DE-COLONISING
AFRICA’S
CREATIVE ECONOMY FORT CEO SHUKRI TOEFY IS DRIVING AUTHENTIC CULTURAL NARRATIVES "The reason we wake up every morning is to make the world a more beautiful place and to tell meaningful and authentic stories. At our core, at Fort we’re storytellers for a connected world."
SHUKRI TOEFY CEO, Fort
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SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.ZA
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INNOVATION BY DESIGN
Inside the ground-breaking ideas shaping our present and future
CRÈME DE LA CRÈME
The top brands you need to know about
Insurance good and proper
Contents September 2017
C OVER S T ORY
20 DOING IT TOEFY’S WAY
Shukri Toefy believes there is a new African cultural narrative afloat, and he is helping set the pace as a real trailblazer in this exciting arena. As he says, “I think that individuals and companies that work within the African creative industries need to understand their role in building and telling authentic cultural narratives within advertising, music, film and literature.” By Evans Manyonga
“In life, you don’t need to be the best author in the world; you just need to be the bestselling author in the world.”
2 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
SP E C IAL FEATURE S
44 INNOVATIVE LEADERS OF THE FUTURE Innovative design can be the solver of some of the most entrenched community problems of our times, and those who come up with these breakthrough ventures need to be nurtured and recognised
Wrting her own script: Shonda Rhimes is developing her own digital-centric personal brand (Page 66)
20 LEADING EDGE 24 CONNECTED CARS 56 BRANDS THAT MATTER
SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 3
Contents
N E XT
16 UBER UBER ALLES How Uber continues to change the world we live in By Austin Carr
28 LEADING EDGE
Snap! How the digital giant acquired Bitmoji By Aaron Gell
34 WANTED
The search for conflict-free diamonds By Kim Lightbody
REG U LARS
08 FROM THE EDITOR 10 THE RECOMMENDER 90 UCT 94 FAST BYTES & EVENTS 96 RETAILERS SHOULD THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT WHERE TO FOCUS INNOVATION BY Hendri Lategan
New technologies Bradley Zetler is changing the face of the model and fashion industry
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From the Editor AI started with a basic design concept, and today it has made enough strides to have the leading minds of our generation debating its impact
THE FOUNDATION OF PROGRESS The field of contemporary design has rapidly changed in recent times. The business dictionary defines design as “the realisation of a concept or idea into a configuration, drawing, model, mould, pattern, plan or specification (on which the actual or commercial production of an item is based) and which helps achieve the item’s designated objective(s)”. In essence, design begins with an objective, however varied or seemingly limited. An area of contemporary design that has made notable advances is the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which is rapidly developing. Facebook uses AI for targeted advertising, photo tagging and curated news feeds. Microsoft and Apple use AI to power their digital assistants, Cortana and Siri and Google’s search engine is dependent on AI. The core objective of designing AI is ultimately creating flexible, self-teaching AI that will mirror human learning in essence, AI that will have perfected the flaws of previous generations. Demis Hassabis (a leading creator of advanced artificial intelligence), Elon Musk (a South African-born Canadian American business magnate, investor, engineer and inventor) and Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (American computer programmer, Internet entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook, and current chairman and CEO) are three men among those shaping human progress in the 21st century. All three hold various opinions on what the future holds, with AI at play. Musk is a leading doomsayer about the perils of Artificial Intelligence while Hassabis is regarded as the master magician of AI who will likely help conjure the next flawless AI. “I have exposure to the most cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned by it,” Musk said recently. In response, Zuckerberg said, in a recent interview: “ I am really optimistic about AI. I think you can build and make the
8 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
world a better place. And I don’t understand people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios — I just don’t understand it. It’s really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible. In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives.” These contrasting opinions are a discussion for another day. AI started with a basic design concept, and today it has made enough strides to have the leading minds of our generation debating its impact, and it’s worth mentioning that we all make use of AI in one way or another. In essence, design has the power to change the course of history and ultimately influence our future. This is our Innovation by Design edition, and our basic premise is “design is the foundation of progress”. We take a look at some of the innovative design concepts, objects and elements shaping our future and solving some of the pressing challenges we face. Our cover personality is Shukri Toefy, CEO of Fort Network. A tireless, humble and intelligent personality, Toefy has a big vision and the tools to fulfil it. Read on and become part of the Fast Company movement. Above all , live and learn.
Evans Manyonga evans@fastcompany.co.za @Nyasha1e
Recommender What are you loving right now?
Favourite destination Bali
My favourite holiday destination is without a doubt, Bali - Indonesia. With its beaches, islands, rice terraces, coconut beverages in all kinds of shapes and sizes, it really is just something spectacular. Spend your days hiking a volcano at sunrise, lazing in a natural hot spring, exploring the colourful street markets and experiencing Indonesian cuisine. Try lounging on any of the multitude of incredible beaches, sipping cocktails in an infinity pool overlooking either the ocean, the jungle or endless vegetation. . Lize Maartens Product & Marketing Manager, STA Travel South Africa
Favourite game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
Favourite pamper spot YouBar
As far as gaming goes, new releases either fall into the realm of a great single player experience OR have a great online multiplayer aspect – it is not often that you can combine the two of these. However, Wildlands has done wonders with this offering. The game allows you to “squad up” with three of your friends online and as a team go on to complete the missions and unlocks – one can also do it solo, if one’s friends keep dying or triggering the alarms. Aesthetically, the game is attractive – and with an immersive free roam map, one can find oneself lost in the Wildlands for hours at a time, just trying to gather all the side loot. One also does not have to remain on foot, as there are a variety of vehicles to utilise throughout one’’ explorations bikes, SUVs, planes & choppers. I simply cannot get enough.
As a designer, living a world of deadlines that seem neverending is part of daily life. So taking some time out on a regular basis is essential in order to keep my sanity. For me, the bi-weekly visit to YouBar in the Thrupps Illovo Centre, is just that - my re-charge and reset button.
George “GeeMax” Smith Mettlestate Shoutcaster
Piroska Warren Director Piros Design
10 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
VESA Mounts!
If you’re involved in modern day business you more than likely spend more than three to four hours a day behind a screen, or laptop – in which case a VESA mount is an absolute must have! The particular brand I use most frequently is known as Aavara They have several different styles and setups available locally. A VESA mount is a desk/wall mount that allows you to remove your monitor’s generic stand and place it onto said special setup (they come in different shapes and sizes to suit your needs). This allows you the comfort and freedom to move the monitor into the perfect position. Matthew Lotter Director of Long Line Technology Ltd; Electrical Engineer; Esports Shout Caster and Tech Reviewer
Screen Time Our pick of the most download-worthy travel apps currently on the market Spring Moves (springmoves.com) iOS only; compatible with Apple Watch
Workout Trainer (Android, iOS)
Spring Moves is a rhythm-fueled music service and exercise tracker app that creates a library of playlists designed to match the music you love with your workout. By tracking your performance via GPS, it then keeps track of the songs that put a little extra pep in your step, and personalises a playlist from your greatest hits while you jog.
Workout Trainer offers thousands of free workouts, complete with timed step-by-step audio and video instructions to help you get into shape. Whether you’re looking to sculpt six-pack abs or improve your conditioning for that next race, Workout Trainer has a routine just for you. In addition to the built-in workouts, users can access the app’s library to build their own custom routines and share them online, as well as try out routines shared by the community.
RockMyRun (rockmyrun.com) (Android and iOS)
Charity Miles
Making a difference, no matter how little it is, does change someone’s life. Charity Miles is a fitness app that helps you keep fit and at the same time helps you earn money for charity. With every walk, run, bike ride or whatever other track fitness activities you do, you get money that is donated to a charity of your choice, chosen from 40 deserving world-changing charities.
RockMyRun is a solid choice for streaming upbeat music to accompany your workout, with mixes from celebrity DJs and artists like Zedd, Afrojack and David Guetta. The myBeat app pairs your playlist to your pace by selecting songs that consistently match a set number of beats per minute, whether you assign the BPM manually or if you’re on iOS. This app lets your phone automatically pair BPM with your steps (via your phone’s accelerometer) or heart rate (through an external Bluetooth monitor.
Zombies Run
For those who don’t find running meditative, this may not be the most exciting fitness activity. Zombies, Run, is the new app that makes running authentic fun. Through this app, the runner becomes Runner 5, whose mission is to survive the ordeal of the zombie apocalypse that has decimated the world. More excitingly, the app has another ultra-cool feature that tracks your running pace during various missions and can even see which songs you run faster to.
SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 11
Fast Company Promotion
Taming chaos – the job of an entrepreneur Chaos can be chaotic (pun intended) but it is an integral part of the entrepreneur’s eventful journey. The good news is, though, that it can be tamed
We tend not to like chaos. It’s in our make-up. We fight it where we can. In large companies, it messes with production, it increases variance, and, in general, creates a headache for the bureaucracy. And as we know, bureaucracy pounces on the smallest evidence of chaos, ready to fix it with standard operating procedures, rules, blame and punishment. Some of this is good, otherwise there would be no stability and nothing of quality would get done. I am often confronted by my own irritation with my regular supermarket whenever there are changes to the store design and layout. Subconsciously, I believe they do it deliberately to force me through all the aisles. I hate them for it, for messing up a good weekend shopping trip with the unnecessary inconvenience of searching for simple things like milk or bread. Don’t they get it? I choose a particular supermarket which has pretty much the same layout in all their stores. For me, it creates a zen-like calm, a feeling of coming home, with the certainty of finding things where they belong. I also believe I am getting old. The world around us is in chaos. Political upheavals, economic downturn and volatility and unbounded technology now threatening to replace us in our jobs. New company entrants are now bigger than 100-year old global conglomerates, with business models that could not even be imagined a few years ago. Our reality has surpassed science fiction, leaving many behind. Even our future looks chaotic! What, you may ask, does all this have to do with entrepreneurship? You see, chaos is part of the entrepreneur’s journey. The good news is that chaos is always replete with both opportunity and uncertainty. As in the story of Hansel and Gretchel, when you find the first reliable path through a forest of chaos, it
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reduces uncertainty. That first path creates the level stability people crave, leaving a trail of bread crumbs which can be followed. And then, almost of a sudden, chaos is no more. What is left is the trodden path, the trusted and ultimately, the beloved. (And, of course, a dead witch!) One way to consider entrepreneurship is to select a portion of the chaos and transform it into order and stability. And right there, a problem previously faced by a market segment now has a trusted solution! A business model and plan is nothing more than describing how you will tame your selected portion of chaos into trusted order. Customer service and excellence starts with providing a (hopefully good!) consistent product or service. But how do you create order? 1) It starts with boldness. Chaos has locked in it, fear of the unfamiliar and fear of failure. It takes guts to walk into a lair of chaos, look right at it, dead in the eyes and tame it into submission. Most people will ignore it, blame it on someone or complain about it. After chaos is tamed into order, people will follow a new path and wonder how they ever got along without it.
2) Chaos is not tamed without experimentation, failure and learning. In that order. Very seldom are we blessed with all the insight from the word go. (Wouldn’t that be nice?) The thing is, you have to experiment, fail, find out why you failed and try again, You have to test until you find the right solution. Somewhere in between all of that is enough cash flow to survive all these experimentation cycles, keeping your family together, handling admin, HR, and personal issues. No-one said it would be easy! 3) Taming chaos has some end-point in mind, not necessarily a path. As an entrepreneur, one needs some form of utopia in mind, a place you would feel comfortable to end. In other words, the future you’re selling as an entrepreneur. Getting there is no straight path. Often it cannot even be drawn with a straight line. It takes curves, loops, ups and the inevitable downs. However, having a
general direction (the light at the end of the tunnel) to work towards is essential. At the very least, make sure you fail forwards, in the direction of your end-goal. 4) Taming chaos into order requires standardisation. That’s the whole point of establishing order. In our business, I’ve met so many entrepreneurs who simply get by, ‘managing’, not taming the same chaos day in, day out. Taming it means finding a solution, creating a template, standard operating procedure, a method, whether in a system or not. The moment you are able to tame chaos with standardisation, you can teach it to others and measure quality. When you’re able to teach it, others with less experience or skill can start to do it too. In an instant, you would have delivered consistent value with increasing efficiency, aka profit! 5) Allow for some chaos; it is where creativity and resilience live. Sometimes we can be so good at taming chaos that we there is no space allowed for creativity. Good creativity craves a bit of chaos. See, once we have established order, we are vulnerable to complacency. We need to remember that when we’ve conquered the mountain, a volcano may very well erupt and remove the mountain out from underneath us. By allowing some measure of chaos, or even introducing it through small changes, we remind ourselves of our vulnerability and strengthen our business by responding and adapting to these changes. Every great entrepreneur gets a little uneasy with too much order. Every chaotic moment, dear entrepreneur, is your opportunity to get better at it. The art of taming chaos is not only your gift to your client’s world. It’s a gift to yourself. Cherish it. Learn from it. Grow with it. Every single time.
“ As in the story of Hansel and Gretchel, when you find the first reliable path through a forest of chaos, it reduces uncertainty.”
Professor Willem Clarke CEO, Resolution Circle www.resolutioncircle.co.za
SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 13
Fast Company Promotion
Creative thinking: the most important skill of the 21st Century Artificially intelligent machines present us with a myriad opportunities, and we need to get beyond the fear that they will take our jobs
There’s much talk of artificial machines taking over the world. And there are many naysayers, like Elon Musk, warning of the dire consequences of Man against Machine. Let’s face facts, people, the world of work in 2020 and beyond will be dramatically different from what we know today. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a reality, and unless you are living with blinkers on, you need to prepare for a future fundamentally changed by the exponential and pervasive growth of disruptive technologies. Humans consistently underestimate technological change in the long term and, as such, right now, we genuinely don’t appreciate the impact that artificially intelligent machines are going to have on our lives over the next 10 to 20 years. The upside is that this presents incredible opportunities for progressive humans who are looking beyond “they will take our jobs” to “what can we gain or do differently?” Overwhelmingly, the fruits of this exploding new field will be to the benefit of all us normally intelligent humans. But as the robots become very smart, possibly much smarter than us in the next generation, there are two big downsides which will emerge. The first is the robot-driven genocide of the human race. This risk is very, very real, but let’s leave that one to Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to duke out for now. What I want to talk about is the notion that robots are only going to take the low-impact, blue-collar jobs. I hear smart people talking about this all the time. “Oh yes, some people are going to lose their jobs,” says the accountant to the lawyer, feeling rather smug that his job is secure. What they aren’t properly thinking through is that accountants and lawyers are very much in the firing line here. The global CEO of Deloitte considers the impact AI will
14 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
have on her workforce as one of her biggest problems she faces. Law firms, particularly in the US, are already hiring AI from IBM to replace lawyers. This isn’t the “robot took my job” factory worker; for the most part, that’s already happened. Instead, this is the “robot took my job” knowledge worker, and that’s much more scary as it’s closer to home for many of us. It’s even scarier as a South African. We already have unemployment of “seven hundred, eighty twenty three percent” (to quote President Zuma). So how on earth are we going to cope when cashiers, bank tellers, taxi drivers and fast food servers go full robot? It is going to be a societal disaster unless we are mature enough to rise up and deal with it early and decisively. And there are only two solutions, really. From a societal perspective, a basic income grant is going to become a necessity, unless the 1% are prepared to build walls high enough to keep the hungry 99% out. But that will take a long time and a lot of people will suffer unnecessarily before we eventually succumb and share the fruits of the wealth created by technological advancement. On an individual level, the only choice you have if you want to begin and grow a career in the 21st Century, is to educate yourself ahead of the robots, for a world we can’t yet imagine. As you can see from the accompanying chart, it’s quite obvious what type of work will remain more robot-proof. No one wants to be in Routine Manual and everyone, who wants to get ahead, needs to be in Non-routine Cognitive. These are the skills that are uniquely human because that is the only real advantage we will always have. A robot can never (we hope?) be human, and can never know or emulate human emotions. The great ideas in business, the innovations that change the world, all in some small or great way, are products of emotion and intelligence combined to create solutions to unanticipated problems. Would a computer think to put a mobile phone together with a car to create Uber? It
“We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another.” (Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum)
would now, because that idea “rule” has been created for computers to use. But back then, it was an idea born from the frustration of waiting for a cab and the impatience of wasting time, coupled with curiosity about whether technology could change the paradigm. A more subtle example is Apple which, if we are honest with our heavily-influenced selves, has for years charged a premium for supplying effectively similar technology to that of its competitors. A big part of Apple’s ability to extract this abnormal surplus from the market has been because of their design and “user experience”. Imagine a computer trying to beat Apple by creating a better version of that experience. It’s not impossible (even a stuck clock is right twice a day), but the robot is highly unlikely to succeed because the nuance of experience design is a product of the nuance of humans. To understand this nuance of humans is uniquely human in itself, which is why creative thinking is the most important skill of the 21st Century. When all the bounded, rules-based jobs are gone, there will still be investment looking for value, and that value will be created by humans who are able to dream big and create new products, services and experiences for other humans. Yes, there are also other uniquely human skills such as leadership, negotiation, social intelligence and the art of persuasion. In my mind, these are all going to be increasingly vital, but they all act in support of the skill that anyone looking to build a career needs to be focusing on: how to think more creatively in business. What can you do to improve your creative thinking in business? The first step, easily enough, is just to believe you are more creative. Turn on those creative thoughts and entertain them, because they are already there waiting to come out and play. We see this in our students at the Red & Yellow Creative School of Business. Within a week on our campus they are more creative in their work than when they arrived. While we would love to claim ownership for this about-turn, realistically there is nothing we have taught them in a week to achieve this. It is simply a product of them being surrounded with creative permission and letting their natural talent flow. The next step is, be curious, always. There are very few ideas that are totally new; most are just a collection of previous ideas. It therefore stands to reason that the more “previous ideas” you are exposed to, the more ideas you will have to work with to create your unique one. Curiosity exposes you to more and gives you dots to join together in unexpected ways, to produce a unique and valuable outcome.
Once you have decided to be creative and turned on your curiosity, then start to question things more to uncover the real truth. There are many things in life that could be improved upon if only we had the sense to question why they are the way they are. Most people go through the world in a blur, focussing on the wrong things and accepting the status quo as normal. Those who stand out are those who succeed because they made that status quo better. Question the rules and reject those that make no sense. This is important not only for effective innovation, but, frankly, for life as a whole. If we were all just a bit more questioning, perhaps we would have a more effective stock of politicians leading us? My final suggestion would be to master an established ideation process that will help you unlock solutions to problems and find new opportunities to innovate. One of the most respected methodologies is Design Thinking, as pioneered by US design firm, IDEO. Design Thinking applies the skills of a designer to the innovation process. The first step is to empathise with your audience (understand the human in them). Once you can relate to the problem, you can define it properly before generating ideas. With a fresh stock of newly minted ideas, Design Thinking then encourages you to prototype and test iteratively until you find the best outcome. There are many established creative thinking processes, with Design Thinking perhaps the most widely used. These methodologies are excellent at helping you solve a predefined problem, but they are no substitute for curiosity and questioning for finding opportunities that no one sought to define or even look for in the first place. In the 21st Century, if you want to have any hope of building a rewarding career, you need to be the best at what a robot is not. With innovation the biggest driver of value creation and business disruption, the ability to think creatively about business is the best way to ensure your success. Creative thinking is the most important skill of the 21st Century. Rob Stokes Chairman of Red & Yellow Creative School of Business
SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 15
Big Idea
UBER’S DRIVING LESSONS What the fastest-growing startup in history has revealed about Silicon Valley By Austin Carr
16 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
Not long after Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick was forced to step down as CEO following a spate of scandals at his ride-hailing company, one influential venture capitalist tried to convince me that there were no larger lessons to be learned from the debacle. Uber, explained this VC, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity, was not emblematic of some “rottenness” at the heart of Silicon Valley. Rather, Kalanick’s tenure at Uber was simply an “anomaly.”
Hero worship Near-mythical founders—including Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin—have shaped the way entrepreneurs and investors view tech startups.
Across the tech industry, startup founders, employees, and investors have been grappling with how to interpret Kalanick’s stunning rise and fall. Having built Uber into a disruptive force, a global service with more than 14,000 employees in 600-plus cities, and the highest-valued startup in history (approximately $70 billion)—all in just eight years—Kalanick seemed to embody the best of the startup ethos: what a Valley-style innovator can accomplish when unleashed on a stagnant industry. His example reverberated across Silicon Valley. Calling your company “the Uber of X,” after all, doesn’t just describe an app that instantly delivers a real-world service; “Uber-izing” a business implies adopting an aggressive approach to scaling and a ruthless approach to the competition. (As one Uber employee wrote online of Kalanick in petitioning for his return, “You’ve launched a thousand of us, your disciples, out into Silicon Valley. Let’s fucking do this. Game on.”) Outside tech, giants of industry from retail to food to health care are racing to Uber-ize themselves before upstarts beat them to it.
How, then, could Uber be a mere anomaly? The red flags had been rising for years. There were Uber’s tactics to undercut rivals and its methods of skirting regulatory scrutiny. There was Kalanick’s brash pursuit of autonomous technology, which led to an intellectual property lawsuit from Alphabet’s self-driving-car unit, Waymo. There was talk of digging up dirt on prying journalists. Despite these controversies, for the most part, Uber kept growing. It wasn’t until former Uber engineer Susan Fowler’s February 2017 blog post that cries for Kalanick’s resignation gained momentum. Fowler described a toxic workplace, hostile to women and filled with self-aggrandising employees and permissive managers. The modus operandi was “complete, unrelenting chaos.” In June, after an Ubercommissioned investigation into the matter by former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder found systemic organisational failings, Kalanick stepped down. Today, it’s impossible not to see shades of Uber in everything from Ellen Pao’s 2015 gender
discrimination lawsuit against storied VC firm Kleiner Perkins to the “brogrammer” culture that crippled Zenefits, a oncepromising unicorn, last year. This past summer, a string of sexual harassment allegations exposed deep-rooted issues in the venturecapital world. “I hope we’re at a point in time where everyone doesn’t just want to sweep everything under the rug,” says investor Theresia Gouw of female-led Aspect Ventures. Silicon Valley, though, is insular and guarded. In my reporting, I encountered few people willing to speak openly, let alone critically, about Uber’s troubles. Those who did (most of them, notably, women) argue that there’s an opportunity for course correction right now. It starts by acknowledging that the Valley isn’t yet the utopian meritocracy it strives to be—and that Uber’s errant system exposed some fundamental bugs in the startup economy.
Startup values don’t always scale A few weeks after Fowler’s blog post, Kalanick held an hour-long
discussion on Uber’s values at the company’s Palo Alto office. Talking to a room full of female developers, he called for a reassessment of his company’s core principles and vowed to fix Uber’s problems. “We have cultural values—I’m the author of them—and I think there’s a lot of good in them,” he told the audience. “[But] if they’re not well understood, folks can do things they shouldn’t do.” Uber is often seen as a company devoid of principles, but Kalanick, in many ways, actually personified some of Silicon Valley’s central tenets, including a reverence for rule-breaking and growth at all costs. In the mid’90s, Intel’s Andy Grove inspired a decade of entrepreneurs with his pugnacious manifesto, Only the Paranoid Survive, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s creed, “Move fast and break things,” influenced today’s generation of hackers turned CEOs. Y Combinator’s Paul Graham counseled founders in an essay that “the only essential thing is growth,” which should act as a “compass to make almost every decision you face.” Investor Ben Horowitz’s treatise on “wartime
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CEOs” outlined the battlehardened characteristics required to overcome existential threats. Promulgated by the very VCs responsible for making and breaking founders, this type of dogma has seeped into the Valley’s id. From the outset, Kalanick defined Uber’s mission by its pursuit of hypergrowth. Among his foundational tenets: “Always Be Hustlin’ ” and “Toe-Stepping,” which promoted a confrontational culture where employees operate at each other’s throats and on the edge of legality. Uber’s values did not include any mention of “teamwork.” This kind of cultural DNA might have been manageable when Uber was small; as the company grew, it was trouble. “Ask for forgiveness, scale fast, be audacious—generally, these kinds of principles are great,” says Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO of Joyus and founder of the Boardlist, an online network that connects companies with female board candidates. “The issue is what’s missing: the absence of one critical value, which is that people matter.” In his discussion with female employees back in March, Kalanick declared that Uber needed to transform into a culture where “everyone is accountable for their actions” and embraces “values encouraging good stuff and discouraging bad stuff.” After upending transportation networks across the globe, the leader of the world’s most valuable startup was only just starting to address Uber’s own failings.
