Creating a global business from the tip of Africa

Presented at Business of Software 2012 (http://businessofsoftware.org)

Transcript

1. CREATING A GLOBAL BUSINESS FROM THE TIP OF AFRICA ADII PIENAAR. BUSINESS OF SOFTWARE. 02.10.2012.
3. 2007 FIRST PRODUCT. INITIAL REVENUE.
4. 2008 QUIT MY JOB. CO-FOUNDERS. WOOTHEMES.COM LAUNCHES. FIRST MILLION.
5. 2009 MEET CO-FOUNDERS IN PERSON. FIRST HIRES. KICKING ON.
6. 4 YEARS, 25 WOOPEEPS, 300 000 USERS & QUITE A FEW $$$’s RIGHT NOW.
7. $0 FUNDING 100% BOOTSTRAPPED ALSO.
8. NOT A BAD “TIP” CAPE TOWN
9. ANOTHER ONE CAPE TOWN
10. WE HAVE BEACHES CAPE TOWN
11. AND GOOD WINE CAPE TOWN
12. WHAT’S DIFFERENT? BUT...
13. TECH HUB CAPE TOWN AIN’T NO
14. NETWORKING MENTORS ADVISORS INVESTORS WE DON’T REALLY HAVE...
15. STARTUP CULTURE WE HAVE NO
16. SHORTAGE OF SKILLS WE HAVE A
17. EVERYTHING TAKES A WHILE TO REACH US AND...
18. “ WE WOULDN’T BE DOING FOUNDERS A FAVOR BY LETTING THEM STAY IN NEBRASKA. PLACES THAT AREN’T STARTUP HUBS ARE TOXIC TO STARTUPS. YOU CAN TELL THAT FROM INDIRECT EVIDENCE. YOU CAN TELL HOW HARD IT MUST BE TO START A STARTUP IN HOUSTON OR CHICAGO OR MIAMI FROM THE MICROSCOPICALLY SMALL NUMBER, PER CAPITA, THAT SUCCEED THERE. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT’S SUPPRESSING ALL THE STARTUPS IN THESE TOWNS - PROBABLY A HUNDRED SUBTLE THINGS - BUT SOMETHING MUST BE. PAUL GRAHAM
19. AGAINST ALL ODDS OUR JOURNEY.
20. LESSONS LEARNT
21. BUCK TRENDS #1
22. IGNORANCE IS BLISS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE? ALSO: TECH BUBBLES HAVEN’T REACHED AFRICA YET.
23. GROUPTHINK AVOIDING THE
24. BOOTSTRAPPING vs VC EXAMPLE
25. NOT BASED IN SILICON VALLEY? NEW YORK? BERLIN? #2 BREATHE. YOU’LL BE FINE.
26. INTERNATIONAL QUALITY BUILD SOMETHING OF
27. INVEST IN BRANDING BECAUSE IT’S FREE.
28. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS CHEAP MARKETING
29. NOBODY CARES WHERE YOU’RE FROM IN THE END...
30. TRUST IN PEOPLE #3
32. HIRING THE BEST REGARDLESS OF LOCATION
33. DIY. EVERYTHING. #4
34. DIVING INTO THE DEEP-END IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN
35. WORK HARDER THAN ANYBODY ELSE
36. WORK SMARTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE THEREAFTER...
37. ENABLE OTHERS TO MAKE MONEY #5 BECAUSE IT’S RECESSION-PROOF.
38. B2B vs B2C (AVOIDING THE GROUPTHINK... AGAIN.)
39. TRAVEL #6
40. MAKE FRIENDS MEET MENTORS
41. ATTEND CONFERENCES FOR THE BEST CONVERSATIONS
42. DESIGN EVERYTHING. #7
43. CREATE YOUR OWN BOX INSTEAD OF BEING PUT INTO A BOX...
44. CONSTRAINTS BREED CREATIVITY
45. CREATING A GLOBAL BUSINESS FROM THE TIP OF AFRICA ADII PIENAAR HTTP://WOOTHEMES.COM HTTP://ADII.ME @ADII