The Founder Files

In this episode, I sit down with Phillip Tillman, founder of SurTech and Konsise, to explore the real-world challenges of building and scaling software businesses in the African market. We unpack the founding story of SurTech, a specialist distribution business in the SaaS space, and dive deep into what it takes to build a high-performance sales function from the ground up. Phillip shares practica...

In this episode, I sit down with Godiragetse, founder and CEO of Delivery Ka Speed, to explore how he’s building one of South Africa’s most exciting township logistics businesses. What started with bicycles and WhatsApp has grown into a company now partnered with global giants like Alibaba, Temu, and Shein, delivering across four provinces—and aiming to go national. We dive into how Godi pivoted f...

In this episode, I sit down with Jasper Eales — co-founder and creative director of Sealand Gear — to unpack the journey of one of South Africa’s most iconic sustainable brands. Sealand Gear is a proudly local business based in Cape Town, known for its world-class upcycled bags, apparel, and accessories. But behind the brand is a powerful story of resilience, purpose, and a deep commitment to sust...

In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Boonstra — founder and CEO of Yebo Fresh — for a powerful conversation about leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to build a business in South Africa. Yebo Fresh’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary: from a small B2C e-commerce startup before COVID, to pivoting overnight into emergency meal delivery with NGOs, and eventually emerging as a...

Yaron Assabi, founder and CEO of Digital Solutions Group (DSG), has spent 27 years evolving his business from one of South Africa’s first e-commerce players during the dot-com boom into a group of companies that power customer experiences for major retailers. Yaron shares his journey from running a single business unit to leading multiple companies with CEOs reporting to him. He breaks down what i...

In this episode of The Founder Files, we sit down with Greg Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Onespark, now known as Dis-Chem Life. Greg takes us through the journey of building one of South Africa’s most disruptive insurtechs, and the exciting partnership and 50% acquisition by Dis-Chem. We also discuss scaling, how founders become bottlenecks, and how Greg shifted to "founder mode" to unblock his...

Felix Norton is the founder and MD of Woww Digital, one of SA’s award-winning marketing agencies. With 40 people across SA, Europe, and the UK, Felix shares how they’ve scaled, niched down, and built a sales process that converts — achieving a 33% website conversion rate! We dive into how Woww stands out in a saturated market, the lessons from working with a sales coach for 2.5 years, and how they...

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Durrant, founder and CEO of Bluegrass Digital—a Cape Town-based software development firm that started in London 23 years ago. With two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Nick has navigated market shifts, economic crises, and industry disruptions while growing and scaling his businesses. We dive into:- How his side project became one of South Africa’s top...

What an honour to sit down with a South African fintech, whose hardware most of us have already been in contact with. Katlego Maphai is the CEO and co-founder of Yoco, the market leader for SMB payments in South Africa. Expect to learn: What Yoco does Katelgo’s insights on the structural and systemic issues preventing entrepreneurs from succeeding in this country What he is optimistic about in Sou...

Every founder who’s scaled beyond product-market fit knows the challenge: where do we focus our attention next? In this episode, I sit down with Chris Ball, co-founder of Finch Tech, to unpack how his team is navigating this exact question. We dive into how Finch scaled their products and built their business model, the tough decisions around which growth strategies to pursue, how Chris and his co...

Pineapple Insurance has taken the South African insurtech space by storm, and today, we’re diving deep into their journey with co-founder Ndabenhle Ngulube. From their viral marketing campaigns to their unconventional branding strategies, we explore how Pineapple carved out a unique position in the market. Ndabenhle shares insights into their customer segmentation, growth strategy, and the genius...

We all love a good disruptor who shakes things up in an industry dominated by a few big players. Meet Calvin Collett, the CEO and founder of Melon Mobile. You might not have heard of Melon Mobile yet, but they’re about to make a big splash in the telecommunications industry. In just 18 months, Calvin went from having no employees to a team of 47 people! That’s incredible, especially in a highly co...

In this episode, we chat with Mark Collie, the co-founder of Airvantage. Expect to learn what they were able to unlock with alternative credit scoring with mobile network operators and their consumers, how to run effective exco & management meetings, how to build a high-performance culture with almost zero employee turnover and more! We also get into a macro-level view of Africa’s digital &amp...

In this episode, we dive into the story of Donkey Long Tong, a uniquely South African business founded by Marcel Hattingh and Nic Eve. Donkey Long Tong manufactures long braai tongs and they’ve scaled into the US, UK, Canada and Australia! We get into how they’ve got their brand and marketing right to leverage word of mouth at scale and protect their brand. We also talk about how they’ve achieved...

Every business eventually reaches a pivotal moment: transitioning away from being heavily dependent on its founders. This phase often involves leadership handovers, which can be both challenging and transformative. In this episode, we dive into this very process with Digiata, where Nemanja, the new CEO, joins us alongside Dawie, the co-founder and former Managing Director. Together, they share how...

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 t...

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 h...

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! ---- This episode is brought to you by Metavolve. Metavolve turns...

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 D...

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 p...

Welcome to the 100th episode of The Founder Files! It’s amazing to hit this century milestone and we’re excited to keep releasing more episodes and providing valuable conversations. Harry Scherzer, CEO and co-founder of Future Forex, joins us today to talk about his company which has grown to almost 100 people in just 4 years, processes R2 billion in transactions a month and is completely bootstra...

What does it take to become a trusted supplier for the world’s biggest brands and retailers? In this episode, we sit down with Jan Parmentier, CEO and co-founder of Supernova Brands, a value-added distributor that supplies nearly all South Africa’s big retail chains. With over 1,500 products in circulation, Jan has spent the past decade building a deep understanding of the import/export industry....

In just 3 years, GoSolr became the biggest direct-to-consumer solar provider in South Africa and has invested billions into rooftop residential solar. Today, we have the privilege of hearing from Andrew Middleton, the CEO and co-founder of GoSolr. He'll share insights on how they've achieved their remarkable success and the key lessons he's learned along the way. We discuss the surge in demand dur...

Online shoppers, stores and retail companies all love Pargo, a South African logistics company transforming the e-commerce landscape with over 4000 pickup points in South Africa and a recent 500 more in Egypt. Today we are joined by Lars Veul, the co-founder and CEO of this rapidly growing business. Lars shares Pargo's journey—from founding to scaling—offering insights into their successes and mis...

An important part of entrepreneurship that many founders overlook is mindset. So for this episode, we’ve compiled our favourite mindset shift insights and shares from this season so far. If you found any of these insights valuable, be sure to watch the full episodes: 1. Grant Friedman, Africrest Properties: https://youtu.be/ywQSWiXQb74 2. Simon Hartley, WumDrop: https://youtu.be/q8wV9qxFqFA 3. Mat...