The Bulletproof Entrepreneur™

In this week's episode, we chat with Simba Mabasha the co-founder of Wabona, a streaming Video On Demand service based out of South Africa. Simba and his cofounded pioneered the online subscription video streaming service in South Africa with the intention of delivering  African video content to markets in the African diaspora (Africans living outside of their home countries) and Pan Africa. Though a successful venture, today, the road to entrepreneurship was not a cake-walk for the lawyer turned entrepreneur who struggled to raise money to finance his dream. However, he decided to take some imaginative action after spotting an opportunity in the FMCG space and used the proceeds to finance his startup.

Simba noted that he's had to overcome a lot of challenges, think creatively and negotiate his way through major obstacles. In the course of our discussion, he talks about everything from his time at the 88 mph incubator to his biggest regret. He believes that the African entrepreneur needs to develop skills to solve domestic problems and not import external solutions. So listen and learn but more importantly take action and make your dreams happen.

In this week's episode, we chat with Simba Mabasha the co-founder of Wabona, a streaming Video On Demand service based out of South Africa. Simba and his cofounded pioneered the online subscription video streaming service in South Africa with the intention of delivering  African video content to markets in the African diaspora (Africans living outside of their home countries) and Pan Africa. Though a successful venture, today, the road to entrepreneurship was not a cake-walk for the lawyer turned entrepreneur who struggled to raise money to finance his dream. However, he decided to take some imaginative action after spotting an opportunity in the FMCG space and used the proceeds to finance his startup.

Simba noted that he's had to overcome a lot of challenges, think creatively and negotiate his way through major obstacles. In the course of our discussion, he talks about everything from his time at the 88 mph incubator to his biggest regret. He believes that the African entrepreneur needs to develop skills to solve domestic problems and not import external solutions. So listen and learn but more importantly take action and make your dreams happen.

Meet Marko Saravanja, the former monk turned entrepreneur who's extensive resume includes stints as a development worker, author and adventurer to name a few. Marko is the  Founder and Chairman of the Regenesys Business School, a Sandton South Africa-based private higher education institution.

In this episode, Marko shares advice and gives us meaningful insights on what’s helped him become successful over the last two decades. As a teenager in his native Croatia, Marko felt a strong desire to serve needy in order to gain a deeper spiritual grounding,  but could not leave his familial responsibilities unattended. During a meditation session, he came up with an idea to create a delivery service that would deliver fresh bread to the people in his hometown. With the help of a friend they launched the idea and before long the company was producing enough sustainable income to take care of his family.

Encouraged by the success of his first venture, Marko decided to move to South Africa and join a monastery. He spent the next seven years helping the poor and less privileged in the society. During his sojourn as a monk, he continued to reflect on the meaning of life, love and the purpose of our existence. These musings formed the basis of his theory of Spiritual Intelligence, a greater awareness of the inner power that lies within us. He eventually decided that he could make a  significant impact on the society through business education. He decided to earn, and MBA and aPhD  from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and subsequently launch a business school.

Marko notes that he faced many challenges starting his business but nevertheless held on to the belief that "you only fail when you decide to give up".   His tenacity, drive and willingness to take big bets on himself paid off.  Today, Regenesys is a leading business school with affiliates in Nigeria and India. In addition, Marko's entrepreneurial instincts have helped him earn over $100 million over a five-year period in industries ranging from real estate to financial markets. Listen and learn about Marko's amazing entrepreneurial journey.

Meet André de Wet, the CEO of Pricecheck, Africa’s leading price comparison website and e-commerce powerhouse.

In this episode André shares advice, and gives us meaningful insights on what’s helped him be successful over the last two decades. Before the age of 30, André had dropped out of medical school, worked a corporate job, sold encyclopedias door-to-door, built successful a start-up and lost everything!

These experiences may have hindered a lesser man, but not André, he didn’t let his past dictate his future. He recovered from his failures and went on to launch a string of successful businesses in South Africa, before he decided to venture to Asia and Europe to gain international experience in the Tech industry. André says he owes much of this success to his interest and passion for personal development, and a willingness to take risks. When asked to summarize what he gleaned from his business experiences, André notes that “It takes 15 years to become an overnight success,” and “You only get one shot at this miracle called life. Take all the chances you can. It's ok to fail.”

