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It's rare that you see a talk that resonates so deeply and makes complete, fundamental sense. You have the realisation that experience, genius and truth is in the same room as you and you are having those "aha" moments every minute -- and it's exhilarating.
Bill Gross is an entrepreneurial genius. He runs a company called Idealab, started in 1996. He founded the company to create and build successful businesses that capitalise on innovations in areas with growth opportunities. Naturally ...
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Death is the default for startups, reckons Amazon Web Services Technology Evangelist Simone Brunozzi. Apart from having a really cool Twitter handle @Simon, Brunozzi has founded a few startups himself, so speaks with some authority.
Speaking at a Tech4Africa conference in Johannesburg he mentioned that there was quite a bit of confusion at what constituted a "startup". He emphasised that most new businesses in the world were actually not startups, but were "service companies".
I guess they like to call themselves "startups" ...
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It's often said that one of the biggest challenges for an entrepreneur is focus. Naturally, this is coupled with multiple challenges like cash flow, growth management, and your general sanity.
It's also said that the great thing about being an entrepreneur is the freedom that comes with it. However, that freedom is largely illusionary unless you are running a lifestyle company or you've hit the megabucks early. Most entrepreneurs find themselves shackled by other responsibilities: Responsibility for the talent in the ...
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According to respected market research organisation World Wide Worx, the number of people banking from their cellphones has exceeded that of people banking from their PCs in South Africa. More than a quarter of bank customers are turning to their cellphones for services ranging from informational transaction types such as balance enquiries to financial transaction types which include account payments.
This was one of the key findings from the consumer phase of the research company's Mobility 2009 research project. The study ...
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Innovation in a business context is one of the most misunderstood concepts around. I have to admit that I've misunderstood it for most of my life too. I've grown to realise that ideas by themselves are pretty much worthless -- and innovation really arises out of a process of execution of those ideas that tests and combines other ideas, technologies and theories. It's common sense really.
It's why Venture Capitalists will rarely invest in ideas (or even a track record), but ...
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Fascinating TED talk on what motivates people in companies, challenging traditional notions of management. Very relevant to many online companies who are looking at building new and different cultures.
(via Wendy Robb @ 20fourlabs)
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A survey by Master Card claims that 80% of South African users are shopping online.
CDs, DVDs and VCDs” emerged as the most sought after item category, with 58% of online shoppers saying that they frequently shopped for these items online.
“Airline tickets” and “books and arts” emerged as the next most sought after items, with 45% of online shoppers saying that they had frequently shopped for these items in the three months prior to when the survey was conducted.
These are some ...
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Absa, the country's largest retail bank, says it's one of the first banks in the world to notch up a million cellphone banking customers, prompting it to call "2009 the year for Cellphone Banking".
It was the first South African bank to introduce Cellphone Banking services in the year 2000. Absa says that over the last few years there has been a surge in uptake, with up to 5000 new clients registering for Cellphone Banking each day.
Absa says:
“From observing the registration ...
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This presentation from famous Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm, Sequoia Capital, is a must-see. It explains the effects of the economic downturn on venture capital and internet startups. The news obviously isn't good, as investors will shun typically risky online startups, unless they are entities that can turn faster, if not immediate, profits.
There’s quite a bit of information on what went wrong in the economy, why the recovery is going to take some time, and what startups can do to ...
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Got this from a presentation by David Murray of Cape Venture Partners, a Venture Capital fund which has invested in quite a few successful businesses. Was alerted by a comment about 10 seconds after I posted this (literally) that it was originally adapted from Guy Kawasaki, here and here. So duly credited.
Top ten lies entrepreneurs tell
1. “Our market is $X billion”
2. “We won’t need a second round of financing”
3. “A large contract with BigCo is signing next week”
4. “If ...
Matthew Buckland is a web guy who has over the years worked in a programming, editorial and business capacity within the online media environment. He now dedicates his life and soul to Creative Spark and Memeburn.com. He was previously General Manager of Publishing at news24.com, and then went on to found and head up award-winning innovation startup called 20FourLabs.com. He is the former General Manager of Mail & Guardian Online and co-founder of political think-tank site Thought Leader -- a Webby Award Honoree. One of his proudest moments was when some of the world's biggest blogs, Techcrunch and Mashable, his favourite site Wired.com and technology site Techmeme tried to break his servers by linking to his personal blog matthewbuckland.com in the space of a few days. He was named one of "SA’s top 100 most influential media and advertising people" by the The Annual in 2009 and one of "300 Young South Africans you should take out to lunch" by his former employer, Mail & Guardian. His favourite colour is red.
