to me. It's still early days, but I envision that GeekRebel will have a handful of contributors.
The focus will be mostly on technology, the people behind it and how it can change our world.
Head over to GeekRebel, grab the feed and watch it closely!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Fool me Thrice, See you in Prison
For the 2nd time this year we've been a victim of a thief. This time a professional conman who appears to go from business to business running a somewhat elaborate scam.
We've been suffering a backlog of installations and customer call-outs, so when we received a response to a recent ad for a network engineer, we didn't do a proper background check before starting our new employee. (Let's call him 'Ant' for now).
Ant was working as a contractor to a company in Somerset West, where he was on 24 hour notice. He could start with us immediately. He needed a laptop computer for work, and told us that he could purchase the laptop he's been using from his previous employer. We offered to pay R3800 upfront, and he would pay back R3000 to us over 3 months.
He provided us with the account details and we transferred the money to a certain CJ Blignaut's Nedbank account on Tuesday, 28 August.
Having received the laptop, Ant started working with us on 29 August. (He warned that he might be a bit late, as he would first need to go to his previous employer. He showed up saying that they took a bit longer than he thought, as they first did a security search on the laptop he was taking to make sure there was no confidential information on it)
He jumped into the job with vigour! He took initiative and solved customers problems. He showed a very clear understanding of computer networks and was extremely patient and polite with customers. He didn't waste time but would quickly identify network problems, suggest solutions and execute them.
Within a few days he had seen more then 3 dozen clients and implemented strategies to improve customer service systems.
Tino, my partner, and I were thanking our lucky stars that we had found someone this good in a market where skills are scarce!
When he arrived last Monday, he told us that his apartment was robbed on the weekend. Apparently he had taken his grandmother to the Two Oceans aquarium, before having a picnic in the Company Gardens and then going to the Cape Town Museum. When they got back to his apartment, the place had been cleaned out. Including the food in his cupboards, his rent & car money which was in his wardrobe, and of course, the laptop that we had paid for the week prior.
We purchased a new laptop the same morning, this time for R5300, in order for Ant to continue doing his work.
Then on Monday afternoon, Ant sent me an email, saying that he was in a bit of a fix as he had to pay his rent and car repayments urgently. His mom would give him money, but as it was in the trust (his father passed away in January), it would take 2 weeks. He would borrow R4200 and pay it back to us within 2 weeks. I told him I would have to discuss it with my partners and let him know on Tuesday.
I felt uncomfortable with his request and discussed it with Tino, who was also not comfortable with it, especially as we haven't completed a full reference check. We discussed the possibility that he could be a fraudster, and both felt that things were fishy. Not because there were holes in his story, but because it all seemed so perfect!
We both felt guilty about suspecting him of foul play, but decided that we should contact his previous employers.
Early Tuesday morning I phoned his previous employer, who told me that he had nothing good to say about Ant, that Ant had left there on the 9th of August and took a laptop computer with him, that the employer had to go and retrieve from him on Friday night! (The same laptop that we paid for and was "stolen")
He also told me that Ant started working there on the 25th of July, and then simply didn't pitch on the 9th of August, claiming that he had to go to hospital to have a polyp removed. He carried on claiming that he was in hospital due to complications. However, before he left his previous employer, he also managed to "borrow" money using some elaborate story for needing it urgently and that he would pay it back as soon as the "trust" paid it out.
When Ant showed up for work Tuesday morning, Tino and I sat him down and informed him that we knew what was going on. We asked him to read, respond to, and sign a settlement in which he agreed to pay back the R3800 by 5pm. He had no response and signed the agreement.
However, 2 hours later he sent us an email saying that he felt it was unfair that he should pay back the full amount, as he had worked for us for 4 days already and that, in either case, he would have paid back the R3800 from his salary and that I should call him to discuss payment terms. (He probably doesn't care much for the fact that it costs thousands to recruit staff nor the days it's taken us to ensure the integrity of our customer information) He also carried on about us "umiliating" (sic) him in front of the other staff.
Earlier this year we were victims of theft by a partner company, and I spent thousands of Rands on a mediation process, believing that the culprit had made a naive mistake and that he would see the error of his ways and perhaps become an upright businessman. The mediation process turned out to be a time-buying exercise and the gent completely ignored the mediation agreement he had signed, claiming it was not legally binding!
Needless to say, I've had it with crooks, scamsters and liars. This time we went straight to the police and filed charges of 'Theft under False Pretense'.
