'Learning from your mistakes'

Johannesburg - When one of South Africa's leading business personalities backs your business venture with a $20m investment in the middle of a global financial crisis, you must be on to a good thing.

Fin24.com chatted to Vinny Lingham, a South African entrepreneur whose firm SynthaSite recently received further investment from the Johannn Rupert-led Reinet Investments.

Have you always wanted to go into business for yourself? What's the appeal?

I'm a really bad employee. I worked for about three-and-a-half years in Johannesburg for a number of different companies, including Dimension Data and Johnnic. It just wasn't my thing.

I started my first real business while at UCT; I used to be a booking agent/concert organiser for local bands. I never liked the idea of working for anyone else - I think I get that from my dad.

Tell us a bit about your history

I grew up in East London. I left after I turned 18 and went to UCT.

This is when I became a real Capetonian! I then moved to Johannesburg to work in the corporate world. In 2003 I started Clicks2Customers, and while it was still small, we moved the company back to Cape Town.

Clicks2Customers grew rapidly into one of the world's best search engine marketing firms. I spent a lot of time travelling to Europe and the USA, and I was able to spot a trend with web applications. SynthaSite was a technology we were developing at incuBeta (which was the holding company for Clicks2Customers that I setup).

Eventually, after (Mark Shuttleworth's) HBD invested R25m in incuBeta, I decided to do a management buyout of SynthaSite in 2007. I subsequently raised $5m from Columbus Venture Capital, and now another $20m from the Reinet Fund.

What has been your greatest business achievement to date? Why does it stand out for you?

I think that raising $20m for SynthaSite during the biggest economic downturn for at least the past 70 years is probably my greatest business achievement thus far. Very close would be winning the Top Technology Company award in South Africa (Clicks2Customers) and also the Top Young ICT Entrepreneur in Africa in 2006.

What's the most important business lesson you've learnt since going into business for yourself?

Focus on your core business and keep building it up. Don't sell hours - in fact, never sell hours if you're a product or technology company.

Any particular skills you wish you had gained before you struck out on your own?

There are many skills that I don't have, but my philosophy is always to just hire them in. Don't try to do things that others can do better - surround yourself with the best people who have experience in what you're trying to do.

Any business person you particularly admire and why?

Without trying to be biased in any way, given the recent investment in SynthaSite, but having met Mr Johann Rupert a few times now, he is clearly one of the greatest business leaders South Africa has ever seen and I am very inspired by him.

His recent speech really hit home. I think what we have in common is that we both love South Africa; it was an inspiring presentation.

Any advice for budding entrepreneurs?

You're probably not going to get it right the first time, but don't let failure stop you. I failed many times before I had my first business success - it's part of the process. Keep trying and focus on learning from your mistakes.

How has your business grown over the last few years?

We have grown from less than 10 employees to nearly 50. We are a private company, so don't disclose turnover figures. I can say that our customer base has grown from 10 000 to well over a million users.

What inspires you to get out of bed in the morning?

My email box. If I don't get to it early, I can really get caught behind - I get about 300 emails a day! I am inspired by the fact that we're changing lives and giving people a voice online.

The business environment at the moment looks quite tough - any practical advice you would give to entrepreneurs running a business in this climate?

Focus on cash flow. Make sure you're still making a profit; keep your debtors' book tight and collect your payments on time.

Keep costs low and focus on where you are losing money and plug the hole. Cash is king right now - make sure you're cash-flow positive and if you're not, get there quickly.

- Fin24.com