Today, as the CEO of Pricecheck, he runs a company that is single-mindedly focused on providing highly targeted lead generation for online stores, as well as providing an extremely essential service for the busy shopper who needs some guidance and reassurance while shopping. Pricecheck was named the International App of the Year at Blackberry Live conference in 2013, beating over 100,000 apps to clinch the coveted title.

Ever the tireless CEO, André and his team are working assiduously to help make the buying decision for shopper by offering innovative solutions via mobile. A very articulate speaker and consummate professional, André mentors budding startup entrepreneurs and is a frequent speaker at many prestigious events  across globe.

Key Takeaways

• Africa is Mobile

Entrepreneurs He Admires

• Koos Bekker

Favourite Resources

• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Contact

Pricecheck

Twitter: @adw365

Meet Catherine Lückhoff, the founder and CEO of the highly successful HQAfrica, a strategy and business development consultancy which helps companies launch and expand their business in Sub-Saharan African. With years of experience in the industry, HQAfrica aids companies going into the M-Commerce, mobile, music, and data industries launch and grow their business in Africa through localization and strategic business and development practices, which drive revenue and promote lasting relationships in the market. Prior to founding HQAfrica, Catherine solidified her status as an entrepreneur to watch with her first start-up, Mango-OMC, which holds the title as one of South Africa’s leading integrated PR communication agencies. After seven years of working in the trenches and giving her all to Mango-OMC, Catherine sold her shares in the company, and embarked on a new business opportunity with Bozza. After a successful run at Bozza, she decided to take a sabbatical leave to understand how the start-up ecosystems in various parts of the world work, and how best to apply the different strategies and platforms to the African market, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What you will learn

• The Big Idea

• How she built up her team

• The start-up space is a lot more formalized in South Africa (Silicon cape)

• The Heretic (Pascal Finette)

• Can you deliver what you say

• Elon Musk

Key Advice

• To entrepreneurs looking to venture into the African market:

• Don’t bring preconceived ideas with you. Be prepared to be open to what the market holds, as opposed to what you think it holds.

• Get the proper structures in place.

• Allowed the business to take over her life.

Resource

• Silicon Cape

Contact

HQAFRICA

This may come as a surprise to some people, but I’m not a very good marketer. I have a challenging time coming up with creative ways to promote the podcast online, be it Mobile, Social, PPC, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. The whole thing just becomes a little overwhelming.

That's why I decided to interview Stephanie Obi, a fast-rising online marketer based out of Lagos, Nigeria, because she's developed a cure to help businesses improve their online presence. Stephanie is the founder of the popular marketing blog, Stephanieobi.com, and the Steph B-School. While Stephanieobi.com focuses on presenting her uniquely personalized marketing strategies to people, the Steph B-School is an online business school that trains entrepreneurs and business savvy individuals in the skills necessary to create, launch, grow, and monetize their businesses. Stephanie is very passionate and enthusiastic about helping people use the internet and new media technologies to create the life of their dreams. In addition to all this, she provides a training program where she teaches entrepreneurs to leverage the power of the internet to sell fashion accessories. And she also runs a nonprofit training center that empowers young women with the skills necessary to go into business with knowledge and confidence.

Ever the scholar and natural-born entrepreneur, Stephanie has a first-class degree in Computer Science from Covenant University, and an MBA from the prestigious Lagos Business School. She also has a wealth of experience from working with blue chip companies like Ericsson, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and L'Oreal. Armed with all these experiences and achievements, she is quietly becoming the go-to person for brands that want to succeed in the highly competitive West African market. In addition to her business endeavors, she is also an award winning entrepreneur, obtaining the first prize at the Wimbiz Impact Investment Competition, as well as the first runner-up position at the Standard Chartered Bank sponsored Dragons Den Competition. Every week at www.stephanieobi.com, she inspires thousands of people to use the internet strategically to grow their businesses.

