Building a company is a bit like playing a piano; you can't learn how to do so simply by reading a manual. You have to try. You have to fail.
This analogy was shared by Marek Zmyslowski, founder and MD of online travel agency Jovago.com, on the final day of the GSMA Mobile 360 conference in Cape Town this morning.
He described an ideal ecosystem for entrepreneurs and start-ups as a "pipeline" where an idea is taken care of from the early stages of development all the way to becoming a successful endeavour.
For business landscapes to promote start-up success there also has to be a successful transfer of knowledge and sharing of insights between new and established players in the industry. While it is tricky to secure funding, he advised that tech start-ups attempt to partner with people who have a real understanding of the tech scene.
According to Pieter van der Westhuizen, VP of Engagement Practices at Ericsson, there are a lot of people with great ideas but it takes more than a great idea to come up with a truly successful business.
Finding a balance between creating environments that enable and promote innovation but do not control or inhibit innovation is complex. As we Internet-enable the African population, we are empowering people to access new levels of information and learn, which opens up their potential to innovate, he continued.
Sandeep Ramluckan, founder and MD of StartUp 90, described the ecosystem in SA as being in the very early stages of development. What this means for tech start-ups is that they tend to have some troubles around support. He cited access to funds, access to markets and a lack of technical skills as the most significant constraints to new businesses.
Ramluckhan cited business accelerators as a positive way to enable start-ups to establish market credibility, in addition to stressing the value of connecting entrepreneurs at grassroots level with bigger companies via strategic mentorships.
By encouraging engagement between established tech executives and entrepreneurs, we can create an environment that is clued up on what technologies are available and how these can be utilised to build a successful business, he noted.
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