Category: Articles

Long before the concept social media influencer became ubiquitous, a young marketer in London started planning his return to South Africa to start his own agency to help brands harness the power of internet virality through popular social media personalities. 

His foresight paid off remarkably. Today, after a “wild” decade of surfing the upheaval of the internet in the advertising industry, Mike Sharman heads up Retroviral Digital Communications, which he proudly describes as having “made more brands go viral globally than any other agency in Africa”. 

Apart from pioneering internet marketing in South Africa through Retroviral, Mike has co-founded Webfluential.com, a global platform linking influencers with brands, Retroactive, digital, a sports marketing agency, and Matchkit.co, a company that helps sports stars build their own websites.

Mike, a finalist in the 2019 Business Partners Ltd Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, started his career with the idea of becoming an actor. To reassure his worried parents, he studied marketing in Johannesburg where he grew up, but left for Hollywood to study acting and stand-up comedy as soon as he got his degree.   

It proved to be a key ingredient to his success as a marketing expert. The science and art of making a diverse audience laugh is exactly what a marketer needs, says Mike. An observational comedian finds a universal truth to which everyone in the audience can nod their heads, and then he tells a relatable story around it to evoke laughter. Good marketing is essentially the same – crafting a story around a universal truth creates an emotional connection with a broad target market, explains Mike.

His first venture was a play which he wrote and staged in Johannesburg and, with the profits, took to the Grahamstown Festival fringe, boosting his growth as an entrepreneur with valuable project management experience.

Mike’s next career move was sparked by winning a trip to London in a cricket fancy dress competition. He started working at a London public relations firm where he became the account manager for the LG brand. It was here that he saw a clear opportunity forming in the world of marketing and advertising.

It was around 2009, and the idea of using social media to promote brands by “going viral” had already taken hold, but nobody knew exactly how to integrate it with traditional marketing campaigns. Digital agencies were popping up all over the place, but they worked in silos, separate from other arms of campaigns, and often as an afterthought.

Mike started dreaming of an agency that could put together viral campaigns that would “seed” quality content to popular bloggers, vloggers, journalists and thought leaders – today known as influencers. Crucially, it would be integrated with the public relations and activation (direct interaction with prospective clients) arms of the campaign. 

In 2010, Mike returned to South Africa to experience the World Cup and to start his business. Several factors came together to make it a wildly successful first year for Retroviral. Local advertising agencies were keen but clueless about digital marketing, and broadband was rolling out in South Africa. The timing could not be better.

But it was Mike’s personality and approach that gave him the unique ability to grab the opportunity. He “lived the experiment” by posting, blogging and tweeting, not only building his personal brand, but gaining expert knowledge of the fast-changing social-network scene. 

Several of his posts went viral, including one in which he declared his commitment to South Africa despite surviving a terrifying home invasion that year. At the same time, he obsessively analysed the statistics around his social media activity. His prowess with cricket statistics helped him to win the trip to London. Now he found that he could apply the knack to online analytics. 

Above all, he is an excellent networker, never forgetting a face or a name. Soon he was embedded in the Johannesburg PR scene, renting a desk from a local agency. Within a month he landed his first R10 000-per-month retainer, and at the end of the year he won over Nandos as a client. 

Retroviral operated as a loose grouping of freelancers at first but had to formalise quickly as growth skyrocketed. “I started to mature a little bit and stopped going to meetings in flip-flops,” says Mike. 

Although Retroviral was the unmistakable leader in the field of viral marketing in South Africa for a number of years, winning several local and international awards, competition sprung up fast. Large advertising agencies that often hired Retroviral to do the digital leg of their campaigns started setting up inhouse units. 

To counter this, Mike co-founded Webfluential.com, essentially placing Retroviral’s database of influencers on a subscription platform where they can be recruited by brands and agencies. New influencers can sign up to the platform for free.

Today, Mike remains a shareholder of Webfluential which has spun off from Retroviral. He chose to focus on building Retroviral into a dynamic content-creation company. With a team of 18, the Sandton based agency is substantial enough today to take on any campaign, but small enough to be agile, without the weight of bureaucracy that stifles creativity. 

