Another attempt at a Startup. Really.
Here is the truth. I have lost count of how many startups I have attempted, from selling pirated CDs back in the day as a young boy (when it was not as illegal) to my last portfolio before packing up my life in Cape Town and taking a chance on Hong Kong.
The last bunch of startups I founded before shutting up shop were as follows:
- Cape Town’s oldest Artisanal Ice-cream company which we acquired off the back of producing a Protein Ice Cream at their premises. WheyO was the startup!
- An innovative mass participation sports and marketing company focussing on creating unique sporting events across Cape Town. This was actually a South Africa spin-off of a seemingly successful sevens rugby brand (a story for another time).
- A luxurious body scrub brand that pioneered Matcha body scrub in South Africa (this was purely online and a lesson in eCommerce).
Fast forward 2.5 years in Hong Kong after settling into a 9 to 5, or in my case 9–9 and the itch was there to get back on the startup/side hustle bandwagon.
We all have our own definitions of startups and their success. For myself, I will simply not be content until I have created a startup that I can share a common goal with others and ultimately employ people. I have a vision of sitting in a boardroom alongside like-minded and creative individuals working towards something special and profitable.
The employment aspect comes from seeing how beneficial it is for people on the poverty line (and above). One of the many startups that I founded was a recycling company where we paid individuals, in a terribly low socio-economic group, daily to sort recycling. Long story short, we had to shut down operations and we could no longer pay them a very minuscule amount of money. This is a lasting and terrible lesson.
On to the latest startup, having moved to Hong Kong after spending most of my life in Cape Town. I noticed a few things:
- Hong Kong has a ton of very wealthy people who like to invest in overseas property.
- Hong Kong property prices are ridiculous and there is absolutely no value for money (perhaps for those that are on that level).
- Cape Town should be considered as overseas investment in terms of ROI and lifestyle.
- Hong Kongers and Chinese investors are snapping up property in Asian Emerging Markets.
So, after thinking about where the opportunity lies I co-founded Cape Town Real Estate Co.
We are going to educate and sell Cape Town property to Asian investors. Simple really.
Feel free to follow our new publication for information and insights into the Cape Town Real Estate market: https://medium.com/cape-town-real-estate
