Entered the Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey yet? Here’s why you should

In a bid to gain a better understanding of how SA’s tech startup sector works, Ventureburn — in partnership with Telkom Futuremakers and analytics company Qurio — has launched the 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey.

The data from the survey will inform a series of articles on Ventureburn — which will cover the challenges facing South African tech entrepreneurs — and will be distributed to wider media and associated tech conferences.

Ventureburn will also hold an event surrounding the release of the data to the country.

The Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey will prove crucial in providing data on the challenges faced by South African tech startups

Last year’s edition of the Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey featured data from 260 startups and was based on 46 questions covering funding, demographics, revenue challenges, founder and employee information, and questions relating to the market.

Some of the major findings from last year’s survey found that:

• While 16% of South African tech startups founded by white entrepreneurs turned a profit, a mere four percent of black-owned tech startups did the same.
• About 32% of startup founders in the Western Cape said they were successful, compared to 22% in Gauteng who listed themselves as such.
• In all, 41% of startups reported that their market is Africa, up from just 13% in 2015. Those that described South Africa as their principle market fell to 39%, from 65%.
• Only about eight percent of respondents reported ever having been able to secure venture capital (VC) or funding from angel investors. In contrast, 27% of the startup founders said they hoped to secure angel or VC investment.

Thousands of rands worth in prizes

Startups that completed last year’s survey stood to win an iPhone and a business startup hamper sponsored by Telkom, BCX and Trudon (which included 20 GB data, free mobile minutes, free night surfer data and router and free advertising for a year).

This year, for the third edition of the survey, we’ve spiced things up.

This year’s winners stand a chance to win: a Telkom Business in a Box Supreme solution including 24-month connectivity, valued at R31 000; a one-year subscription to Ventureburn’s press release service for their startup, valued at R12 000; and an exclusive mentoring session with venture capitalist and Knife Capital partner Keet van Zyl.

Criteria

The survey is open to South African technology startups or small businesses with annual revenues under R20-million and or staff numbers of anywhere from one to 100.

So, whether you want to help provide data on the challenges facing SA’s tech entrepreneurs, meet with one of South Africa’s legendary VCs or are looking to score some great prizes for your business, here’s your chance to enter the survey.

ENTER SURVEY HERE

Read more: Infographic: the 2017 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey
Read more: Read the full 2017 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey presentation