Monthly Archives: May 2011

How $5 turned into over $200,000 in 96 hours

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Before I share this story, I have to say even investing $5 in LinkIn with its IPO last week will not generate this type of returns for you. So how did I manage to turn $5 into $200,000 in a few days? Well it started being introduced to a great Entrepreneur (“Steve”) in the Valley who not only managed a number of successful start-ups he also raised over $30 Million in venture funding. I met him at an Entrepreneurship Breakfast Event where we exchanged cards and he said that I should connect with him and share my pitch deck with him so he can have a better understanding of JamiiX.

Within hours of sending it to him I got some valuable feedback and an offer to meet up for a cup of coffee which would only cost me $5. However that $5 basically brought me the following returns:

- 2 Hours of One-on-One Business Consulting and 4 Days of electronic mentorship from a seasoned entrepreneur who has been there and done it (Lets me modest and say a week of mentorship will cost $5,000).
- Introductions to some VCs in Silicon Valley with an endorsement from the entrepreneur (taking an average of what popular VC events cost $2,500)
- Exploring avenues for fundraising and being fundraising representative in Silicon Valley (Time and effort would be worth approximately $72,000 for a year)
- Support in getting the right content ready for a VC (Bill this into the mentorship package above)

Indirectly, through using what I’ve learned in other meetings in the 96 hours the following were gained:
- More introductions to VCs in Silicon Valley with a follow-up call
- Offer for part-time business development at NO cost (the level of the person for his time will be $60,000 for a year)
- US based agent to drive JamiiX, Opportunity to expand JamiiX into new markets and B2B Opportunities (Already a possible contract in place that could be worth well over $80,000 for year 1)

The above estimates were all using market related values and the gain from being polite and that $5 coffee gained us more than $200,000 in value. The biggest lesson I’ve learned here was that the greatest investment you can make is in people and the time and effort that Steve have invested in me during the last few hours is invaluable. So think about how you are investing in others because we all have something to offer that can change someone’s world and who knows what that returns could be worth one day.

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Meeting at Twitter

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One of the reasons for visiting San Francisco was because of a meetup with Claire who authored the book “Twitter for Good” (RLabs features in it and being published August 2011). On a personal note it was a meeting that I was very excited about but at the same time so overwhelmed not knowing what to expect. So making my way into the office of Twitter, I immediately fell in-love with the space. There was definitely NO bright colour signs outside (see below) indicating that it was Twitter’s home but the environment itself was one of creativity and felt like family (had a meal in their cafeteria). Always a good sign when people eat together ;-)

So meeting with Claire was very inspirational and she connected me with some interesting people who added so much value to my trip in the US but what got me excited was how through our chat an idea was sparked about our JamiiX integration with Twitter. The insights of where Twitter is heading in the Social and Community upliftment space was very encouraging and was great sharing the RLabs story at the headquarters knowing that it is a platform often used by the RLabs champions in the academy and Twitter Schools. That in itself made the trip to Twitter worthwhile and I’m definitely making a point meeting up with Jack when I’m back in San Francisco.

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Alien in the Valley

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Since my first and awkward encounter with technology and the internet, I’ve always wanted to know what Silicon Valley is all about. My perception has always been that its this mall like place where you have all the technology and web brand names and you can just go in and explore what innovations these companies are up to. I’ve been following popular technology websites and blogs such as Techcrunch, mashable, our own memeburn and others but actually spending time in the Valley brought a different perspective to this incredible place.

Although only being here for 20 days and with only one confirmed meeting I was not sure what I’ll be doing to keep me busy during that time but I soon realised that the entire valley is distributed in nature and very much connected. After attending a few technology events around the Bay area I learned so much and especially seeing the pace of how people work in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Every day there are a number of events you can attend related to technology, web, mobile and many other areas so finding something to do was not a problem.

However I was still an Alien in the Valley and not sure what to expect but below are my personal 5 tips for anyone visiting and especially if you do not have any local hosts while being there:

1) When I arrived in San Francisco, I used the first 2 days to get to know the place and locations. I oriented myself with the surroundings and travelled on the public transport systems.

2) While busy with orientation go online (eventbrite.com, meetup.com etc.) to find events that will be useful to you or for you to network at. You are guaranteed to find something to do at least once a day.

3) Attending these events make sure you network as much as you possibly can and try and I identify beforehand the people you would like to connect with. You will quickly see how connected people are and they are always willing to support or advise you around the Valley culture.

4) I soon realised that the biggest commodity in Silicon Valley is people and their time. Whenever you have a chance to meet with someone who is giving of their time, make sure you know exactly what you want out of the meeting and what you can provide the person you meeting. My meetings became more fruitful the more time I spent refining what I wanted to speak about and generated more leads. Always helpful to be polite and respect the time people give you and my initial tour of the place was helpful whenever I had to find a location that I’ve not been to before.