The omniscient founder is a dangerous myth Shortly after Kalanick’s resignation, Mood Rowghani, a partner at Uber investor
Big Idea
Kleiner Perkins, came to the defense of not just Kalanick, but entrepreneurs in general: “Founder DNA is a precious asset and cannot be underestimated,” he wrote in a statement shared with the news site Axios. “It is a founder’s passion, strategic clairvoyance, ability to inspire and motivate employees, and relentless pursuit of the mission that enables startups to achieve seismic changes against the odds.” Steeped in a tradition dating back to Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard creating HP in their Palo Alto garage, tech entrepreneurs are taught that they are the true innovators. And anyone who gets in their way (boards, investors, bureaucrats) is shortsighted, the small-minded naysayers to visionaries like Steve Jobs. So founders today hold tightly to control, leveraging their super voting shares to tilt power away from boards or investors. After Mark Zuckerberg successfully remained CEO by recruiting a COO-slash-mentor (Sheryl Sandberg), nearly every founder, Kalanick included, has tried to replicate that model. But why should someone who had the ability to incubate an idea
To acknowledge that Uber’s system of accountability failed is to acknowledge that fundamental change is necessary.
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into a product also be expected to have the skills to run a complex organisation? Few people can do both well. More problematic is the undergirding belief in a founder’s almost supernatural abilities. A serial entrepreneur who has both benefited and suffered under this narrative tells me, “This idea that one person at the top is able to foresee and envision every single strategic move that a company needs to make is just bullshit.” The reality is, sacrificing the CEO title can be in the best interests of both the company and its founder. Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped aside so longtime tech executive Eric Schmidt could steer Google through its IPO during the 2000s. Page studied under Schmidt for roughly a decade before taking back the reins. Jobs, too, took nearly this same amount of time to mature as a CEO before returning to Apple. Yet the Zuck–Sandberg partnership receives more reverence than Page–Schmidt’s, even among investors. “That [founder] mythology definitely drives early-stage boards to give as wide a berth as possible,” says Singh Cassidy, herself a three-time founder. “[There’s] this sense of like, ‘Don’t fuck with the mojo.’ ” This dynamic can cripple a company. In the months leading up to Kalanick’s resignation, Uber hemorrhaged talent. Among the departures: Uber’s SVP of global policy, head of finance, VP of growth and product, VP of global vehicles, head of AI labs, and president Jeff Jones, a former top Target exec who was brought in to help guide Kalanick.
The system of accountability needs breaking Months before Kalanick’s ouster,
Freada and Mitch Kapor, of the investment firm Kapor Capital, published an open letter to the Uber board and investors. They had long tried to address what they saw as a “toxic pattern” of misconduct by exerting pressure behind the scenes. But given Kapor’s relatively small stake, their efforts were largely ignored. “Investors in high-growth, financially successful companies rarely, if ever, call out inexcusable behaviour from founders or C-suite executives,” they wrote. After several painful months, that finally changed: According to a New York Times report, five of Uber’s top investors demanded that Kalanick step down. When I ask a high-level CEO and investor about the ordeal, he’s sanguine. “We saw the process at Uber, and it worked,” he says. “It took a while, and it played in the press more publicly than it should have, but there were checks and balances.” But consider how long it took board members to react. Was it that, given Uber’s decaying reputation and culture, they finally felt compelled to step in? Or simply that public pressure was threatening their investment? Either way, it was only through an unlikely confluence of factors— unrelenting outrage, a series of ethical lapses, and a courageous former employee—that this scenario ultimately played out. This is the system working? If there really were healthy checks and balances, boards wouldn’t wait for public outrage to act. But to acknowledge that Uber’s system of accountability failed is to acknowledge that fundamental change—something Silicon Valley normally embraces—is necessary. If the Valley truly prides itself on moving fast and breaking things, it ought to start here.
THE DIGITAL ENTREPENEUR Join MTN Business for a Digital Entrepreneur Masterclass on 31 October 2017. Mobile is the new business place for entrepreneurs but it is also digital in nature. Mobile is the heart of any business, connecting people and businesses from anywhere in the world. From this, The Digital Entrepreneur Masterclass is born. It is the first of its kind, bringing together movers and shakers of the small business ecosystem in South Africa. Focusing on you, the entrepreneur in enabling and empowering your business to the next level with technology. You will gain insights into how technology enables your business to achieve operational efficiency, cost control and management. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with experts in business, funding, incubation and management.
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REWRITING THE AFRICAN C U LT U R A L N A RR AT I V E
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THERE’S A NEW CULTURAL NARRATIVE AFOOT - AND EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. FORT CEO AND COFOUNDER SHUKRI TOEFY IS SETTING THE PACE Interviewed by Evans Manyonga
AS DJ READY D SPUN THE TABLES, RESPECTED CREATIVES, MODELS AND INFLUENCERS FROM VARIOUS SECTORS OF (HIGH) SOCIETY SLOWLY MADE THEIR WAY FROM THE BLACK CARPET INTO THE VENUE HOSTING THE FORT NETWORK RE-LAUNCH AND CELEBRATION IN SWISH, UPPER-CLASS SANDTON.
The black carpet, celebratory aura and classy venue seemed custom-designed for what was to follow. Local celebrity and MC, Nomzamo Mbatha, called Fort CEO and co-founder Shukri Toefy to the stage. Cooly, calm and highly collected, elegantly dressed and wearing a casual smile, Toefy addressed the expectant crowd. “Firstly, we are celebrating that we’ve been around for ten years, which I think is quite an achievement. Secondly, we are dropping the ‘the’ out of The Fort, and we’re now just Fort. Hopefully that’s going to open us up to different markets and we’re really excited about the simplicity of Fort,” he said. “The other aspect that we’ve been talking about,” he continued, “is our global network, and we’re very proud to stand here tonight and introduce you to the first CEO of our Fort Global Network, based out of Nairobi, Kenya, for East Africa Alison Ngibuni. “And then, lastly, #createmovement …” Delving deeper into the meaning of this hash tag, Toefy contextualised the discussion with mention of the #Feesmustfall campaign and the call to decolonise education, which he said was something that needed to happen. “We realised that there can be some decolonising within our creative economy as well, because we tend to over-value global names, and I think it’s time for us to stand up and take control of that for ourselves.” For Toefy, this is not just about ownership but, rather, more about a conscious new narrative in which everyone has a role to play. Changing the narrative and exporting African culture were key themes in his speech. The crowd clapped, I was personally impressed and all this got me curious about the man behind the ideology. Born in a humble home in Cape Town, Toefy was part of the first generation in his family to finish school and attend university. His parents were born in District Six and raised him and his siblings on the modest salaries of a driver (father) and nurse (mother). Today he is standing strong and pushing for the greater continent to take its place in the stars. When did you start your entrepreneurial journey? I was a penniless student, so my entrepreneurial journey began as a necessity to pay back my student loans. In many ways, I was sort of an entrepreneurial activist – I used entrepreneurship to focus myself and push myself to make and save money. When I first started, I had very few resources at my disposal. I didn’t have a car or computer to help me set up. I am grateful for this part of my journey because it has made me so much more empathetic towards other people; I can see their vision and recognise their journey through my own experiences. How did you meet your CCO and business partner, Amr Singh, and what was the basis of your collaboration? Amr and I met at UCT where I was a law student and he was studying film and media. One day – which I count as my first day at Fort – Amr came to my house and gave me a presentation of a business idea he had. Basically, the idea was to use the university’s equipment to film and edit videos for clients.
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From penniless student to highly successful entrepreneur, Fort CEO and co-founder Shukri Toefy has a remarkable story to tell
He said to me, “I think you would make a much better businessman and film producer than a lawyer, so why don’t you join me on this journey?” I think in many ways he saw the potential in me as a future CEO. Our pitches were crafted on trains and rehearsed on the streets, and we missed many lectures to meet clients. We had absolutely no track record, so clients must have seen our potential or thought we had a great sales pitch. Or maybe they just felt sorry for us. Either way, we were a dangerous team because we were young, hungry and ambitious. We came from similar socioeconomic backgrounds, and both realised that we needed to build our own wealth. We were motivated by seeing our parents working hard daily, and that drove us to take advantage of every opportunity. Amr and I also have very different skillsets and are clear on what our respective roles are. I provide the strategic oversight and vision for the overall leadership of the organisation, while he drives the culture and innovation, and pushes us to excellence every day. What does being creative mean to you? I think the term ‘creative’ is a misunderstood and often misused term. People who wake up to be creative are often disappointed because those who work most in creative industries are only creative for a brief period. The rest of the time, they require efficiency, hard work and strategy. Whether you’re a film director, creative director or business person, the ideation process is a small part of achieving the greater creative goal. We all have opportunities to be creative. Some of the most creative people I’ve met are those who find innovative solutions to problems, even if they aren’t in a creative industry. That’s what creativity is to me: the ability to find a new plane of understanding to solve a problem.
What motivated you to start your agency and what is your core purpose? Apart from paying back our student loans, we always had an entrepreneurial spirit. Over the years, our motivation and goals for our business have shifted and we have a clearer idea of our reason to exist. Our purpose is to think, make and create across any platform or industry, for any client. That’s why we missed lectures and rode taxis to clients. That’s just who we are in our DNA. Our vision for who we are – the reason we wake up every morning – is to make the world a more beautiful place and to tell meaningful and authentic stories. At our core, at Fort we’re storytellers for a connected world. Another part of who we are is helping brands tell their stories. People often view marketing and sales negatively, but in many ways, it’s honorable because it turns the economic wheel. In life, you don’t need to be the best author in the world; you just need to be the best-selling author in the world. What do you define as the role of a creative agency (like yours) in post-colonial Africa? I think that the economic and social revolution in
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post-colonial Africa has yet to take place. The economies of Africa are dominated by Western and European interests, and there is a network that makes outside powers the beneficiaries of what happens economically on the African continent. Far too often, international companies come in to tell our stories, and many of our products and services are foreign owned. As a creative agency in post-colonial Africa, it’s important for us to tell African stories, by Africans and for Africans. We take this responsibility seriously. As an independent black-owned creative content agency, we try set an example of local ownership and have our staff play a key role within the ownership model. We want to show the world that we, as Africans, can build world-class businesses that compete on an international level. Can you tell me more about your vision as an agency to move away from a servicebased model to an ideas and IP-based model in the near future? As a service-based company, you’re always vulnerable to competitors that come in at a cheaper cost and to people that have strategic or personal relationships that can disrupt your sales funnel on a month-to-month basis. For us at Fort, we know what we are able to think, make and create as a service to our clients. We want to shift from a service-based company to investing our time and effort into a product, IP, asset and property-based company. Once you’ve moved to a point where you can productise your offering or own IP, you are able to create a revenue model that’s more sustainable and less open to your competitors. Along with that, I think it’s particularly important for us as an African company to build properties and assets so that we are consistently adding value and creating wealth. Often, African businesses are happy to simply service and have a cash flow, instead of thinking about real growth and real investments into properties, IPs and the future. What are some of your biggest successes as an organisation? One of our key successes is the fact that we have pioneered a new hybrid agency model and exemplified what it means to be a multi-disciplinary creative agency. That manifests in how we are able work on some of South Africa’s and Africa’s biggest brands, while working on international campaigns with people like Kevin Hart and Bono, all at the same time. We’re breaking the rules, breaking silos and becoming an example of an agile
Fort Global Network Launch
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business that changes the metrics for success. We have embraced the disruption that’s happened over the past decade, and have proudly been able to maintain our black African independence at a time when many others have struggled. Another thing I’m excited about is that we’ve been able to drive a movement towards decolonising the creative economy and thinking beyond the success of just our company to the success of South Africa and the rest of the continent. We’ve worked in over 17 African countries and have built relationships, client bases and best practices that money can’t buy. We have also pioneered a shared prosperity model in which one percent of our company is held by our sustainability arm, Hold the Fort, and that contributes to our African talent lab, our skills development and our training programmes. Our staff own 10% of our company through our Fort employee fund, so that has been another considerable success and a pioneering model within creative industries globally. Any clients you have worked with that stand out? One of the things we’re most proud of is the diversity of our client-base. We’ve worked with major global brands like Nike and Pepsi, along with South African brands such as DStv and some key leaders in the local financial, retail and technology industries. Some stand-out moments include working with Bono’s One Campaign, World Bank, World Food Program, the World Trade Organisation, D’banj and Kevin Hart. How do we “in the broader scheme of things” decolonise the creative economy? We first need to define the idea of a ‘creative economy’. Cultural and creative industries such as film, music, art, fashion, advertising, marketing and communications all contribute to what we know as the ‘creative economy’, which is a multi-billion-rand industry. But we need to acknowledge that a lot of the money in the creative economy flows offshore. For example, 80% of advertising agencies are foreign-owned, so that money is ultimately channeled out of the continent. If you buy a book, even by a local author, chances are that the publishing house is foreign-owned. The starting point in thinking about decolonising the African economy is to support new ownership models. People have the power to choose which companies they do business with and the
Fort CEO and co-founder Shukri Toefy, with Creative Partner and Director Amr Singh
We are also proud to announce that we are launching the Fort Review Series, a video series that deals with urban culture, diversity, collaborations and issues of success within a new creative economy. How important are authentic cultural narratives within the African context? It’s crucial, and I think that individuals and companies that work within the African creative industries need to understand their role in building and telling authentic cultural narratives within advertising, music, film and literature. For too long, we’ve been telling African stories through the lens of an outsider and it’s time for us to stand up and use the platforms available to us. As we move away from a commodity-based economy to an information-based economy, building authentic cultural narratives becomes paramount because we’re in a position to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For example, we ran a campaign for MTV Base that used the brand’s global gravitas and network, but built an authentic aesthetic narrative and an Afro-positive narrative that audiences responded to with overwhelming positivity. It’s something we’re incredibly proud of, and we have a number of examples where we work with global businesses to tell an authentic cultural narrative within the African framework. products they buy. We need to buy local, support and invest in our continent and put emphasis on doing business with African companies to ensure that money stays within our creative economy. As Fort, we began a movement called #CreateMovement in which we produced a song as a call-to-action to people all over Africa to raise awareness about supporting local artists and businesses. To further decolonise the African creative economy, we need to rethink where we draw our inspiration from. I have set the example as Fort CEO and started a thought leadership platform called The Rainmakers Journal, which encourages people to write down their interactions with ordinary people. It has a particular focus on finding knowledge in areas that haven’t been colonised, and this culminated in shooting a film of my experiences in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Unwritten has enjoyed critical acclaim in the International Film category with Official Selections at the Roma Cinema Doc, Largo Film Awards and the 10th Annual Bali International Film Festival, along with wins at the 2016 Amsterdam Film Festival and the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards. For the second year now, Fort is continuing Fort Review – a collection of articles written by our staff, key partners and stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to contribute to the greater narrative on African creativity.
Fort is going through ideological and progressive changes as we move towards 2020. Can you tell me more about these? Fort is shifting from being a service-based company to a property-based company. More than that, it is an ideological shift that positions us as a brand, instead of simply as an agency. We would like people to say that Fort is a brand of creativity. Fort is a world-class African brand. There are so many brands that people respect and a lot of brand equity that has been built; we would like to build a brand that captures the story of who we are as Africans.
“ I N L I F E , YO U D O N ’ T N E E D TO B E T H E B E ST AUTHOR IN THE WO R L D ; YO U J U ST N E E D TO B E T H E B E STSELLING AUTHOR I N T H E WO R L D. ”
What is the strength and power of knowledge sharing, what does it mean to you personally? I’m passionate about knowledge
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30 SECOND BIO SHUKRI TOEFY Family? I have a wife and two boys (six and three). They are the joy, light and grounding force in my life. Favourite food? My wife’s rosemary lamb. Biggest inspiration? The fact that my parents, on a nurse’s and driver’s salary, put four children through private school. Biggest risk taken? To me, the biggest risk is not taking a risk and missing out on what you could potentially achieve. Worst fear? My biggest fear is complacency and being content with being average. Business interest? To build a world-class company and help others, particularly in emerging markets, to do the same.
Fort at the Loeries Awards 2016 Shukri Toefy and Amr Singh on set in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
sharing, and it’s something that I’ve taken on outside of my capacity as Fort CEO. This has been realised by The Rainmakers Journal platform and it is, in essence, a celebration and anthology of a common man’s knowledge. When we had our African Network Launch and simultaneously launched our #CreateMovement campaign, we gave everyone who attended a notebook and asked them to write a message on the first page to a storyteller of the next generation. Later, these notebooks were given to the young people in our Fort African Talent Lab. Through the Rainmakers Journal and other projects within Fort, we plan to continue to host workshops, and provide creative tools, films and videos that encourage knowledge sharing. Who has been your biggest influence in business? Definitely my business partner, Amr Singh. I think we have a unique ability to create a formidable team within business, as well as maintain a great level of friendship. We find inspiration in different places and know where our powers lie together in a partnership. Another influence that still drives us today is that we had a real need to succeed. We had a hunger that I don’t think people can understand when they meet us today, and we are grateful for what we have. We know it was never promised to us; we had to go out there and get it.
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Favourite destination? New York. It makes you feel like anything is possible and I truly see Johannesburg as the New York of Africa. Favourite quote? “All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible. “- T.E Lawrence Favourite book? A Recipe for Dreaming by Bryce Courtenay Unwinding time means? Travelling, exploring and being away from my normal routine as well as spending time with my family.
Do you feel African creative entrepreneurs are mature and progressive enough to offer their services on a global scale and, if so, why? Yes, we are certainly good and progressive enough. We are in a position where creative entrepreneurs are able to take advantage of the disruption of the current value chains of business and take advantage of the digital networks that open up access to new audiences and clients from all over the world. I think what people need to understand is that they need to back up their ideas and creativity with worldclass operational systems behind them. There is no excuse for not having sound financial and operational systems behind what they do. What is your biggest challenge in business today? The biggest challenge for entrepreneurs in South Africa is the lack of governmental support and infrastructure. Being an entrepreneur or business-owner can be highly unrewarding because there are so many hoops to jump through. Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years? I see myself as the CEO of Fort, and Fort being recognised as a global brand of creativity. It is a brand of excellence across the globe but has its spirit, ethics and purpose deeply rooted in Africa. I also see myself doing work with businesses in emerging markets to help them reach a global audience. How will technological advances impact your service offerings? Technological advances will disrupt value chains across the globe. More than that, the ability to own and be the means of production has resulted in the democratisation of creativity and only those with a commitment to excellence will survive. For Fort, it’s a matter of putting innovation at our core and knowing that our business and service offerings will pivot and shift in the oncoming years. We want to continue to think, make and create – this is a part of our DNA that will never change.
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Tips that every entrepreneur needs to know
The digital Masterclass brings together successful leaders and entrepreneurs looking for guidance, to share knowledge, discuss ideas and plan for digital growth. This is an opportunity for those who want to pioneer, disrupt industries and take their business to new heights to receive insights from those with experience.
Going digital is the way of the future
3 Forget B2B and B2C. Embrace H2H While technology has allowed us to automate almost anything, the removal of the human element is not necessarily what we want. People are beginning to crave human connection. Brands are expected to move away from Business to Business or even Business to Consumer marketing. 2017 and beyond is about Human to Human marketing. It is human nature to crave a sense of belonging, and the forming of communities such as fan clubs, business networks and even churches meet this need. Today, communities are created online and across the world. It began with chat rooms where people with a similar interest connected, and swiftly moved to the era of social media. Companies should be actively engaging in conversations with their consumers on social media or via email so that consumers feel their needs have been met and they’ve had a real conversation with a person, not a brand. Nobody wants to feel like just another contribution to a company’s profit, so don’t be afraid to start a two-way conversation.
South Africa’s industry leaders are talking tech more than anything else in 2017. They understand the importance of bringing their businesses online, no matter what sector they operate in. Entrepreneurs who are serious about growth are discovering the power of digital marketing, disruptive thinking and key collaborations. The below tips provide a great start for Entrepreneurs looking to go digital. 1 An Online Presence Presents Incredible Opportunities Remember the idea of 6 degrees of separation? Simply put, each person in the world is separated by only 6 people. Today, it’s become 3.2 degrees of separation because of social media. Having an online presence, specifically on social media, means businesses can reach a much wider network of potential clients than in an offline environment. There are 3.5 million searches on the internet in just 60 seconds, and 701 000 Facebook logins in a minute. With those numbers in mind, any entrepreneur without an online presence is doing their business a disservice. Having a digital home, such as a website, for your business is critical. This is the digital identity for your business, and the beginning of putting yourself out there to be found. With the advancement of technology, you don’t have to be a designer or developer to have your own website. Learn how to create your business online in 15 minutes through drag and drop here. 2
The Digital Realm Is a Man’s World Consider Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. While the biggest names in tech are mostly male, women today have as much potential as men to be pioneers in the digital world. The online gender disparity isn’t expected to last. Theories suggest that society is moving away from a man’s way of thinking which leans toward disruption. Women are more concerned with creating eco-systems and collaborating with others, which is the next step in the way we interact online. With the aim of providing support for women in digital, and entrepreneurs in general, MTN Digital Masterclass hosts The Digital Entrepreneur.
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“ Theories suggest that society is moving away from a man’s way of thinking which leans toward disruption.”
Collaborate for Credibility The idea of collaboration is a hot topic, and an important business tactic. When potential clients are hesitant to work with small businesses, being associated with established brands increases the credibility of the business. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. Collaboration also translates to support for entrepreneurs who aren’t necessarily connected to people who understand their business. If you joined an incubator such as National Gazelles, your business would be exposed to those with more experience and those who have faced similar challenges. Startups often begin at hot desks when the team is too small to justify buying an office. Working in the same physical space as other companies makes networking much more natural and less daunting. A digital world erases the problem of geography when it comes to collaboration. Teleconferencing plays an important role in bringing people together despite their location, and it doesn’t need to become a major expense. MTN Digital Masterclass offers Entrepreneurs a free teleconferencing bridge link so they can connect and collaborate easily. If you want to be ahead of the curve, make sure these tips are part of your strategy for growth.
