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WILL GREEN is the CEO of Apurimac Media, a Cape Town based digital and marketing company, which counts Yahoo! among its clients. He shares his views on entrepreneurship with Fin24.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I am a thought leader in the African marketing industry, a proud South African and passionate about the potential of the use of technology in developing African consumers and businesses.
Being a graduate of UCT's science faculty (majoring in physiology) and passionate about design and advertising, I see myself as both a scientist and an artist.
How and when did you become an entrepreneur?
In 1993 I started a "business" at high school, selling rugby T-shirts. This was my first introduction to being an entrepreneur. The R2 000 profit was enough at the age of 16 to realise the benefit of being an entrepreneur. In 2006 I started my first registered business.
What made you decide to do that?
The opportunity presented itself and I had to decide to back my own abilities by starting a new business.
My father was an entrepreneur (founder and CEO of leading market research company Markinor) so I always knew I wanted to build my own business.
In fact, I already named my business back when I was at university, long before actually setting it up. (Apurimac is the name of the river that is the source of the Amazon River.
So, from early on I had the seed of an entrepreneur planted within me.
What was the gap you saw in the market?
I worked as a director at one of SA's leading advertising agencies before I started my own business.
While working there I engaged with some very experienced marketing managers and a director that did not fully understand digital marketing.
This proved to me that there was a gap in the market for a company such as mine. I started the business the month after returning from honeymoon.
Our goal is to improve marketing in Africa with Intelligence.
What success has the company had so far?
In 2013 we were awarded the Excellence Award for best run financial media company.
We competed against all the major media companies, not just digital media.
What are the challenges?
Our biggest challenge is a lack of skills in our industry and for brands to align their marketing budgets with the share of time that digital media receives.
How do you handle challenges?
We invest a lot of time and money finding and developing our staff. We employ a full-time business trainer that our staff can use at any time.
How did/do you fund your business?
The business was self-funded and from day one has always been profitable.
What lessons did you learn?
Have a dream, believe in yourself and never give up.
What advice would you have for other entrepreneurs?
Africa is a continent of entrepreneurs. The next wave of global growth will be driven out of Africa.
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint hearted, but the thick skinned.
Put South Africa and Africa in context as far as your business and opportunities for entrepreneurs are concerned?
South Africa is our core market and sub-Sahara Africa is our growth market.
As a business we have realised a high growth rate in Nigeria, in particular over the past two years.
Entrepreneurs and businesses in high growth industries need to identify new markets and opportunities to keep ahead of the market.
What are your future plans?
We are looking out for strategic partners whom we can grow with.
In the future we will be rolling out a presence in all the major commercial cities in sub-Sahara Africa.
- Fin24
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I am a thought leader in the African marketing industry, a proud South African and passionate about the potential of the use of technology in developing African consumers and businesses.
Being a graduate of UCT's science faculty (majoring in physiology) and passionate about design and advertising, I see myself as both a scientist and an artist.
How and when did you become an entrepreneur?
In 1993 I started a "business" at high school, selling rugby T-shirts. This was my first introduction to being an entrepreneur. The R2 000 profit was enough at the age of 16 to realise the benefit of being an entrepreneur. In 2006 I started my first registered business.
What made you decide to do that?
The opportunity presented itself and I had to decide to back my own abilities by starting a new business.
My father was an entrepreneur (founder and CEO of leading market research company Markinor) so I always knew I wanted to build my own business.
In fact, I already named my business back when I was at university, long before actually setting it up. (Apurimac is the name of the river that is the source of the Amazon River.
So, from early on I had the seed of an entrepreneur planted within me.
What was the gap you saw in the market?
I worked as a director at one of SA's leading advertising agencies before I started my own business.
While working there I engaged with some very experienced marketing managers and a director that did not fully understand digital marketing.
This proved to me that there was a gap in the market for a company such as mine. I started the business the month after returning from honeymoon.
Our goal is to improve marketing in Africa with Intelligence.
What success has the company had so far?
In 2013 we were awarded the Excellence Award for best run financial media company.
We competed against all the major media companies, not just digital media.
What are the challenges?
Our biggest challenge is a lack of skills in our industry and for brands to align their marketing budgets with the share of time that digital media receives.
How do you handle challenges?
We invest a lot of time and money finding and developing our staff. We employ a full-time business trainer that our staff can use at any time.
How did/do you fund your business?
The business was self-funded and from day one has always been profitable.
What lessons did you learn?
Have a dream, believe in yourself and never give up.
What advice would you have for other entrepreneurs?
Africa is a continent of entrepreneurs. The next wave of global growth will be driven out of Africa.
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint hearted, but the thick skinned.
Put South Africa and Africa in context as far as your business and opportunities for entrepreneurs are concerned?
South Africa is our core market and sub-Sahara Africa is our growth market.
As a business we have realised a high growth rate in Nigeria, in particular over the past two years.
Entrepreneurs and businesses in high growth industries need to identify new markets and opportunities to keep ahead of the market.
What are your future plans?
We are looking out for strategic partners whom we can grow with.
In the future we will be rolling out a presence in all the major commercial cities in sub-Sahara Africa.
- Fin24