5) Keeping track of your connections while over there are important and whenever you able to add value to the person you’re meeting’s network share that with them as you’ll be amazed how great that return would be.

So in the end my journey was not about the glamour or the BIG names in the technology space, but realized Silicon Valley is about the people. While I’ve been here for more than 2 weeks now my journey brought me to meet great people from amazing organisations. I can truly say that I don’t feel like an Alien anymore but have made great connections, friends and partnerships which I’ll share over the next few posts. Without a doubt for any technology, web or entrepreneur enthusiast, you should make Silicon Valley one of the places to visit because the experience in itself is priceless.

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What do you call two Africans who crossed the Pacific Ocean?

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Ever heard those “What do you call jokes…” before? Well if you had to ask what you call when two Africans cross the Pacific Ocean then the answer is simple…. you get World Domination and Collaboration.


Over the last few months RLabs and NaiLab have been in discussions about a partnership since our first meeting in Amsterdam (thanks to One Percent Club). It was there that we saw an opportunity to work together but also change and transform the way traditional technology incubation happens. Both myself and Sam Gichuru have a heart to see young entrepreneurs in Africa flourish to produce not just African solutions by Africans but we both believe Africa has a role to play in driving web and mobile innovation in emerging economies. There has been a number of people voicing their concerns about Africa not taking its place (read great post by Gareth Knight) and it was with that in mind that we believed collaborating will add the lots of value to our networks and eco systems. Below is just 5 examples of how this collaboration will be a game changer:

1) Both South Africa and Kenya are thriving web and mobile technology countries, having it share of technologists emerging but we not seeing enough of them adding value. Through partnership we will be able to strengthen each other in our weaknesses but also allow our entrepreneurs and technologist to scale through our networks.

2) NaiLab is focused on Incubating smart businesses and the RLabs Innovation Incubator and Accelerator is all about making ideas a reality. We invest in our communities to see the greatest impact with a preference of disruptive innovation.

3) NaiLab and RLabs with its own networks now offer further reach for the small start-ups.

4) Both Labs have a heart for Africa but think global and our strengths in mobile technologies and social media could contribute to scaling and getting traction for the innovations and businesses growing in these Labs.

5) Opportunity for Lab exchange programmes for entrepreneurs from both countries to form partnerships but also able to tap into the various eco system opportunities.

The irony of it all is that both myself and Sam have never met in Africa (previous meeting in Europe and now in the US) and we confirmed our partnership while having a meeting at another Lab (The Hub) in San Francisco. We will keep you updated with the developments and exciting things happening through this partnership.

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Breaking News: JamiiX in Nigeria

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While being in Silicon Valley, our CEO Marlon Parker, concluded a deal with Fasmicro to be the JamiiX partners in Nigeria. Fasmicro has evolved as one of the most innovative embedded systems, Apps and software firms in Nigeria, giving Africa its first Android App Store in addition to creating other fascinating technologies. Fasmicro Locker is deployed in copyrighted digital assets to prevent digital theft while the Fasmicro Leaser ensures that any digital asset becomes worthless after the lease date, unless renewed. We have become a company of choice for academic institutions and religious institutions that want to preserve their digital assets. It is moving aggressively into mobility and helping to reshape the mobility geography of Nigeria.

This partnership not only expands the footprint of JamiiX in Africa but will also ensures that we able to reach Africa’s largest mobile internet market. You can read the official announcement of this partnership here.

Source: JamiiX Blog

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RLabs Mobile Advice and Support

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A few months ago RLabs as part of the SAFIPA programme hosted Finnish journalists who had an interest in the work we are doing in Cape Town. Below is a video that tells the story of our mobile advice and support service at RLabs, also using the JamiiX solution (grant received by SAFIPA)that was developed through the RLabs Incubator. Special thanks to Lauren for this great video that was sponsored by the Finnish Foreign Ministry and will be shown at schools and across various places in Finland showing an example of community driven innovation. The mobile counselling service is also supported by the Vodacom Foundation.

RLabs luo sosiaalisia innovaatioita Kapkaupungissa from global.finland.fi on Vimeo.

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Do Great Things – Technology Entrepreneurship in South Africa

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Currently in the heart of the tech world in Silicon Valley, I was honoured to be identified as one of 38 Emerging Tech Entrepreneurs in South Africa featured on Memeburn as part of the Old Mutual Entrepreneurship Guide. The list consist of a number of amazing technology entrepreneurs (Video Below) in South Africa and my contribution can be seen here.

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