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Leading Edge
SNAP’S NEW GAME FACE The social media giant’s acquisition of digital avatarmaker Bitmoji may be one of its smartest moves yet. BY A A R O N G E L L Illustrations by Gabriel Silveira
On an overcast morning in June, a dozen or so young illustrators and animators gather in the lunchroom at the Bitstrips offices, located in an unassuming industrial building in Toronto’s swiftly gentrifying Queen Street West neighborhood. The occasion is the creative department’s twice-weekly brainstorming session, known internally as a Bitmojam, during which a new crop of bitmoji, the company’s illustrated digital mash notes, will begin to take shape. On a whiteboard, someone has written out the day’s challenge: “Shade.” Below that are listed six mildly derisive comebacks one might find useful in a text conversation, including “Are you f——ing kidding me?,” “Slow clap,” and “You had one job. . . .” Bitmoji are perhaps best described as the mobile web’s version of Hallmark cards, but better. Cartoon greetings that feature customisable avatars and can be inserted into any number of chat apps, bitmoji offer a considerably wider (and hipper) range of expressions than you’ll ever find in a drugstore aisle. “Having a digital extension of yourself is a necessity,” creative director and CEO Jacob Blackstock says, “and we’re working to give people the best possible
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version.” But even in visually infectious cartoon form, negative expressions present a challenge for Bitmoji’s creative team, who might be thought of as millennial Cyranos—charged with helping the app’s millions of daily users bring just the right mix of wit, topicality, and emotional nuance to their online repartee. Stacks of index cards and pens are distributed, a timer is set, and the room goes silent for 15 minutes as the team sketch out little scenes to go with each phrase. Then they pin the results to a bulletin board and take turns explaining the reasoning behind their various choices (putting “Are you f——ing kidding me?” on a cake, for instance, to take the edge off). It typically takes three or four weeks for the finished bitmoji to debut in the app, although in the event of a viral trend (fidget spinners, Left Shark), the team has been
“Having a digital extension of yourself is a necessity,” says Bitstrips CEO Jacob Blackstock, “and we’re working to give people the best possible version.”
known to “stop the presses,” as Blackstock puts it, and crash a new one in a matter of hours. As whimsical as bitmoji are, their creators view their work in philosophical terms: building an essential humanity into our online interactions. “Toys are not really as innocent as they look,” the designer Charles Eames once noted. It’s an axiom that Snap, the architect of Taco Bell’s Cinco de Mayo taco-head Snapchat lens, knows well. And by acquiring Bitstrips in March
2016 in a deal valued at $100 million (R1 304 570 000) in cash and stock—and encouraging users to embrace avatars in their Snapchat interactions—Snap seems to have found both a kindred spirit and a timely way to enliven its core product. “Like photography, Bitmoji compresses a lot of feelings and ideas into a relatively low-bandwidth image,” says former TechCrunch coeditorin-chief Alexia Tsotsis, who was early to spot the potential of the avatar-making app. And with Facebook and Instagram muscling in on Snapchat’s turf, such expressiveness may offer a critical point of difference. But whereas the Snapchat playground is walled off, bitmoji roam freely. Users can insert them into conversations everywhere from Slack to iMessage. In the three years since Bitmoji launched, more than 150 million people have downloaded the app, says Randy Nelson, head of mobile insights for Sensor Tower. Bitmoji kicked off this past summer as the most popular offering in the App Store in more than two dozen countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, according to App Annie. Much of this growth is attributable to Bitmoji’s integration with Snapchat; the two apps complement each other, creating a digital ecosystem. As chat grows more prominent, Bitmoji could prove a profoundly prescient acquisition, perhaps as important to Snap in the long run as Instagram and WhatsApp have been to Facebook. Bitmoji’s origins can be traced to a Toronto high school, where Blackstock, a skilled comics artist, used to crack up his classmate Dorian Baldwin by passing him profane sketches during class. (One memorable riff on Charles M. Schultz featured a beheading.) Ten years ago, after working as an animator, Blackstock teamed with Baldwin and two
BETWEEN T HE L INES Each week, Bitstrips’s creative team launches some 15 to 20 new bitmoji designs. Here’s how it turns ideas into avatars. 1
Sketching the concepts The content team bats around ideas for future bitmoji over Slack before picking six concepts, such as “Drive Safe” or “I Can’t Even,” to explore at the next Bitmojam session. During the twice-weekly brainstorms, illustrators armed with pens and index cards offer riffs on each message. The group then selects its favorites. 2
Finding an expression The team uses a modified version of the Bitstrips comics builder to create a scene with a generic avatar. The program lets them choose from different eyebrow positions, eye shapes, tongue lengths, and more. Small facial tweaks can change the entire tone of the bitmoji from worried to inquisitive to elated. 3
Fine-tuning the design Since users’ avatars can include hundreds of variations—including face shape, hairstyle, and body type—the Bitstrips team tries out potential bitmoji on test avatars to make sure they fit within the frame. Finally, they take out anything extraneous, winnowing the image down to its simplest iteration.
other friends, Shahan Panth and David Kennedy, to create the web-based comic-strip builder Bitstrips. “The idea was: What if we could make [creating] comics as fast as writing an email?” Blackstock says. In October 2013, Bitstrips quietly appeared in the App Store. Within a few weeks, Blackstock says, “it just went exponentially mega-viral,” seizing the top spot in both the App and Google Play stores. For days, the founders huddled in the office troubleshooting problems, as Kennedy, VP of technology, furiously churned out code to keep the service running. (Panth is VP of content, and Baldwin serves as lead content engineer.) The backlash, when it came, was fierce. In November, blog posts began popping up teaching users how to block the suddenly ubiquitous Bitstrips from their Facebook news feeds. “It was really hard,” Blackstock recalls. “It went from ‘This is amazing!’ to ‘Oh no! Sorry!’ ” Bitstrips might well have become just another flash in the App Store had it not been for the emergence of a corresponding trend: Pervasive texting had led to the widespread adoption of emoji as users struggled to make texts more emotionally expressive. Spotting a market for personalised stickers, the team launched Bitmoji in 2014. Designed to work in private conversations, the new app didn’t go viral the way Bitstrips had. “We didn’t want it to,” Blackstock says. “We knew the downside.” He and his team preferred to discreetly become a part of users’ everyday lives. By the time Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reached out about acquiring the company in October 2015, Blackstock says his team knew that “for Bitmoji to truly take over, it would have to be seamlessly integrated into an environment where people were talking every day.” Today, the 50-plus–person Bitstrips team, a split of
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techies and creatives, remains headquartered in Toronto and maintains a measure of independence from Snap, which is based in Venice, California. Bitstrips’s avatars, however, are becoming increasingly central to the Snapchat experience. Snapchat now offers a menu of lenses featuring avatars of both sender and recipient, known as “friendmoji.” And specialised Bitmoji avatars, aka “actionmoji,” take centre stage on the Snap Map, the beguiling new feature that pinpoints friends and locationbased Snapchat stories on a map of the world. “[Bitmoji] is a very creative tool,” says Eric Kim, cofounder and managing partner of the venture firm Goodwater Capital, “that aligns with Snap’s overall mission to empower people to be more self-expressive.” The question of how Bitmoji will generate revenue is quietly being addressed by Snap’s business development team. Neither Snap nor Bitmoji will comment on their plans, but the possibilities are not hard to imagine. Bitmoji’s pre-acquisition partnerships with movies and TV shows (Zoolander 2, Game of Thrones) and retailers such as Forever 21 and Steve Madden allow users’ avatars to utter familiar catchphrases and don outfits from beloved brands, hitting a marketing sweet spot similar to Snapchat’s lenses. Bitmoji is continuing these experiments, most recently by letting users select uniforms from their favourite professional sports teams. Snap Map, meanwhile, opens the door to location-based branded content. James Cakmak, an analyst with Monness Crespi Hardt who has been notably bullish on Snap’s prospects, sees yet another opportunity: Bitmoji allow users to showcase their current emotion, providing valuable data for advertisers. “The holy grail is getting the right ad to the right user at the right time,” he says, “and this helps
Leading Edge
[marketers] with that.” Even so, skepticism remains. “Unless this is just a sliver of what [Bitmoji] can do, I’m dubious about its long-term viability,” says Andrew Essex, former CEO of Droga5 and author of The End of Advertising, adding that the app’s centrality to users’ lives may be short-lived. Blackstock isn’t concerned. He’s spent more than a decade now thinking about cartoons as a visual language. As he sees it, the swiftly approaching merger of the real and the virtual will only make
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Bitmoji could prove a prescient acquisition, perhaps as important to Snap in the long run as Instagram and WhatsApp have been to Facebook.
such tools more essential. “We’re in a world now where we live in these,” he says, lifting his iPhone from the table. “Not only am I always on it,” he says, growing more animated, “but in terms of everyone I know, I mostly see them here. If you’re going to live in here, you’ve got to make this a better place to live.” It’s a classically evangelical startup pitch, stirring and prophetic, and it seems to call for some kind of affirmation, or maybe a bitmoji. “Slow clap,” anyone?
Fast Company Promotion
How digital trends reshape your business Powerful entrepreneurial insights
The digital world encourages the constant development of new trends. If going digital isn’t a process which comes naturally for you, the options can be overwhelming. We’ve gathered some entrepreneurial insights from industry leaders. By 2020, there will be 35 million smartphone users in South Africa. Without a website, small businesses are missing out on a vast number of potential customers. Your customer-facing website should include a few key features in order to be appealing. This includes speed, design for ease of use, and content which will engage users. Google provides a service to test websites by entering the url at: testmysite.withgoogle.com. You can also download a free report with automated suggestions to improve the quality of your website. Alibaba’s Single’s Day is an example of the potential of smart mobile marketing. The e-commerce giant leveraged China’s biggest shopping day on 11 November, an occasion for single people to buy something for themselves. By the end of Single’s Day in 2016, total sales had reached US$ 17.79 Billion. 84% of those sales came from mobile. If South African entrepreneurs were to harness the power of mobile for retail, the potential to reach a global audience would be much greater. Exponential Economy is the Future If you’re planning for the future, plan to grow within an exponential economy. Airbnb is a great example of how the 6 Ds of an exponential economy can be applied. Airbnb is Digitized; the platform can only be accessed via the internet. No paperwork or phone calls required. It is also Deceptive; people were unsure about how the service would work at first and may even have been hesitant at the idea of holidaying in someone else’s home. Once the service became globally popular, Airbnb became Disruptive. People were choosing this service over hotels and soon there were more Airbnb locations than traditional hotels in cities such as Paris. The travelling experience became Demonetized as people enjoyed the idea of cutting down their accommodation costs. They also enjoyed the
removal of admin such as checking in or dealing with reservation phone calls as is the usual process with many hotels. In this way, Airbnb Dematerialized the travel industry. The last D is one which makes a great difference to the economy; Democratization. Anyone can list on Airbnb and generate an income. Consider how you can use the data on your phone to expand your business.
“ Entrepreneurs who don’t have big agency budgets, should be using free tools to market their business.”
Digital Collaboration The idea of collaborating with brands and other people who have different skill sets has been discussed in detail at various business and tech conferences. Digital collaboration is also something to consider. Entrepreneurs who don’t have big agency budgets, should be using free tools to market their business. Pexels, for example, gives users thousands of images to use in their marketing campaigns for free and for commercial use. Canva is another free tool, which removes the need for a graphic designer. If for example, you wanted to create your own social media banners, you could find appropriate images on Pexels and use Canva to create the correct size, add logos and copy. Even Google encourages SMEs to collaborate with them by offering a number of services to assist with digital marketing. With easy to follow instructions, digital tools are available for every entrepreneur who wants to grow their bottom line. MTN Digital Masterclass offers a wealth of solutions which make it easy to go digital, or fine tune your current digital approach.
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CONNECTED! How powerful satellites and new antennas will soon connect cars to the Cloud by Brian Jakins (Regional Vice President of Sales in Africa, Intelsat Africa)
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Tech Forward
Imagine being able to drive a car anywhere on the African continent, all the while with a consistent powerful broadband signal, strong enough for passengers to stream high-definition video while the driver gets updates on traffic and road conditions miles down the highway. How about never again missing a day of work to take your car to the manufacturer because the software needs to be updated? Such scenarios are not as fantastical as you might think because, within just a
few years, a new generation of car antennas and high-throughput satellites will connect vehicles virtually anywhere on earth to the global communications network. Connecting cars and trucks to the Internet is going to forever change the way we think about personal and commercial highway transportation. Intelligent transport systems and selfdriving vehicles will more easily and efficiently move passengers and products to their destinations. At the same time, these connections will enhance both the
driver and the passenger experience with information and entertainment only available with high-speed satellite links. In addition, by connecting cars to powerful satellites such as Intelsat’s EpicNG constellation, manufacturers will be able to update vehicle software via satellite instead of requiring owners to visit a dealership where technicians update vehicles one at a time. The high-throughput satellites making this possible have been launched in just the past year or so and include Intelsat 35e, now undergoing testing following its July 5 release. The spacecraft will provide coverage of the African continent, with powerful spot beams that can be picked up by the kinds of small antennas being developed for cars and trucks. The new generation of antennas are small, flat panels developed by Intelsat partner Kymeta. They have the same capability of the small dish antenna you might see atop a commercial building, but without the bulk and weight. The flat antennas will typically be installed between the headliner and the roof of a vehicle, invisible to the owner yet capable of sending and receiving information virtually anywhere outside of a closed garage if the car’s ignition switch is turned on. The antennas will take advantage of the unique ability of a satellite to multicast information, rather than having signals sent individually to each user over terrestrial cellular or Wi-Fi networks that could be congested or unavailable in certain locations. Car manufacturers and their suppliers are just beginning to explore the range of content that might be streamed to the vehicles through these new antennas. The satellite antenna will enable the rapid twoway communications between the car and the cloud server maintained by the car’s manufacturer, allowing the driver to pick from a menu of services. Simplifying access to these solutions will be subscription-based, such as the KĀLO™ global service, being implemented by Intelsat and Kymeta, to provide high-throughput internet access to Kymeta-enabled vehicles. One item on that menu might be allowing the owner to alter the performance characteristics of a car by modifying the software. For example, perhaps a motorist would order up a “track performance” setting while driving through a winding mountain road on a weekend, but change back to “fuel economy” mode when back home commuting to work. Or maybe a pickup truck owner would change the vehicle’s torque characteristics when towing a trailer.
Other menu items could be a range of “infotainment” options such as streaming music, video from providers such as Netflix, and high-speed broadband. Passengers would have numerous entertainment options either on screens inside the vehicle or on portable devices they brought along for the trip. For car manufacturers, updating vehicle software via satellite will save millions of dollars in vehicle recalls because they won’t have to fix the cars one at a time at dealerships. Since the mid-1990s, computer-based electronic control units have replaced many of the mechanical and pneumatic control systems in cars and trucks, resulting in millions of lines of software code that need to be managed and sometimes updated. Companies estimate that between 60 and 70 percent of vehicle recalls are the result of software issues. Eliminating the need to make these updates individually at dealerships will also save time for the owners. One of the issues being worked out among manufacturers and content providers is who will control the relationship with the car owner. For example, will Volkswagen or Mercedes Benz develop their own music streaming services or use a third-party option such as Google Play or Apple Music? The manufacturers are also working out what services might be provided for free as a courtesy to car owners, and which ones might be offered with a one-time payment or a monthly subscription fee. An important consideration for car manufacturers will be the security of the networks able to access the cars and make software changes. A motorist receiving notice that the brake system on his or her car is about to be updated will want to know that the change has come from the right source and has not been tampered with. Rather than work with hundreds of cellular providers around the world to manage automotive software, manufacturers will be attracted to the security and reliability of a single satellite network. While the high-throughput satellites that can support these services have been launched, the antennas are just coming to market, so we won’t see some of these services until around the 2020 or 2021 model years. But then the technology will take off rapidly. Some manufacturers, such as Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, are “ Connecting already taking advantage of some of the cars and trucks software update capabilities using Wi-Fi to the Internet is and cellular networks. Satellite going to forever connections will likely work to change the way complement these services for some we think about applications, but satellite will be the best personal and type of connectivity for manufacturers to commercial make mass updates to vehicles spread highway across wide geographic areas. transportation.” The benefits a connected car can provide to consumers seem to know no bounds, from eliminating time wasted in the auto repair shop waiting for a software update to downloading movies ondemand for your children to watch during a long road trip. Connected cars have already proven to help make our lives easier, efficient and a little more entertaining, and the reliability of a satellite network will help ensure that connectivity is always available.
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Wanted
1
Rom a ncing t he stone Stofenmacher’s search for ethical gems led her to Diamond Foundry, a Leonardo DiCaprio–backed startup that uses a plasma reactor to produce diamonds in a lab. “[Diamond Foundry] changes the environment in which diamonds grow without changing the product itself,” Stofenmacher says. She decided to use its stones in her rings; the partnership deepened last year when Diamond Foundry acquired Vrai & Oro to help commercialise its lab-grown stones. (Stofenmacher is now president of Vrai & Oro and creative director of Diamond Foundry.) 2
Ret h i n ki n g t he proce ss Before bringing the conflict-free diamonds to market, Stofenmacher spoke with engaged friends and learned that neither the proposal nor the ring typically came as a surprise to the recipient. Although most jewelers market rings to men and emphasise engagement as a big reveal, Stofenmacher understood that women were taking a more active role in ring selection. “We wanted to offer [couples] a chance for collaboration,” she says. 3
A fitting st rategy Stofenmacher applied a Warby Parker–like approach to diamond shopping. She began offering a “mock box” containing three sample rings of varying sizes and styles, made with cubic zirconia stones. Couples choose the ring they prefer and send the box back.
PUT A ( BETTER ) RING ON IT A search for conflict-free diamonds led one jeweler to rethink the engagement process. By Kim Lightbody
Illustration by Pâté
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Last year, Vanessa Stofenmacher wanted to expand her threeyear-old direct-to-consumer fine jewelry brand, Vrai & Oro, to include engagement rings. But she couldn’t stand the thought of buying traditionally mined diamonds, which are often unearthed in war-torn countries and sold to fund conflicts. Here’s how she found a stone with no skeletons, and modernised the engagement-ring shopping experience along the way.
4
Ring rede sig n The diamonds aren’t just conflictfree—they’re also made to be “part of your everyday life,” Stofenmacher says. In keeping with the company’s minimalist aesthetic, the team lowered the stone in the setting, crafted smaller prongs, and created a thinner band, so the final product is less obtrusive than a traditional ring. “The culture around engagement rings is shifting,” says Stofenmacher. “We’re changing the industry’s thought process.”
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My Way
SMARTCALL FOR SMARTPHONES Innovative solutions to mobile predicaments Being smart is one thing – being Smartcall-smart is another entirely. It’s the name of the tech game, and it’s spreading fast and furiously across southern Africa
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If you are not talking or texting on it, you are probably doing something else to communicate through it with another person. But mobile phone usage goes beyond that – it is exploding across southern Africa with millions of individuals owning at least one cellphone. Smartcall is an agent for many companies involved in South Africa’s burgeoning wireless mobile communication, where innovation is at the forefront. . Here, Smartcall’s Managing Director Mark Atteih, shares some insights on what the company is all about.
@
Give us more info on Smartcall and what it is about Smartcall is about taking mobile communication products and services to the people at the most cost effective yet convenient point of sale. We deal with the network operator; we handle the logistics and the administration; we offer the end seller full support, training, back-up and administration. In turn, this allows them to sell the product to the people in their area where they are trusted, known and loved. Our distributors are able to offer customers the best deal on mobile communications in every area in which we operate. We customise specific products for specific sectors of the market, down to different price plans that the users can choose for themselves with the option to swop between plans. Why did you choose to do business in the telecommunications sector? A passion for wireless communications is where it all started - the concept of freedom from a location; a personal communication device that was with you in your pocket; the idea of phoning a person and not a place. In 1992 there was a definite need for mobile communication in South
Africa. Telkom had four million connected locations at the time, and the technology of mobile was amazing, with the advent of GSM, and it suited South Africa perfectly. Do you have a global presence or are you currently based only in Africa? We are currently based mainly in South Africa, with a few small operations in other African countries. You currently have over 60 000 Smart Agents across SA. What do you think has contributed toward the success of growing such a large base, and what value does this large Smart Agent base hold for other companies/brands who work with Smartcall? We have close to 200 000 valid outlets, of which 60 000 are active outlets. By active I mean “have performed a transaction in the last 90 days”. All these outlets are connected to us by mobile technology. The proliferation of
“ A passion for wireless communications is where it all started - the concept of freedom from a location; a personal communication device that was with you in your pocket; the idea of phoning a person and not a place.”
data handsets has also played a part in allowing us to offer more and more services to the distribution base. The majority of these outlets are not in major CBDs and this is in line with our strategy of taking products to the people. In effect we have a 60 000-outlet footprint that could in reality sell anything off our systems. What value or offering can/does Smartcall provide for the likes of financial institutions/banks and corporates with a large number of employees? Apart from supplying them with our mobile products and services (SIM cards and Airtime or contract offerings) at competitive prices and offering them access to years of experience and expertise, we could partner with them to distribute their products directly to the end seller and ultimately the end consumer. Due to our systems and connectivity, this can be done in a very cost effective manner. How is Smartcall driving the creation of SMEs in municipalities? As previously mentioned we aim to take the products to the people, and supporting SMEs in towns is integral to this strategy. This allows us to supply products to economically active people at the most convenient purchase point. It also allows SMEs to be part of a bigger system and solution to offer their customers a superior solution, as well as being price competitive at the same time. In what ways do you feel that Smartcall is a leader within your industry particularly when it comes to staying ahead of the competition? We have a simple philosophy of keeping our solutions simple and effective (regardless of the
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My Way
30-SECOND BIO complexity involved in creating them) and user friendly for the end user. Our distributors get the best deal possible and are never in doubt as to the integrity of the systems and never have to worry if they will get paid or not on the prescribed date. As for our suppliers we treat them with the same respect and have a reputation for honesty and integrity. Based on this and our history of doing this for nearly 20 years, our new solutions and products are trusted and believed in by our distributors and the user acceptance thereof is much faster than one would normally expect in this industry.
“We have intelligent people in all aspects of the industry and as it matures, we all are moving forward at an amazing pace. It’s something that the population is not aware of and takes for granted, but the service levels, network quality and distribution footprints are probably the best in the world.”
In the past 20 years, Smartcall has invested over R1 billion into infrastructure development and other elements – can you give us more insight into this? Why was it so important for you to have invested in these elements? If we could have bought software to perform the tasks we needed to address, we would have, but nothing was available. As we developed and grew the market to where it is, we needed to develop our own software and our own solutions that addressed specific requirements. Thousands of agents, simultaneously, each on their own terminal, can access data bases and perform transactions as if they are the only user on the system. They can RICA a customer, recharge airtime on a direct or pin basis, schedule recharges into the future, administer their distribution, SIM swop a customer and have access to general administration functions needed to make their life simpler and more profitable. Our solutions are accessible through various data channels so as to allow our distribution to use a device that suits them, mobile or fixed. What has been your greatest challenge to date? Convincing people that we need to continuously move forward and innovate, otherwise we will stagnate. What would you consider as your most notable accomplishment as a company since inception? The company and our peoples’ ability to continually identify areas where
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Ma rk Attieh FAVOURITE QUOTE
Everything is possible. FAVOURITE BOOK
I don’t really have a favourite; I enjoy reading anything. that improves my knowledge base. FAVOURITE DESTINATION
Home. FAVOURITE CITY
Apart from Johannesburg, Cape Town. FAVOURITE TECH GADGET
My iPhone. IDEAL DAY
Any day where I feel the feeling of achievement. HOW DO YOU UNWIND AND RELAX
By laughing. BIGGEST INSPIRATION
Integrity and honesty. BEST MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE
Every day for what it brings is amazing.
we can do better and continually innovate to improve and enhance our products and services. In effect, we are great at making our products and services obsolete before our competitors do. What are your thoughts on collaboration? Any collaborative partners? I feel the next stage of this industry is going to be collaboration with financial institutions. The industry is complex internally and partnerships with these institutions will match their ability and expertise to our mobile expertise and this will have a significant effect on the mobile communication market as well as the financial services market in South Africa in the future. What are your thoughts on the SA telecommunications industry? It is an amazing place, full of excitement and the unknown. In reality, there is a new adventure every day. We have intelligent people in all aspects of the industry and as it matures, we all are moving forward at an amazing pace. It’s something that the population is not aware of and takes for granted, but the service levels, network quality and distribution footprints are probably the best in the world. What does the future hold for the company? The future will bring new technology and solutions, making a lot of what we currently have in the mobile communication space a lot better and in some cases obsolete. Smartcall’s biggest advantage is that we are proactive and flexible, with the ability to introduce new products into our distribution base with short notice. New products and services appear on a continuous basis, from the ones that we create to the ones that others create and we re-distribute. Our speed to market allows us to monetise these services to the benefit of the customers, our distributors and Smartcall.
You see a Chartered Accountant
WE SEE RESPONSIBLE
Leadership
THAT KNOWS NO LIMITS TO GROWING A COMMUNITY Mose Kutadzaushe CA(SA), CFA, MBA Founding member of Supreme Brands & Investment Specialist: Investec Asset Management
Overall Winner
35 2016
UNDER
thirty five
The aptitude and discipline of CAs(SA) know no limits, because their continued professional development, dedication and ambition to seek opportunity is what drives them. Mose Kutadzaushe’s entrepreneurial spirit, backed by his technical training and global experience as an investment specialist, has influenced the success of his business, and has also provided opportunities to the community he serves. That’s why, when you partner with a CA(SA), you are harnessing a wealth of experience that knows when and how to seize an opportunity. To read about this story and other stories, please visit www.findacasa.co.za
responsible leadership.
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Creative Conversation
Bradley Zetler has a vision for the future and it works
A MODEL OF A DIGITAL STORM How Bradley Zetler has fulfilled his vision to improve efficiency and invent revolutionary technologies that have become standard in the model and fashion industry Interview by Siphosethu Nini
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Founding Rapid Systems t/a MainBoard.com in the 90’s was the right step in the right direction for Bradley Zetler as it fulfilled his vision to improve efficiency and invent revolutionary technologies that will become industry standard in the model and fashion industry. Still the CEO of the company and a major shareholder, Zetler juggles this role with being a husband and father of two. Taking control of his destiny after graduating from the University of Cape Town and for 2 years working for a financial service company, he shifted his focus to the importance of emerging digital technology and this later resulted in the formation of MainBoard. What motivated you to get into digital technology? In the mid 90’s the internet and software was really starting to take off. I found it a fascinating industry. I believed it was the future and it seemed a good fit for my skills. From an early age, I always wanted to know how things worked. I would take my toys apart and then try put them back together. Coupled with being a good problem solver, the idea of building software solutions that solved business problems seemed like something I could be good at. What was missing in the industry of fashion and modelling that you felt needed to be addressed? When I started, agencies were couriering models’ portfolios to clients all over the world. This had high printing and courier costs and took several days. I immediately knew that we could build an online image delivery system that would allow agencies and clients to share images in real time at a fraction of the cost. Once we started working with agencies, models and their clients, we identified many more workflows and processes that we could streamline through new software solutions. Digital technology and fashion/modelling: how do the two connect? Technology is the connector and allows the entire industry to connect. Our solutions connect models, agencies and clients. When we started, most agencies had one computer in the office, with one general email account. Everything was done manually with paper, fax and phone. If you walk into an agency today, all agents are on computers and you hardly hear the phone ring as everything is done electronically. Models walk around showing clients their portfolios, using our app on their iPhone or iPad instead of carrying around a physical book. Clients are casting on Portfoliopad or Castingpad, which often replaces the need for a physical casting. When I started, every single agent I spoke to said that a client would never book a model without seeing the physical images and viewing the models in person. It seemed incomprehensible to them that a model could be booked by someone just viewing their images on a computer screen. I knew I was right and continued building something that no one was asking for, but knew that once they could see it work they would be convinced. Why did you start Mainboard? I had been out of university for almost 2 years and was working at a financial services company which I could not see myself doing for the rest of my life. I always knew I wanted to have my own business and be in control of my own destiny. The internet was gaining traction and
something I wanted to be part of. In 1997, while spending a day on Camps Bay beach, myself and a friend decided to quit our jobs and start a website for people planning events. At the same time my friend started modelling part time, which gave us insight into the modelling industry. We quickly identified many opportunities and problems we could solve for modelling agencies with the use of technology. What would you describe as Mainboard.com’s core purpose and what is your greater vision as the CEO? Disruption is a key term thrown around these days in the tech business. Software development companies need to constantly evolve and innovate solutions based on anticipating future market trends and then ensure clients are informed and educated on how to unlock these new-found potentials. Mainboard’s core purpose is to develop and constantly evolve customized software and web development solutions that manage and accelerate key areas of the world’s leading modelling, talent, fashion and production agencies’ business
“ I immediately knew that we could build an online image delivery system that would allow agencies and clients to share images in real time at a fraction of the cost.”
and daily workflow. After 20 years, we understand the industry’s pressure points and what a successful agency needs in order to stay ahead of the curve, cut costs and run efficiently. Between Portfoliopad and Castingpad, as well as countless integrated website solutions, we have conceptualized and developed an entire digital ecosystem for creative agencies that has revolutionised how they operate and manage their businesses. For me context is everything. In recent times, I’ve witnessed the role of influencers and data analytics becoming a determining factor in how I evolve our software solutions. The rise of competitor companies who offer watereddown copycat services impact upon our market share. This has meant that our focus has been to consolidate our product features and ensure clients get a more cohesive and all-encompassing software offering. I’m also focusing my time on looking at how to standardize the website development process, from a business to consumer perspective, with a new product that will be available in September. Tell us more about some of the software solutions that Mainboard has designed for the fashion industry over the past year. We started with Portfoliopad, which is a media management and delivery system which agencies use to manage their talents and present them to their clients. Soon after that we created a booking application which became the operating system for a model agency. It is a centralised database of their talent and clients, allowing them to schedule their appointments, know who is available, who is not and who has been told about what they must
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Creative Conversation
30-SECOND BIO do. This system also does the invoicing and talent accounting. Castingpad is the application that allows clients to brief agencies and consolidate submissions received from all the agencies they brief. This solution also acts as the content managements systems for the hundreds of integrated websites we develop and maintain for many of our clients. What would you note as your biggest innovation within the business to date? Twenty years ago the model agency casting process involved agencies making laser copies of their clients’ portfolios and printing Z-cards (a concise model’s portfolio) which they had to courier overseas in an iterative process. This cost a lot of money and it took a lot of time. This sparked the thought that an online file sharing application could solve this problem. In a few months, we created the first version of an application that would become Mainboard’s flagship product: Portfoliopad. Bear in mind, this was not yet the real boom of the internet. At the time there were less than 2 million website users on the World Wide Web (today we have close to 1 billion), and people were using Netscape Navigator to surf them. An email address was a toy. The product was the first of its kind in the world, and its instant traction and popularity encouraged me to seek other opportunities in the industry. This led to the release of the booking system and Castingpad, all of which facilitated agency digitisation while standardising and streamlining their operations. “Looking your
very best online is becoming increasingly important, as billions of us now socialise, look for love, jobs and networking opportunities.”