A recent example of how Retroviral has managed to maintain its edge was My Kreepy Teacher, a hilarious spoof on the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher. The Kreepy Krauly ad took 96 hours “from zero to viral in 96 hours”. 

Wynand Geldenhuys was still at school when he sold his first computer programme. It was to the owner of a cell phone shop who wanted a computer-based repairs booking system, and Wynand, who fell in love with computer coding at 16, had no problem writing the programme.  

At that stage he had no idea that his passion would lead him to become the owner of Africa’s biggest independent ecommerce software development company, Vectra, and earn him the Innovator of the Year Award at the 2019 Business Partners Ltd Entrepreneur of the Year®competition.

But perhaps these achievements would not have surprised the young Wynand either. “I was always entrepreneurial. A pal and I were always busy with some scheme or other to make money,” he says. 

Today the 33-year-old employs a team of more than 50, of which more than 40 are coders and software engineers. His Pretoria-based company, which he started a mere four years ago, is doing groundbreaking work in the custom building of ecommerce systems for South African corporates and increasingly those from the rest of the continent. 

“When you say ecommerce, people think that it’s all about websites, but that is just the front of a whole logistical system that kicks in when an order is placed online,” says Wynand. Using open-source platforms such as Magento, Vectra specialises in the whole range of software necessary to integrate a company’s ecommerce website seamlessly with its enterprise management systems.

Innovations achieved so far by Vectra include a system called SmartSales which integrates a customer relationship management system with an ecommerce website, and a point-of-sale system that does away with traditional tills, allowing a shopfloor salesperson to order for, advise and conclude a sale with a customer on a hand-held device.  

Vectra’s explosive growth over the past four years follows a decade in which Wynand slogged as an employee in various roles, quietly building a deep network in the software industry and the corporate clients whom they served, and also a sturdy reputation as an innovator. 

His career started with a major disadvantage when his father died during his matric year, and the family resources had to go towards urgent surgery for his mother and the raising of his two sisters. There was simply no money for studies, and Wynand started working as a coder for a web hosting company straight after matric. Looking back on it, Wynand says not having the luxury of a few years of study was probably good for his career development. “It pressured me to be independent, to take control of things and to find solutions on my own.”

Wynand was constantly trying out new ideas and coding on the side. He even signed up a new client with a point-of-sale system he had designed, but when his employer rejected it as too non-core for their web-hosting business, he decided to leave. The shares that he was given in the company turned out to be fake, and he left with no financial reserves. But he did gain valuable experience, not only in coding, but also in working with people and clients. 

His next move was to partner with a company to develop and sell his point-of-sale software, but the partnership did not work out, and Wynand, already known as a livewire in the industry, was recruited to work for the software giant SAP. There he cemented his reputation as an innovator by heading up their Innovation Lab where he got to experiment with all sorts of new ideas. 

It was a great job and he did well at the company, says Wynand, but the corporate world was not for him. There are too many conflicting personal agendas and, ultimately, you have to work on other people’s ideas, whether you like it or not. 

In 2017 he was contacted by an old client who wanted to appoint him as a software developer, but instead Wynand negotiated a two-year contract with him that would serve as the basis for building his own business. At last Wynand had free reign to implement his ideas and put his pent-up energy to use without having to cater for a boss or a partner, and Vectra grew phenomenally. 

Wynand says the most difficult part of starting Vectra was a dilemma faced by many under-resourced start-ups: in order to win over clients, you must show substantial capabilities first in the form of products, infrastructure and team. To set this up, Wynand had to scrape together every resource he had in the early months without any guaranteed return. 

An easier way around the dilemma would have been to find an investor or a partner, but he was mindful of his previous bad experiences with partners and decided to stick it out on his own. 

It paid off well. Apart from Vectra’s extraordinary growth, Wynand was named the 2019 Innovator of the Year. “I never had to opportunity to study for a degree, and the award felt to me like a graduation of sorts,” he says. With its substantial track record in both retail software and ecommerce systems, Vectra is very well placed to continue its fast-paced growth. Compared to other regions of the world, African retailers, including those from South Africa, were until recently still largely wedded to bricks-and-mortar business. With the shock of Covid-19, and with the unstoppable march of technology, the demand for a local innovator to help them transition to ecommerce will remain high for many years to come.