Although I feel sorry for Ant, in that he is a seriously smart guy who could make a very successful (honest) living, I feel good about the fact that by putting him behind bars I'll be protecting other small businesses from becoming victims.
"Evil prevails when good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
We've been suffering a backlog of installations and customer call-outs, so when we received a response to a recent ad for a network engineer, we didn't do a proper background check before starting our new employee. (Let's call him 'Ant' for now).
Ant was working as a contractor to a company in Somerset West, where he was on 24 hour notice. He could start with us immediately. He needed a laptop computer for work, and told us that he could purchase the laptop he's been using from his previous employer. We offered to pay R3800 upfront, and he would pay back R3000 to us over 3 months.
He provided us with the account details and we transferred the money to a certain CJ Blignaut's Nedbank account on Tuesday, 28 August.
Having received the laptop, Ant started working with us on 29 August. (He warned that he might be a bit late, as he would first need to go to his previous employer. He showed up saying that they took a bit longer than he thought, as they first did a security search on the laptop he was taking to make sure there was no confidential information on it)
He jumped into the job with vigour! He took initiative and solved customers problems. He showed a very clear understanding of computer networks and was extremely patient and polite with customers. He didn't waste time but would quickly identify network problems, suggest solutions and execute them.
Within a few days he had seen more then 3 dozen clients and implemented strategies to improve customer service systems.
Tino, my partner, and I were thanking our lucky stars that we had found someone this good in a market where skills are scarce!
When he arrived last Monday, he told us that his apartment was robbed on the weekend. Apparently he had taken his grandmother to the Two Oceans aquarium, before having a picnic in the Company Gardens and then going to the Cape Town Museum. When they got back to his apartment, the place had been cleaned out. Including the food in his cupboards, his rent & car money which was in his wardrobe, and of course, the laptop that we had paid for the week prior.
We purchased a new laptop the same morning, this time for R5300, in order for Ant to continue doing his work.
Then on Monday afternoon, Ant sent me an email, saying that he was in a bit of a fix as he had to pay his rent and car repayments urgently. His mom would give him money, but as it was in the trust (his father passed away in January), it would take 2 weeks. He would borrow R4200 and pay it back to us within 2 weeks. I told him I would have to discuss it with my partners and let him know on Tuesday.
I felt uncomfortable with his request and discussed it with Tino, who was also not comfortable with it, especially as we haven't completed a full reference check. We discussed the possibility that he could be a fraudster, and both felt that things were fishy. Not because there were holes in his story, but because it all seemed so perfect!
We both felt guilty about suspecting him of foul play, but decided that we should contact his previous employers.
Early Tuesday morning I phoned his previous employer, who told me that he had nothing good to say about Ant, that Ant had left there on the 9th of August and took a laptop computer with him, that the employer had to go and retrieve from him on Friday night! (The same laptop that we paid for and was "stolen")
He also told me that Ant started working there on the 25th of July, and then simply didn't pitch on the 9th of August, claiming that he had to go to hospital to have a polyp removed. He carried on claiming that he was in hospital due to complications. However, before he left his previous employer, he also managed to "borrow" money using some elaborate story for needing it urgently and that he would pay it back as soon as the "trust" paid it out.
When Ant showed up for work Tuesday morning, Tino and I sat him down and informed him that we knew what was going on. We asked him to read, respond to, and sign a settlement in which he agreed to pay back the R3800 by 5pm. He had no response and signed the agreement.
However, 2 hours later he sent us an email saying that he felt it was unfair that he should pay back the full amount, as he had worked for us for 4 days already and that, in either case, he would have paid back the R3800 from his salary and that I should call him to discuss payment terms. (He probably doesn't care much for the fact that it costs thousands to recruit staff nor the days it's taken us to ensure the integrity of our customer information) He also carried on about us "umiliating" (sic) him in front of the other staff.
Earlier this year we were victims of theft by a partner company, and I spent thousands of Rands on a mediation process, believing that the culprit had made a naive mistake and that he would see the error of his ways and perhaps become an upright businessman. The mediation process turned out to be a time-buying exercise and the gent completely ignored the mediation agreement he had signed, claiming it was not legally binding!
Needless to say, I've had it with crooks, scamsters and liars. This time we went straight to the police and filed charges of 'Theft under False Pretense'.
Although I feel sorry for Ant, in that he is a seriously smart guy who could make a very successful (honest) living, I feel good about the fact that by putting him behind bars I'll be protecting other small businesses from becoming victims.
"Evil prevails when good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke
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