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Cape Town - Amy de Castro wouldn’t take a ‘no’ for an answer when her application for her post graduate diploma in enterprise management was rejected and instead insisted on speaking to the dean of the faculty.
Her application was reviewed and she was accepted into the programme. Today, Amy has an online store, selling wristwatches made of bamboo inspired material.
When asked why bamboo, Amy says: "The bamboo material inspired us, even before conceptualising the wristwatch idea. We were and still are in awe of the versatility, strength, beauty and of course sustainable aspect of the material.
"Bamboo is a grass that grows extremely rapidly in the wild, without the need for fertilisers or pesticides. Our aim was to re-design an everyday functional object, in a more sustainable way. We wanted to use a material that would be a statement piece and to keep it in its simplest form, without the unnecessary detail and branding."
Fin24 probed Amy for a bit more about herself and her fledgling business:
1. Tell us about yourself?
I am 25 years old and born and bred in Cape Town. I went to Rustenburg Girls High School and continued my studies at UCT, which is where Bamboo Revolution was born. My entrepreneurial journey started when I was 22 and I cannot imagine doing anything else or ever working for someone else.
I have a passion for building valuable relationships with people, as there is always something to learn from someone and these encounters create experiences, which enable personal growth. I am a total extrovert and thrive on the energy that I get from people, as well as from spending time in nature. I love to travel and it is my dream to see as much of the world as possible, leaving a positive mark on each individual that I meet.
I wake up every day, eager to learn and grow from the opportunities and challenges that the day presents to me. The thing that I love most about being an entrepreneur is that I am permanently excited; you never know what is just around the corner!
2. Have you always known that one day you will be an entrepreneur?
No, I did not even know what ‘entrepreneurship’ was before I decided to do my postgraduate diploma in enterprise management. I have always done things a little differently and have never wanted to settle for ‘ordinary’.
I did not get into the postgraduate course on my first application. I was not willing to accept ‘no’ for an answer and I was determined to meet with the Dean of the Faculty to get an explanation. My persistence and determination was recognised and my application was reviewed. I was accepted at the last minute. This was where my entrepreneurial journey began and where I learnt that challenging the status quo pays off.
3. Who or what inspires you as an entrepreneur? Did your family instill or influence your entrepreneurial spirit in any way?
The thought of my actions potentially inspiring and encouraging other people to discover and reach their full potential, inspires me and makes me want to be better. The people that I surround myself with on a daily basis inspire me.
Neither one of my parents pursued entrepreneurial ventures but my dad always had great entrepreneurial ideas that inspired me. Unfortunately my dad is no longer with us and I feel as though I am living out his entrepreneurial dream. This thought motivates me daily.
My parents always allowed me to make my own decisions and supported me in whatever it was that I chose to do. As a teenager, I chose the school that I wanted to go to, I signed myself up for and pursued a youth exchange to Austria and was earning my own pocket money from the age of 16.
I have always been very independent and have focused on creating my own path, rather than following the crowd.
4. What was your hardest lesson so far as an entrepreneur?
I've learnt that not everyone is as trustworthy and honest as I am. Fortunately, I've learnt this lesson early on in my journey and I am grateful for the challenges that I faced, as a result. These experiences made me stronger and more aware of identifying untrustworthy and unauthentic individuals.
5. On your website you say that you’re not just creating another product, but a watch that will make people feel good about themselves when wearing and sharing. What do you mean by this?
There is so much more to our business than just selling a wristwatch. We sell a brand, a story and extraordinary service. For us, the value is in building relationships with each and every individual that interacts with our brand.
As the soul of the brand, I focus on ensuring that our business practices are honest, sustainable and most importantly that we maintain our integrity. My hope is that through our actions, we can set a precedent for how other local brands can operate and by sharing and supporting; we can encourage entrepreneurship in South Africa.
6. What are the most difficult decisions you had to make as an entrepreneur?
In the very early stages, I had to make the decision to buy out my three original partners, in order to pursue the vision that I had for the business. Finding the right team has been challenging and meant that I had to make some difficult decisions along the way.
Since I have had a clear vision on the type of brand that I wanted to build, it meant that I had to make decisions to turn down many opportunities that were presented to me. Many of these decisions were based on strong gut feelings and often difficult to explain, which can make it tough for the other party to fully understand.
7. What is the best business advice you’ve received?
Don’t be afraid to ASK!
A girl I met at a conference in France last year said something so simple to me but it really stuck with me. She said “Many people just jump to their own conclusions in their head and assume that something is not possible. If you don’t ask, the answer is 100% a ‘no’. If you just ask, there is a 50% chance that the ‘no’ might turn into a ‘yes’. So why not ask?"
8. Do you have any mentors? If so, how important is mentorship for an entrepreneur?
I have been privileged enough to have had multiple mentors throughout my entrepreneurial journey so far. Somehow, they have always come into my life at the right time, to advise me on what I was going through at a particular period in my business and have assisted me in making pivotal decisions.
Mentors are extremely important for any entrepreneur. It is always necessary to get guidance and advice from those with experience and to learn from their successes and failures. It can save you a lot of time and unnecessary stress, by simply chatting to someone over a half an hour coffee.
9. Any special moments?
In 2014, I had the opportunity to attend the Global Women’s Forum in France, as a finalist for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards. I was selected as one of the three finalists for sub-Saharan Africa and got to go to Paris to meet the other 15 finalists and to participate in workshops, networking sessions and pitching to some of the top African Female Leaders.
The CWIA offered a fantastic platform for me to showcase my business, as well as myself as a female entrepreneur. We had a number of leads spiral from the exposure we received through the event, which I was able to leverage off to take my business to the next level.
On a personal note, the acknowledgement and support gave me a new level of confidence, as a young female entrepreneur. I built a number of valuable relationships and am a part of a network of powerful, extraordinary women, whom I know I can reach out to at any time. This network, in itself, is invaluable.
The experience of being a part of the CWIA taught me the power of networking, sharing and supporting one another. Upon returning to South Africa, I linked up with the founder of YoungPreneur Media, to host a women’s show, called ‘Leading Voices’. The show connects ordinary women, doing extraordinary things around the world, through a virtual roundtable.
Bamboo Revolution employs four people; owner, Amy de Castro, operations manager Kelly Ferguson, head crafter Kim Cloete and a part-time brand manager. They also outsource their accounting to an eternal firm.
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