What is Mainboard offering agencies and its clients that makes it the best in the market? In essence, what sets the organisation apart from the rest? For me the two most important things are innovation and support. Today, almost every process in every software application for the industry, whether supplied by us or a competitor, was invented by Mainboard. We have also innovated and continually strive to push the boundaries with what’s possible. Coupled with the best solutions on the market, we offer our clients amazing support. No matter how good the software, users often need help when they run into a problem they can’t immediately solve. This is where our support team becomes so important. Our clients know we are never more than an email, online chat or phone call away. What are you doing your way to ensure that the modelling and fashion industry gets the best out of digital technology? At Mainboard we pride ourselves on delivering fanatical support to our clients in all aspects of their business - whether it’s through our technical support team providing training and guidance on how best to operate and utilize our software, or through our strategic business development team that keeps clients abreast of the latest trends and software feature developments we offer. After a user is trained, not only will they know
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B rad ley Zetler FAMILY
Wife Brie and 2 beautiful daughters Jaime and Rileye FAVOURITE FOOD
Burger and fries FAVOURITE QUOTE
It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. FAVOURITE TECHNOLOGY INVESTED
iPhone MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Birth of my children BIGGEST INSPIRATION
My late Grandfather FUTURE GOALS
Continue to build technology that people don’t realise they yet need UNWINDING TIME MEANS
Spending time with my wife and kids, in the gym or on the golf course
how to use our software, but they will know the best practises and workflows for their job. The key focus is in ensuring that our clients don’t just lease our software and then our job is done. This is the point at which our real work begins in guiding them and being responsive to their business needs. This intimate/close relationship with our clients also enables us to constantly evolve our products, based upon their everchanging needs and feedback. Whilst it is our role to innovate, it is equally important to innovate based upon individual client requirements. What was the idea behind TouchMeUp.com, the professional photo editing app? Looking your very best online is becoming increasingly important, as billions of us now socialise, look for love, jobs and networking opportunities. Decisions about who to engage with are made within seconds! Since people do not get as much face-time with their clients, friends, and prospective dating partners, it is critical that people present themselves in the most effective way online to achieve that face-to-face meeting. Image retouching is a service normally reserved for models and photographers and is expensive, but our app brings this service to the masses and at a low cost. With so many photo editing apps on the market what sets TouchMeUp.com apart from the rest? We are one of the only apps services where the images are retouched by professional retouch artists. Most retouch apps just use filters and are never as good as the real thing. We have re-touchers who work 24 x 7 x 365 who can get your retouched image back to you in 24 hours or less. People can get anything, from their bust size increased, teeth whitened to losing 30 pounds.
WHEN BRAVE YOUNG INNOVATORS PUT THEIR CRE ATIVE MINDS TO THINGS, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
INNOVATION BY DESIGN
MASTERING THE ART OF MAKING A GOOD DESIGN I N N OVAT I V E , BY DESIGNING IT I N A WAY T H AT S O LV E S E N D E M I C COMMUNITY PROBLEMS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CAPTURING THE IMAGINATION, IS NOT SOMETHING EVERYONE CAN ACHIEVE. Honouring and giving the thumbs up to those who can, is the least we can do. This entails recognising, and rewarding companies – both big and small – who are at the coalface of innovation, and making special things happen on a daily basis. A good, innovative design can come from anywhere, even the least expected places. Everywhere you look, you find companies working in communities and bringing positive change to the lives of ordinary people. It is an inspiring tale indeed.
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Nokwethu Khojane and Lauren Drake are helping alleviate the plight of low income earners.
LAKHENI: MAKING QUANTITY REALLY COUNT For many low income households in South Africa, buying a full month’s groceries proves to be a significant challenge. Naturally, grocery retailers want to sell as many products as they possibly can, to maximise profits, and one mechanism to achieve this is to offer products at a discount when buying in bulk. The more you buy, the less you pay. This, however means nothing for families with low incomes – they simply cannot afford to buy in large quantities. The sad reality is that people who struggle are the ones who face the greatest cost burden. In other words, lower-income earners have no choice but to forego the benefits that come with buying in bulk. Enter entrepreneurs Nokwethu Khojane and Lauren Drake, who have come up with an innovative way to overcome this difficulty and alleviate the plight of low income households.
Their Cape Town-based company, Lakheni, which was founded in 2015 while the two co-founders where completing their MBAs at the University of Cape Town, has worked out a unique system that aggregates low-income households into buying in groups – offering low-income earners a platform through their mobile devices to combine their buying powers with other low-income earners, either from the same church or whose children attend the same pre-school. Khojane and Drake negotiate better deals for these parents for the purchase of large quantities of everyday food products. Before starting the company this intrepid duo undertook extensive research on low income preschools and combined the buying power of these preschools to enable parents to buy their monthly groceries at one go – in bulk. Soon this unique scheme was extended to include the broader community, and each month participants deposit money into the company’s account and select their grocery list on an app. Lakheni delivers the groceries to a convenient place close to the customer’s residence.
Today the company continues to help low-income earners to sustain their families with the little they have and now has 95 different buying clubs, the majority of which involve pre-schools. Lakheni manages these consumer groups by appointing one member in each unit to control the group’s affairs, which includes signing up new members and thereby earning commission. Lakheni’s system offers clients a choice between two brands in the range of products on offer. This presents a golden opportunity for brands who want to be part of the scheme. The company has changed the lives of thousands of consumers, especially in Khayelitsha where its presence is particularly prevalent. For now Lakheni only focuses on food but in the future it is looking towards offering a wide range of other products as well, including airtime, data and electricity. The company was recently named one of the 10 top finalists for the Innovation Prize for Africa out of the 2 350 entries across Africa, which is testament to its far-reaching success.
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DESIGNING THE FUTURE
Tsai Design Studio is a creative practice that makes use of a multidisciplinary approach to generate innovative design and architectural solutions. Based in Cape Town, this pacesetting outfit specialises in architecture, interior, graphic and furniture designs. Back in 2012 the studio made a significant impact at the Design Indaba expo, where it designed and presented a Vissershok Container Classroom. This entailed a 12-metre recycled shipping container being used to build what must surely be one of the most innovative classrooms in South Africa. Situated in the Durbanville Wine Valley, this unique classroom now provides a special place of learning for underprivileged pupils in this impoverished area of the Western Cape. Accommodating 25 elementary students, the classroom was built on a limited budget and the final structure consists of a shelter top, outdoor play area, community space, garden and amphitheatre. The project went on to win a silver medal in the architecture category at the prestigious Loerie Awards in 2013. This is but one of many design accolades and awards that the studio has received over the years. But it’s not only about classrooms. The new Moyo restaurant, located at one of the Cape Town’s major tourist destinations, the V&A
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Waterfront, presented Tsai Design Studio with a unique opportunity to design a restaurant and market, challenging the Tsai design team to push the boundaries of creativity even further. The theme called for the studio to capture and depict the full food chain cycle – from seed to shelf. It even encompasses organic waste, and how it can be used as a fertiliser in urban farming and other agricultural endeavours. Currently the studio is working on the building of Zip Zap Circus, an enterprise that uses this age-old form of entertainment to transform and empower the youth. Since it was established in 1992 the circus has not had a permanent home – until now. Situated in the industrial area of Salt River,Zip Zap offers free circus training to children from all backgrounds and has gained recognition from the legendary Cirque Soleil, in Canada, whose ‘train the trainers’ programmes have helped many Zip Zap youth to develop their manifold skills. Still under construction, the Tsai Studio designers aim to incorporate three essential components – a circus, a theatre and a school. The 200sqm site is contracted by NMC Construction Group and Sutherland Engineers are bringing their expertise to bear on the
INNOVATION BY DESIGN
COMIC RELIEF
project. The studio’s interior designs show how one can utilise even limited space to its fullest potential. Tsai also turns its creative attention to houses, in a country where a typical house size is a mere 36sqm. In many cases such homes provide accommodation for many people. In this regard, Tsai Design studio joined with Aram Lello in the Ackerman Pick n Pay Foundation’s quest to use small 36sqm homes to their full potential. With the use of mobile cupboards that can be pushed back, and fold-up beds, the two managed to maximise the space for a family of ten, transforming what was used to be only a bedroom at night into a lounge during the day. In another unique community project, also under the auspices of the Foundation, Tsai was called upon the transform the living space of a 90sqm aids orphanage in Wellington providing shelter to about 20 children directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDS. In this project, the studio redesigned the floor to accommodate bunk beds and the end result of the project was a multipurpose room with four sets of beds that can be pushed back into a standard bunk bed, creating a play area for the children during the day. With all of these highly innovative projects, Tsai Design Studio continues to use its creativity and flair to redefine what is possible – and to make a lasting impact on the lives of people across a broad spectrum.
When he was a kid, a friend of his wanted to pay him R5 for a cartoon drawing and, knowing that he was so good at it, the drawing was not a big deal. Getting paid for it, however, was. Indeed, it made Loyiso Mkize realise that he could actually make a living out of his talent. Loyiso is a graphic design fine art artist and founder of Loyiso Mkize Art. He started drawing cartoons in his early childhood and through his parents’ support and investment in him, nurtured his art skills and completed a graphic design diploma at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2009. After graduating, and without a job, Loyiso approached the comic book Super Strikers, where he was offered a position as an intern and ended up being a full time illustrator for the comic. Clients included such major brands as KFC, ADT, African Bank, National Roads Agency, Caltex and Anglo American and Loyiso’s work has been featured in the Sunday Times and several other well known publications. “I started reading up on comic books at the age of seven and, growing up in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, one would not expect to have that kind of exposure to comic books or anything related to them,” he says. “But I had great parents, who assisted me in shaping the career that I now have, as they saw a genius in me and got me exposed to a lot of stuff as a young kid and invested in me throughout my schooling and career, ” he says. At the age of 28 Loyiso started his own visual arts and communication company, Loyiso Mkize Art, which showcases his designs, paintings and publishes Kwezi, a comic book with a South African flavour that has received recognition worldwide. Loyiso describes Kwezi as a 19-year-old who discovers that he has super powers, and uses these to discover his purpose in life. “I was always into Disney cartoon characters and I’ve always had a photographic memory, so my designs have had that kind of influence, but Kwezi is a superhero who I’ve had within me for years. We created him in a way that relates to and resonates with black people. I always ensure that the story I tell is authentic and as truthful as possible,” says Loyiso.
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The comic book quickly rose to popularity, with new editions being published in steady succession. The obvious remedy to meet with the demand, as well as extend availability nationwide, would be to partner with David Phillip Publishers, who Mkhize first encountered through Super strikers. From June 2016 Kwezi went on to be available at all Exclusive Books and Bargain Books stores nationwide. The partnership has been responsible for publishing two Kwezi collector editions and has regularly enjoyed best seller status at prominent stores across the country. Loyiso Mkize Art subsequently developed projects such as the Earth Day Campaign commissioned by Radio 702 and Cape Talk FM in 2014. The company also developed an entrepreneurship awareness comic book titled Young Hustler, for an entrepreneurial training and facilitating company. Most notable among Loyiso’s achievements was an anti-bullying comic book commissioned by the American comic book company, Archie Comics, which was developed and published in the USA in late 2015. Loyiso Mkize Art has a growing presence and has created a solid market in and outside South Africa. Its art works and designs have also found an audience in the UK and USA.
Loyiso Mkize (left) has created a solid market for arts and designs in South Africa and beyond.
GHOSTLY TYRES MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND It’s not exactly what you would expect from a start-up business which began from an idea that emanated from a ghostly visit (by a tyre, nogal) and now receives global recognition in the trade and expo industry. Indeed, Ozzy Eco Décor started serendipitously when Yolanda Msutwana, coowner of the business found a stray tyre lying in her yard. She disposed of it immediately, only to find another two days later. That’s when she began to imagine a better solution that would give new life to waste objects and create a more sustainable future for the environment she loves. Today, Ozzy Eco Décor offers a clear indication that recycling remains at the forefront of Africa’s design consciousness. The
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company manufactures a quirky hand-made collection of furniture, mirrors, clocks, table chairs, storage ottomans, coffee tables and other objects, all made out of tyres. “At first I thought someone was marking my house, or that something like a bad spirit was targeting my property, because I came across the tires in my yard on two consecutive occasions. I suspected something was going on, but nevertheless it also set me thinking about how best get rid of the tyres. That’s how the idea came about,” says Yolanda. Soon the idea resulted in provincial recognition when Ozzy Eco Décor was awarded the Best Eastern Cape Crafter award in the Home ware category at the Lithuba Lakho Eastern Cape Craft Competition in 2014.
To date, the company has been exporting its products and distributing many of them in the UK and the US where it exhibits at AmericasMart Atlanta, through the Eastern Cape Development Cooperation (ECDC) a development financer in the Eastern Cape. The company aims to reduce, reuse and recycle all waste collected and created at every given opportunity and offset its footprint whenever possible. “We are a growing company spreading our wings wide in the recycling industry, with a vision to become the most preferred, responsible and respected environmentally friendly company in our sphere. We allow the flexibility of clients to design their own items, with the aim to create a piece of furniture
INNOVATION BY DESIGN
that is unique and customized for the client’s needs,” says Yolanda. Yolanda, a tourism agent by profession, decided to quit her job and pursue her dream as an artist and becoming a successful business woman through Ozzy Eco Décor. “I got tired of working on crafts late at night after my full time job, and decided to quit. The first furniture objects we made were the ottomans, which are shaped like a Xhosa
woman in traditional attire. My passion was to be a cake decorator, so all the colours in the ottomans that we have been making throughout the years are inspired by the colours on the cakes,” she explains. Yolanda sees the business as one of South Africa’s biggest and fastest growing companies in its field, and which will touch and improve the lives of people in the communities in which it operates.
“We are still working from home and we are looking to grow the business and one day own our own premises. This would ensure easy access to markets, where customers would not have to place an order directly with us, as we would have shops or outlets in all major cities. We would like Ozzy to be one of those businesses that contribute to the community,” says this ambitious, hardworking entrepreneur.
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INNOVATION BY DESIGN
FOLLOWING HIS DREAM Having served as an executive in various companies in the area of finance, Msulwa Daca felt there was a lot more to accomplish within the business space, and starting his own company, African Hut Automation, was an adventurous pursuit he had been longing for. Born and bred in the small town of Centane, in the Eastern Cape, Daca did a bachelor’s degree in commerce at the University of Transkei, which is now called Walter Sisulu University, and further completed his studies with a post graduate diploma in business management at the University of Cape Town. Through its technological efficiencies, which help in managing security issues for homes and businesses, Daca’s African Hut Automation is today among the most innovative businesses in South Africa.
WHAT IS AUTOMATION AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS FIELD TO DO BUSINESS IN? Automation focuses more on the home and small commercial spaces and allows home owners to save time on some household chores, while saving energy and improving security. It gives them the benefit of managing lights, geysers and security devices remotely, through a cell phone, and set schedules for their home. This is also useful in commercial spaces to allow business owners not to waste energy by switching lights on only when they are needed. We do this through the installation of motion sensors and day/light sensors that can be remotely controlled. Small business owners can also manage the security of their business whilst enjoying family time at 52 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
home by installing cameras that have a remote view and two-way communication with staff. The IoT (Internet of Things) is a new field of technology and I have always been passionate about innovation and technology. I found this field highly dynamic and interesting.
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE BUSINESS COME ABOUT? The idea came about when I was renovating my house and had seen automated houses in movies. I enquired and found this area had huge opportunities. I ended up automating my own house and the idea of this business was born. I thought the main idea was simply automation of homes. Even a typical African hut can be automated. It is our desire to implement technologies that are relevant to the African continent in all its contexts.
DID YOU STUDY FOR THIS FIELD OF BUSINESS? I didn’t study in this field and it is very hard to find skills as it is still very new. I have managed huge ICT implementation projects in my time at a corporate executive level, and that experience came in handy.
WHAT DOES AFRICAN HUT AUTOMATION DO? African Hut Automation is automating homes by installing and retailing easy to use technologies. It focuses mainly on already fully built homes, unlike most other technologies that are meant for construction stage buildings. This gives AHA a massive opportunity as owners of
fully built homes were not catered for before. The offering is also extended to small commercial buildings to automate mainly lighting, and the management of energy consuming devices. We also install devices that boost the security features of an establishment through motion detectors and cameras that can automatically trigger action like recording video clips, audio clips, switch on lights, activate alarms and inform the business owner.
WHERE IS THE BUSINESS BASED AND WHEN WAS IT STARTED? The business is based in Cape Town but operates in all the major cities of South Africa through a network of accredited independent installers, and we are now expanding to other medium-sized cities.
HOW MANY STORES OR OUTLETS DOES THE COMPANY HAVE? The business runs online as an e-commerce store through our website and other partner sites. This allows customers in every corner of South Africa to buy and get their items delivered at their doorstep. We are planning to open the first physical store in October 2017 to offer guidance to customers, as well as a showroom where they can see the technology in action.
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DOES THE COMPANY HAVE? We currently have 5 employees working for the company. The installation work is carried out by independent electrical companies, with their own employees.
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES AT THE START OF THE BUSINESS? This business operates in a new industry and it takes time to educate customers about the new products that can solve their challenges. The normal challenges of starting a business are also encountered i.e. when it grows too fast it consumes too much cash and when it is not growing it can’t meet all its obligations. The capital raising options are also too administrative for small business and hence become inaccessible.
HOW IS THE RESPONSE TOWARDS YOUR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS? The market response has far exceeded our expectations and we expect more people to see the benefit of home automation, especially at the prices that are currently being offered. There is also a rising interest by small business owners to install our energy saving solutions which let them benefit form window displays, while not keeping lights on for the whole night when there is no foot traffic.
WHAT ARE THE BUSINESS’S MOST NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE ITS INCEPTION? During the short period of its existence the business is now respected by its peers and is now a member of the global Z-Wave Alliance.
HAS THE BUSINESS EMBARKED ON ANY INITIATIVES/VENTURES WITH OTHER ENTITIES OR PARTNERS? This business has also concluded major supplier agreements with global manufactures. We are also working with a Chinese company to create the first South African Smart Plug that is Z-Wave enabled. The plan is to transfer skills so that we can take over the manufacturing of the product.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE BUSINESS IN FIVE YEARS’ TIME? We would like to expand this business rapidly on the African continent and have a manufacturing base on the continent. We would like to be able to offer an online purchase and an advisory service to all countries on the continent.
EC O B R I C KS EXC HA N G E: EC O B R I C KS T HE S O LU T I ON TO C L EA N ER ST R EETS Ian Dommisse is following a trend first established in Greyton, in the Western Cape, which was the first town in South Africa to use EcoBricks for community gardens and local schools. For Dommisse, also known as the “‘Garbage Warrior” and who is the founder of the EcoBrick Exchange, an empty 2 litre bottle is not just waste polluting our environment but, rather, a green construction material that can ensure that our oceans and landfills are plastic free. In it an established fact that many townships in South Africa lack proper educational facilities. With the help of Dommisse more children in Port Elizabeth will now have proper structured preschools, with green space areas to can play in. EcoBrick Exchange aims to see fewer children playing on the streets and more in safe environments where they can play in peace. Non-recyclable waste such as polystyrene trays, shopping packets, wax paper, cereal box plastic and chocolate wrappers that usually are a pollution hazard are put to good use in making EcoBricks that can build walls of safety for educational facilities. The EcoBricks Exchange facilitates the collection of completed EcoBricks and enables them to create structures of value for pre-schools in under-resourced communities. Not only is this initiative bringing hope to disadvantage communities but also cleaning up and protecting the environment. Working side by side with communities, EcoBrick Exchange is currently looking to build an Early Childhood Development Centre in Cape Town, entirely from reclaimed and natural material. EcoBricks Exchange encourages ordinary people to start making ecobricks at home, with waste, and construct useful household items from them. There are a number of drop-off points across South Africa, where people can take their completed EcoBricks. Some of the places where drop-offs can be done include Montebello Design Centre (Newlands), Gugu S’thebe (Langa), Health Connection (Fish Hoek), The Daily Grinder (Simon’s Town), Foragers (Scarborough), The Re-trade Project, (Walmer, Port Elizabeth), Wecreate (Maboneng, Johannesburg) and Mamelodi West Community Hall (Pretoria). When children are exposed to EcoBrick Exchange they learn more about environmental awareness and the importance of preserving the natural world around them. With the likes of Dommisse now following the vision that started in Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, in response to the area’s own plastic pollution problem, endless possibilities are now on offer through the formation of EcoBrick.
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INNOVATION BY DESIGN
WHEN FASHION AND XHOSA CULTURE COMBINE Ambitious young innovators are setting new standards in the challenging world of fashion and design
From knitting with his grandmother from the age of 16, Laduma Ngxokolo transformed his pastime into a career choice which has led to him reaching international markets with his wool and mohair machine knitwear designs. Laduma is the founder and designer of MaXhosa by Laduma, a fashion label that uses traditional Xhosa beadwork motifs and patterns to celebrate the rich heritage of the Xhosa culture. Laduma was born in 1986 in Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape, and was taught by his mother how to use a knitting machine. He had his first experience of textile design in 2003 when he studied at Lawson Brown School. The idea of these unique designs was realised when Laduma saw a need to create clothing for young men graduating from initiation schools, as a way of preserving the culture and tradition of Xhosa men. He began with a range of Xhosa traditions involving bead work and mohair, all locally produced. “In order for the range to be successful it needed to be trendy and contemporary so that it appealed to Amakrwala (initiates) who are influenced by urban styles, and it needed to be recognisable as a Xhosa tradition,” he says. “As a young Xhosa man who also went through the initiation process, I felt this was important because our culture is becoming too westernised. I was intrigued to get a positive response even from people who I did not regard as my natural market. This was fascinating for me,” says Laduma. Laduma’s knitwear brand, MaXhosa, has now won numerous awards, and his first creative pieces were showcased during the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup. Laduma’s flair for knitwear got him a
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bursary to study at both Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Wools South Africa and Mohair South Africa in 2010. The same year Laduma won the South African leg of the South African Society of Dyers and Colorists (SDC) design competition, which earned him a trip to London, where he was awarded first prize internationally in the competition. In 2016 Laduma’s Xhosa-inspired shawl won the prize of the Design Indaba’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa. Knit in black and white, the shawl boasts all the characteristic that Laduma is now famous for. “My ultimate goal is to establish MaXhosa by Laduma as an international premium brand and I’ve already launched a women’s range at the Mercedes Fashion Week in Johannesburg, where I have been showcasing my collections,” he says. After seeing the growth and potential of his business, Laduma decided to relocate from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, where he found a knitwear producer who could handle the capacity he needed. “The production of MaXhosa is in Cape Town, but items are sold across South Africa and Europe,” he explains. World renowned singer Beyonce Knowles praised Laduma for his collection, MyHeritage MyInheritance, at the Smithsonian Museum in New York 2016. The singer and actress also posted a picture of MaXhosa by Laduma on her website, hailing Laduma for his authentic African designs. Laduma has recently partnered with Sanlam to create a functional piece of fashion that helps wearers save money. Mna Nam is a bracelet that allows its owners to improve their savings habits by diverting savings to a digital savings wallet with a simple scan of the wrist. He has also partnered with two other giant companies, Chivas Regal South Africa and New York based MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). In the case of Chivas Regal, when the company and Laduma launched a joint initiative aimed at empowering creative entrepreneurs. “The design aims to empower design entrepreneurs with knowledge to get them to build their businesses faster,” says Laduma. His collaboration with MoMA, the biggest design museum in the world, and he will be launching an exhibition from November to January 2018. MaXhosa has also been sold at Harajuku, in Japan, the epicentre of Tokyo’s teen fashion industry.
