Rated #1 Podcast for Entrepreneurs in South Africa in 2023 by Feedspot.
The Founder Files is where founders come to explore proven growth strategies and real en...
How Two Entrepreneurs are Bringing Connectivity to Millions - Calvin Le Mottée & Wesley Dorning, Sebenza
Sebenza is making it possible for commuters to get free wifi in taxis and busses, in exchange for interacting with their platform. Whether that’s watching an ad, playing a game, or filling out a survey, users get rewards Sebenza bucks which they can they use to access the wifi in these vehicles.
In this episode, we chat with Calvin Le Mottée and Wesley Dorning, the co-founders of Sebenza.
Expect to learn:
- How they were able to find the fit in the market
- The balance between software and hardware
- How they navigated the complexity of building these offerings
- How they manage so much hardware in so many locations with such lean team
- What the 4 verticals that drive Sebenza are
And much more!
This is a very uniquely South African story, but one that is quite complex as well. Enjoy!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
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00:00 Introduction
02:46 The Scale of Sebenza Today
03:50 The Business Model of Sebenza
08:27 The Founding Story
10:30 Where Does Revenue Come From?
12:43 How Sebenza Competes With Other Advertising Methods?
16:10 How Did Calvin & Wesley First Launch Sebenza?
21:40 The 4 Verticals That Drive Sebenza
35:25 Finding Product Fit
38:57 Managing Identity As Complexity Increases
41:00 How To Maintain Focus With so Many Opportunities
51:35 Becoming The Digitisation Partner For SANTACO And What That Unlocked
56:19 What Have The Investors Brought To The Table?
01:00:43 Managing Operational Complexity With A Small Team of 50
01:08:00 What Does The Organisational Structure Look Like?
01:09:07 Sebenza’s Sales Processes
01:12:45 How to Hand Over Relationships as You Scale And Remove Sales Dependence From The Founders
01:16:52 How Managing Culture Changes as You Grow
01:21:41 Sebenza’s Plans For 2025
01:24:22 The Importance of Having a Strong Network to Help You Solve Problems
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1:30:15
Pioneering Earned Wage Access in South Africa - paymenow
Welcome to the first episode of The Founder Files where we have 4 guests at once!
Today we get insights from the founders of paymenow, a fintech that has pioneered earned wage access in South Africa.
Learn how they chose private equity over VC to secure the right investor, hit key milestones for early profitability, and simplified an incredibly complex product to unlock growth.
We also dive into hard lessons from geographical expansion and how they turned mistakes into a scalable model.
This episode is packed with insights on scaling smarter, staying lean, and building for success.
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
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To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
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00:00 Introduction
03:51 What does paymenow do?
14:08 The founding story of paymenow
19:44 Challenges in the 0-1 journey
27:32 How does the money flow in the business?
30:22 paymenow’s first investor
48:49 Staying focused on the right thing before breaking even
53:45 Paying school fees when expanding to Namibia
01:02:07 Pros and cons of using a licensing model
01:13:12 Product development approach to deal with complexity
01:25:24 Complexities of having a multinational customer base
01:29:36 Making the app data-free
01:31:42 The future of paymenow
01:34:12 Why paymenow has no COO
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1:42:34
Biggest Challenges and Successes From South African Entrepreneurs
The last season of The Founder Files has seen some amazing success stories, but behind every success are the many challenges you often don’t hear about.
In this special montage episode, we highlight some of the biggest challenges and successes, and the lessons we can take away from them.
Sit tight and enjoy the last episode of 2024!
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
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00:00 Introduction
01:10 Simon Hartley, Wumdrop
04:06 Donald Valoyi, Zulzi
12:29 Paul Cook, Silvertree Brands
28:16 Why we created The Founder Files
31:43 Steve Uria, Switch Playground
41:18 Luke Jedeikin & Luke Hanan, Bash
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51:23
Moments That Blew Us Away - The Founder Files Highlights
Over the past episodes of The Founder Files, we've been inspired, amazed, and completely blown away by the stories and insights from some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds in South Africa.
This special montage brings together the most jaw-dropping, game-changing, and unforgettable moments from our podcast.
From Melvyn Lubegas's unique approach to B2B outreach that always gets a response, to Daniel Guasco going from 0 to exit in 156 days.
This is sure to be an entertaining episode filled with the most awesome things we've heard this year.
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
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00:00 Introduction
01:47 Melvyn Lubega, Go1
09:20 Daniel Guasco, Team Africa Ventures
29:43 Why we created The Founder Files
33:10 Jan Parmentier, Supernova Brands
39:58 Paul Raphaely, NOMU
53:04 Greg Blend, Africrest Properties
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59:38
Scaling a Non-profit Organisation - Tracey Chambers, Taking Care of Business
Today we're doing something different as we hear from a non-profit organisation for the first time on the podcast.
In this episode, we chat with Tracey Chambers, the co-founder and CEO of Taking Care of Business. TCB helps families escape the cycle of poverty by equipping unemployed and aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and resources they need to unlock their full potential.
We get into the philosophy of why Tracey left her corporate job to start an NPO, and why you would start something where you’re helping other people with their wealth creation with a model where you are not able to create wealth for yourself—A fascinating perspective about fulfilment that will remind you why you are doing all of this.
We get into the practicalities of scaling this organisation—what made it unique, why it needed funding, how she set up her leadership team, the importance of systems, developing culture in new locations, and much more.
This is a great episode filled with practical lessons and great philosophies to shift your thinking.
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This episode is brought to you by Metavolve.
Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business leaders by helping them develop clear and comprehensive business strategies that make building a great sustainable business less complex. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/
----
To support The Founder Files:
🔔 Follow The Founder Files EVERYWHERE
⭐ Leave a review right here
💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts
----
00:00 Introduction
03:10 What is Taking Care of Business?
20:16 Why choose to run an NPO
32:02 Tracey’s mid-life crisis and why she left her high-paying job
45:37 The mindsets and beliefs that hold first-time entrepreneurs back
01:00:49 How Tracey scaled this from starting out of the back of an orphanage
01:07:52 The most important things to consider when scaling
01:16:00 How to ensure the culture is right in new branches
01:21:57 What Tracey has in place to be able to personally role model culture at new branches while being CEO
01:24:36 What does Tracey’s day-to-day look like?
01:29:07 What does the future hold for Taking Care of Business?
01:31:42 Would you take that jump again?
Rated #1 Podcast for Entrepreneurs in South Africa in 2023 by Feedspot.
The Founder Files is where founders come to explore proven growth strategies and real entrepreneurial challenges.
Hosted by Cameron Coutts, each episode unpacks the complex journeys of scaling businesses, delivered by entrepreneurs who've walked the path. No script, no filter – just a fireside chat between growth-driven founders.
If you’re seeking practical advice and relatable stories to fuel your growth journey, this is your go-to resource. Subscribe now!
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