12 minute read
The key attributes of a successful entrepreneur
By Niemah Davids
In 2021, UCT received multiple awards at the annual Entrepreneurship Intervarsity competition.
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Thanks to three budding student entrepreneurs, UCT bagged the Entrepreneurship University of the Year Award, and several other individual awards were presented to a student trio in recognition of their outstanding business concepts.
But it was no mean feat. Participants agreed that competing against the best student entrepreneurs in South Africa took grit, commitment and a watertight strategy. Between their academic projects and the work behind the scenes to prepare for the competition, it was the ultimate juggling act.
Paying it forward
When Tshegofatso Masenya came up with the idea to establish GoShare – an online donation-based crowdfunding platform that allows students to raise funds to cover their outstanding university fees, she was desperate to lend a hand and help cash-strapped students. Talk about an out-of-the-box thinker. She put shoulder to the wheel to establish her business to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
she told UCT News in an interview last year.
She was declared the national student Entrepreneur of the Year and winner of the social impact category at the 2021 intervarsity competition.
Can-do attitude
Passionate about her furry friends and their needs, Vuthlarhi Shirindza saw a gap in the market and decided to start a business that would make it easier to be a pet parent.
Chewi, an application-based veterinary telemedicine platform, ensures that whatever your four-legged friend needs is available at the click of a button – from virtual pet consultations, to value-added services like pet walking and training and food purchases.
The initiative is a first of its kind for South Africa and the African continent, so benchmarking was virtually impossible. But her can-do spirit carried her and still does, as she continues her exciting entrepreneurial journey. She was the second runner up in the social impact category at the intervarsity competition.
Tenacity
Chido Dzinotyiwei is the brain behind the Vambo Academy – an educational technology platform that makes learning African languages and cultures fun and interactive at the click of a button. Her invention helped her come out at the top of the existing business tech category at the competition.
Dzinotyiwei said during an interview.
By starting this venture, Dzinotyiwei hopes to create opportunities for writers, poets and translators and to be the steppingstone they need as they venture out into the world. The aim, she said, is to demonstrate that African solutions backed by technology can make a difference in societies. She’s determined to do so.
The parallels
While each of the above characteristics have been highlighted separately per competition winner, it’s safe to say that they apply to all of them.
But these budding entrepreneurs and those who came before them have plenty more in common – their robust work ethic is second to none; they’re out-of-the-box thinkers; they’re passionate about their business ideas; and believe that entrepreneurship can be used as a vehicle for change in the country. Couple all of this with a burning need to make a difference in society, and we have a winning combination.
In her own words
Q&A with Tshegofatso Masenya
What have been some of the highlights of GoShare so far?
Since its inception, GoShare has been awarded a prize in every pitching competition that we have entered and this has served as incredible affirmation for the work we are doing and the problem we are trying to alleviate. We have received countless applications from students across South Africa who are in need of funding which reiterates the direness of the situation and we are honoured to have been able to help several students clear their fees for registration and legibility to attain their qualifications. Partnering with GradStar in 2021 created a mutually beneficial avenue for GoShare to go beyond settling outstanding fees. This partnership aims to set students on a path that eases the transition between tertiary institutions and the workplace. Connecting them with potential employers, as well as business mentors.
What is the best business advice that you have received?
Your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is not meant to be perfect, it is meant to test assumptions and affirm your value proposition. Launch quickly and speak to users continuously.
What advice can you give to students and graduates wanting to start a business?
My advice hinges around the idea of failing fast and failing forward. The expectation to be exceptional as a first time founder is unrealistic and doesn’t leave ample room for learning and growing as an entrepreneur. Start where you are, approach people for help and allow yourself to make mistakes along the way. Adopt an unwavering belief in your business, improve your networking skills, remain curious and be open to change.
In your experience, what can students do to ensure successful crowdfunding for their studies?
People are typically drawn to students that demonstrate a passion for their studies, those who have a burning desire to give back to their communities and self-starters who go out of their way to establish an identity and goals that transcend their socioeconomic standing.
What is next for GoShare?
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that access to tertiary education is not governed by financial capability. For tertiary education to be a realistic and attainable goal for those who desire it, regardless of financial drawbacks. To wilfully protect the dignity of students as they publicly raise funds and concurrently expose them to opportunities for future employment. We intend on curating a crowdfunding culture that is driven by an intent to contribute meaningfully towards education and by extension, the future of this country.
In her own words
Q&A with Chido Dzinotyiwei
What have been some of the highlights of your start-up so far?
Vambo Academy is not the startup I thought it would be two years from inception – it has grown to become so much better, and I wouldn’t have known or experienced this had we not started building it.