Almost every aspiring entrepreneur gets their chance to weigh up whether it is a good idea to have a close friend or family member as a business partner. The answer is not always simple and almost always varies from scenario to scenario, and person to person. There is certainly a reason why the adage, “never do business with family and friends,” is an expression rather than a concrete rule.

As a starting point, when faced with this kind of decision, ask yourselves the following salient questions:

1. Are we in it for the same reasons?

The most successful and efficient business partners share a vision and are clear about their goals from the onset. Is the collective ambition to employ a growth strategy that will boost the business’s bottom line? Is it a 10-year plan to build a business worth selling? Or is the strategy to build a legacy? All parties need to be aligned upfront to ensure a fruitful partnership. Singleness of purpose is essential to making joint decisions that will have everyone involved walking away feeling confident. 

• What will happen when partners don’t agree?

As a business partner of a close friend or family member, you may have conflicting interests, which can lead to complications. The challenge centres around when to “wear the hat of a professional business partner,” and when to “wear the hat of someone who is emotionally invested in the other party.” It is a delicate balance to maintain and disagreements are an inevitability. However, to avoid conflict becoming crisis, you need to agree on a way to resolve matters before you even enter into the partnership.

3. Do the business partners share the same risk profile?

Some of the most pivotal business decisions rest on whether the deciding party is risk-taking or risk averse. It is not always necessary for both parties to share the same risk profile per se, but it is necessary to be able to meet somewhere in the middle. Compromising and calling on each party’s instinctive attitude towards risk is vital when it comes to making decisions like launching new products, taking on a strategic partner or restructuring the business.

4. What will each partner’s role be?

In a partnership that transcends the lines between professionals, it may be difficult to define clear-cut roles and responsibilities. However, professional boundaries are the key to healthy working relationships, and that begins with defining each other’s strengths, capacities, and work ethic. Being able to have an open conversation about what each role or position entails, can be the beginning of building trust and mutual respect. 

5. How will we keep personal and professional lives separate?

In a relationship that entails both a personal and a professional component, the lines between the two can become blurry. However, with transparency and an openness to debate and discuss, healthy “ground rules” can be set. Maintaining a work-life balance is a challenge for business owners across the spectrum. For those in business with family and friends, the challenge takes on its own nuances. On the one hand, the shared, personal relationship may make communication easier. On the other hand, the opposite could be true.

There is simply no blanket answer to whether going into business with friends or family members is a good idea. Different people respond in different ways to the complexities of relationships. However, pausing to ask the tough questions from the beginning, may help avoid future pitfalls.

Maintaining a constant stream of cashflow is a common challenge that many businesses experience. Strategic business partnerships involving a barter exchange (the direct exchange of goods and services for other goods or services) can, however, be a great alternative solution for preserving much-needed working capital. If done correctly, a barter system can help less established businesses save their capital, while still having access to some of the goods and services that are essential to their operations.

These types of exchange agreements can also form the foundation of valuable, long-term partnerships between growing companies. It’s worth exploring ways to best manage barter exchanges so that they can help sustain your business as it grows.

Tips for negotiating barter exchanges include:

Know your real costs

It’s important to understand exactly how much it costs you to deliver your product or service before you enter into a barter agreement. Take into consideration the full value of what you are offering versus what you are getting out of the exchange and ensure that it’s a fair trade. In such an exchange, your product or service is traded as a currency, but it’s only effective if it results in a cost saving.

Be flexible

Savvy bartering takes creativity and an open mind about what offering within the business could be a valuable currency to others. Start by getting a feel for what other businesses might be looking for and think outside the box regarding what trades would most benefit your business. For instance, you might not be able to afford employee benefits for your staff, but you could enter a trade for dental care. Evaluate your options, depending on your needs, you could barter through a business exchange network, or a once-off deal might be best.

Have a contract in place

It’s not uncommon in South Africa for barter deals to be based on informal agreements, however, this is often the root of misunderstandings and can result in unequal value distribution. Contracts should clearly state what each party will give and receive, include the value of each product or service and stipulate the timeframe in which the transaction will occur – and should be drawn up by a lawyer. A carefully drawn up contract will ensure a successful partnership.