We know Africa! The new African Indy, is an exciting print and digital brand dedicated to bringing you African voices from around the continent - for a global audience. Africa's stories, told by Africans.
INFORM • EDUCATE • ENGAGE offer THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Visit us on www.africanindy.com or ask for a copy of the newspaper at your nearest retailer. Adrian Ephraim - Editor Email: adrian.ephraim@inl.co.za
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PAGE 58
2 5 BR AN D S THAT MATTER N OW PAGE 59
O N THE R I SE PAGE 60
O N THE R UN PAGE 61
WHEN BR AN D S G E T UN D ER YO UR SK I N PAGE 62
EX P ERT O P I N I O N PAGE 66
SHO N DA R HI ME S F L I P S THE SCR I PT PAGE 72
WHY CASP ER CAN ’ T R EST PAGE 78
STAR BUCKS D I GS I N PAGE 86
2 3 AN D ME’S CO MEBACK
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BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
25 BRANDS THAT MATTER NOW T he c omp anie s t hat c on s umer s love to love be c au s e t hey stand for s omet hing more t han merel y w hat t hey s ell ILLUSTRATIONS BY PETER OUMANSKI
Hottest. Coolest. Biggest. Newest. These are the qualities most often celebrated in the lists of top brands put out by agencies, analysts, and media outlets. Although those attributes often correlate with success, we have always taken a wider view. What does a brand mean? More than ever, companies have the power to connect deeply with people and bring about change. They can influence the direction of larger culture and make an impact on the way other businesses think and operate. We decided to highlight the brands that truly matter most right now. Since what “matters” can be
subjective—and somewhat intangible—we started by gathering input from our Most Creative People in Business community. We asked them to apply four criteria: brands that are recognizable, deliver a quality product, make a positive difference in the world, and push their industries forward. Then our own editors analyzed the results. Most important, we wanted to identify those brands that are leading with courage and confidence in a fast-changing and uncertain environment. Some brands react to disruption; these are the ones driving it, creating a world of the future that is impossible to ignore.
01
03
05
07
APPLE
NETFLIX
FA C E B O O K
No other company better represents the idea of progress in the digital age. Google—and its parent company, Alphabet—is synonymous with finding new ways to interact with the world, and with each other.
The world’s most valuable company is also one of the most beloved, due to its gorgeous products, intuitive services, and enduring halo of cool.
The streaming pioneer, now also known for its original programming, keeps rewriting the playbook for the entertainment business.
Humans crave connection— and this is where it increasingly happens (for better or worse).
04
TESLA 02
AMAZON As the way we buy stuff continues to shift fundamentally, the e-commerce giant consistently gets people excited about spending their money.
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08 06
Thanks to visionary CEO Elon Musk, eco-friendly products can be luxury items, inspiring both pleasure and envy.
AIRBNB By encouraging strangers to open their homes to each other, the sharing-economy icon isn’t just shaking up the travel biz; it represents an inclusive vision of the future.
S TA R B U C KS More than just a caffeine break, the “third place” is creating community in unexpected ways and places. (See page 78.)
ON TH E RISE Lyft THE OTHER RIDE-HAILING APP
Once considered something of an also-ran, Lyft has surged as disgruntled Uber users have come to think of it as a warm-and-friendly alternative. In the week after #DeleteUber trended in early 2017, Lyft saw an increase in new users of more than 60%, and numbers have continued to be strong.
Slack CHAT-CENTRIC WORKPLACE TOOL
This increasingly vital platform is bringing social media’s unending digital connectivity to the office environment (and is another company that’s now a verb). Workers love it. Is it a productivity helper, or just another addiction?
Everlane CULT CLOTHING RETAILER
As consumers shun malls and embrace socially aware products, Everlane’s high-quality wardrobe basics—manufactured responsibly using minimal water and energy— represent a stylish alternative. 09
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I N S TA G R A M
PATA G O N I A
NIKE
Pictures are the key to contemporary communication, as this Facebook-owned platform continues to prove.
The socially conscious outdoor-goods purveyor is leading by example in the notoriously wasteful apparel business.
You will never be Serena or LeBron or Ronaldo. You can, however, wear their technologically advanced, design-forward shoes.
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Sweetgreen FAST-CASUAL SALAD SPOT
Casual dining meets the locavore movement. Workers are getting in line to upgrade their sad desk lunches with inventive, seasonal salads from this rapidly growing chain.
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NPR
WA R BY PA R K E R
SPOTIFY
With journalism under fire and public-arts funding in jeopardy, the radio (and podcasting) stalwart offers a safe space for quality storytelling.
Glasses were utilitarian or absurdly expensive before Warby upended the industry. Now it’s the standard-bearer for conscious online style brands.
For 140 million users, the green-circle logo represents listening bliss: unlimited on-demand music and eerily accurate recommendations.
DJI HIGH-FLYING DRONE MAKER
DJI has brought the personal-drone industry out of its awkward, crashprone early years, thanks to its streamlined quadcopters that are simple enough for anyone to fly and safer than their predecessors. —Rose Pastore
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ON THE RUN Uber TROUBLED TRANSIT PIONEER
Execs are fleeing, founding CEO Travis Kalanick is out, and some users are souring on the company due to allegations of sexual harassment and worker mistreatment. Customers want decency along with disruption. (See page 25.)
Wells Fargo BANK ON THE BRINK
After a scandal involving fake customer accounts (with real fees) destroyed public confidence in the brand, the company ousted its CEO. Luring back customers will require a major goodwill deposit.
United Airlines MAJOR CARRIER, BIG HEADACHE
No one loves airlines, but when a video went viral of a passenger being dragged off a plane earlier this year, and United’s response was notably tone-deaf, the company came to represent everything people hate about modern air travel.
NFL
15
J.Crew THE PREPPY RETAILER UNRAVELS
Falling sales, closing stores, and designs that missed the mark: A brand that once helped define affordable luxury no longer has a place in tastemakers’ closets. —RP
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SHONDALAND
CASPER
DISNEY
TV’s dominant personal brand used to be Oprah; today it is Shonda Rhimes. (See page 66.)
Who knew a sleep startup could make so much noise? (See page 72.)
What do Marvel, Star Wars, and singing princesses have in common? A parent company that prioritizes quality, appeals broadly, and pushes forward while respecting its past.
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BUZZFEED
S O U L CYC L E
No other media company has expanded its identity so dramatically. It’s now known for serious news (not to mention cooking videos) as much as silly memes.
Its breakthrough idea: exercise as communal, sweat-soaked enlightenment. Not just a gym—it’s a lifestyle.
A LEAGUE UNDER PRESSURE
Concussions and bad player behavior have been denting the NFL’s reputation for years. In 2016– 2017, ratings took a hit as well, due in part to cord-cutting and endlessly proliferating entertainment alternatives.
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ADIDAS With high-profile creative-class partnerships (Kanye West, Raf Simons) and an emphasis on style along with performance, it’s carved out a unique space in a crowded field.
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HBO Game of Thrones may be winding down, but the network remains the quintes-sence of bingeable prestige television.
23ANDME Inspiring consumers—and, finally, the FDA—to embrace mass-market genetic testing. (See page 86.)
IKEA The Swedish retailer has transformed cheap furniture into covetable entry-level design. Come for the Poäng chair, stay for the meatballs. 22
CHOBANI 18
24
In the right hands, just about any product can take on real social significance. As Chobani churns out ever more varieties of yogurt, it also spreads a message of inclusiveness and human dignity.
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TWITTER Contemporary culture’s loudest, fastest communication tool may not have the most users in the social media world, but it’s undeniably the center of today’s news marketplace, a vital global watercooler for anyone to engage with realtime information and opinion. —By Claire Dodson, David Lidsky, Kim Lightbody, and Rose Pastore
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
WHEN BRANDS GET UNDER YOUR SKIN
YouTube BreeAnn Streng, Grand Rapids, Michigan
“The best thing about YouTube is I can totally open up, showing my tattoos and piercings without having to censor myself or conform to what society thinks I should look like. I got this tattoo as a memory piece. I never thought I would reach over 100,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel, and the day I did was mind-blowing.”
BreeAnn Streng (YouTube); Melanie von Lonski (Nike); Eli Yager (Starbucks); Natalie Stoss (Twitter); Katie Cain/Maximum Tattoo, Deerfield, Illinois (Burger King); Chad Miller (Cadillac); Diogo Reis Furtado/Rockstar Shop Tattoos, Lagos, Portugal (KFC); Thomas Cannings/Steph Williams/The Tattooed Look, Hampshire, U.K. (John Deere); Manda Schultz (Taco Bell); Pete Vidmar/Nikki Pettrey/Sacred Body Works Tattoo, Perry, Ohio (Lego)
S ome pe ople love to w e ar T- shir t s or h at s be ar ing t he logo s of t heir favor ite c omp anie s. T he s e p a s sion ate fan s h ave gone a step f ur t her. Nike
Starbucks
Melanie von Lonski, Braunschweig, Germany
Eli Yager, Vallejo, California
Natalie Stoss, Hamburg, Germany
“I am a sneaker enthusiast, and I think the Nike Air Max 1 is one of the best ever. [These shoes] accompanied me through very important years of my life until, sadly, I grew out of them.”
“Twitter is where I learned a lot about my privileges as a white, able-bodied cis-het. It was where I first had contact with people I now call close friends in real life. I carry the beginning [of those friendships] on my finger.”
“I am a proud [employee] of Starbucks, and it has done so much for me. For my nine-year anniversary, I wanted to celebrate my love of coffee and the craze of the Unicorn Frappuccino. I have never seen a product sell out so fast, so I knew it was the one to celebrate with.”
MORE INC. INK . . .
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EXPERT OPINION W hat ’s re all y on t he mind s of branding big w ig s? We rounde d up four anony m ou s indu str y le ader s to gi ve u s t heir unf linchingl y hone st t hought s. BY JEFF BEER AND CALE WEISSMAN
THE CEO
THE CMO
THE CCO
THE OTHER CCO
Prominent leader of companies that are known for making a positive difference in the world
Marketing boss for a householdname business
Chief creative officer at an agency behind a slew of prominent campaigns
Head of creative at another top ad shop
1. WHICH COMPANIES
2 . WHICH BR ANDS ARE UNDERR ATED?
GET BR ANDING RIGHT ?
Amazon is absolutely crushing it. Because they are risk tolerant— the team over there seems unafraid to try things. They’ve had more than their share of things that haven’t worked, but the successes are big and bold, and the customer is always first. —CMO
Converse. It used to be 100% a sports brand, but it has become synonymous with music, fashion, and street style around the world. They really found the groove to what that brand is all about. It’s just one of the coolest brands around, even though that company was once on its deathbed. —CCO 1
Apple, at its best, and Airbnb. The way they market is the future. But it’s more about products that are amazing and full of wonder. Marketing can make me feel that more, but it can’t fix a crappy product. —CCO 1
Oreo and Taco Bell. They have very cheeky, authentic people working those Twitter and Instagram accounts. I like when brands feel like actual humans I want to hang with—where the tweet hasn’t gone through three [tiers] of approval. Another one is Oprah and Weight Watchers. It’s personal, authentic: “I struggle with my weight and this is what I do. I’m putting my money where my mouth is.” That’s not a spokesperson, it’s a real persona we know and love. It’s no longer just a celebrity. It’s Oprah saying, “I struggle with it, so I bought 10% of the company and this is how I roll.” —CEO
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In-N-Out Burger. They’ve managed to create this incredible cult following without much advertising at all. It’s just been through the quality of their food and the simplicity of their brand. It’s a direct contrast to, say, what McDonald’s is doing, which is trying to be everything to everybody. As a fast-food company, that’s impossible. In-NOut is just who they are, and that’s refreshing. — CCO 2
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
3. OVERR ATED?
4 . WHAT BR ANDING MISTAKES DO COMPANIES MAKE?
One unhealthy thing our industr y does is that we’re like 5-year-olds playing soccer: We see something and then all go af ter the ball at the same time. It makes me craz y. Par t of what you need to do in marketing, while being mindf ul of whoever the audience is, is to sometimes zig when others zag. You don’t want to be the second or third brand to do something—you want to be the first.
I’m a true Apple fan, but I feel like the brand is still running on a lot of juice they had based on the things Steve Jobs created. He created something that knew what it stood for and who its enemy was. As a brand, I don’t feel that from Apple anymore. They’ve lost their spirit and that sense of who they’re for and against. To me, the advertising is getting soft. It feels like a typical big company. But there are a lot of great and talented people there. The reason I say they’re overrated is partly because of the incredibly high standard they set for themselves for so long.
—CMO
I really hate when brands tr y to use a cause they don’t really care about as an ad. You’re seeing a lot of companies use causes in some way. —CEO
We’re in this do-good economy right now. Ever yone’s tr ying to do these socially aware ads, embracing social causes. I think that ’s great on one hand, but the flip side is that something like [Pepsi’s widely mocked Kendall Jenner ad] can happen. If it ’s not authentic to the brand and company, then consumers will call you out on it. Consumers have a bullshit meter. People will call you out if it ’s not authentic.
—CCO 1
BMW is one that stands out to me. When you compare them to other luxury cars like Audi or Tesla, BMW doesn’t really stand for anything. I admire what Tesla and Audi are doing because they care about the world we live in, the environment, and it just seems they know their audience in a way that’s more sophisticated.
—CCO 2
5. SPEAKING OF THE BOTCHED PEPSI SPOT, HOW CAN BR ANDS AVOID THAT KIND OF DISA STER?
Shake Shack. It’s a fucking burger. The burger IPOs? Are you kidding me?
Hire more diverse people. Not because you think you should, but because you genuinely want to hear what they have to say. Stop trying so hard. Just be what you are. Pepsi? You’re not saving the world: You’re sugar water! No, you’re not stopping race riots.
The echo of our own voices is dangerous. You need contrary voices in the room when you make big creative decisions, or any decisions. I just think [the ad] seemed like a point of view that was tone-deaf to the world around it. In general, violent agreement is usually unhealthy.
It’s actually pretty simple. They made such a fundamental error. Clients asked us during the election whether they should get political or not. The poop that Pepsi stepped in was trying to get political without earning any right to do it.
—CEO
—CEO
—CMO
—CCO 1
—CCO 2
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BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
6. SO SHOULD BR ANDS
7. HOW CAN UNITED AIRLINES WIN BACK CUSTOMER TRUST AFTER ITS RECENT PR PROBLEMS?
WEIGH IN ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES?
THE REASON TO TAKE A STAND IN THESE MOMENTS CAN BE AS MUCH INTERNAL AS EXTERNAL—WHEN YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE LOOKING AT YOU AND ASKING, “WHAT DO WE STAND FOR?,” I BELIEVE IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT MATTERS TO YOUR EMPLOYEES, YOUR SUPPLIERS, AND YOUR ENTIRE BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM, JUST AS MUCH AS FROM A BRAND POINT OF VIEW. BUT IF YOU DO TAKE A STAND, YOU REALLY NEED TO BE PREPARED TO STAND BY IT. —CMO
It’s an interesting question. You need to do something immediately. You can’t let it linger. You do need to apologize. I don’t know how they can still go with “Fly the Friendly Skies” in their marketing. It’s still there! I think they need to be very transparent in what they’re doing now, and then just start making extreme gestures to people, to make them feel that you’re empathetic and actually care. Also, given this news cycle, give it a month or two, and people forget. People will still buy that cheap plane ticket. —CCO 1
They just went way too long without admitting it was wrong and that they were sorry. I think people are pretty good about offering up forgiveness if you just admit you’re wrong, but a lot of times companies have a hard time doing that. —CCO 2
Their response showed a lack of empathy. It was corporate. It wasn’t human. But my suspicion is, after a year, many people won’t remember if it was United or Delta or American. There are brands that never recover, but I don’t think United will be one of them. If they start to delight customers unexpectedly, to treat things with extra levels of humanity, they can recover well. If I were there, I’d focus on the culture, and empowering my front-line employees to go the extra 10 miles. I wouldn’t be worried about ads or marketing. I’d triple down on superb customer service. —CMO
8. WHAT ARE THE MA JOR CHALLENGES FOR MARKETERS RIGHT NOW ?
There are so many new platforms and different consumer behaviors, all of it changing so quickly. Just keeping up with who your consumer is and where they are in social is a challenge. You have to spend a lot of time on that. You can’t just make a TV ad and post it on Facebook, then another version on Twitter, another on Instagram, and, and, and . . . . It doesn’t work that way. You need to know who you’re talking to, where they are, and tailor your advertising to that.
People are starting to talk a lot more about challenges around voice. What will brands look like in a more voice-oriented world? In a world of Alexa and Google Home and chatbots, what’s the role of brand? That’s a really, really interesting question, and a challenge for us all. Is there a postlogo world there? It’s just so interesting to think that the visual world may become less important, and what that means. I think things are going to become more auditory. What does an auditory cue sound like for a brand?
Being relevant. [Laughs] There’s nothing better than word of mouth and organic marketing. You’re not needed that much, dude! I think marketers should be nervous. There are so many agencies that should just . . . die. All these useless barnacles that have been living on the ass of major brands should just be lanced.
—CCO 2
—CMO
—CCO 1
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—CEO
Marketing’s biggest challenge now is to understand that we shouldn’t be going at people with what we sell, we should be telling them what we believe in. Get them to buy into your brand by understanding what it stands for. Some brands are good at it; most aren’t. There’s an industry built around helping people avoid ads. That should tell you something.
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BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
SHONDA RHIMES FLIPS THE SCRIPT
T he introver te d c re ator of T V ’s Grey ’s A natomy and S c andal is de veloping her o w n digital- c entr ic per s onal brand. W ill s he be t he nex t Oprah? BY NICOLE LAPORTE PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUCO
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“Shondaland.com is not about the shows,” says Rhimes. “It’s about the community of people who watch the shows.”
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The Road to Shondaland Rhimes’s path from “the weird kid who ate dirt and didn’t speak until she was 8” to a one-name personal brand
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NOVEMBER 25, 1993 Rhimes’s script about a black family in the South wins a prestigious film-school prize, but she can’t get the art film made.
AUGUST 21, 1999 Rhimes’s first credit is a TV biopic of actress-singer Dorothy Dandridge (played by Halle Berry). She’s inspired by Dandridge’s calm but tough response to racism.
FEBRUARY 15, 2002 Crossroads, Britney Spears’s bigscreen debut and Rhimes’s first movie, is panned as lazy, contrived, and bland—phrases that don’t apply to Rhimes’s later TV work.
GUTTER CREDIT TK
ONE MONDAY AFTERNOON, SHONDA RHIMES SENT ME AN EMAIL. THE POWERHOUSE BEHIND ABC’S GREY’S ANATOMY, SCANDAL, AND HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER LAUNCHED RIGHT IN WITH A STORY. A FEW DAYS EARLIER, AT THE NETWORK’S PRESENTATION TO ADVERTISERS IN NEW YORK, EXECUTIVES ANNOUNCED THAT SCANDAL ’S UPCOMING SEVENTH SEASON WOULD BE ITS LAST. RHIMES WASN’T AT THE EVENT.
She had skipped the trip to New York, choosing instead to live-stream the proceedings “in our Shondaland theater with all of our writers, editors, and the rest of the team.” Being in L.A. made her “glad,” she says, recalling her emotions in a single word. “Why was I glad? Because I didn’t have to actually face it. The decision I made. The decision to end a thing I love.” But there was another reason Rhimes stayed behind, one that was encapsulated by the selfie she included in the email: a black-and-white photo of her in sweats—no makeup, no blowout—staring intently into her MacBook. Rhimes has been busy lately, daydreaming up new projects and businesses fueled by a spirit of unyielding curiosity and experimentalism that she calls, simply, “What If We . . .” This Shonda-ism, one of many phrases that she’s been injecting into the culture since dubbing Patrick Dempsey “McDreamy” on Grey’s almost 13 years ago, represents the exact kind of wit and inspiration she’ll undoubtedly call upon as she expands her empire this year. Shondaland, as Rhimes’s television production company is known, is another “ism,” which has grown to encompass the range of issues her shows explore—the kinds of gender politics and personal dramas encountered by her unapologetically ambitious, multicultural female characters. Shondaland.com, launching this fall, will further this mission as a hub for personal-empowerment content that reflects Rhimes’s inclusive worldview. The email in which she confessed her feelings about the ABC event was in fact her site’s inaugural newsletter. “I just want to find other ways to tell stories, other ways to be engaged with the world,” says Rhimes, 47, when we meet a week or so later. Few television creators have ever achieved such name recognition, and those that have—Norman Lear (All in the Family), David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal), Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory), and Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story)—have not only been white and male, but have mainly leveraged their clout to make yet more filmed entertainment (and more money). Rhimes, on the other hand, aims to grow her personal brand through a variety of outlets, including advertising (producing a series of videos for Dove’s “Real
Previous spread: Set design: Dane Johnson; stylist: Dana Asher Levine; hair: Verlyn Antoine; makeup: Cathy Highland
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
Shondaland.com’s mission, says content chief Jennifer Romolini, is “to tell stories on the internet—and not only to women in their twenties.”
JANUARY 30, 2004 Buzz starts building for Rhimes’s TV pilot, only the second one she’d written, about a group of medical interns in a Seattle hospital. ABC nicknames it “Sex and the Surgery.”
MARCH 27, 2005 Grey’s Anatomy debuts, lauded for its diverse cast and fresh spin on the medical drama. It ends the season as one of the top-five shows for 18- to 49-year-old viewers.
FEBRUARY 12, 2006 Rhimes introduces vajayjay as slang for “vagina” during a Grey’s scene with a doctor giving birth. The neologism goes viral, and Rhimes is praised for influencing popular culture.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 Private Practice, a spin-off of Grey’s, debuts to tepid reviews but good ratings: It’s the mostwatched new show of the 2007– 2008 season.
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NOVEMBER 5, 2007 During a writers’ strike that shuts down Hollywood, Rhimes vocally sides with the writers, but when it’s over, she’s eager to return to being behind the scenes.
Shondaland is a “state of mind,” says Rhimes’s longtime producing partner Betsy Beers.
JUNE 11, 2008 One of Grey’s breakout stars, Katherine Heigl, criticizes Rhimes by removing herself from Emmy Award consideration because of poor material. “That was the toughest time in my life,” Rhimes said.
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Timeline: Harry Langdon/Getty (1999); Mary Evans/Paramount Pictures/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection (2002); Frank Ockenfels/ABC/Getty Images (2005); Isabella Vosmikova/ABC/Getty Images (2007); Photofest (2012, 2014)
Beauty” campaign) and advocacy (helping Planned Parenthood shape its message as it fights a Republican-controlled government intent on defunding it). Through Shondaland .com, she will release podcasts, emails, videos, playlists, essays, interviews, and diaries to reflect the entirety of women’s lives—with the goal of building community and encouraging action. Rhimes could have merely exploited her fame by churning out, say, “sheets that say Mer-Der Forever,” she says, referring to Grey’s original lovebirds Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd. (Though there is a line of Shondaland candles.) Rather, she wants to affect the culture, and women’s lives, in a way that she doesn’t think has been done since Oprah Winfrey’s peak. “You could be a woman in Alabama who’s a conservative Christian, or you could be a total crunchy-granola woman in Seattle and 20 years old, and both of you would watch Oprah,” she says. “Oprah would say, ‘Read this book,’ and everybody would, and they’d be talking about it. I don’t know if it’s possible to revive a role-model culture, but I like the idea of having a place to have conversations.” Unlike Oprah, of course, Rhimes doesn’t have the recognition that comes from being the face of afternoon television for 25 years. She also has more competition. The idea that people could think of themselves as a brand is now 20 years old, and thanks to social media, everyone can be an influencer. Most brands today, from corporate ones like Nike to personal ones like Sheryl Sandberg, are trying to forge a more direct relationship with their customers and communicate with them in an unfiltered way. What Rhimes brings is a clear message that she has been broadcasting for more than a decade through her shows, reaching tens of millions of people, and, more recently, through digital platforms like Twitter, where she has 1.5 million followers. Most of all, Rhimes is a master storyteller—and has a personal tale
APRIL 5, 2012 Scandal, Rhimes’s series about a professional D.C. fixer (starring Kerry Washington), ends up a hit by embodying all of Rhimes’s gifts: great casting, outrageous twists, and a digitally savvy Twitter strategy that made live viewing a must.
