I was once raising some capital for a startup based in Switzerland and was meeting with potential VCs in Geneva.  One of them said to me "I'm not that interested in your business plan, I want to see the fire in your belly." He then poked me in the chest and said "Do you have fire in your belly sir?!". I was tempted to show him the packet of Rennies that I had been dipping into all day, but somehow I think he was talking metaphorically.

Entrepreneurs do need to have a single minded…

by Nanine Steenkamp

Technology research startup KnoGno is aiming to elevate entrepreneurship in Cape Town townships by collaborating with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

Started in June 2012 by academic and former investment manager Simon Jones, KnoGno aims to optimise the provision of information to consumers for making better, informed choices.

The main project areas of…

by Nanine Steenkamp

Eran Eyal, founder of Springleap, spoke to HumanIPO about social media marketing, South African investment in startups and crowdfunding.

HumanIPO: What do you think of social media marketing in South Africa?

Eyal: I think we have come into a time where there is an enormous amount of art where people go: “we need social media”. Now where we are in a…

Over the past weekend (17-May to 19 May) in Cape Town, South Africa I took part in a Launch48 weekend event. If you found this article because you were searching for information on Launch48, I hope after reading this you are convinced that it is something you should attend. If you don’t know what I am talking about yet, well enjoy the read and hopefully it will inspire you to take part in similar events.

This is my narrative of a Launch48 weekend experience.…

Allow me to introduce diggit.co.za – a social and dynamic student noticeboard, developed to give students the power of community. Think of it as an online mall for students, allowing P2P and B2P trading.

The site was created as a place where students can go to find/buy/sell/share all things relevant to their day-to-day lives, from finding a place to stay, a cheap car, to help with academic work and everything in between.

The result is a community that consists of universities,…

Shoprite Checkers yesterday launched a pay-per-lead affiliate marketing program on AdMarula's platform.

Ever since Shoprite Holdings bought the Checkers supermarket chain in 1991, Checkers has become a regular shopping destination with over 197…

The audience of the Net Prophet (@Netprophetlive) start-up workshop pitches this evening received a bonus session. Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) editor at large on @TechCrunch gave us a quick presentation on pitching a story to journalists.

Pitching a story, like pitching an idea or business is just that. It has to be news worthy and have substance. As an investor the last thing I want is an email saying "I have a business idea and I'm looking for…

Korwe Software is proud to announce their partnership with Oracle, as a Gold Partner Independent Software Vendor (ISV).

The partnership allows Korwe to offer enhanced, value-added solutions to their customers.

• Oracle customers can now be assured that Korwe’s solution can integrate with Oracle services such as through Oracle…

Snapplify, a Cape Town startup, recently pitched for the Seedstars World Startup Competition and were placed second! The Seedstars World Startup is an exclusive competition held in 20 countries globally for innovative start-ups to compete for the coveted denomination of Seedstars World Best Startup. Mobile Payment Start-up GustPay came first at…

You heard me. The title says it all. I shouldn’t actually write anything else in this article. However, I’m going to.

According to a lot of people the more things you have the happier you become..well that’s a myth…according to me. Materialistic assets shouldn’t evaluate your happiness or who you are.

I can vouch for the fact that having things doesn’t…

Pitch Competitions can be great, but watch out how you play the game.

Over the last few months, I've stepped onto the stage a good number of times to pitch my startup, Perk. Many times I've worked hard to get that spot, other times people have asked me to come forward to share my presentation. Having experienced the highs and lows, I think it is time to give a little insight into what pitching entails, and whether it is really…

Thanks to NATIVE’s new Mxit app, bookly, author Fiona Snyckers can now launch her book to an audience of 7.3 million monthly active users and do it three weeks before the real-world launch in bookstores.

bookly is the most sophisticated e-reader app available on the Mxit platform.  NATIVE began developing the app in early 2013, and was eager to bring suitable partners on board as quickly as possible. Publishers Random House Struik and Modjaji Books…

Great event to have been a part of this past weekend, credit due once again to Silicon Cape and more so to Launch48. What it was is that a group of different kinds and types of people gathered at the Bandwidth Barn on Friday night to eat pizza. Oh not really just to eat pizza but

drink beer as well, with an intention to be there for the rest of the weekend building businesses. A number of people (including me)…

The 3 minute power presentations were such a hit last year that we've decided to make them more awesome this year.

his is your chance to get on stage at Net Prophet and present a concise 3 minute topic. There will be 6 speakers competing for a coveted full slot at next year's conference. The presentation rock…

At a recent StartupWeekend type event I mentored at, I noticed that many people don't know how to quickly test a business model. Plenty had an idea, but had no way of knowing what the next step is. All you need to ask is What? Who? How? Why? and then test every answer and update.

What?

In one sentence, what problem are you solving? What is the pain point that you are relieving? Keep it super simple. It should describe what you do. "We help X do…

Korwe Software is proud to be associated with CT-SPIN and sponsored CT-SPIN #89 at the Bandwidth Barn, on Wednesday 15 May.



Many thanks to Ewald Horn for a great presentation on Android Live Wallpaper Development.



More pics from the event…

Net Prophet and  Saratoga are happy to announce this year’s most promising startups selected to attend the 2013 Net Prophet Startup Workshop. The workshop is facilitated by renowned startup coach and business mentor, Permjot Valia.

Born under a lucky star

We were overwhelmed by applications from across the country. Selection criteria was based on those companies who…