crazystrikers.com

The ANC youth league are marching again and generally causing havoc and insecurity. Being a man of chaos theory or entropy theory as they call it, I have no problem with protestors or people voicing their opinion. The problem I have is that the so called march is just so old! I mean it must be the most archaic forms of protest left to man. What has been shown is that mass protests happen and then they end. Some take longer than others and some are more chaotic and violent. Some cause government shifts and some achieve nothing. What I do know is that they all start and they all end and then they are mostly forgotten unless a few people get killed. What irritates me the most is the archaic nature of the protest by so called young people when protests could be so much more and so much more creative, even to the point where protests become business opportunities. I am going to start a new company called crazystrikers.com. My friend Yanga from the RAA academy designed a Toi ( squared) board for people to write messages on when they strike. I think we need a rubber brick that people can throw without damaging property or people. I saw in India an amazing colour festival where people throw all colours of paint and turn an area red and blue which then turns people. I will provide strikers with all the paint which can be washed off later. Instead of sticks and pangas and guns I will provide strikers with guns and items that look like sweets which they can brandish during the march and then eat afterwards. Enjoyment! I want to organise a specialised competition for the most creative new songs and dances as well as interesting uniforms of protestors. A sort of once a year festival for the groups that protest the most creatively. For R20,000 prize this should be interesting and a lot more fun than the kaapse klopse even. I mean when you look at protestors in the newspapers they usually look like they are having a ball....a great time....sometimes such fun with huge smiled on their faces. I also think we need a bit of youtube crazystrikers.com and other IT products that will hear what people have to say, follow marches on the internet when they happen etc. and what happened to the average boycott? If people have a problem boycott stuff! So when you all see the crazystrikers.com products and services think about what you can do to make protesting fun again. Its a great business opportunity!

How do you clean a braaigrid? With an onion! Yes its true and onion. Now most people know this but why is their no product in the market that has taken a holding contraption where an onion can fit to clean a braai grid. This is a seeing the leaves concept because it stares us in the face but no one has taken the product to its logical conclusion. The product will be made and millions will be sold to all those avid braai guys. It will be patented and the brand will be sensei onion. Even my 9 year old son Noah could answer the question, How do you clean a braaigrid? Seeing the Leaves which is my technique to find the ideas that kick ass always come from the newspaper as this idea did. We looked at an ad for braai brickets and came up with the onion. Practice reading the newspapers and this will happen for you as well.
Talking about ideas i have been trying to encourage entrepreneurs to have more fun with products rather than being so serious. The fun stuff is important as it allows us to play and come up with crazy stuff. But the fun stuff is important because it allows us to practice us our ideas. Here are a few crazy ideas that you could play around with.
Cutlery made out of penises. Sounds crazy but reading in the papers this weekend the rise of sex toys has always grown. Imagine a spoon made out of a black penis eaten by a white woman. Race issues? Will it sell? Who cares!, it will create media attention and it will put the entrepreneurs name in lights. A little fame never hurts.
What about service delivery strikes? Are there crazy opportunties here? Why not design a special rubber brick for people to throw? Crazy, who cares!
What about the issue of free speech? A huge issue in South Africa? I have decided to launch a speakers corner like that in Hyde Park. Where people can have their say and stand on their soap box. Fun indeed but watch this space it will make media attention and it will create money, especially if it grows as a phenomenon across the country.
My wife went to Vereeniging where her dad is buried but all the graves had been damaged. This is common to many gravesites. Why not have a scary tokoloshi type company that scares people izinyoka style so they dont desecrate graves. Fun and serious at the same time.
So get out there and try some fun ideas. You never know, they may make you (in)famous!

