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The Founder Files
By MetavolveBusiness
The Founder Files episodes
- Lessons From Years Of Success & Failure - Daniel Guasco, Team Africa Ventures
In this unique episode, we dive into the highs and lows of a seasoned entrepreneur, Daniel Guasco.
Best known as the co-founder and co-CEO of Groupon South Africa, Hyperli, and Team Africa Ventures, Daniel has also made his mark as the founder of Click2Sure and an investor in many businesses.
In this episode we get into his first major high and low, going from having one of South Africa’s most successful Steers franchises to losing everything, and how he recovered.
He tells the story of how he went from start to exit in 156 days, which is the story of how Groupon South Africa started.
Get an insider’s look at his entry into the investment world with Team Africa Ventures and his ambitious venture into insurtech with Click2Sure. Despite backing from VCs, insurers, and corporates, he reveals what went wrong and why they ultimately had to shut the business down.
Along the way, Daniel offers invaluable lessons and insights that every entrepreneur can learn from. Don’t miss this episode packed with wisdom, resilience, and real talk about the entrepreneurial journey.
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Intro
02:22 Welcomes02:58 Being An Entrepreneur Since 1605:27 From The Best Steers Franchise To Losing Everything17:15 Moving Onto The Next Opportunity21:53 Founding To Exiting In 156 days41:51 Getting Acquired by Groupon44:01 Lessons From Huge Growth47:18 Changes Needed to Keep Up With Growth49:24 Brought To You By Metavolve50:47 Creating A Leadership Team55:37 The Fall Of Groupon01:01:28 Starting Hyperli01:04:44 Getting Into The Investment World01:09:41 Lessons From Click2Sure01:38:19 What’s Next For Daniel?01:42:40 What Is Daniel Doing In Italy?01:44:17 Reflection1 hr 48 min - Building a Fintech for Financial Inclusion - Thomas Brennan, Franc
Only 7% of South Africans invest, but Franc is on a mission to change that. In this episode, we dive deep with Thomas Brennan, the co-founder and CEO of Franc, an investment marketplace that's making it easier than ever for South Africans to grow their wealth.
Join us as we explore how Franc cracked the code to product-market fit in a market where investing is rare. Thomas shares insider insights on customer acquisition, scaling strategies, and what it took for Franc to become a standout success.
We also uncover how Franc fosters a culture of innovation and autonomy within their team—a must-listen for leaders aiming to up their game. Plus, Thomas breaks down Franc’s journey from being predominantly B2C to exploring B2B opportunities, with lessons learned along the way.
From scaling challenges to cybersecurity and fundraising, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiring stories from the frontlines of fintech innovation. Don’t miss it!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:06 Welcomes
02:53 Franc’s Business Model
15:33 Franc’s Founding Story
25:02 Finding Product Market Fit
38:06 Brought To You By Metavolve
39:28 How Franc Gets Customers In An Uneducated Market
44:04 Growing Revenue With Existing Customers
52:51 Crowd Sourcing Innovation Through The Team
01:00:42 Maximising Employee Productivity
01:07:46 Introducing A B2B Product
01:13:16 Managing Security & Regulation
01:18:22 Franc’s Geographical Expansion Strategy
01:26:19 Scaling Journey Challenges
01:29:05 What Does The Future Look Like For Franc & Thomas
01:30:51 Focus On The Why
01:32:39 Reflection
1 hr 36 min - Scaling A Cybersecurity Company Worldwide - Sam Hutchinson, Sendmarc
Sendmarc solves a problem that every single business faces; email security. In this episode I sit down with the co-founder and CEO, Sam Hutchinson.
Sam has been an entrepreneur since the age of 16. He successfully exited an email marketing company, and his experience there allowed him to start Sendmarc.
Sam shares how he built out the sales function of the business, his honest accounts of scaling internationally and the struggles they've faced, how to target the right partnerships and how he is still learning about his channel and distribution partners.
