By I’ve had the privilege of mentoring Gift Phala since his grade 8 year in 2013. While he has an amazing story, he’s currently at UCT and is well on his way to killing his 1st year and undoubtedly becoming a top CA in the future. However, it’s the chats like
The Research Excellence Award
On Monday, Holly Beckley, Joel Perlman and I presented our Honours thesis findings at a conference at the University of Cape Town. I’m really proud to say that we received 91% for our final thesis report and topped our class for the year! As a result of this, we were
Coffee with Ntsako Mgiba
Matthew Mercouris and I had the privilege of sitting down and having a coffee with Ntsako Mgiba (UCT Masters student and Founder of Jonga) yesterday. While we believe that we are onto something really impactful, Ntsako provided us with sound advice regarding start-ups and a taste of what it would
The Power of Collaboration and Synergy
One of my highlights this year has been a course called Strategic Thinking (all 4th year Business Science students at UCT are required to do it). We were randomly selected into groups of 6 to complete two major projects across both semesters. With a lot of luck, I was placed
Making University Assignments less Hypothetical
I’ve made a conscious decision to stop looking at university assignments as being purely hypothetical, but rather choose to make them more realistic and industry relevant. It’s such a pleasure being able to collaborate with open-minded, real industry leaders while studying: This past week, Pieter Groenewald and Jarrod Stewart from
Magnetiize with John Sanei
It was really inspiring listening to John Sanei at Suits & Sneakers last night. It was my second time hearing John speak about his new book and I can honestly say I was equally as blown away. (By the way, the title isn’t a typo, it’s the name of his
Disruptive Tech by Sharron McPherson
I was really moved by our guest lecture at University of Cape Town today: Sharron L McPherson (Co-Founder of the Centre of Disruptive Technologies) shared her views on disruption, innovation, collaboration and forward thinking strategies from an African perspective. Some key takeouts from her lecture: 1. We need African solutions
Purpose-led with the CEO of Virgin Active
I had the pleasure of attending an insightful talk by Ross Faragher-Thomas, CEO of Virgin Active SA, at a recent Suits and Sneakers event. While we learnt about his journey to becoming the CEO, he also discussed how Virgin Active can remain relevant in a world that is being disrupted
Nando’s: an Inside Experience
This past week I had the privilege of spending time at Nando’s South Africa’s “Central Kitchen” in Johannesburg. I was fortunate enough to spend time with and learn from their marketing team, as well as members of senior management focusing on strategy. Besides their awesome campus, there is a genuine
Uber’s Goal in the South African Market
Two insightful talks I attended in two nights: 1. Suits & Sneakers hosted Marnus Broodryk (entrepreneur and Shark Tank judge) who shared his story about his humble beginnings and highlighted some of the key life/business lessons he’s learnt along the way. 2. Nfinity hosted Justin Spratt 🚗 (Uber’s head of
