Of Relevance

So the Ideacamp that I am organising with Innovation Hub is going full steam ahead, and is on schedule for Monday.  The GIBS MBA students are attending, and we need about 15 online “techies” to participate as well.

If you have an idea for an online venture and need money to get it going, it is worth your while to attend this!

The event is on Monday, 2pm -5 pm at the Innovation Hub, Pretoria. Sign up here.

Here is a quick synopsis:

“The Innovation Hub, together with the University of Pretoria and Ideabank, will host the first Ideacamp for online entrepreneurs on the 3rd of November from 14h00 to 20h00 at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria. Do you have an idea for the next successful online application and only need to align yourself to a killer team consisting of marketing, business and “geek” brains to make it happen?

Then you cannot miss this opportunity! The Ideacamp has been established to help make your business idea a reality.This forum will address issues relevant to launching online applications with global potential. Topics of discussion will include:

* Innovation, revenue models, African potential
* Incubation, angel funding, venture funding, developing on a shoestring
* Choosing the best development platform for your application
* Creating the right strategy and putting together the best team

The second phase of the Ideacamp, dubbed Business Beat, helps structure teams that will compile a business plan and demo model of an online application with revenue potential. Each team will then present their concept to a number of pre-approved venture capitalists to contend for funding. The best three teams will be eligible for space into The Innovation Hub’s Business Incubator to fully develop their application.

Business Beat is scheduled for the beginning of 2009; it is a prerequisite that applicants interested in Business Beat attend the Ideacamp in November 2008.

Interested parties must sign up on http://ideacamp.pbwiki.com/Sign+Up+List or contact Eve Dmochowska at eved@ideabank.co.za or visit http://ideacamp.pbwiki.com for more information or to view the programme.”

These incredible photos arrived in my inbox this morning. Don’t know who to attribute them to, but …WOW!!

I recently visited Eric at Springleap, and spent a great two hours chatting about the Tshirt industry. It was a great discussion, and as an added bonus I walked away with a great T-shirt. I wore it yesterday, and was quite chuffed by the cool comments that it received. I was also thrilled with the fit and finish (which is a great improvement from the April batch). I look forward to ordering many more.

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But wearing the Tshirt made me wonder whether I too could actually design one. I am not an artist, use Photoshop for the most rudimentary things, but still want to wear my creation. Hmmm.

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So here is the bright idea: I am going to create a Tshirt of logos, embedded in a shape of the African continent. I obviously want to include logos of African start ups only, with a preference on South Africa.

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So…if you are the founder of a stratup startup, and want to be included on the Tshirt, please email me your logo. I am not sure whether I am allowed to put any logo I like, or whether it is copyright protected, so we will see how the voluntary submission process goes.

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I am not sure yet of how I will print these. It might be through submission to Springleap (but then it only gets printed if it gets to the Top 20, and can get pricey), or I might just print them myself, privately. Anyways, they will be available for purchase or as give aways to anyone interested.

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Please spread the message!

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(If this proves to be successful (as measured by fun, not money) then I will do one of the names of best blogs too.)

You can’t go very far in the local blogosphere without stumbling across a conversation on the lack of funds for web entrepreneurs, lack of online innovation, lack of skills etc.

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I have been trying to come to grips with this problem for some time, but to not much avail. The simple fact is that South Africa lacks angel investors to seed an entrepreneur’s idea, and there is little incentive for a strong angel network to establish itself.

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Part of the problem is that few people, especially the “youngsters”, have both the technical and the business skills to take an online project forward, successfully. They can develop a “killer app”, but have no idea how to take it to market. Sometimes, they’re not even sure if there is a market.

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I was discussing these issues with Dr. Jill Sawers who is the Manager of Entrepreneurship at the Innovation Hub, and she has now spearheaded an exciting initiative to bridge some of these gaps.

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The Maxum Incubator, together with University of Pretoria and IdeaBank (my company) are organising the fist pre-incubation offering for young online entrepreneurs.