OUR TOP 3 HIGHLIGHTS include:
• Winning the EDHE Intervarsity Competition as the best Tech business in the South African University ecosystem. The competition took us through the internal, regional and national rounds to validate our work and give us a platform to network and reach new clients.
• Successfully serving our first international clients based overseas. It was a surprise to have them reach out to us for our services and to meet their needs with our services.
• Growing our team to include more passionate young Africans looking to improve access to African languages and preserve our cultures and heritage.
What led you to start Vambo?
I was driven to start this business to preserve my culture and to make it easier for my younger siblings and family friends to learn our mother tongue – ChiShona. After having to re-teach myself and struggling to find resources to assist others, I realised that there was a need to invest in improving access to African languages and indigenous knowledge. Once my co-founder and I started researching and tutoring online, we just fell in love with the work and decided to commit to it through all the challenges and victories that have been a part of the journey.
What advice can you give to students and graduates wanting to start a business?
The first advice I will give them is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and having to adapt ALL the time. Start-ups are messy and they require patience. The first version of your product will be your worst version, but it is still a version and that’s what matters. Having something to show and test will always help you improve and get to where you want to be.
My second piece of advice would be that you need to know what you want and negotiate until you get it, or until you get as close to it as possible. As a founder, you are responsible for all the resources in your startup, so make sure that you negotiate the best deals. At times, trade services to get things done, e.g. do some business development for a web developer as they code some elements of your website or platform.
The third piece of advice would be that you should always ask others that have gone before you for some advice or insights. Founders understand how taxing the journey can be, and most are willing to listen and help. I have found that what helps me best is having at least one friend who is a few steps ahead of me in the journey and a mentor who has run the whole race and won in their own way.
What is next for Vambo Academy?
We are looking to improve our online learning tools and to add new languages to the platform. Our desire is to ensure that we adequately teach and preserve African languages using technology. We are looking forward to accommodating language tutors across the continent as they teach their mother tongues and to work with partners whose mission and passion to advance Africa is aligned with Vambo Academy.
In her own words
Q&A with Vuthlarhi Shirindza
Where did your idea for Chewi come from?
The idea was born from the digital move the world had taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the relocation of healthcare services from traditional to digital platforms. Originally, we had planned for Chewi to provide virtual medical consultations between people and their doctor, but realised that many healthcare professionals were all moving in that direction and that that market would soon be oversaturated. No one in South Africa had been focusing on pets and moving their services to a virtual platform. We thought of combining the virtual veterinary consultations with all the other needs that a pet has, such as grooming, nutrition and petsitting, and knew that bringing all of that onto one platform would make pet-parenting much easier.
What are the biggest lessons you have learnt about starting a business?
I have learnt that it’s absolutely crucial to do your research: about your product or service, your target market, social marketing strategies, your competition, etc. The beauty of it all is that all this information is freely available, mostly on the internet, you just have to look. One of the tragedies that most businesses fall into is not researching enough on a particular topic, and resultantly investing a lot of time, energy and money trying to reinvent the wheel instead of applying tried and tested strategies. Although your product or service should be innovative, there is a set formula for success which involves taking the time to learn. If one does not spend adequate time learning and researching but instead rushes into the ‘doing’ part, one might sell themselves short and not yield the desired results.
How do you juggle studying with your work as an entrepreneur?
Juggle is the perfect word to use because it’s exactly that: juggling and trying to keep all the elements balanced without dropping any of the balls. I balance everything by planning well ahead of time with how my year, month, weeks and days are going to look; prioritising tasks according to their importance, and perhaps most crucially, having a team for everything: the Chewi team, my friends and family, and the other members in the leadership structures I am involved in.
What female-specific challenges do you face as an entrepreneur, and how do you navigate them?
Thus far in my journey, I have not faced any overt female-specific challenges, but numerous female-specific benefits. The best time to be a female entrepreneur, especially a student female entrepreneur, is NOW. There are endless opportunities from competitions, incubators, funding opportunities and support structures that are specifically targeted at fixing the gender gap in economic participation and targeting and empowering young women to be the new leaders of industry, therefore I am so grateful to be an entrepreneur at this exciting point in history.
What is next for Chewi?
The next step for Chewi is to launch our website. We’re looking forward to rolling out our virtual veterinary consultations and onboarding a whole range of pet-related services on the platform such as pet grooming, sitting, walking and nutritional needs. We will also be starting our pet responsibility education and training in townships in the June 2022 school holiday to educate pet owners on how to care for pets properly. As part of our next steps, we want to extend our services (currently based in Cape Town and Johannesburg) to other cities and towns in South Africa, Southern Africa and eventually the rest of Africa.