Whether you're a cybersecurity enthusiast, an aspiring entrepreneur, or just curious about the realities of scaling a business globally, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss!
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:21 Welcomes02:58 Sendmarc’s business model08:15 Where is Sendmarc at now?10:03 Sendmarc’s founding story12:19 Getting Sendmarc off the ground30:01 What were the early-stage sales like?33:00 Starting to grow the business39:37 Scaling the sales team to remove founder dependency44:19 Brought to you by Metavolve45:42 How to afford A-grade employees in the beginning48:55 How Sam’s role changed as the business grew51:38 Taking a partnership approach to sales57:26 How to be satisfied with your growth01:01:13 Expanding to different markets01:08:20 Struggles when expanding to different countries01:12:45 Why Sendmarc gives away free tools01:15:07 Partnering with distributors01:22:27 What the future looks like for Sam and Sendmarc01:25:24 Why Sam chooses to be an entrepreneur01:28:33 Reflection1 hr 33 min - Top 5 Growth Lessons From Africa's Top Founders
We understand that a 2-hour podcast can be a lot of content to consume. So today, we have a special episode highlighting our favourite lessons from Africa's top founders about scaling and growth.
If you found any of these clips valuable, be sure to watch the full episodes!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:04 Melvyn Lubega, Go114:31 Jon & Elan, Motion Ads19:17 Nolan & Shadab, Payment2429:09 Claude & Luke, Superbalist & Bash38:19 Paul Cook, Silvertree Brands56 min - VC Strategies & Startup Growth in Africa - Bongani Sithole, Founders Factory Africa
In this episode of The Founder Files, we sit down with Bongani Sithole, the Co-founder and CEO of Founders Factory Africa (FFA). As one of the largest early-stage investors on the African continent, FFA has made significant strides, investing in over 70 startups in under six years.
Bongani shares the innovative approach that sets FFA apart from traditional venture capital firms. Instead of relying on the conventional LP model, FFA used corporate partnerships for their capital.We delve into the state of early-stage investment in Africa, exploring the challenges and opportunities ahead.Gain a deep understanding of how Bongani scaled FFA into a thriving organization with a team of over 70 people across multiple countries. He discusses how he is managing a diverse and dispersed team and shares lessons learned from FFA’s portfolio’s successes and failures.This episode also covers FFA’s exit strategy and vision for the future.Enjoy this deep dive into the VC world where we see how another entrepreneur is helping the ecosystem thrive.----
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Intro
01:52 Welcomes
02:40 The Business Model of Founders Factory
07:28 Founding Story and Raising Capital
15:39 Getting Standard Bank On Board
22:59 Learning and Evolving the Business Model
30:00 Establishing As a Pan-African Company From The Beginning
36:04 Growing And Scaling Investment Companies
43:46 Brought To You By Metavolve
45:09 Providing Businesses With Tailored Services
51:28 Shifting From Accelerator To VC Firm
58:26 Managing 70 Team Members Across 15 Countries
1:00:49 Lessons From Failures
1:06:57 Founders Factory Exit Strategy
1:11:28 The Future of Founders Factory
1:15:13 Bongani’s Take on Commercial & Impact
1:17:19 Reflection
1 hr 20 min - Deep Dive Into Venture Capital & What It Takes To Succeed - Clive Butkow, Conducive Capital
This is an exciting episode, because I had the opportunity of hosting one of South Africa’s most esteemed venture capitalist, Clive Butkow. Clive is the ex-founder and CEO of Kalon Venture Partners, which he left to Start Conducive Capital. He is an expert in building, scaling and investing in businesses, and he has a Silicon Valley exit, a VC firm and more than 10 highly successful startups under his belt!