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All successful applicants will receive:
•    Free plug and play shared office space for a 3 months (a R500 deposit, telephone costs and  consumables will be for your own account)
•    Attending Izazi entrepreneur forums (opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs)
•    Exposure to experienced business mentors and Maxum management team who will guide you in the process of deciding what is necessary to convert your proposed business concept/prototype into a real, viable business opportunity
•    An opportunity at the end of your pre-incubation period to decide whether your business idea has the potential for making money and become part of the Maxum Business Incubator programme
•    If your business opportunity is good enough, you will be introduced to venture capitalists who may be interested in investing in your business

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Basically, it is a foot in the door of a very connected Hub. You will work on your idea while utilising Maxxum’s office space and bandwith, and you will work together with MBA graduates to fine tune your business plan and prototype.

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Once you have a the foundations in place, you wil be introduced to the venture capitalists who have been identified specifically for their interest in funding online start up businesses.

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It is an ideal opportunity for someone in the Pretoria vicinity to become ingrained in both the tech and business spheres at the same time. Plus, the Innovation Hub is a great place to work (my office is across the road, so I am there often) and the energy and vibe are invigorating!

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If you are working on an online venture, if you need some guidance, help or will be needing funding to take your product to market, I strongly suggest you review this opportunity.

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Five simple application steps:
1.    Prepare a 5 slide PowerPoint concept, or a five point document, that outlines your proposition and illustrates commitment to the business enterprise (see accompanying example) and forward this, together with “Assessment of potential ICT Entrepreneurs” form,  to gsetumo@theinnovationhub.com. The business idea must demonstrate technological innovation in at least one of The Innovation Hub’s focus areas: ICT, biosciences, electronics, advanced manufacturing and materials, or energy and the sustainable environment.
2.     As an IT start-up or “Techie with an idea” you will present to a group of MBA students who, if they see an opportunity of building a business around your idea, will engage in a discussion with you over a glass of wine/beer/cool drink after your presentation.
3.    If you agree that this is a business opportunity, you will put together a business proposal and submit this to Maxum for entry into the pre-incubation programme.
4.    If the plan looks viable, you will present to the Selection Advisory Panel who will discuss  the feasibility of your concept.
5.    Should your application be successful you will be invited to pre-incubate your business idea and locate your business in Maxum’s pre-incubation premises at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria. And….if your business proposal is good enough, you will be linked up with Venture Capitalist who may consider investing in your business.

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Important dates to remember:

• 1 September 2008:    Deadline for receipt of applications to be submitted to Maxum

• 8 October 2008:      Successful applicants invited to prepare presentation forBusiness Beat Function

• 21 October 2008:    Business Beat function at The Innovation Hub, Pretoria

• 17 November 2008:    Deadline for receipt of proposals for Maxum’s pre-incubation                programme

• 26 November 2008:    Presentation of selected proposals to Maxum’s Selection Panel

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For more information contact Patricia Dlamini, Manager: Maxum: (012) 844 0084, pdlamini@theinnovationhub.com or visit www.maxum.co.za

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Or you can give me a shout at eved@ideabank.co.za.

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Example of presentation

“If we don’t believe in free expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”

Paarl Web, a subsidiary of Naspers, printed R3 million worth of party propaganda for Mugabe after Caxton declined the deal. Business Day reported the story, and now there is some uproar about this.

We are, admittedly, dealing with a tough scenario here. I assume there are very few Mugabe supporters amongst Thought Leader readers, so it might be tempting to create our own, isolated, rules for how Freedom of Expression should be interpreted.

The written word is a strong communicator. It can be heated, biased, derogatory, inflammatory and inaccurate. But it also allows for reflection, thought, and personal introspection. It invites discussion, argument and calls for an opinion, informed or otherwise. Above all, it is passive and should be encouraged as a primary source of opinion making, especially in a country as volatile as Zimbabwe.

If publishers take away Mugabe’s right to publish pamphlets on the eve of his election, they are taking away Zimbabwe’s right to a fair and due process.

For starters, it is not the publishers’, or our right to do so. Had South Africa issued nation wide sanctions against Zimbabwe, the scenario would be different, and we would be obligated to follow our country’s stance.

[To read more, please visit Thought Leader where this post originally appeared. Some good comments there too!]