Whispers of an entrepreneur

As the popular adages goes, 'There are no shortcuts to success' and "There is no easy route to creating wealth" I have made no secrets on my love for Stellenbosch and moreover, my adoption of some of its leading entrepreneurs as my role models. I have had the great pleasure of spending my formative years as a young adult in Stellenbosch.  As student my rooting and fundamental beliefs were shaped and influenced by the town, its ambiance and all that that the institution embodied. The town of Stellenbosch  hosts a population of well  over 200 000 people,  spanning an area of  831.04 km². The town is a  vibrant economic area, with an active tourism market. M ajority of the population is white. The community also has some of the highest levels of education of any town in the country. For a small town, it offers and contributes to the fiscus more than its fair share. If that is the case, why then do we not learn valuable lessons from th...

This term: Equal Distribution of Wealth , really alludes me, it is devoid of all logic and practical application. The Freedom Charter , which can be described as the moral designation upon which the majority of South African politics is based (by its very nature, morality and politics do not mix ) identifies the great need to redress all the inequalities, subjugation, forced poverty and heinous crimes against humanity. The one clause in the document most associated with equal distribution of wealth is that of: The people shall share in the country’s wealth .  In my opinion this is one of the most noble of the clauses – speaking to wealth creation, efficiency and free of state influence. THE PEOPLE SHALL SHARE IN THE COUNTRY'S WEALTH!   The national wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, shall be restored to the people; The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and the monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownersh...

Mobile Communication - Apps run the world With 900 million mobile subscribers in India, over 600 million in Africa and just over 1 billion in China, there are more mobiles in the developing world than any other devices for communication. This brings a treasure trove of opportunities for builders of mobile applications. Applications or better known as Apps – essentially pieces of software that can be purchased as stand-alone modular products according to the requirements of the user, are revolutionising the way in which we consumer software products. When you think back, all software used to come from the big software companies, you had operating systems, antivirus software and business software packs. The Netscape guys are one of the pioneers of what we today view as the App revolution and the App market. Taking nothing from Apple and its iTunes Store, they well and truly made software a wide appealing consumer product. The folks from Netscape gave us a free browser tha...

During the past weekend, I got reminded of the things I am thankful for; a kind of taking stock of what is important as well as the journey that has led to this moment in my life. Praying hands Cleaning my cupboard I came across old business cards of lives I have lived and responsibilities I have had. Some were challenging, others simply infuriating but in all the positions and jobs I have had, valuable knowledge was accumulated, experienced gained and lessons learnt. My latest journey has been the most challenging, coinciding with my responsibilities as a husband and father - I was no longer able to take on the major risks of the past, risks that made me well off as well as broke me in more ways than just financial. Though a little wiser and more risk averse, I have taken a few gambles with some disasters and triumphs – effects of which were exacerbated because of my young family. The lows became so much more bitter and the highs were duly needed. As the husband, I am r...