APRIL 17, 2014 Rhimes is “a block of solid wood” in a reluctant appearance on a special episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. She’ll later admit to Kimmel that she thought going on his show was “terrifying.”
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
to draw from, having overcome her fears to change her life. Strong, inclusive, ultimately uplifting communities of women shouldn’t only have to exist in a fictional Shondaland. “I don’t think of myself as a television producer.” Rhimes, dressed in all black with leopard-print heels, sits in a dimly lit room in a production space in West Hollywood. “Obviously, that’s crazy,” she says, after a pause. “Because I should. That’s what I do. But I don’t actually see that as my job. It’s why my business cards say ‘storyteller.’ Everyone’s like, ‘Shonda, please don’t call yourself that.’ But I’m like, ‘I don’t know how to say it any other way.’ ” Rhimes speaks the way she writes: efficiently and deliberately. There is no chitchat, no time for distractions. (When one of her dangly gold earrings diverts her attention, she quickly removes it.) Between statements, her otherwise amiable face relaxes into a serious, slightly intimidating nonexpression—a kind of sleep mode, perhaps, as if she is taking the time to recharge. Sharing her innermost thoughts with strangers isn’t something that comes naturally. At Thanksgiving dinner in her hometown of Chicago, in 2013, Rhimes, the youngest of six, was in the kitchen with her eldest sister, Delorse, chattering on about the recent invitations she’d received to appear at events, parties, and talk shows. Rhimes, standing with her 3-month-old daughter strapped to her chest, told her sister that she had no plans to attend any of them. Not because she was too busy, but because she was uncomfortable in those settings, an introvert who, she joked, would have ended up as “a very quiet librarian” if she hadn’t pursued a creative life. She had always hated talking to the press, or anyone, in public, and considered the biannual gathering of TV critics— where show creators are expected to promote their programs—to be “a prime torture method.” Delorse, who was chopping vegetables, looked up at Rhimes and said, “You never say yes to anything.” Those six words sent Rhimes into a period of deep self-reflection. As a kid, Rhimes was happiest making up stories while sitting on the floor of the kitchen pantry. At the same time, her parents, both academics, drilled into her the need to be assertive. “In my house, you got in trouble if you didn’t speak up,” she says. “My mom would be furious at us if we went to school and behaved nicely if someone treated us badly. If we got in trouble because we had yelled at them or told them that they were wrong, my mother
would be like, ‘Good job.’ ” Rhimes has always been deft at combining these opposing inclinations within her TV characters: strivers and perfectionists whose potentially crippling flaws and insecurities are masked by an impenetrable-seeming surface. The one she says she most identifies with is Cristina Yang, Grey’s overachieving, Stanfordeducated surgeon played by Sandra Oh. Yang is most at peace in the OR, where she can immerse herself in the complexities of surgery and not have to deal with the less easily solvable messiness of personal relationships. (Oh left the show after 10 seasons, in 2014.) Now Rhimes wanted to reconcile the two impulses within herself. When she emerged from her introspective funk a few months later, she overcorrected. She vowed to say yes to everything for a year—and to write a book about the experience. It wasn’t just about the fancy parties. The self-described workaholic wanted to be more open to downtime and to her three kids— whom she refers to on Twitter as her “tiny humans”—and who are constantly asking for more of their mom’s time, usually as she’s heading out the door to go to work. (A single mother, Rhimes adopted her first two children and had her third via surrogacy.) Rhimes embraced the literary life as well. “It was a lovely journey. It was me getting up at 5 o’clock every morning to write before the kids got up. It’s as close to being Toni Morrison”— her childhood ambition—“as I’ll ever come in my life, and it was just a beautiful, singular experience.” Even the inevitable bad parts. “I spilled water on my computer in Martha’s Vineyard and almost lost my entire book,” she recalls, laughing. “I was like, ‘I’m an author. I almost lost my book, but—I feel like I’m real.’ ”
“I FEEL LIKE WE CAN LEARN A LOT FROM SHONDA,” SAYS PLANNED PARENTHOOD PRESIDENT CECILE RICHARDS, WHO APPOINTED RHIMES TO HER BOARD. “AND AT THIS MOMENT IN WHICH WOMEN IN AMERICA NEED A VOICE.”
SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 ABC schedules Grey’s, Scandal, and Rhimes’s newest drama, How to Get Away With Murder, on Thursdays, branding it “TGIT” (Thank God It’s Thursday), a sign of Rhimes’s power.
NOVEMBER 10, 2015 Rhimes publishes her first book, Year of Yes, which chronicles her efforts to defy her introversion and engage with the world. The memoir is well reviewed and a best seller.
APRIL 18, 2017 Rhimes announces Shondaland.com, a digital lifestyle hub, which will debut in the fall. Her goal: Connect with her audience in new ways.
Rhimes’s evolution into a yes-aholic made for a great read. Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person was a New York Times best seller for nine weeks
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after being published in November 2015, and it positioned Rhimes as a voice of comfort and encouragement to millions of people, well beyond those who were familiar with her shows. But as she details in her memoir, the path was tortuous. She finally agreed to appear on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, after rebuffing his requests for years, but insisted that the segment be taped on the Scandal set. Kimmel, sensing her discomfort, graciously arranged it so that she never had to “walk and talk at the same time,” as Rhimes says, and Betsy Beers, Rhimes’s longtime producing partner, sat strategically in Rhimes’s line of vision the entire time. “She didn’t ask me to,” says Beers. “She wouldn’t. But I knew I should.” Rhimes survived the experience and others, including a Kennedy Center Honors reception (President Obama named her to the board) and delivering a funny, moving speech at a Women in Entertainment breakfast (“I was born with an awesome vagina and really gorgeous brown skin. I didn’t do anything to make either of those things happen. To get all Beyoncé about it, people: ‘I woke up like this’ ”). She discovered a new groove in her work and personal life, shedding almost 150 pounds after “saying yes to my body”(instead of ice cream), and found satisfaction in facing crowds after agreeing to deliver the commencement address at Dartmouth College, her beloved alma mater. She learned to carve out space in her schedule for play and downtime, refusing to answer emails after 7 p.m. or on weekends (and insisting that her employees do this too). She’s since appeared several times on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and she even did a TED Talk based on her book. Rhimes’s “Year of Yes” officially ended in early 2015. But during her book tour the following fall, she realized that she wasn’t ready for her journey to be over. Thousands of fans were showing up at bookstores and at women’s conventions to hear her read. “It wasn’t, ‘Oh, this is exciting for me.’ It was more like, we’re influencing people in a way that I had not really taken in,” she recalls. “There’s a whole group of women who became doctors because they watch Grey’s Anatomy. There’s a whole group of people who think of diversity very differently because they watch the shows.” Young fans just discovering Grey’s on Netflix were stopping Rhimes in public. “I feel like the Pied Piper, because there are 12-year-olds who are like, ‘Shonda!’ ” That power, she says, made her realize that she and her Shondaland team “had an opportunity that we were wasting if we didn’t try to talk to them in other ways.” “It was the first time she saw that it was
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about more than just a TV show,” says Chris DiIorio, Shondaland’s VP of strategy and business development. “She’d put a product out there that was not an hour-long drama.” Not long after, Hillary Clinton’s campaign reached out to Rhimes about making a biographical documentary that would screen at the Democratic National Convention immediately before Clinton accepted the nomination to be the first female major-party presidential candidate in U.S. history. Rhimes said yes, of course, and calls the experience as invigorating as stepping onto the Grey’s set for the first time. She also appeared in an ad for Clinton along with Grey’s star Ellen Pompeo, Scandal’s Kerry Washington, and How to Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis. Expressing
“SHE USHERED IN THE ERA THAT WE’RE IN,” SAYS FORMER TV EXEC LAUREN ZALAZNICK OF RHIMES. “HIGHLY ASPIRATIONAL, HIGHLY INTEGRATED, HIGHLY FLUID.”
her political beliefs without the cover of fiction moved her to think about new ways to communicate them. “She understands that people are drawn to her for her TV shows,” says Washington, “but also for her own personal courage and her own voice.” Donald Trump’s presidency has made Rhimes even more outspoken. When we meet at the end of May, the networks have just announced their new shows for the 2017–2018 season (Rhimes herself has sold two to ABC), and when I ask her about it, she breaks her poise for the first time. “I’ve heard a lot of postelection talk that suggests that people think that we have left out a section of the country that is white and male,” she says. “And the shows that have gotten picked up [by the networks] reflect
that. To me, that feels like the most ridiculous scam that has ever been pulled on the networks. Ever. The idea that you believe that white men don’t have a voice is astounding to me. That’s what you got out of the election?” Rhimes is a pragmatist. She owes her first big success to being willing to cater to market forces. But only to a point. After a decade writing movies that mostly didn’t get made, she decided to try TV. After her first pitch to ABC about female war correspondents was nixed because of the war in Afghanistan, she asked network executives: “What does Bob want?” referring to Bob Iger, who at the time was president and COO of Disney, ABC’s parent company. When the answer came back that he was interested in a show set in a hospital, she wrote the pilot for Grey’s, which pleased the Disney brass but tested their limits. During development, the pilot was nicknamed “Sex and the Surgery,” its racy subject matter a daring leap for the family-friendly channel. Back then, Rhimes was “very quiet,” says Linda Lowy, who cast that show and every Shondaland one since. During meetings with executives, Lowy recalls, Rhimes “would tell us what she thought after a meeting instead of speaking up in the room. We’d get off a conference call, and she’d say, ‘I don’t really want that.’ Or, ‘I think that’s better.’ I called her a couple times at home to say, ‘Honey. Shonda. It’s you that has to say no.’ ” But she was never afraid to create strong, diverse characters who challenged television norms. “We wanted to see people like us,” says Beers, meaning individuals from all different backgrounds who defied stereotypes and were better at their jobs than their personal lives. Also: women who went through miscarriages and abortions and didn’t think it was taboo to talk about them. And race. “We’re not going to explain, these two people are married and this is the color of their child,” Lowy says. “Maybe the kid was adopted, maybe not, I don’t know.” The success of this approach has paved the way for a number of hit network series led by nonwhite characters, including Empire, Fresh Off the Boat, Black-ish, and Rhimes’s own Scandal, which in 2012 became the first show with an African-American female lead since Get Christie Love! went off the air in 1975. “She ushered in the era that we’re in,” says former NBCUniversal executive Lauren Zalaznick. “Highly aspirational, highly integrated, highly fluid.” Scandal crystallized what the critic James Poniewozik calls “Rhimesian” TV: shows that disregard the measured pacing of traditional programs and conclude each episode with the
kinds of dramatic cliff-hangers once reserved for nail-biting season finales. In Shondaland, lead characters are killed off with a shrug, and zany new plotlines are introduced like specials at the local diner. Rhimes has been particularly inventive in helping to build a loyal audience for her shows. She “very smartly understood how the internet was blooming and used it as an opportunity for that kind of direct feedback,” says Channing Dungey, president of ABC Entertainment. Rhimes was early to embrace blogging: She and other Grey’s writers would riff on episodes and created separate blogs for several of the characters. Rhimes was instrumental in creating podcasts featuring interviews with actors and writers from her shows. The Grey’s one ran for 35 episodes, and a broader Shondaland podcast has been running since 2012. “We kept trying to explore different ways of giving people access to a different side of the story,” says Beers, who is Shondaland’s resident podcast host. Rhimes, Washington, and the rest of the Scandal cast were among the first TV creators to live-tweet episodes and craft hashtags around events in each episode, making it the rare scripted series that needed to be watched live to be fully appreciated. These innovations have made Rhimes’s shows wildly popular—and extremely profitable for ABC. In 2014, the network turned over its entire Thursday night block of programming to Rhimes. Shondaland shows generate hundreds of millions in ad revenue and licensing fees, which ABC and Shondaland split. “They’ve helped us define our brand,” Dungey says. With four series currently on the air, two more in development, and a large team of veteran producers and writers to manage them, Shondaland’s TV operation has evolved into a large, smooth-running machine and created the space for Rhimes to consider new opportunities like Shondaland.com. “I realized I was doing this job that I love,” she says, “but that I can now do it very easily. Every new story is a challenge. But the producing part—like, I wasn’t learning new things about producing.” Last March, she pushed herself into new territory by forging a partnership with Dove. Working with brands is an important part of her own brand extension, and Rhimes signed up to be the creative director of a video series that invites women to submit short films about unconventional beauty. Dove and Rhimes shared a history—stars from Grey’s and Private Practice were featured in the company’s ad campaigns a decade earlier—but this was
different. This would be personal. Rhimes was blunt about her weight struggles in Year of Yes. “No one’s body is up for comment,” she wrote. “No matter how small, how curvy, how round, how flat. If you love you, then I love you. “But this is not about loving me. I didn’t feel good.” During the writing of her book, Rhimes started Pilates and learned to control her emotion-triggered food impulses. (When Beers, who’s preternaturally wisp-thin, suggested that Rhimes train herself to like salads, Rhimes says she didn’t talk to her for three days.) The pounds came off. But Rhimes soon realized that she had a larger responsibility. “Whenever anybody says, ‘Oh, you look great!’ I’m like, Yeah, because that woman over there got me into four pairs of Spanx and dressed me. I love that I look this way, but I’m not going to look this way in 20 minutes, when I go home, take those Spanx off, and wash my face, which I’m going to do immediately. I’m beautiful whether I’m wearing all this crap or not, and I want my 14-year-old daughter to think that [way about herself] too.” This message resonated with Dove’s VP of marketing Nick Soukas, who was impressed with Rhimes’s skill at “portraying women as they really are and broadening the definition of what women can do.” It’s also what encouraged Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards to offer Rhimes a seat on the organization’s national board. Characters on Grey’s, Private Practice, and Scandal have “frank conversations” about issues that previously on TV “no one ever talked about very much,” Richards says. Private Practice, in particular, tackled the topic of abortion, and a woman’s choice, several times. “We can learn a lot from Shonda at this moment in which women in America need a voice.” (Rhimes’s speech at Planned Parenthood’s May gala went viral, thanks to such pointed barbs as “In 2017, women’s health needs protecting. Like some kind of endangered species. Like, holy crap, vaginas might go extinct.”) Rhimes hopes to feature Richards’s voice, in turn, on Shondaland.com. She tells me that she’s already conducted her first interview for the site, with congresswoman and resistance hero Maxine Waters. “We talked for, like, hours,” Rhimes says. “It was amazing.” I ask how political Shondaland .com might become, and Rhimes doesn’t flinch. “The election happens and you realize that there’s a bigger problem out there,” she says. “We’ve all been very comfortable. There are some things that need to be said out loud,
and maybe I don’t have to be the one to say them. But I’d like this to be a place for them to be said.” Shondaland.com has already lined up such activist contributors as Luvvie Ajayi, Aminatou Sow, Sally Kohn, and Mallory Ortberg to make some of those statements. There will be lighter fare as well: playlists from Rhimes’s music producer, Alex Pastavas; fashion pieces by Scandal stylists; essays by Shondaland writers; and Rhimes’s Dove spots, plus any other partnership content that might develop. Earlier this year, Rhimes hired Jennifer Romolini to oversee the site and find the right high-low mix. Romolini, who is tall and radiates a quirky, smart-girl vibe, is a Yahoo veteran who most recently ran HelloGiggles, a content hub for twentysomething women cofounded by actress-musician Zooey Deschanel. (Time Inc. bought it for a reported $30 million in 2015.) Romolini says Shondaland.com will be aimed at an older demo that’s currently underserved online. “There’s a lot of emphasis and focus digitally on millennials,” she says. “There’s not that much for women in their thirties, forties, fifties. Grown-ass women, let’s say. I’m thinking about the issues that you deal with in adulthood— taking care of your business, money, buying a house, all of that. While also getting deep into relationship stuff.” Shondaland.com will offer Rhimes something TV production can’t: immediacy. But she’s nowhere near done with television yet. It’s been five years since she first wrote “Interior, day, Oval Office” for Scandal, and her fans are hungry for a fresh story from her. (With the exception of How to Get Away With Murder, shows created by her protégés have not fared as well as Rhimes originals. The con-man drama The Catch was canceled after two seasons, and as of June, ratings for Still Star-Crossed, a riff on the Romeo and Juliet tale, were flat.) “I’m now in a place where I have the power to protect and shield other writers, grow them, and give them what they need to have their own shows,” Rhimes says. “I love that. But, I mean, creating my own shows is, it’s so much fun.” When our interview is over, Rhimes heads to a photo shoot in a nearby studio. Beyoncé is blasting on the speakers as Rhimes takes her place in front of the photographers. In between the firing of the camera flash, she does funny mouth-relaxing exercises and dances it out, to use a Rhimesian phrase, before settling back into a power pose. Beers is standing on the sidelines watching, smiling ever so slightly. Rhimes never looks over even once. laporte@fastcompany.com
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STARBUCKS DIGS IN
F rom F ergu s on, Mis s our i, to militar y to w n s, t he c of fe e giant is reju venat ing key are a s of A m er ic an s ociet y—and re def ining w h at a brand c an be. BY K AREN VALBY
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P HOTOGR A P H S BY W HI T T E N S A B B AT INI
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Far left: Fergusonarea schoolkids stop in for a cold drink. Below: Cordell Lewis, the manager of the Ferguson Starbucks.
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Barista Adrienne Lemons considers the Ferguson Starbucks a “home away from home.”
THERE’S LAUGHTER BEHIND THE COUNTER. THE YOUNG PEOPLE IN GREEN APRONS, MOST OF WHOM LIVE WITHIN 5 MILES OF THE STORE AND POSSESS A HARD KNOWLEDGE OF THE STREETS OUTSIDE, RAZZ EACH OTHER AND JOKE EASILY WITH REGULARS. TWENTYONE-YEAR-OLD BARISTA DEIDRIC COOK, WHO WAS LIVING OUT 76 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A SEPTEMBER 2017
of his Ford Focus before being hired last year, brings the homeless woman who routinely parks her shopping cart outside a tea for when she wakes up at her table. Around lunchtime, about a dozen men and women will gather in the café’s designated community room for a free job-skills training class led by local members of the Urban League. A large photo of a yard sign with the message i all of ferguson hangs on the wall. Three years ago, Michael Brown was shot dead by a policeman on a nearby block, the event kicking off waves of protest and rioting that made headlines for months. As seen through the media’s lens, this was a city of torched police cars and smashed storefronts, hollowed out with sorrow and rage. So there’s something both bizarre and comforting about walking into Ferguson’s year-old Starbucks and experiencing the chain’s familiar, coffee-scented calm—not to mention watching Michael Brown’s charismatic uncle, who works here as a barista, prepare lattes behind the counter. This café in Missouri represents one of 15 that Starbucks has committed to opening in underserved communities nationwide by the end of 2018 as part of its larger social-impact agenda, which over the past three years has grown increasingly aggressive, targeted, and sometimes controversial. In 2013, the company pledged to hire 10,000 veterans and military family spouses within five years and, having met the goal a year and a half early, upped its “hiring and honoring” commitment to 25,000 by 2025. In 2015, the Seattle giant launched another hiring initiative, this one to bring on board 10,000 “opportunity youth” (men and
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
Patrons Jason Ulneich, above, and Khalil Adams, left
women between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in school or working). The company has since hired 40,000, and this past spring pledged to reach 100,000 by 2020. In January, as an immediate rebuke to the restrictive travel and refugee-acceptance policies President Trump announced upon taking office, Starbucks launched yet another hiring effort: to partner with trusted agencies around the world and by 2022 hire 10,000 refugees in its stores across the world. Global responsibility chief John Kelly says that senior leadership routinely asks itself “Why not us?” before taking on the years-long operational demands of any of these various initiatives. “Like a lot of companies, we can have an impact: We could write a check, we could do some volunteering. But that’s not enough.” There is certainly a long game at play here—the Community Stores program represents a strategic opportunity, for example, for Starbucks to diversify its store portfolio as it pursues its goal of expanding into new markets with 3,400 new U.S. stores by late 2021. Yet Starbucks’s new CEO, Kevin Johnson, whom founder Howard Schultz handpicked as his successor, insists that the motivating factor is his 330,000 employees around the world; if they feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves, then that alone is good for business. “This is the core for our reason for being—to leverage our scale for good,” says Johnson. “It is possible for a publicly traded company to drive an agenda that is not only about shareholder value but is about social impact that helps the people and communities we serve.” The idea for the Ferguson store was born in the back seat of a car. A year after Brown’s murder, Schultz had been in St. Louis holding a forum on race with nearby St. Louis employees— one of many such gatherings he led as part of the company’s well-intentioned, if socialmedia-lampooned, #racetogether campaign, in which partners (as Starbucks refers to its employees) were encouraged to attempt casual dialogue with customers about America’s most sensitive subject. He made time in his schedule to take a drive through Ferguson, which is 70% black. Nearly half of all young black men in the St. Louis region are unemployed. Rodney Hines, now Starbucks’s director of U.S. social impact, accompanied Schultz and compares the ghostlike feel of the town to post-Katrina New Orleans. “Howard made a statement that resonated with me and others,” remembers Hines. “ ‘We’re absent from this community, and not only are we absent, but we have a responsibility and an opportunity to be here.’ ” It was a risk for Starbucks to bring its brand to
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Ferguson. In terms of economic development, the city was a dead zone. Thirty-seven businesses in Ferguson had been damaged in the riots, 17 of them destroyed. But even beyond the obvious financial risk, Starbucks knew it would be easy to get it all wrong, to prolong the embarrassment of #racetogether by appearing to swoop into a famously hurting place with a touchy-feely mission statement and an expensive drinks menu. “Many people told us, ‘You do not have a role here,’ ” says Kelly. “Well, conversations about race are one thing, but this is all about creating opportunity.” Grief, food insecurity, and homelessness remain common struggles for the 23 employees at the Ferguson Starbucks. “When one of my partners, a young woman, comes to me and says, ‘I’m going to sleep in my vehicle for another night in the Walmart parking lot,’ ” says store manager Cordell Lewis, “how am I ever going to get on that person and say, ‘You’re late, you’re not in dress code’?” Lewis, a married father who used to manage a video-game store across the street before Starbucks recruited him—and who is currently taking free online computer engineering courses at Arizona State University through the company’s College Achievement Program—has tattooed arms and a Mohawk. He knows from his own childhood what it means to live for a while out of your car and relates to the chaos his employees must routinely work through. “If they were in a bad spot I would take care of it,” he says. “Starbucks would take care of it. If I had to do a cash payout I would come in and do that, and there wouldn’t be a problem with that.” Barista Deidric Cook, who credits his employee health insurance with allowing him to get the x-rays he needed following an injury from a car accident, says that “seeing your manager care about you that much makes it where you like coming to work.” Lewis and his district manager, Nancy Siemer, offer employees a varied and ever-evolving range of assistance, from making sure they know which homeless shelter is on which bus line to Lewis once slipping a delivery guy extra cash to take a pizza to an especially rough neighborhood for an employee who hadn’t eaten in three days. “He’s like a dad around here,” says 20-year-old barista Adrienne Lemons, whose own father went to jail shortly before she was hired and whose paycheck must stretch to help care for her three younger sisters. “I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t come into work with [tears] on my shoulders, but this is our home away from home.” Starbucks didn’t just go ahead with the store in Ferguson—it promised to build 14 additional stores
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Barista Spike Goad, above; Ferguson patron Tyler Small, right; Starbucks district manager Nancy Siemer, who helped locals in Ferguson recover after the riots, far right
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in other low- to medium-income urban markets. (Six have opened to date in locations including Jamaica, Queens, and Long Beach, California.) In each spot, the company purposefully hires local minority- and women-owned contractors and vendors, works in tandem with local government and civic leaders, and partners with nonprofits to offer young people free, on-site job-skills training from the Starbucks customerservice curriculum. “Starbucks in isolation in these communities isn’t enough,” says Hines, the lead on the initiative, explaining the effort’s longer-term goals. “Part of this work is to illustrate how feasible this is for us and for other businesses.” Since the Ferguson store launched in April 2016, 41 other new businesses have opened. “When one person steps out from the crowd, others will follow,” says local city council member Ella Jones. “Starbucks said, ‘We are going to Ferguson. We are going to help this community recover.’ Once Starbucks stepped out of the crowd, everybody began to follow.”
to position Starbucks as a respite in military communities. The stores primarily employ veterans and military spouses and nurture relationships between the local base and veteran assistance organizations like Onward to Opportunity, which helps vets transition into new careers. Recently, Starbucks announced plans to open 100 additional Military Family Stores in the U.S. in the next five years. Shift supervisor Kelly Moore, 37, wears a green apron with an American flag sewn over the chest along with her first name and her designation of Army spouse. She has worked at Starbucks for two and a half years, though she says the chain has served as a comfort zone for far longer in the four countries and five states she’s bounced around thanks to her staff sergeant husband’s career. (The two are now separated.) “If you drive up and down this main road, it’s a lot of mom-and-pop stuff, dry cleaners,” she says. “Starbucks is the first thing most of these kids see when they leave the base that they’re actually familiar with. So this tends to be a meeting place for the younger troops who are here in training who don’t have any friends or family in the area. My son is getting ready to enlist. So I want to be that friendly, reliable face for these young people who have never left home before.” Starbucks hasn’t always been known as a veteran-friendly, or veteran-ready, place to work. John Kelly, the company’s head of responsibility, remembers his first day in the Seattle offices in the fall of 2013, sitting in on a meeting between senior leadership and half a dozen lower-level members of the Starbucks Armed Forces Network, the in-house community of employees with military backgrounds that had been founded in 2007. “They were challenging the senior leadership of the company to take advantage of this extraordinary moment in time, of 2.5 million transitioning veterans, and do more proactively to seek out and help them,” Kelly recalls. The executives’ subsequent commitment to hire 10,000 veterans and military family spouses was followed closely
“THIS IS THE CORE FOR OUR REASON FOR BEING—TO LEVERAGE OUR SCALE FOR GOOD,” SAYS STARBUCKS CEO JOHNSON.