So keep reading the newspapers

Hi Everyone, it seems like innovation and entrepreneurship are on the up and up in SA....actually it seems like its going through the roof! I do think that innovation is only just catching up in this country and that people are slowly seeing that to be successfull globally innovation into the future is the key. I have linked up with the DA (that is the political party) to help manage the youth entrepreneusrhip competition on the 31 Aug. I am really excited about this because i hate competitions as there are winners and losers. However the format we will be using is that anyone can pitch an idea between the ages of 16-28, and everyone will receive feedback, and anyone can win the prizes....in pitching for new ideas and innovations there will be no losers! and thats the way it should be, as the more people who start innovative businesses the more people will be inspired and the more this country will be awesome. Talking about new awesome ideas the open public pitch sessions which we have been running for a while now have unearthed some real raw talent. A young school kid has come up with a kit that like costs R5 bucks and can test wether young kids will get injured in sport. The same R5 buck kit is used to develop the childrens strength so they dont get injured. Awesome! A muslim lady is starting a company that will produce Samoosas from everything and anything....imagine a pineapple and chilli samoosa....its been done, i've tasted it and its awesome. The next big food franchise? I hope so. Another youngster wants to develop a web and cell phone application that tells people when a SALE is on at a retailer. This will be awesome for all you shoppers out there. And my man Brandon and I are starting a new social art project called "speakers corner SA" where we will be developing the Hyde Park speakers corner concept with some amazing new formats in aid of FREE SPEECH in SA. Watch this project its going to be awesome. I am a speaker at the Innovation Summit on the 29th Aug in Joburg and am very excited to hear the other speakers as well. See my article in the Mail and guardian on Innovation on the 16th Aug as well. Remember to read the newspapers, be inspired and find that great new idea. On a final note some people at the open pitch sessions are asking about trademarks and some are worried that someone will steal their idea. I have this to say to all of you that think this way. Your idea is worthless until implemented. I have seen many people hold on secretly to their ideas ( and only tell their momma's ) and these ideas never see the light of day. You should be telling everyone about your idea and get it into the media. We live in that kind of age now. If you dont tell people about your ideas how will you find an investor. The banks dont really care! So if anyone asks me to sign an NDA ( non disclosure agreement) they probably need to go and find another investor not me, beacuse i will show them the door! I'm off to Joburg this weekend to convince people that like King Solomon ( the wisest dude who ever lived) perhaps their is a solution we cant see to solve the wars in Israel. I will tell you how that went next time!

I did an interview on John Maytham's 567 Cape Talk on my open pitch sessions on a Friday afternoon and wow the response was brilliant. There were ideas like a plastic (PET) wine bottle ( i like it as a beer bottle as well), that when marketed every wine bottle can be a different shape making it very distinct on the shelf. Another guy wants to start a collecting business for 1c/2c/5c coins charging a commission to count and or weighing the coins in exchange for larger currencies and then taking a commission. Very similar to Mama's coin factory. He has done it and it works and he takes 15% which people seem happy with. A brilliant young women makes special boxes for dad's with babies, or a tooth fairy box for kids who lose teeth etc. Another idea was to develop a pedestrian test center together with a kids play area riding small cars etc. and where people and school kids do a pedestrian test as part of their driving test. The list goes on and on. The time for innovation and entrepreneurship in South Africa is defintely now. I would like to mention 2 ideas that have been tested and excite me tremendously.The First is ZLEEP, which is the brand for the arm alarm. Charles Tswane has made the prototype and has tested in the market. All within a few weeks. Wow! Love the brand, love the idea. The second is Vocal Exams which beleives that young students will do better if given an exam on paper as well as vocally. She has designed a system where kids get the english exam paper and a vocal element that includes headphones in their mother tongue of all the questions. The results were phenomenol! 65% did better with the vocal element added in. She has tested and it works. She has built her units and she is now needs to build her business plan. Wow! again! all in a few weeks. I could go on and on as there are so many great ideas and testing of new innovations. What excites me is that the current system really does work for innovation entrepreneurs. Teach people how to find new innovations + Open pitch sessions ( regular) + SUP FUND ( angel investors willing to invest in testing the viability of new ideas) + test results + larger Business Plans and investment capital.

Coming back with a new challenge!

Hi fellow entrepreneurs. I am back. Over the last few months since the 12businesses in 12 month challenge was completed some really interesting stuff has happened. While i lecture on innovation at the UCT Raymond Ackerman Academy (RAA) every year Elli (the person who runs the show) and I discussed focusing on the students new ideas as well as testing of these ideas in the hope of inspiring investors to invest in them, other young people to find ideas and pitch them, and for the students themselves to start a new business. So the students have looked for great new ideas and they have found some really interesting and innovative business concepts. Each month we will highlight one new business and one new entrepreneur. Here are the ideas and the entrepreneurs in no particular order.