In this episode, we dive deep into the world of venture capital. We discuss the industry and business model of VC, how it operates, what VCs need to succeed, and why it's such a challenging business to run. Clive also shares his vision for the South African VC industry and how he plans to shape its future.You’ll find out Clive’s views on what makes a start up an ideal investment, what he’s seen over and over again that always leads to success and what mistakes to avoid.Clive’s portfolio companies have scaled out of SA and achieved revenues of well over 100 million dollars each, so he gives us a breakdown of how to take a company global.And in between all of that, we unpack valuable principles, strategic concepts and leadership lessons that any founder can learn from. Enjoy this value-packed episode!----
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Intro
02:17 Welcomes02:45 Clive’s Impressive Background15:11 How The VC Business Model Works28:42 Why Clive Started A VC40:28 Brought To You By Metavolve41:50 The Bigger Scope For Success45:22 The Reality Of VC Funds48:20 How To Take A Company Global1:09:58 How To Improve The Way You Sell1:21:32 The Three Types Of People You Need In A Tech Business1:25:10 The 5 Characteristics Of An Investable Founder1:29:17 The Biggest Challenge Entrepreneurs Have Around Raising Capital1:31:14 Reflection1 hr 35 min - Transforming Enterprise Payment Systems - Nolan Daniel & Shadab Rahil, Payment24
Payment24 is a fintech SAAS business that services the oil & gas industry. Their growth has been impressive and they currently operate in 20 countries, across 4 continents. I got the pleasure of talking with the co-founders Nolan Daniel and Shadab Rahil.
Shadab and Nolan started out with a “if they buy it, we’ll build it” mindset but after some time they integrated all the separate products they built into one modularised product. They take us through the transition from being development driven to product driven.We hear the story of how Standard Bank acquired 40 percent of the company and what that unlocked for them. As well as how they maintained focus and discipline as technical founders to grow organically and avoid the temptation of shiny new opportunities.They talk about their investment into a Swiss fintech company to open channels in Europe. They also give us some insights into how they expanded internationally so successfully and how they got new customers to come to them.Without a doubt, an episode you won’t want to miss.---
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
---
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:12 Welcomes02:38 What Is Payment24?14:08 Payment24’s Founding Story20:55 More About The Oil & Gas Industry26:23 Developing The Product & Initial Growth34:22 Transitioning From Development Driven To Product Driven42:09 Brought To You By Metavolve43:32 Getting Investment From Standard Bank59:27 Organic Growth As The Main Growth Strategy1:05:28 Getting The First Customer In New Countries1:09:38 Making Yourself Findable To Prospects1:16:39 Investing In A Swiss Company1:19:13 Learnings From Investing Into The European Market1:23:02 What’s Next For Payment24?1:25:55 How Nolan & Shadab Have Worked Together For 21 Years1:30:01 Outro1 hr 33 min - Unlocking Entrepreneurial Success - Allon Raiz, Raizcorp
Get ready to learn from an extremely accomplished entrepreneur who is in the business of building successful businesses. Allon Raiz is the founder and CEO of Raizcorp, an incubator that is focused of growing entrepreneurs in all life cycle stages, they offer programs from pre-entrepreneurial education right through to scaling.
In this episode we get into why Raizcorp has been labelled the only genuine incubator in Africa by The Economist and what they do different to other incubators, with some talk about the industry as a whole.
You get to hear Allon's approach to building an offer that was truly scalable and could be backed with a guarantee, as well as his approach to forming strategic partnerships.
Allon shares his rocky start with entrepreneurship and how a lot of it was based on luck and intuition.
Enjoy this episode filled with strategy and mindset principles that anyone can apply for success!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
---
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
00:00 Introduction
02:21 Welcomes03:05 What is Raizcorp?05:17 Raizcorp’s Model As An Incubator14:00 Raizcorp’s Different Divisions21:59 What Other Incubators Do Wrong27:14 The Problem With The African VC Market36:15 Starting An Incubator Without LP’s45:26 Brought To You By Metavolve46:49 Initial Growth of Raizcorp51:12 Starting At Market Positioning vs Margin55:17 Next Steps To Unlocking Growth58:50 How Allon’s Reputation Helped Growth1:04:26 Reading & Getting A Mentor1:08:59 What Allon Got Right From The Get Go1:14:08 Managing A Complex & Demanding Career1:21:51 Strategic Partnerships1:31:15 How To Stay Focused And Say No To Opportunities1:35:29 What’s Next For Allon?1:37:13 Would Allon Ever Sell Raizcorp?1:38:09 Outro1 hr 41 min - Building A Business With Social Impact - Jonathan Berkowitz and Elan Band, Motion Ads
When social impact meets entrepreneurship, you get something beautiful. Motion Ads has done just that.
