How a love for food stirred a business idea for Attridgeville entrepreneur

Being a foodie inspired the CEO of Epicure Bitez, Thabiso Mhlongo, to transition from civil engineer to culinary and entrepreneurship, with a willingness to take risks.

He listed challenges he faced as a young black entrepreneur in Attridgeville, a township with limited resources.

“The biggest challenge is capital, compounded by load shedding and its impact on business. Starting from scratch was difficult. I stumbled across Metropolitan Collective Shapers,” he said.

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“In our tech-savvy world, I decided to give it a try and it turned out to be a life-changing opportunity. Metropolitan provided tools and funding that helped me become a better entrepreneur. Metropolitan’s support has been invaluable,” he explained.

Speaking at the Metropolitan Collective Shapers entrepreneur masterclass in Sandton, Grant Jacobs, CEO and cofounder of Hello Choice, noted complexities and opportunities involved in innovation and technology in the culinary industry.

Grant emphasised while innovation could be difficult, it was essential for progress. He said one of the things that drove innovation was design thinking, which was a customer-led innovation.

“You must really understand your customer and network. What is going to make them excited and stick with you? Deeply engage with customers to ensure their needs are met,” he said.

“Understand the value of collaboration. Pool resources with partners, such as transport operators and financiers to maximise efficiency. Diversity is absolutely critical,” he noted.

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Grant advised careful cost management, but also the necessity of bold investment when required.

“Innovation is a process not an event and requires a one step at a time process. Trust yourself and your resources to make bold investments, just start,” he said.

According to Queen Malobane, Metropolitan provincial general manager, it was imperative for entrepreneurs to have insurance for their businesses.

She addressed a common mistake among entrepreneurs: confusing personal finances with business finances and emphasised “what belongs to the business is not yours”.