“Colonel, your drink is ready!” The Joint Base San Antonio Starbucks sits at a busy intersection near three gated military outposts in Texas—Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, and Randolph Air Force Base. During the Friday morning rush, the room is thick with men and women in uniform. Twelve of the 26 employees at the two-year-old Sam Houston location are veterans, or spouses or teenage children of active service members. These stores—there are 32 so far in the U.S., marked by the subtle engraving of military family store on the front door frame—are a key part of the company’s hiring and honoring initiative, which aims
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by the publication of Schultz’s 2014 book, For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice, and a $30 million pledge from the Schultz Family Foundation for job training along with research into post-traumatic stress syndrome and brain trauma. Starbucks bused hundreds of regional and district managers to Joint Base LewisMcChord near Tacoma, Washington, to teach them about military culture. Matt Kress, a former firefighter and EMT who spent 22 years in the Marine Corps, heads the Military Family Stores program. It was he who pushed for baristas to be allowed to add patriotic touches to their aprons, such as Moore’s flag, to bond with customers. He also lobbied for individual Military Family Stores to be able to differentiate themselves from the Starbucks norm. At the Lackland MFS in San Antonio, for instance, customers have decorated shelves with equipment they deployed with, such as a beaten-up pair of combat boots or oily body armor. The staff at the MFS outside Hill Air Force Base in Clearfield, Utah, has permission to continue to wear red T-shirts on Fridays until every one of its service members comes home from combat. “Starbucks has really succeeded at bringing in the culture of the military and making it a part of who we are as a company,” says Kress. So the Armed Forces Network took it personally when, after Starbucks pledged to hire 10,000 refugees this past January, social media trolls began calling on people to boycott the chain. (“Hey @Starbucks, instead of hiring 10,000 refugees, how about hiring 10,000 veterans instead,” read one tweet. “What does it say when a company is willing to give jobs to terrorists over homeless veterans and at-risk inner city youth? #BoycottStarbucks,” read another.) After getting the go-ahead from senior leadership, the Armed Forces Network crafted a graceful slap-down, both as tweeted replies that soon went viral and a statement on the Starbucks website, reminding critics about the company’s veteran-employment history as well as its largely ignored stated intent to focus first on hiring refugees with special
immigrant visas—Iraqis and Afghanis who served alongside U.S. military. “I’ll speak for myself as a combat veteran,” says Kress. “One of the things we fight for is freedom, and that includes the freedom to live a life where you’re safe, and that includes refugees coming to this country.” Moore says her husband was as proud of the company for standing publicly alongside refugees as he was the day it committed to hiring veterans. He had just eight days’ notice before he shipped out to Afghanistan not long ago, and Moore’s team rallied to cover her shifts so she could be with her family before he left. “Hey, we’ll work [with] a man down if we have to,” her manager told her. Moore had spent much of her adult life working minimum-wage fast-food jobs before landing at the coffee chain. Starbucks is the first employer that’s ever promoted her—“Twice!”—she tells me proudly. And regardless of her marital status going forward, if she moves again, her store manager will help place her at a Starbucks near wherever she ends up. Before working at the company, “because I transition so regularly, I just felt like, Well, I’m always going to be entry level, always have that beginner minimum-wage job,” says Moore. “Now, if I want to progress up the ladder, there is room for me to grow within the company.” Starbucks, meanwhile, holds on to its talent.
“STARBUCKS IS THE FIRST THING MOST OF THESE KIDS SEE WHEN THEY LEAVE THE BASE THAT THEY’RE ACTUALLY FAMILIAR WITH. SO THIS TENDS TO BE A MEETING PLACE,” SAYS SHIFT SUPERVISOR MOORE.
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#BoycottStarbucks may have been a particularly obnoxious gambit, but it also spent a day as the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter. A YouGov BrandIndex survey found in March that consumers’ estimation of Starbucks had fallen by two-thirds since the company’s January refugee-hiring pledge. Starbucks hit back within the week, sharing
a letter from market-research firm Kantar Millward Brown that disputed the YouGov report. “Stakeholders need the facts,” read the Starbucks release accompanying the letter. “We did not observe any substantive impact on Customer Consideration, Future Visitation Intent or Brand Perceptions or any other key performance metrics for the Starbucks brand.” At the annual shareholders meeting later that month, Schultz reiterated to the crowd that “we have never shown a harmful impact on our business due to our compassion.” Kelly explains that while the hiring initiatives don’t demonstrate a “direct correlation to revenue,” they are vital to the company. “Whether it’s the resilience of refugees, the energy of opportunity youth, or the service and leadership of our veterans and military spouses, these hiring initiatives are the best of Starbucks,” he says. “For all the critics out there who say we shouldn’t get involved with this or that, I think we have been able to prove that while we learn along the way and, yes, we make mistakes, at the end of the day we are a company that lives its values, and that has been key to helping us drive our business.” Now the goal is to encourage other major brands to follow; the company recently partnered with large corporations such as FedEx and JCPenney in hosting a daylong opportunity youth job and resource fair in Dallas in May, where 700 young people were offered jobs on the spot. Ferguson demonstrates what a successful effort can look like. “The store is turning a profit in year one,” says Johnson. “We’ve specifically called out an intentional part of our strategy, which is to look at these Community Stores and make the investment in areas that others wouldn’t.” The café has seen sales growth of 15% since opening, ranks in the top 25% of food sales in the St. Louis area, and boasts a lower staff-attrition rate than the average Starbucks. The benefits have spread 3 miles across town to Natalie’s Cakes and More bakery. Back in 2014, owner Natalie DuBose was a single mom of two young kids. On the night word spread that Ferguson cop Darren Wilson wouldn’t be indicted in Michael Brown’s killing, she got a call that her new shop had been damaged in the chaos. She rushed over and remembers little beyond a burning police car out front, plus, hanging upside down through her busted
Barista Deidric Cook, left; Ferguson bakery owner Natalie DuBose, far left, now sells her caramel cake at 32 Starbucks stores.
window, the Christmas tree she had set up as a holiday display. A few days later, a stranger walked into her boarded-up shop as she was baking in the back. Before introducing herself, the woman took hold of DuBose’s shoulders and asked, “Are you okay?” They wordlessly fell into each other’s arms and sobbed. DuBose soon learned that this compassionate visitor was Starbucks district manager Nancy Siemer, whose husband had grown up in Ferguson just a few miles from where the rioting took place. She had seen DuBose crying on the local news, vowing to rebuild. Soon Siemer was stopping in regularly, each time bringing higher-level Starbucks executives with her to chat and try some of DuBose’s signature cake. In April 2015, after attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ferguson store, Starbucks senior VP of siren ideas Mesh Gelman formally asked DuBose if she was interested in selling her caramel cake at Starbucks. The trick, Gelman said, was scale. She had to commit to selling in multiple stores for the deal to make financial sense. On the afternoon I visit her shop, DuBose is cleaning up pizza boxes. She has just finished lunch with the 10 local teens she’s hired for a 90-day summer program as part of her Sweet Success youth program. Today, DuBose’s caramel cake is available at 32 Starbucks locations in the greater St. Louis area as well as five local Schnucks grocery stores. She’s grown her staff from 4 to 22 employees. “It used to be I wanted a career that allowed me to take care of my kids,” she says, rubbing her hands over the goose bumps on her arms that she still gets when she marvels over her unlikely journey. “Now, all of a sudden, I can help somebody else take care of their kids.” When Rodney Hines visited Ferguson in April to celebrate the Starbucks location’s one-year anniversary, DuBose says she hugged him and asked to expand her reach into more Starbucks. She tells me she wants to grow another 10 times in the year ahead, in terms of employees, locations, community service, all of it. She is thriving, and she wants to help others do the same. But there are lines she will not cross. This past spring, a Missouri chain of high-end coffee shops separately approached her, eager to sell her cake. DuBose never signed any type of exclusivity contract with Starbucks and realizes she would be giving up money the Seattle giant likely wouldn’t begrudge her. She walks over to the coffee pot by the cash register and picks up a half-full bag of Starbucks’s ground Pike Place. “Nah, I could never do that to Starbucks.”
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“The core element of our company is this partnership with the customer,” 23andMe CEO Wojcicki says.
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Art credit teekay
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
23ANDME’S COMEBACK
A nne Wojcick i, CE O of t he groundbre ak ing DN A-te st ing c omp any, got cro s s way s w it h t he F DA—and had to ret hink e ver y t hing. I t wa s a ble s sing in dis guis e. BY ADAM BLUESTEIN GUTTER CREDIT TK
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NOEL SPIRANDELLI
Art credit teekay
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From Rise to Roadblock to Recovery A look at 23andMe’s adaptive journey
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WE AR I N G A B LU E F LE E C E JACKET, RU NNING SH ORTS, A N D S N E A K E R S, HER H A IR IN A PO NY TA IL , AN N E W OJ C I C K I I S R E C O U NTING H ER EV ENING O UT T H E N I G H T B E F O R E . SH E A ND A CO U PL E O F F R I E N D S H A D G O NE TO SEE U 2 AT L EV I’S STA DIU M I N SAN TA C LA R A (S H E ’S F RIEND LY W ITH TH E BAN D), A N D W OJ C I C K I HA D F O RGOT TEN NOT O NLY H E R F R I E N D S’ T I C K E TS BU T H ER O W N ACCESS BAD G E , TO O. S O, S H E S AYS, “ W E J U ST BU STED O UR WAY I N. ”
GUTTER CREDIT TK
Kathy Hibbs, who leads regulatory affairs for 23andMe, has worked strategically to gain FDA approval.
APRIL 2006 Anne Wojcicki cofounds 23andMe out of an apartment in Mountain View, California, naming the company after the 23 pairs of chromosomes that contain every human’s DNA blueprint.
NOVEMBER 2007 23andMe begins offering its DNA spit test directly to consumers. The service costs $999 (R 13 020) and provides reports on 14 traits and health conditions.
OCTOBER 2008 23andMe’s test is named Time magazine’s “Invention of the Year.”
JUNE 2010 The FDA sends warning letters to 23andMe and other direct-toconsumer genetic-testing companies, alerting them that their tests will be regulated as medical devices and they should begin the FDA-approval process.
Wojcicki, sitting in a glass conference room at the Mountain View, California, office of 23andMe, the company she cofounded in 2006, seems not to appreciate the irony of her story. Just four years earlier she paid a heavy price for trying to bulldoze her way through obstacles: In November 2013, the FDA gave 23andMe a forceful slap-down, barring the company from selling its revolutionary DNA spit test, which had stirred passionate interest and generated headlines for promising to democratise genetic testing and yield data-driven cures for disease. (Fast Company had even run a cover story calling her “The Most Daring CEO in America.”) The FDA declared her company’s service an “unapproved medical device,” a crippling blow. While 23andMe could still sell its ancestry product, Wojcicki and her investors—including Google cofounder Sergey Brin (Wojcicki’s then-husband, who has personally invested in the company), Google itself (where Anne’s sister Susan was employee No. 18 and is now CEO of YouTube), and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner—hadn’t stuck their necks out and put up $118 million (R153 879 670 000) to build a genealogy service. 23andMe’s unique value proposition, and its founders’ mission, was to empower individuals with actionable genetic health information. Suddenly all that potential was in doubt. How 23andMe turned that uncertainty around—and, in fact, expanded its brand—is a tale of perseverance, adaptability, and what in days gone by might have been called gumption. Less than a year after the FDA’s rebuke, for instance, Wojcicki signed a lease on a new, larger office space, even though it wasn’t clear at that time if the company would survive. A glass hive with a rooftop garden and free lunch and snacks for the nearly 300 employees, the space sports reminders of what the company has already overcome. A green couch sits in a common seating area, one of a crop of handme-downs from Wojcicki’s first apartment in New York. “We’ve been really frugal,” she says. “We used to pride ourselves on these $19 Ikea
AUGUST 2013 23andMe launches the first national TV advertising campaign for its Personal Genome Service kit, which reports on more than 250 inherited conditions, traits, and disease risks, along with genetic ancestry. It is now priced at $99 (R1 291.63).
NOVEMBER 2013 Wojcicki appears on the cover of Fast Company as “The Most Daring CEO in America.”
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Emily Drabant Conley, the company’s head of business development, says that she has seen a huge uptick in partnership interest.
chairs that would break if you weighed over 220 pounds. We would go visit competitors in the early days and say, ‘Oh, they’ve got fancy chairs— they’re burning cash.’ ” Today, 23andMe is back on track and, as Wojcicki puts it, “I still want more.” In April, the company received FDA consent to restore some of its health reports, notably those that assess a customer’s genetic risk of developing Parkinson’s and late-onset Alzheimer’s. Beyond this “major accomplishment,” as Wojcicki describes it, the company has also forged large-scale partnerships with businesses such as Genentech, Procter & Gamble, and Target; launched an in-house drug-development programme; and raised $155 million (R1 499 795 500) in a Series E round, elevating its valuation to an estimated $1.1 billion (R143 477 400 000). Still, the current version of 23andMe’s product offers only a fraction of the 254 reports it featured in 2013. And while the company now boasts what Wojcicki calls “a great, very supportive relationship” with the FDA, getting the next set of approvals—for reports on cancer risk and drug response—is hardly assured. Meanwhile, competitors such as Ancestry and Helix have suggested they may start offering their own health reports (Ancestry has filed for an IPO), and uncertainty over genetic privacy issues continues to loom over the sector. Yet considering all the drama and setbacks, Wojcicki might be forgiven a bit of selective enthusiasm. Building a cult brand within the staid, highly regulated health industry is unusual; sustaining users’ and investors’ interest through years of controversy ratchets up the challenge further. How Wojcicki has managed 23andMe’s comeback, and what she has planned next, is a playbook for disruption. As she recalls, when she first heard about the FDA clampdown, “I was like, ‘Hey, what can we do in six weeks [to fix this]?’ I learned pretty quickly, like, nothing. I’ve learned that things take longer than you expect.” Wojcicki received a BS in biology from Yale
NOVEMBER 2013 The FDA sends 23andMe a letter ordering it to stop marketing its genetic health risk reports, stating that the company has failed to present evidence proving its tests are accurate.
JANUARY 2015 23andMe announces major research partnerships with Pfizer and Genentech.
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before going to work as a biotech analyst with a New York hedge fund in the late ’90s, experiences that helped her appreciate not only the enormous public-health opportunities that would be created by the Human Genome Project, but also the inefficiencies of a health care system where it seemed everybody but the consumer got to call the shots. This is what motivated her to start 23andMe. When the company began offering its Personal Genome Service (PGS), in 2007, there was no precedent. Genetic screening for a panel of inheritable conditions was routinely offered by doctors to would-be parents, to assess their likelihood of passing on harmful mutations to their offspring. And Myriad Genetics had a doctor-administered test with a list price of more than $3,000 that detected genetic mutations associated with increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, leading some women (famously, actress Angelina Jolie) to seek mastectomies and/or ovary removal. These tests had to be prescribed by doctors and were often interpreted by genetic counselors. 23andMe was doing something quite different, leveraging technical advances in
FEBRUARY 2015 The FDA issues 23andMe the first authorization to market a direct-toconsumer genetic test for carrier status, clearing the way for faster approvals in the future.
JUNE 2015 The company announces its 1 millionth customer.
OCTOBER 2015 23andMe rolls out a revamped customer report and increases the price to $199. The company also raises $115 million in a Series E round that values it at $1.1 billion.
APRIL 2016 23andMe begins selling its kits at CVS and Target stores.
APRIL 2017 Surpassing 2 million customers, 23andMe wins the FDA’s okay to market direct-toconsumer reports on the genetic risk for 10 conditions. —AB
BUILDING A BRAND THAT MATTERS
genomic sequencing, and drastically falling prices, to offer extensive DNA analysis directly to consumers. Analysts and reporters covering the company frequently described 23andMe’s business model of bypassing the medical establishment as hubris, a case of brash Silicon Valley confronting sluggish convention. Wojcicki pushes back at any suggestion that the company was inclined to sidestep regulators. When 23andMe launched its first health report to consumers, she notes, it had CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) approval, the usual standard for diagnostic tests that are handled through a single-lab facility. Wojcicki says she didn’t consider 23andMe’s test to fall under the FDA’s purview at first, in part because they weren’t diagnosing diseases, just reporting risks. “An APOE mutation isn’t diagnosing you with Alzheimer’s,” she says. “It’s a risk factor.” But as doctors, geneticists, and state regulators started to question the reliability and appropriateness of 23andMe’s tests, the company saw where things were headed and in 2008 started meeting regularly with the FDA about a possible path to approval by the agency. “We had some humility,” says Wojcicki. “We did show up.” There seemed to be little sense of urgency on the FDA’s part, until June 2010—shortly after 23andMe started selling its kit through Amazon—when the FDA sent warning letters to the company, along with direct-to-consumer genomics competitors Navigenics, deCode, Knome, and Illumina. (Another company, Pathway, had received a letter in May, four days before it planned to start selling its test in Walgreens.) “You should take prompt action to respond to this letter,” wrote Alberto Gutierrez, the director of the FDA’s office of in vitro diagnostic device evaluation and safety. According to Gutierrez, 23andMe’s Personal Genome Service didn’t meet the criteria for a single-lab test, and because consumers might make important medical decisions based on the information it contained, it was a diagnostic “device” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The company found itself in new territory. While it was allowed to keep selling the test, it faced fresh scrutiny. For the next two and a half years, representatives from 23andMe and the FDA had “14 face-to-face and teleconference meetings, hundreds of email exchanges, and dozens of written communications,” according to the FDA. 23andMe submitted its first application for FDA clearance in July 2012— unsuccessfully—and followed it with another submission at the beginning of September. Into 2013, the record shows extensive back and forth as 23andMe attempted to respond to FDA feedback and requests for additional evidence. Then, in May 2013, 23andMe abruptly went quiet, which didn’t sit well with the FDA. A company spokesperson explains that “the delays on our part really were related to miscommunication and lack of understanding the process.” This quiet stretch with regulators coincided with a noisier public posture, punctuated by the launch of new 23andMe TV ads. This expanded branding effort seemed to trip some sort of invisible wire at the FDA. After hearing nothing official from 23andMe for six months, the FDA sent a heated shut-down letter scolding 23andMe for failing to submit evidence that its reports could be trusted. “We have been diligently working to help you comply with regulatory requirements,” this new letter from Gutierrez read. “FDA has not received any communication from 23andMe since May. Instead, we have become aware that you have initiated new marketing campaigns, including television commercials that, together with an increasing list of indications, show that you plan to expand the PGS’s uses and consumer base without obtaining marketing authorization from FDA.”
Wojcicki turns reflective when recalling the letter. “Without a doubt, we didn’t have the right team in place or the experience in how to get regulated,” says Wojcicki. “More and more, I’ve learned how far off we were.” 23andMe was forced to stop selling its health reports immediately. “Change what you can; manage what you can’t,” reads the tagline for a 23andMe ad campaign from around this time, advice that Wojcicki and Andy Page, a former president of Gilt Groupe who came on as 23andMe president just months before the 2013 letter arrived, took to heart. “It was a huge wind out of our sails,” says a former employee who was there during the crisis. In the weeks after receiving the letter, 23andMe issued press releases declaring its intention to continue marketing parts of its service that the FDA didn’t explicitly forbid— information about ancestry and “raw genetic data without interpretation”—and pledging to keep working with the FDA to restore the full range of health tests. To that end, Wojcicki hired a regulatory affairs expert, Kathy Hibbs, an attorney who had been working at Genomic Health, a cancer genomics company. Hibbs had been introduced to Wojcicki by a mutual friend and only agreed to meet as a favour. “It didn’t occur to me that they’d recruit me,” she says, “and it didn’t occur to me that I’d be interested.” But she felt that the company’s interaction with the FDA “had the potential to establish the standards for similar products in the future. That’s a powerful thing, and it’s an actual advantage.” The FDA’s warning letter “was pretty provocative,” she admits, but “I don’t think they were trying to kill the company.” But it would take time—and luck—as well as better science to repair 23andMe’s trust with the FDA. Hibbs has tackled the process in chunks, identifying those areas with the highest likelihood of approval first, and then moving to the more touchy ones, including the tests for BRCA gene mutations and drug response (such as sensitivity to the blood
“WITHOUT A DOUBT, WE DIDN’T HAVE THE RIGHT TEAM IN PLACE OR THE EXPERIENCE IN HOW TO GET REGULATED,” SAYS WOJCICKI. “MORE AND MORE, I‘VE LEARNED HOW FAR OFF WE WERE.”
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thinner warfarin). In the meantime, the company had no choice but to shift its marketing to focus on its ancestry product. The FDA’s warning letter gave the company impetus to explore the more whimsical side of its business, such as finding relatives you never knew about. This relatively low-cost consumer DNA test turned out to be a shockingly effective way to create a genetic database the likes of which no other public or private entity has ever seen. Selling the $99 (R1291.69) ancestry reports alone, the company added more than half a million new customers between December 2013 and June 2015, when it announced its 1 millionth genotyped customer. Today, the company has collected DNA from more than 2 million people. Thanks to this unexpected appeal, 23andMe now controls the world’s largest and most diverse collection of human genotypes (600,000-plus unique genetic markers per individual) paired with self-reported phenotypic information (hundreds of data points per average individual on traits ranging from lactose intolerance to male pattern baldness to a family history of cancer). More than 80% of 23andMe customers—even those who just purchase the ancestry product— opt in to its research program, allowing the company to share its anonymised data with academic and industry partners. The information, in turn, has allowed scientists to run geneassociation studies—trawling through huge amounts of data to find mutations that are strongly linked to particular traits or health conditions. Plus, because 23andMe does an exceptional job at keeping customers engaged well beyond getting their test results—the company pushes frequent updates on genetic research, a combination of serious medical research as well as cocktail-party-friendly studies on the genetics of cilantro aversion or the tendency to be a “morning person”—it can prompt them to fill out an endless string of surveys. “The core element of our company is this partnership with the customer,” says Wojcicki. If a drug company wants to study Parkinson’s, for example, it can quickly
identify some 15,000 people with the condition through 23andMe—or nearly 300,000 with depression or high blood pressure—and ask them to complete additional surveys, recruit them to participate in clinical trials or additional kinds of tests, or perhaps, one day, contact them about a new treatment. Researchers working with 23andMe’s data have already started to publish breakthrough findings. A project with the Michael J. Fox Foundation has identified novel biomarkers for Parkinson’s disease. One with Pfizer detected 15 new regions of the human genome linked to a higher risk of serious depression. Genentech paid a reported $10 million up front (with a potential $50 million (R653 022 500 00) more for hitting key milestones) to access genomic data from 23andMe’s Parkinson’s community. These sorts of successes have attracted other partners. Procter & Gamble is using genetic insights gleaned from 23andMe to help inform its marketing of products ranging from over-the-counter sleep aids to skin creams, steering people whose genetic profile suggests they’d be unresponsive to retinol, for example, to alternative antiaging products. “We can go in the direction of personalised skin care,” says Frauke Neuser, a principal scientist at P&G’s Olay brand. 23andMe’s head of business development, Emily Drabant Conley, says that “in the early days it was all uphill. It was hard. Now there’s this realisation that human genetic data is valuable. It feels like we’re in a different time period.” If selling test kits to consumers represents 23andMe’s central business, and forging data-sharing partnerships with companies is its primary line extension, then the company’s in-house therapeutics-development division could be considered its moonshot. Creating a drug may be the utmost embodiment of Wojcicki’s mission to transmute data into real improvements in public health. “It’s our responsibility to help people figure out how to prevent developing a disease, or to find a cure for it,” she says. “In science, the best way to try to drive change is to lead by example. If I really believe—and I do—that starting with human genetic data will make the drug discovery process faster and more effective, then the best way to prove that is to do it.” Richard Scheller always saw the potential for drug development in 23andMe’s database. The awardwinning biochemist, who had spent 14 years leading research strategy, drug discovery, business development, and early-stage drugdevelopment activities at Genentech, had played a key role in Genentech’s investment in 23andMe’s 2007 Series A. Personally, he says, “up until I started, the database wasn’t large enough to be really exciting for me. But it got there, and now with the FDA approvals and more sophisticated marketing, it’s growing incredibly fast.” The walls are blindingly white at 23andMe’s research lab in South San Francisco, and the centrifuges, mass spectrometers, and laboratory refrigerators still gleam like new. Scheller, dressed in a checkered flannel shirt and drooping gray jeans, leads a tour of the facility, sipping Diet Coke from a cup. For the past two years he has been overseeing a team that has grown to more than 30 scientists, hoping to use 23andMe’s database to alter the economics of bringing new drugs successfully to market. On average, a new drug costs more than a billion dollars R130 591 000 00 00) to develop. This is because for every one that works, 10 don’t. Drugs with a basis in human genetics, though, have a success rate one-and-a-half-fold to twofold higher, says Scheller. “If we can be even twice as good as the
THE FDA’S WARNING LETTER TO 23ANDME “WAS PRETTY PROVOCATIVE,” SAYS REGULATORY AFFAIRS HEAD HIBBS, BUT “I DON’T THINK THEY WERE TRYING TO KILL THE COMPANY.”
