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Cape Town - Entrepreneur Warren Graver stumbled into the local decking market five years ago, and hasn't looked back since.
His company Envirodeck builds environmentally friendly outdoor decks using composite building materials that can withstand various pressures.
His determination to succeed and passion for his business have paid off and after years of struggling, the company is seeing some steady growth.
In addition, he was recently awarded the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year title at the annual Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
He spoke to Fin24 briefly about himself and his career.
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Warren Graver and I classify myself as a young and enthusiastic entrepreneur who has been raised in Johannesburg.
I currently have a BCom in marketing and a BCom Honours in logistics, which have provided the necessary platform and skills for my entrepreneurial business endeavours.
How old is your business and what does it do? Where did you get your idea/inspiration?
Envirodeck was established in 2004 with the vision of providing sustainable decking products to a South African market that had until then been largely exposed only to the traditional timber decking market.
While I wasn't looking to necessarily go into the decking business, after doing some research into the decking market internationally I noticed that, while our economy and building practices at the time were heavily reliant on timber products, internationally composite decking materials were the fastest-growing products in the sector.
After doing some more research, specifically around the various trends within the market, I came to the conclusion that this green concept would have huge potential in our market and I took the plunge.
How do you find SA's entrepreneurship landscape? What are the key problems/solutions, and what is the role of incubation by corporates?
Young emerging entrepreneurs have to overcome almost insurmountable obstacles to establish and attain success. It is not an easy road, but it is not an impossible one either.
The problem is that too much emphasis is placed on the negative aspects. Young people are told repeatedly how much bigger the chances of failure are than those of success.
And as a result of that, the mentality of "finish school, go to varsity, get good grades and get a good paying job" remains the one that everyone follows.
While there is nothing wrong with this, it does make it harder for people to make the leap into entrepreneurship because fear of failure is so entrenched.
So, corporates and government need to recognise that entrepreneurship in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is the key growth driver towards greater economic growth and employment.
Ultimately it is this sector that will continue to form the backbone of the country’s economy. Young entrepreneurs have the greatest ability to alleviate poverty, provide opportunity for others and to make a huge contribution towards the well-being of the community that they operate in.
But they need support.
Large corporations should not focus solely on black economic empowerment requirements, but also on SME growth development programmes through increased training and workshops geared to facilitate entrepreneurial ability across all sectors of our economy.
Entrepreneurship should operate like a sports academy that is supported from school all the way through to the SME sector.
Mentors and other like-minded individuals should be provided the platform and access to help young entrepreneurs leverage off each other, similar to what an investment club would provide.
Through shared learning, one will be able to make better entrepreneurial decisions to the economic benefit of the country. Competitions such as the Sanlam/Business Partners should receive further investment and support from all role players.
Is business going well? What are you happy with and what would you like to improve/change?
Envirodeck has not always been a successful business and I have had to overcome a number of challenges in the early years.
The business operates in the luxury end of the market, which has been slow since 2008. Through extensive product research and good marketing, I have been able to break even since 2009 and grow the business tenfold in the last three years.
This shows that if you can add value through a supply chain, you will always achieve entrepreneurial success.
Expansion of the business will be achieved through adding further green building products to our current offering, and by focusing on different business sectors to compete in.
What are your goals for the company?
Our operations will focus on adding value throughout the supply chain while operating within supporting ecosystems with a key focus on sustainability.
The revenue growth of Envirodeck will be through expansion of the business into the rest of Africa within the next fiveyears while we ride the wave of sustainable development in southern Africa.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur can be easiest career path because your passion or hobby becomes your lifestyle.
There is no better way of working and enjoying every single day than knowing that you are working for yourself to build something of your own - but it does have its bad days.
Each entrepreneur operates with a different mindset and within a different market, and this provides an opportunity for all kinds of entry points and passions so there is absolutely no limit to what you can achieve.
Entrepreneurship forces you to be a business all-rounder and it facilitates free thinking, but it can be a very lonely road.
I would recommend that any aspiring entrepreneur to try and find support from within their own networks first. Find a mentor and, if possible, harness your business ideas through an investment club before trying to achieve success single-handedly.
*Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.
His company Envirodeck builds environmentally friendly outdoor decks using composite building materials that can withstand various pressures.
His determination to succeed and passion for his business have paid off and after years of struggling, the company is seeing some steady growth.
In addition, he was recently awarded the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year title at the annual Sanlam/Business Partners Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
He spoke to Fin24 briefly about himself and his career.
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Warren Graver and I classify myself as a young and enthusiastic entrepreneur who has been raised in Johannesburg.
I currently have a BCom in marketing and a BCom Honours in logistics, which have provided the necessary platform and skills for my entrepreneurial business endeavours.
How old is your business and what does it do? Where did you get your idea/inspiration?
Envirodeck was established in 2004 with the vision of providing sustainable decking products to a South African market that had until then been largely exposed only to the traditional timber decking market.
While I wasn't looking to necessarily go into the decking business, after doing some research into the decking market internationally I noticed that, while our economy and building practices at the time were heavily reliant on timber products, internationally composite decking materials were the fastest-growing products in the sector.
After doing some more research, specifically around the various trends within the market, I came to the conclusion that this green concept would have huge potential in our market and I took the plunge.
How do you find SA's entrepreneurship landscape? What are the key problems/solutions, and what is the role of incubation by corporates?
Young emerging entrepreneurs have to overcome almost insurmountable obstacles to establish and attain success. It is not an easy road, but it is not an impossible one either.
The problem is that too much emphasis is placed on the negative aspects. Young people are told repeatedly how much bigger the chances of failure are than those of success.
And as a result of that, the mentality of "finish school, go to varsity, get good grades and get a good paying job" remains the one that everyone follows.
While there is nothing wrong with this, it does make it harder for people to make the leap into entrepreneurship because fear of failure is so entrenched.
So, corporates and government need to recognise that entrepreneurship in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector is the key growth driver towards greater economic growth and employment.
Ultimately it is this sector that will continue to form the backbone of the country’s economy. Young entrepreneurs have the greatest ability to alleviate poverty, provide opportunity for others and to make a huge contribution towards the well-being of the community that they operate in.
But they need support.
Large corporations should not focus solely on black economic empowerment requirements, but also on SME growth development programmes through increased training and workshops geared to facilitate entrepreneurial ability across all sectors of our economy.
Entrepreneurship should operate like a sports academy that is supported from school all the way through to the SME sector.
Mentors and other like-minded individuals should be provided the platform and access to help young entrepreneurs leverage off each other, similar to what an investment club would provide.
Through shared learning, one will be able to make better entrepreneurial decisions to the economic benefit of the country. Competitions such as the Sanlam/Business Partners should receive further investment and support from all role players.
Is business going well? What are you happy with and what would you like to improve/change?
Envirodeck has not always been a successful business and I have had to overcome a number of challenges in the early years.
The business operates in the luxury end of the market, which has been slow since 2008. Through extensive product research and good marketing, I have been able to break even since 2009 and grow the business tenfold in the last three years.
This shows that if you can add value through a supply chain, you will always achieve entrepreneurial success.
Expansion of the business will be achieved through adding further green building products to our current offering, and by focusing on different business sectors to compete in.
What are your goals for the company?
Our operations will focus on adding value throughout the supply chain while operating within supporting ecosystems with a key focus on sustainability.
The revenue growth of Envirodeck will be through expansion of the business into the rest of Africa within the next fiveyears while we ride the wave of sustainable development in southern Africa.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur can be easiest career path because your passion or hobby becomes your lifestyle.
There is no better way of working and enjoying every single day than knowing that you are working for yourself to build something of your own - but it does have its bad days.
Each entrepreneur operates with a different mindset and within a different market, and this provides an opportunity for all kinds of entry points and passions so there is absolutely no limit to what you can achieve.
Entrepreneurship forces you to be a business all-rounder and it facilitates free thinking, but it can be a very lonely road.
I would recommend that any aspiring entrepreneur to try and find support from within their own networks first. Find a mentor and, if possible, harness your business ideas through an investment club before trying to achieve success single-handedly.
*Follow Fin24 on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.
