Pitched and polished, Shange’s business shines

THE gruelling world of business packs punches of lessons in every corner, and testimony to these claims is Nhlakanipho Shange, owner of AD.IT Solutions, who hit the road running with his business venture, learning along the way.

“I grew up in Umlazi, and started my career studying medicine at the University of Cape Town. While I was deciding whether I wanted to continue with my studies, I flew to Cape Town to conduct a feasibility study for a low-cost bakery. On the flight, I saw those dropdown screens and thought it would be a great idea to put something like that in taxis. During my stay in Cape Town, the idea kept haunting me and that’s when I decided to go back to Durban and pursue it.”

While funding is core to any business, attracting and reaching the right clientele is just as important. “When we started with taxi TV, we thought funding was the biggest problem but actually this wasn’t as much of a challenge as finding the right clients. I now believe that, as an entrepreneur, the money will come but that convincing the client to use your services is the key. In the beginning, we were in a space where we had no relationships and this is incredibly important in building a business,” explained Shange.

He came across flyers advertising the Engen Pitch and Polish programme, and like a scene from a movie, made a last minute entry, earning himself a spot. “The experience was fantastic. I learned so much that it’s hard to pick out just one lesson. I learned to not romanticise your business idea or its prospects. You need to be realistic about its prospects, the numbers and everything that goes into building it. Everything I learned during the programme has played an important part in building my business. It helped me to think more clearly about what I was setting out to do.”

Since starting up, Shange’s business has gone through so much – both good and bad. He said he is currently coming back from a dip after a few years of incredible growth. “At one point we were growing 560 per cent year on year but that sort of growth is unusual and not sustainable. Resilience is definitely high up on the list of personal characteristics you need to be an entrepreneur. I don’t believe any entrepreneur can succeed without resilience because the path is not smooth. You need a deep conviction in what you’re pursuing so you can get up every day and do what you have to do. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted and that’s a fact,” he said.

And his final thoughts for those looking to pursue their business idea? “I definitely recommend that anyone who is running their own business or thinking of starting one up participate in the Engen Pitch and Polish programme. It opens your mind to a variety of possibilities for any business.”

Shange thanked Engen for the opportunity and business support as well as Nedbank for being there for every step of his entrepreneurial journey. After pitching an idea in 2013, he is one of the suppliers to the programme for the past four years.

Visit www.pitchandpolish.com for more information or to register for the 2019 Engen Pitch and Polish workshops and competition.

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