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industry average, we would be in pretty good shape.” Scheller is currently focusing on several conditions, including cardiovascular and liver disease, cancer, skin diseases, and immunological disorders. “We want to bias ourselves to something that’s going to work,” he says. That means leaving the development of neurological drugs—Scheller’s specialty—to partners. “The most important thing for a young company is to be successful, and diseases of the brain are hard. That’s not a place to start.” If the company happens upon a drug compound that works, 23andMe would likely sell or license the marketing rights to a partner. “What pharma companies do really well is running clinical trials and marketing,” says Wojcicki. “Those are really complicated and expensive things to do. Where we can potentially be really good is on the discovery side.” Her goal is to get a new drug to the point where it’s proven effective in humans.
of her own decisions. 23andMe has chosen to forgo using so-called next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology for now, since it is expensive and results can be hard to interpret. Unlike Myriad’s NGS test, 23andMe’s is designed to screen only for the three most common BRCA variants found among Ashkenazi Jews, among whom the incidence of BRCA mutations is about 1 in 40, versus about 1 in 400 in the general population. “When 23andMe customers got a positive BRCA result, it was a positive,” says Jill Hagenkord, who led a next-generation sequencing effort at 23andMe from 2014 to 2016 and is now chief medical officer at Color Genomics—whose $249 R3 252 67) doctorordered test uses NGS to screen for several hereditary cancer risk factors. But when it was negative? “There’s a concern about people who think they got a BRCA test but really didn’t,” Hagenkord says. Opting not to use NGS will also limit the types of drug discovery that the company will be able to do, says Scott Hebbring, a research scientist at the Center for Human Genetics at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Wisconsin. 23andMe also faces privacy fears, which have only increased since Wojcicki launched her company a decade ago. “We’re living in a time when we can no longer be completely sanguine about the safety of any of the data we share with the world,” says Misha Angrist, an associate professor in the Social Science Research Institute at Duke University. “We’ve seen too many reports of Fortune 500 companies, to say nothing of hospitals, getting hacked.” The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which protects individuals from genetic discrimination in health insurance and employment, was “a good start” on regulating the legitimate uses of genetic data, says Hebbring. “But it’s by no means comprehensive.” It doesn’t apply to military personnel or employees of companies with fewer than 15 workers, and GINA will not protect consumers with known genetic conditions from being discriminated against for disability insurance, long-term-care insurance, and life insurance. (In those industries, carriers are expressing new concerns about consumers who game the system by buying long-term-care coverage only when they discover—but don’t disclose—an increased genetic risk for Alzheimer’s.) If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, its explicit prohibition against discrimination for preexisting conditions, including ones revealed through genetic testing, could be weakened in significant ways. The reality, or even just the perception, that your DNA could be used against you could have a chilling effect on people’s willingness to get genetic testing for any purpose. All of this makes it crucial for 23andMe to position itself as an approachable and accessible brand. “I think there’s a whole world of people who don’t get any health care because it’s too cumbersome and expensive,” Wojcicki says. That’s why she “loves” Walmart’s $59 (R7 70 42) nurse practitioner visit and CVS’s MinuteClinic. The desire to connect with consumers in the real world, outside the health care bubble, is what pushed her to get mainstream retailers—including CVS, Sam’s Club, and Target—to start carrying 23andMe’s health-and-ancestry test over the past year and persuade Amazon to start selling it again. It also helped motivate her to capture the popular imagination through partnerships that wouldn’t have been imaginable when the company started out, like the recent marketing campaign with Universal Pictures around the release of Despicable Me 3, featuring an animated short in which the character Gru discovers a long-lost brother using 23andMe’s DNA Relatives tool. “We’re definitely a mission-driven company,” Wojcicki says. “There’s a lot of skepticism about that, but we really want to drive positive change in health care.” Many would-be disrupters in Silicon Valley talk about changing the world. But doing so takes both skill and stamina. “In some ways, what happened with the FDA has forced me to learn the lesson of patience,” says Wojcicki. “Everything is in steps.” editors@fastcompany.com
“IN SCIENCE, THE BEST WAY TO DRIVE CHANGE IS TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE,” WOJCICKI SAYS.
Even in the rosiest scenario, it will be years before Scheller’s team sees any big commercial reward for its efforts. In the meantime, 23andMe expects to continue working with the FDA to expand its menu of direct-to-consumer health tests. The company is on much better terms now with the agency regulating it. “I think they’re really proud of the work they did,” says Hibbs of the FDA. “It gives them the ability to embrace innovation.” FDA spokesperson Tara Goodin says via email that “since 2013, 23andMe has diligently collaborated with the FDA to create a model for offering a genetic health risk test directly to consumers that mitigates risks associated with how a consumer interprets and uses the test results.” Of course, the fact that everyone’s playing nicely now doesn’t mean that future approvals the company is seeking—for cancer risk and drug response, potentially the most actionable information for consumers— will be any easier to win. One of the reports that Wojcicki badly wants back is for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are highly predictive for breast and ovarian cancer. The tests are not only potentially lifesaving but lucrative: The No. 1 provider of BRCA testing, Myriad Genetics, earns some $632 million (R 825 420 440 000) annually from its services. But Wojcicki will face headwinds—in part because
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The Great Innovation Frontier
EMBRACING AFRICA’S URBAN FUTURE To seize Africa’s “urbanisation dividend”, policymakers must ensure that cities act as a catalyst for development and growth
According to the 2016 African Economic Outlook, over half of Africa will be living in cities by 2050, yet twothirds of the infrastructure needed for African cities by that time has not yet been built. Policymakers are under pressure to ensure that this rapid expansion does not result in enormous, unsustainable slums, but rather in development, opportunity and growth. Naturally, this is easier said than done. While Africa is urbanising apace (it has moved from 14% in 1950 to 40% today) and has one of the fastest growing – and youngest – populations in the world, this has not yet translated into proportional economic development. Africa remains the poorest continent on earth, home to 75% of the world’s poorest countries. Changing this will require investment and ingenuity. On average, the African Economic Outlook estimates that African countries will need to spend up to 7% of GDP – or at least $100 billion each year – on public infrastructure, if they are to avoid disaster. Tax revenue in many African countries remains low, so aside from tax reforms, foreign direct investment is going to be essential. This means that making African cities more attractive places for investment and innovation must be a priority for policy makers. And it starts with putting people first. The success of cities is ultimately about people, says the Centre for Development Enterprise (CDE) in its Growth Agenda series. City administrators and policy makers must work to provide the infrastructure and services, not only to provide a better quality of life, which is vital in attracting and keeping people in the cities, but also to create opportunities for economic development. Creating the conditions where entrepreneurship and innovation can thrive is key. In fact, according to former Washington DC mayor, Anthony Williams, who is credited with turning the city around in the early 2000s when it was facing decline and bankruptcy, tapping into the entrepreneurial zeal that already exists and supporting it better is the chief role of city government.
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“ O n average, the African Economic Outlook estimates that African countries will need to spend up to 7% of GDP – or at least $100 billion each year – on public infrastructure, if they are to avoid disaster.”
M i l l s Soko
The Harvard Business Review has argued that the continent is on the cusp of an entrepreneurial boom fuelled, in part, by the collapse of the commodity boom that has pushed people to invent other ways to survive. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, meanwhile, has shown that while the appetite for entrepreneurship is indeed high, too many startups still fail before they reach maturity, due to lack of support and infrastructure. There is an obvious disjuncture here that policy makers must heed. Many African cities are moving in the right direction and are positioning themselves as centres of entrepreneurship, technology and research. According to Mark Bradford, writing as part of the World Economic Forum on Africa, the rise of mobile telephony and mobile banking is creating pockets of excellence, with Nairobi – Africa’s “Silicon Savannah” – emerging as a regional powerhouse in mobile technology; Accra is witnessing strong growth in its ICT sector, while Addis Ababa is emerging as a hub for IT start-ups. Service sector growth and new forms of banking and mobile money, as well as a rapidly evolving commercial real estate sector, also bode well for the future prospects of African cities. A World Bank report, “Competitive cities for jobs and growth: what, who and how” also cites Tangier, Morocco’s third city, which it says has gone from “dormant to dominant” in just over a decade by leveraging its comparative advantages. The city has regenerated around its old port and now boasts one of Africa’s largest seaports, automotive factories, multiple free trade zones, industrial parks and a thriving tourist industry. With the right leadership and foresight, the continent can sustain and replicate these successes and leapfrog to new competitiveness. The scope is large for new, wide-ranging urban policies to turn African cities and towns into engines of sustainable structural transformation. We have the appetite, the technology and – even – if we play our cards right, the investment potential. Really, the continent does not have a choice in the matter. If we want to grow and develop, cities will play a key role. Cities are key platforms for national, regional and global growth. Africa needs to embrace its urban future and make sure that we build it on our own terms! Mills Soko is the director of the UCT Graduate School of Business and an associate professor specialising in international trade and doing business in Africa. With a career that has spanned business, government, civil society and academia, he is uniquely positioned to understand the role these sectors have to play—collaboratively and individually—in addressing the critical issues of Africa’s development and competitiveness.
DE-COLONISING
AFRICA’S
CREATIVE ECONOMY
INNOVATION BY DESIGN Inside the ground-breaking ideas shaping our present and future
CRÈME DE LA CRÈME
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FORT CEO SHUKRI TOEFY IS DRIVING AUTHENTIC CULTURAL NARRATIVES "The reason we wake up every morning is to make the world a more beautiful place and to tell meaningful and authentic stories. At our core, at Fort we’re storytellers for a connected world."
SHUKRI TOEFY CEO, Fort
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REWRITING THE AFRICAN C U LT U R A L N A RR AT I V E THERE’S A NEW CULTURAL NARRATIVE AFOOT - AND EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. FORT CEO AND COFOUNDER SHUKRI TOEFY IS SETTING THE PACE Interviewed by Evans Manyonga
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I T IS MORE THAN A M AG A ZINE, I T'S A MOV EMEN T The Digital version of Fast Company South Africa is now available on Apple iPad and Android tablets
Fast Bytes Fast Company SA takes a look at the innovative new ideas, services, research and news currently making waves in South Africa and abroad
Driving into the future For the fifth consecutive year, Audi South Africa has retained its position as the number one contender for customer experience in the South African motor industry at the annual IPSOS CCE Awards. The Awards are presented by IPSOS South Africa, which is part of the second largest survey-based market research company in the world. Audi SA received the Gold award for Passenger Car Purchasing Experience, as well as Gold for Passenger Car Servicing for the 2016 calendar year. To select the winners, the IPSOS conducts telephonic interviews with customers 10 to 35 days after delivery of their new vehicles, in order to measure customers’ experience at franchised dealerships.
Going Mobile Gets Easier As smartphone payments grow in South Africa, Zapper, the mobile payment and loyalty rewards app continues to be at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to the growing cash and card-free consumer culture. Scan-to-pay QR codes are so ubiquitous, even car guards are cashing in on the mobile payment trend. For businesses yet to catch on, Zapper has further simplified the sign-up process to get them transacting today. Thereafter, the QR code on the display stand in the insert can be used for transactions, and customers can enjoy a more convenient way to pay. Zapper merchants also have access to a personalised customer insights portal that seamlessly aids in increasing revenue and growing customer presence. This development arrives on the heels of Zapper’s cross-continental partnership with China’s Alipay app, the world’s largest mobile and online payments platform. This will allow its 530 million global users who visit South Africa, the opportunity to pay at Zapper-affiliated merchants by scanning their QR code with Alipay. .
Remembering Colin Mayer
Tech heroes, every one
The Colin Mayer Tour (CMT) is a 3-day MTB stage race that commemorates Collin Mayer, a cycling legend who started cycling at the age 30 and who died tragically after a training accident at the Junior World Camps in Moscow in 2009. At a press conference held in Mauritius in July it was announced that JSE and semi-listed, Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited, are the official title sponsors of the tour. A 3-year naming right partnership for Rs500 000 (R100 000) per annum was signed by Greg Pearson, Director at the Grit Real Estate Income Group and Michel Mayer, President of the Colin Mayer Tour. The tour will take place from 13-15 October 2017 at the Riverland Sport Club, in the Riviere Noire Region of Mauritius.
All eyes are on the announcement of South Africa’s next tech hero, who will be revealed on the 16th of August 2017. The 1GIANTleap’s startup programme, in Cape Town and Johannesburg, aims to support entrepreneurs to transform their wild ideas into successful enterprises and is set to take place at Exclusive Books in Hyde Park. Startups will pitch their businesses to the judges, including Llew Claasen , Partner at Newtown Partners, Clive Butkow , CEO at Kalon Venture Partners, Professor Barry Dwolatzky ,Founder at Tshimologong, and Stephen Newton, former Head of Google. Attendees will include many respected players in the tech, startup, and investment space.
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Fast Bytes
Speeding up your emails What if there was an app that allows you to get and read your emails at the speed of Instagram? Developed by Vuxo, Gfeed is a new app that helps you do just that. The app is available for free for Android and iOS devices and currently works only for Gmail. Once the app is installed on a mobile or tablet device it connects users and presents them with simple instructions for using the program –“Keep Calm and Swipe up,” which is Gfeed in a nutshell. It provides a summary of each mail and if you need to read the full email you simply click on the “more” icon at the end of the summary feed. Gfeed is designed to help users to quickly deal with new emails, as you would do on social media news feeds. The app also allows users to reply or forward emails instantly and even star their important emails, making them easier to find later.
The quest for purity
Googling the right person for the right job Google has launched a new app which helps connect job seekers to future employers by giving companies a new way of managing their prospective job applications. This recruitment app, Hire, is designed for small to medium size businesses. In order to use Hire, companies need to be paid-up subscribers to Google’s G Suite apps, such as Calendar and Gmail. According to Google’s Vice President of Enterprise apps and Platforms, Dmitri Krakovsky, the Hire app incorporates some of the new technologies developed by the business startup Bebop. Bebop was founded by Google’s head cloud chief, Diane Greene, and bought by Google for US$380 million in November 2015. At the moment Google does not advise big companies to use the app as they may operate at global offices which may have different regulations regarding the hiring of staff.
Edward Snell & Co, SA’s largest privately owned wine and spirit merchants launched its latest product to the market in May - Single Batch, a special new addition to their vodka catalogue. The new arrival joins Edward Snell & Co’s line-up of spirit brands that have been available in South Africa since 1848. With its bold and contemporary new pack, Single Batch is imported from the USA and seeks to deliver premium vodka with a real, meaningful natural difference, centred on liquid purity. The brand focuses on using only what is essential and leaving out what is not, in order to achieve the ultimate level of purity. “To achieve the ultimate purity, Single Batch is quadruple-distilled, using only the finest grain and natural water for exceptional liquid quality. Maintaining this purity and premium quality is of the utmost importance to ensure that every drop of this vodka is enjoyed at its absolute best,” explains Simone Burns, Brand Manager for Single Batch. SEPTEMBER 2017 FASTCOMPANY.CO.Z A 93
Fast Events Local conferences, talks and meetups we think are worth attending
Tax Indaba
SA Innovation Summit
Date: 11 -15 September 2017 Location: Johannesburg, Sandton Conventional Centre Time: 09: 00 am to 17: 00 pm Cost of tickets: R700 per person per day.
Date: 6th – 8th of September 2017 Location: Cape Town Stadium Green Point, Cape Town Time: 07:30 am – 18:00 pm Cost of tickets: R3, 990 – R5, 700
The Tax Indaba is now the largest annual gathering bringing together the entire tax community – tax practitioners, in-house tax staff members, government tax officials and tax academics. The Tax Indaba seeks to involve all professional tax bodies in South Africa. Every year, the Tax Indaba seeks to add new variety and talent to benefit tax professionals who are seeking to refresh their knowledge and to learn about new tax-related developments. To ensure continued relevance, the event is put together with the assistance of the whole tax community.
Celebrating 10 years of fostering South Africa’s Innovation Ecosystem, the SA Innovation Summit 2017 brings together corporates, thought leaders, inventors, entrepreneurs, academia and policy makers. The Summit amplifies South Africa’s renowned competitive edge and inspires sustained economic growth, while nurturing, developing and showcasing innovation, as well as facilitating thoughtleadership around innovation.
Small Business Expo
Africa Print Expo
Date: 31 August – 02 September 2017 Location: Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg Time: 09: 00 am to 17: 00 pm Cost of tickets: Free on online registration, R65 at the door
Date: 13th – 15th September 2017 Location: Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg Time: 09: 00 am to 17: 00 pm Cost of tickets: Free on online registration, dyelan@practicalpublishing.co.za
The Small Business Expo is devoted to the development of small and medium sized enterprises, providing an invaluable platform for small businesses to market their businesses and interact with prominent business leaders and representatives from a number of corporate companies. It’s the ideal platform to stimulate business growth and motivate both current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
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The Africa Print Expo will showcase the entire digital print process and feature sheeted A3 machines up to Grand format digital equipment including both suppliers and manufacturers of commercial and digital printers, finishing equipment, software, media and consumables. Africa Print will be colocated with FESPA Africa, Sign Africa and Africa LED. FESPA Africa is a joint venture between FESPA and South African event organiser, Practical Publishing, that provides printers, sign makers and visual communications practitioners with a focused event to explore latest technological trends.
Fast Events
Symposium / IT Expo Cape Town Date: 18 – 21st September 2017 Location: Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town Time: 08:00am – 17:00 pm Cost of tickets: Early bird: R17, 460 Public sector: R20,428 Standard: R16,342 Booking: https://go.evvnt.com/134964-0
Digital Disruption and Innovation 2017 Date: 12 – 13th September 2017 Time: 08:30 am – 16:00 pm Location: GIBS campus, 26 Melville Road, Illovo, Sandton, Johannesburg Cost of tickets: R 8, 500 per person support@gibs.co.za
Gartner Symposium/IT Expo is the world’s most important gathering of CIOs and senior IT executives. For over 15 years, this flagship conference has enabled senior executives to create, validate and execute transformative business technology strategies. Delivering independent and objective content with the authority of the world’s leading IT research and advisory organisation, Gartner Symposium/IT Expo has built a reputation of trust among IT and business executives.
Disruption has brought a wave of new, efficient and creative technologies which challenge the way we operate. Digital disruption is displacing existing marketplaces, changing current business models, challenging industries, value chains, ecosystems and processes. Business needs to adapt to this digital revolution, evolve and possibly reinvent to meet the demands of digital customers in a disruptive world. If you don’t, you will be disrupted out of the market.
Source Up! International Web Development Conference
InDesign Digital
Date: 18 – 20 September 2017 Time: 08:00 am Location: Buitengeluk, Fourways, Sandton, Johannesburg Cost of tickets: R6, 500 – R 8, 500 farai@sourceup.co.za Source Up is the only African front-end web development conference that features an allinternational lineup with world developers who’ve worked at companies such as Netflix, Google, BBC, Twitter, Microsoft, and Slack, among others. It is the ultimate place for industry professionals to get hands-on learning and networking opportunities. Expert web developers from BBC, Netflix, Google, Microsoft will address the conference. Web designers, developers, CTOs and other web professionals can buy tickets via the Source Up! website (sourceup.co.za).
Date: 14 September 2017 Location: Naspers, Foreshore, Cape Town Time: 08:30 AM - 15:30 PM Cost of tickets: R2, 740 excluding VAT InDesign has evolved to become the ultimate powerhouse to create digital content. You can now use it to do anything from a PDF presentation to fully animated versions of your design.At this event you will learn how to set up engaging and interactive user experiences in a non-coding environment. Furthermore, you will learn how to prepare an InDesign document to use rich media elements (animation, video, graphics) and set up interactivity using InDesign’s tools. We dive into the world of EPUB’s and also use XML with InDesign documents in order to simplify repetitive work.
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Next
Wanted
He nd r i L ate ga n
RESELLING RETAIL In these uncertain times, retailers should think long and hard about where to focus innovation when it comes to how they transact with their customers
For the better part of human history the concept of a market has been a wholly stable, tangible notion. Simply put, markets are places where buyers and sellers meet to trade. Today, though, things are a tad more complicated. In a fast-changing world, the effects of new technologies throughout the value chain suggest that an uncertain future awaits retailers. Not only are these technologies propelling retail to previously unheard-of reach and efficiency, but they might also be changing the very concept of the market itself. There is no doubt that, in a constantly transforming environment, retailers should think long and hard when deciding their future sales channel mix – and which areas of innovation on which to focus their investments. A number of trends point to the fact that retail is taking on a whole new look – and if you are not up with the times, you could pay a heavy price indeed. In recent times, retailers have been scrambling to open up digital store fronts. Indeed, for a while it seemed that e-commerce would largely displace physical stores – but something unexpected happened instead, as exemplified by retail giant Amazon. In 2015, this previously digital-only company opened its first bricks-and-mortar book store – and it hasn’t looked back since. So successful has the venture been that Amazon plans seven more such stores this year, having already opened one in Chicago in March. The company also opened a prototype of its Amazon GO store concept, where customers simply pick up the items they want and walk out without needing to queue or pay at a till. The sales transaction is recorded seamlessly, using a mix of technologies that automatically keep track of a customer’s purchases in a virtual cart that is billed once the shopper leaves the store with the goods. Amazon’s experiments in integrating digital technologies into physical stores provide a strong indication that the lines between the two were never as clear-cut as once thought. Digital stores, nonetheless, are here to stay, but even they are in a state of flux. The internet is often too big
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“ A mazon’s experiments in integrating digital technologies into physical stores provide a strong indication that the lines between the two were never as clear-cut as once thought.”
and unwieldy for customers to easily find exactly what they need at a price they can live with. But in another trend helping to pave a new future for retail, innovative companies are responding to this conundrum by looking for ways to use technology to sort through the mess on behalf of customers. Virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa hold significant potential in this regard. These technologies right now do the basics – tell the weather, make calendar updates and issue traffic alerts. They also can play paid-for multimedia content on command. It is not long, though, before they will book accommodation, call on-demand transport, order food, and more. By integrating with the customer’s other devices and using machine learning to better understand customers’ needs and habits, virtual assistants could easily become the primary channel through which households transact with businesses in future. The third trend changing how we see retail is ondemand everything. By now we’re used to the idea of on-demand cars, apartments and work spaces. But retailers of today have to realise that it won’t stop here. This trend could see household items delivered to, and returned by customers as and when they need them. In other words, the whole concept of ownership could become obsolete, when the speed and efficiency of logistics are such that infrequently used items like power tools and recreational equipment are delivered and returned as and when needed, sparing customers the clutter and maintenance costs associated with such items. Perhaps, on their on, each of these trends might not signal a fundamental shift. But what we are learning about the latest crop of digital innovations is that their potential to disrupt lies in the fact that they represent technological breakthroughs in their own right and also interact with each other in often surprising ways to amplify this impact. Together they hint at a future where the retail market will become an ever-present, seamless part of a customer’s everyday life. Retailers that will survive this change are those with the foresight and planning to invest in the right channels, and the agility to adapt as the situation evolves. With key leadership roles in leading online publishing, as well as digital development and marketing agencies, Hendri Lategan has a unique understanding of the technology and digital industries. He specialises in blending cutting-edge technological innovation with impactful execution that brands and businesses can leverage as a powerful tool for meaningful engagement. Currently the CEO of swipe, a digital development specialist agency that focuses on creating high-end digital solutions, Hendri has worked with some of the biggest publishers and brands in Africa. He is passionate about the future of technology and strives to push the boundaries of the digital landscape.
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