1. Raquel and her FUNKY SEAT BELT

2. Sizwe and his DOOR TO DOOR MEDICAL DELIVERY SERVICE

3. Charles and his VIBRATING ARM ALARM

4. Yanga and his TOI (SQUARED) brand ( I bet you are really wondering what this is about!)

5. Lauren and her NO SLIP PAVING BRICK

6. Meli and his Graffiti Boards

7. Adrienne and her device for TV/Movies for deaf people

8. Mponsi and her idea called the HANDSHAKING COMPANY

9. Chantal and her idea for ADS ON HORSE RACING

10. Taryn and her idea for PROVIDING RENTAL FURNITURE AND DECOR FOR HOMES THAT ARE FOR SALE

11. The PERSONALISED CAR ALARM

What will happen over the next 12 months is to showcase these entrepreneurs and their concepts as well as their brands and generate the buzz around being an entrepreneur, being exciting, being awesome.

I have attached some funky new brands in general as well. If anyone and i mean anyone wants to pitch a new idea then they should come to the UCT graduate school of business every Friday at 12 in Cape Town and the idea will be looked at i promise and perhaps even funded. Because we have now added a fund called SUP that will pay for the testing of a new idea....even more mindblowing and its open to everyone who pitches at the public open sessions.

Final post!

Was it possible to do 12 ideas in 12 months. Yes it was. Did anyone care. I dont really know! Am i going to make money. Yep defintely! Will i carry on starting new ideas and testing them in the markeplace. Of course. My guess is that 50% will carry on and thrive and if more do then i am very happy. Have i learnt a shitload? Oh yeah. Can i replicate this model. Yes. Do others want to join me. Come on wednesday afternoons at 12 at the UCT GSB and check out my cult following...but please bring your new ideas...you never know i may like it and say...Youre in! How much do you need? Lets go! Shack wallpaper and Eden cut fruit are well on their way to great success. The final stickfighting tournament of the year will be this weekend in Site C Khayelitsha and the champions will battle it out for R5,000. HUHO street gyms is awesome and Shibeen snacks has the niftiest bowls for peanuts i have ever seen ( order from me asap). The greenboards are in schools and you have to see them to beleive them. I'm gonna sell thousands of these next year. Sumary summary. In the next 3 years i want to test 500 new ideas...the next challenge. I suppose thats toobig for a blog so we'll see where it goes. On the product side i will be opening a retail store with all my funky stuff in 2012. To all those who tried a new idea in 2011 wether it worked or not you played the game my friend and that's what counts. Keep reading newspapers to find new inspiration. This is the final post. in 2012 it will be 166 businesses in 12 months or 500 businesses in 3 years challenge.

I have not dissapeared!!

Hey fellow entrepreneurs! I am still here and as active as possible. In the last few months I have started the required number of new ventures. What i havent told you about is HUHO street GYms which started selling asap straight after launch. 31 in one day! I have also started Greenboards with the first school being painted...so exciting. We also launched the Cut fruit model with all the product sold out within the first day...a huge success! So to summarise we have started and maintained the following new businesses

1. stickfighting company 2. Lavender in Lavender Hill 3. CT Buskers 4. Greenboards 5. HUHO street gyms 6. Cut Fruit   7.I love tripe franchise   8. The Soccer Coop  9. Firebox  10. Collection of 1c/2c pieces

That's 10 businesses in 10 months so i am way on target to reaching my objective. As for November and December i have 2 ideas that i will try.

In November it will be Shebeen snacks and awesome idea to provide snacks to the shebeen market with a wonderfull young entrepreneur called Michael.
In December i will try Shack Wallpaper which will be the design of fubky wallpaper designs for the shack and low income market ( try kaizer chiefs wallpaper) and for shacks add in insulation into the wallpaper.
The issue is that through the process of the last 10 months I have about another 20 great ideas and i will need young dynamic project managers to help me test them. I have also started an experimental kitchen to test a whole new range of food ideas like "chicken crackling" .
The most exciting part of this journey has been that a fellow entrepreneur ( name not disclosed) gave me R500,000 to test anything i liked because i started the whole thing in the first place.
Now that is a great lesson for entrepreneurs...start first....reap the rewards later.