 What you will learn

• The Big Idea

• How online marketing influenced her business and inspired her

• How she transitioned into the online training field

• • prevailing skepticism about  using online technology

• How she provides  technology friendly online educational courses

• • Winning the Women in Management and Business Competition  (Wimbiz)

• How her family viewed her entrepreneurial journey

• • Accommodating the power and technology needs in the Nigerian climate

• Entrepreneurs she admires

• • Tara Fela-Durotoye of House of Tara

Books

• Bishop Oyedepo books

 Key Advice

• Advice to recent grads thinking of launching a venture in Nigeria,:

• • It is okay to be confused. It is through your confusion that you will find answers.

• It’s okay to explore because it is through exploration that you learn what you like or don’t like.

Words of wisdom

• The internet is an amazing tool. You can use it to shine, and so you should, but use it well. So, SHINE ONLINE!

Contact me:

www.stephanieobi.com

   Have you ever wondered how some major international fashion brands got their start? Today’s guest, Cecilia Ostman, co-founder of Njema Helena, shares the story of how their company, based in Nairobi, Kenya, went from a small start-up in a friend’s guest-house to a fast growing international fashion brand.goo

        Njema Helena creates modern fashion with an African aesthetic for everyday life. Each item of clothing is produced exclusively in Kenya, and the colorful designs are made from fabric sourced from local traders. The company was founded in 2012 by Anne, Cecilia, and Annika Ostman in loving memory of their deceased daughter and sister, Helena. Helena had felt a strong connection to Kenya and had a true love for its art, culture, and people.  Despite the tragedy that led to the creation of the company, Cecilia and her co-founders have continued to honor the memory of their beloved Helena, by creating a world class company with products that are sold by international online retailers such as House of Safi Hadi, Kuwala, Sapelle, Mor & Matilda, as well as boutiques in USA, Sweden, Italy, UK, South Africa, and Kenya. The brand has also been featured in several international publications and fashion shows, including the Africa Fashion Week in London.

Though the company is still a relative newcomer in the fashion industry, Cecilia, a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and the creative mind behind the venture, is a seasoned industry veteran with prior experience designing for international fashion labels including Ralph Lauren, has big plans for the company. With a focus on African fabrics and a “made in Africa” ethos, they aim to create fashion items that will promote the endlessly inspiring African aesthetic and new opportunities. With all their items being made exclusively in Kenya the company intends to offer training to Kenyan tradesmen, particularly female workers, as well as providing them with fair and sustainable employment.

Misan Rewane is the CEO and co-founder of West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE). WAVE is a vocational training platform that seeks to empower millions of West African youth with industry-relevant employability skills that transform their mindsets, and provides access to employment opportunities to enhance their social mobility. WAVE provides self-motivated youths with the skill-sets employers look for, and teaches them how to stand out professionally by reinforcing a mindset of continuous improvement.

Born and raised in Nigeria, Misan is no stranger to the difficulties of education and social mobility in West Africa. When her parents, unable to ignore the education system's breakdown, were compelled to send her to the US for college, Misan resolved to play a role in transforming the region's education and skills development systems. After earning her Economics degree from Stanford University, she worked in management consulting with The Monitor Group on a wide spectrum of projects in both the private and public sector. Post-Monitor, she supported aspiring Ivoirian entrepreneurs through TechnoServe's Business Plan Competition, and developed a scholarship administration model as a consultant with the Center for Public Policy Alternatives in Nigeria. While enrolled at the Harvard Business School in 2012, she sought out and connected with fellow socially-minded Africans to discuss ways to tackle youth unemployment in the region. Those initial discussions were the seeds that eventually grew to become West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE). The Company was launched in 2013 to focus on training and placing unemployed youth in the hospitality and retail industry.

Misan Rewane is the CEO and co-founder of West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE). WAVE is a vocational training platform that seeks to empower millions of West African youth with industry-relevant employability skills that transform their mindsets, and provides access to employment opportunities to enhance their social mobility. WAVE provides self-motivated youths with the skill-sets employers look for, and teaches them how to stand out professionally by reinforcing a mindset of continuous improvement.