Keep detailed records

Once an exchange has been secured, make sure to keep a detailed record of goods and services traded to ensure the agreement remains profitable. Potential tax implications are another good reason to ensure barter deals are reflected in company records. If bartering through a network, unclaimed trades that you have not yet collected on can result in a tax credit – however, if you are yet to settle a trade when the financial year closes, you need to reflect this in your financials and may find yourself with a tax bill for the trade surplus, so make sure all trades are settled before the end of the financial year.

Trade what cannot be sold

The real value of bartering comes when using otherwise unused capacity – if you can’t sell your goods or services for cash, you can normally barter something to generate value for your business. Barter exchanges can offer operational, customer or staff benefits, as long as it adds value to your bottom line. Once again, this requires being flexible and thinking outside the box.

Effective barter agreements have the potential to generate value to the company while preserving much-needed cash, move surplus stock and serve as a foundation for a long-standing strategic business partnership. It is therefore worth the time to explore potential agreements with like-minded businesses whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Source: www.businesspartners.co.za

Any business owner worth his salt can acknowledge the fact that there is always something new to learn about their business or market. Especially when starting a new company and guiding it through its initial years of operation, the value of learning from other, more experienced entrepreneurs, cannot be overstated. 

However, finding a suitable mentor can be easier said than done – most don’t know where to start, or how to go about approaching another busy professional with the prospect of mentorship. It is therefore unsurprising that so many entrepreneurs struggle with the idea of enlisting the help of an outside advisor. 

It is well proven that guidance and advice from a mentor can offer as much value as any other form of training, if not more. This is due to the support being tailor-made to the specific needs of the business and offering expertise that are lacking within the business. Guidance from a mentor with extensive experience can help to significantly shorten a less experienced entrepreneur’s learning curve, often saving valuable time and money. It is therefore vital that a business owner knows how to seek appropriate mentors and consultants to help steer them in the right direction. With this in mind, here are a few tips to help make the search for a mentor easier:

Shared core values 

Having clear core values is incredibly important to guiding your business. It informs how decisions are made, how teams are managed and whether the business is heading in the right direction. It stands to reason that mentors add the most value when they understand and align with their mentee’s core values. The likelihood of finding a mentor that is willing to spend their time offering guidance is also far greater if you share the same values. When initially talking to prospective mentors, ask them about the values that drive their own companies, and take the conversation further if you find that their values echo your own. 

Start with an informal approach

It’s best to start by building a more informal relationship with a prospective mentor. A simple phone call around a specific question to an industry veteran can start a wider conversation and may even lead to a visit to your business premises. Many professionals are also more willing to meet for coffee over a weekend or after hours when the pressure is off. In this way, the first contact with the mentor runs very little risk of being unsuccessful, and both parties are able to get a sense of whether it will be worthwhile to build a formal mentor/ mentee relationship.

The importance of trust

Trust is paramount to a successful mentorship relationship, as is mutual respect between the two parties. As a business owner you must feel completely comfortable sharing information on all aspects of your business with your mentor. With this in mind, avoid finding a mentor among competitors – instead, seek out individuals in unconnected industries that may share the same methods or challenges. Retired, or semi-retired business leaders and entrepreneurs are often great mentors as they have seen it all and have the time to spare and are not affiliated to any competitors.

Be willing to learn 

Entrepreneurs are generally quite strong willed, and though this is a great (and necessary) characteristic for entrepreneurs starting a business, it can be a barrier to learning. However, any form of mentorship will be of little use if the entrepreneur is not open to suggestions and new ways of doing things. Good mentors usually have little time to spare, and therefore will be unlikely to continue with mentees who are too rigid and unwilling to take on their advice. It is possible to hold on to the vision for your business while being open to different paths for reaching one’s goals. Keep this in mind, and make a point of conveying to prospective mentors that you are willing to learn.  

Growing a business in a competitive environment or a depressed economy is complex and challenging, and entrepreneurs would be prudent to take all the good advice they can get. Mentorship offers access to the tools and expertise one needs to grow a business, so take a lesson from all the successful entrepreneurs that have walked the path before you, and seek guidance.

Source: www.businesspartners.co.za