This week Jon Berkowitz and Elan Band join me to share insights about their business, that provides delivery drivers with extra income by turning them into moving billboards.
We talk about the struggles in starting a business around a concept that didn’t exist before and the challenges in building trust with drivers and brands. We also cover their 0 - 1 journey, and how they almost went bankrupt but secured an enterprise client just in time!
Get behind the scenes insights into how they built out their operations and tech stack to scale to 7 different cities, and learn how they landed a partnership with Uber and what that unlocked for them.
There is lots to learn in this inspiring episode, with two passionate co-founders whose business is making a difference in South Africa!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
---
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----------
0:00 Introduction2:25 Welcomes3:10 More About Motions Ads5:07 What Does Scale Up Mean To You?10:12 Founding Story20:05 Billboard vs Motion Ads23:53 Getting Permission From Uber26:57 0 - 1 Journey33:10 Where It Started vs Now35:38 Landing The First Large Corporate Client44:55 Expanding To Cape Town47:33 Managing Multiple Locations52:23 Brought To You By Metavolve53:46 Developing Scalable Operations59:57 Building Out Effective Governance1:16:51 Keeping The Product Desirable On The Road1:22:27 Removing Founders From Operations1:27:25 Scaling The Team1:31:27 Building The Tech With No Investment1:37:40 Landing A Partnership With Uber Eats1:44:06 What's Next For Jon & Elan?1:47:28 Unique Element Of Running A Business In South Africa1:49:55 Running A Business With A Partner1:51:13 Outro1 hr 55 min - Scaling A South African FinTech Company - Thomas Pays, Ozow
Are you working hard enough? A question this episode is guaranteed to make you ask yourself!
It's an honour to welcome Thomas Pays. Thomas is the co-founder of Ozow, the South African market leader for account to account transactions.Thomas takes us through the founding story of Ozow and the dark times he endured in the first 2 years. Although he thinks the company is still in infancy, he highlights the companies impressive growth to an 8 figure monthly revenue, but also how far they still have to go.Find out how people and culture has played a significant role in the success of Ozow and how Thomas created a powerful environment for his people to thrive.We also cover what pillars he had in place that allowed for Ozow's growth, having engagements with 296 VC's, and how it led to investments from the best.Enjoy this episode filled with valuable insights into what it takes to be the best.---
This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
---
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
00:00 Intro
02:23 Welcomes02:48 Ozow's Business Model03:24 Where Is Ozow In Terms Of Scale?07:05 Ozow's Founding Story11:34 Journey To Product Market Fit19:13 Rebranding From i-pay to Ozow24:50 The Very Dark First 2 Years38:00 Growth After Finding Product Market Fit44:50 Brought To You By Metavolve46:13 The Potential Of Ozow51:40 The Importance Of Partnerships56:27 Human Capital & Culture1:25:31 Investments & What They Unlocked For The Business1:32:35 What Pushes Thomas To Work So Hard1:35:50 Outro1 hr 39 min
About The Founder Files
From the publisher's feed
Rated #1 Podcast for Entrepreneurs in South Africa in 2023 by Feedspot.
The Founder Files is where founders come to explore proven growth strategies and real entrepreneurial challenges.
Hosted by Cameron Coutts, each episode unpacks the complex journeys of scaling businesses, delivered by entrepreneurs who've walked the path. No script, no filter – just a fireside chat between growth-driven founders.
If you’re seeking practical advice and relatable stories to fuel your growth journey, this is your go-to resource. Subscribe now!