Born and raised in Nigeria, Misan is no stranger to the difficulties of education and social mobility in West Africa. When her parents, unable to ignore the education system's breakdown, were compelled to send her to the US for college, Misan resolved to play a role in transforming the region's education and skills development systems. After earning her Economics degree from Stanford University, she worked in management consulting with The Monitor Group on a wide spectrum of projects in both the private and public sector. Post-Monitor, she supported aspiring Ivoirian entrepreneurs through TechnoServe's Business Plan Competition, and developed a scholarship administration model as a consultant with the Center for Public Policy Alternatives in Nigeria. While enrolled at the Harvard Business School in 2012, she sought out and connected with fellow socially-minded Africans to discuss ways to tackle youth unemployment in the region. Those initial discussions were the seeds that eventually grew to become West Africa Vocational Education (WAVE). The Company was launched in 2013 to focus on training and placing unemployed youth in the hospitality and retail industry.

In today’s episode we learn how Suzie Wokabi, the founder of SuzieBeauty, Kenya’s first cosmetic line goes from a humble make-up artist to Africa’s budding beauty titan. Before venturing into the fashion and beauty industry, Suzie received her degree in International Relations in the United States. Upon graduating, she decided to pursue her love for make-up artistry by training at MAC Cosmetics and the Award Studio Make-up School in Los Angeles. After working in the fashion and beauty industry in the United States, she decided to return to her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya in 2007, where she became a highly sought after make-up artist with extensive industry experience ranging from Print Media, Television, Film, Videos, Commercials, Runway, and Bridal. 

While working with her numerous clients, she realized that many dark-skinned women developed unsightly skin reactions, as a result of a combination of the use of counterfeit make-up brands and extended exposure to the unrelenting African sun. Filing the idea to start her own unique make-up line that would alleviate the problems these women faced at the back of her mind. She was inspired to start SuzieBeauty in 2009, when the time came for her to replenish the stock in her make-up kit. She realized that she would need to pay more than three times the retail price of the products in United States. It was at that moment, she decided to launch her own distinctly African beauty products line. It wasn’t until December 2011, that her dream of offering high quality, affordable and bespoke beauty products would be actualized.

Today, SuzieBeauty products can be found online and in retail outlets in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and even in Kampala, Uganda, Addis Ababa, and Cote D’Ivoire, and soon in Nigeria. Oscar Award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o when she wore SuzieBeauty’s Zamba lipstick to her appearance on the Queen Latifah Show and posted it on her social media paid a great compliment to the brand. Suzie has also been featured in various international publications like Italian Vogue L’Uomo magazine, the New York Times and several others. In addition, she has received several accolades and awards from many organizations home and abroad. She is without a doubt one of Africa’s brightest stars.

What you will learn

·       The Big Idea

·      Her inspiration to start the SuzieBeauty cosmetics line

·      How she developed the product

·      Her valuable partnership with her husband

·      How she merged the creative aspects with the business side

·      Where she got the funding to start the company

·      How she manages to keep her products affordable

·      The challenges she faced marketing her brand

·      The competition with foreign brands in Kenya

·      Her current product distributorship and plans for growth

o   Lessons she has learned along the way

·      The company’s performance since inception

·      Thoughts on the growing youth unemployment problem in Africa

·      A significant personal failure she faced, and how she overcame it

·      How she balances work and family life

·      The person she admires the most: Bobbi Brown

 Key Advice

·      Advice to recent grads thinking of launching a venture in Africa:

• • You need a certain level of bravery. Whatever it is that you think you want to do, the number one thing that you must have is pure passion for that thing. There is no way that you can survive without that. 

·      One piece of advice she would give herself if she could go back in the past:

• •  Be careful about the partnerships that you take on. Be sure about the alignment that you have with whomever you are getting together with in business.

Don’t jump into things.

• • Make yourself a priority, not them.

Words of Wisdom

·      Everything always works out in the end. So, if it hasn’t worked out, then it’s not the end.

·      Don’t Give up

Inspirational Makeup Artists:

·      Bobbi Brown

·       Kevyn Aucoin

·      Sam Fine

·       Frank Toskan, Frank Angelo ( the founders of MAC Cosmetics)

Contact me:

http://suziebeauty.com/