The Startup Club Podcast

In this episode, we're thrilled to sit down with Abu Addae, Co-Founder and CEO of LifeCheq - the South African fintech democratising access to financial advice and using AI to enable financial advisers to improve client experience and drive efficiency.Founded in 2015, LifeCheq is disrupting the multi-trillion rand financial services sector through it’s tech-first proposition that enhances the effectiveness and accessibility of financial advice in the South African market. The business has since has grown to a team of 75, serving over 200K users, and has raised more than R100m in venture capital, from the likes of Naspers, Futuregrowth and ARC Investments. With this significant market challenge comes a massive opportunity and the team remains laser-focussed on building a technology business that enables financial advice for 2BN underserved clients in emerging markets. We talk about:• Abu's upbringing and early career.• Early success and navigating risk. • Moving from corporate executive to founder. • Raising capital and the right team. • Competing in an established space.• What's next for Abu and LifeCheq.-Connect with Abu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abuaddae/Connect with Mathew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with Momentum Group - one of South African’s leading financial services groups - home to household names like Metropolitan and Momentum. The group's mission is to build and protect their clients' financial dreams - whilst providing a sense of certainty in an increasingly uncertain world. They also place innovation and digital transformation at the core of their strategy and are excited about playing a proactive role in advancing and supporting the country's startup ecosystem. Visit momentumgroupltd.co.za to learn more 🚀 The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we're thrilled to sit down with Calvin Collett, Founder and CEO of Melon Mobile - Africa’s first truly digital telco, offering consumers a fully customisable mobile network experience. Founded in 2022, Melon is disrupting a sector that's long been controlled by a handful of industry incumbents, by combining digital eSim technology, a slick app-first proposition, hyper-customisation and unprecedented pricing - to create an exciting "do-it-yourself" mobile network experience. Coupled with their recently-launched (and highly popular) national billboard campaign, they're fast becoming a hit with consumers and SMEs across the country. With more than 2 decades of telco experience behind him, a world-class team alongside, and armed with a truly innovative proposition, Melon Mobile are pioneering the next generation of telecoms disruption. We talk about:• Calvin's upbringing and early career. • What makes a great entrepreneur. • Moving from corporate executive, to intrapreneur, to founder. • Raising capital and the right team.  • Finding competitive edge in a crowded sector.• What's next for Calvin and Melon Mobile.-Connect with Calvin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-collett/Connect with Mathew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with Injini - Africa's only EdTech specialised accelerator, established on the belief that innovation and technology can help solve the continent’s most pressing education challenges. Injini supports edtech founders through a bespoke acceleration program, they lead education research and advisory support through their ThinkTank and host the country’s annual Edtech week. Visit injini.africa to learn more.The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we're excited to sit down with Lynton Peters, Founder and exited-CEO of OneCart - South Africa's premier online, on-demand delivery service - that lets customers shop across multiple stores, in a single order, with one delivery fee, arriving at their in under 60minutes.In 2023, South Africa’s e-commerce market generated an estimated R71bn in revenue, largely driven by sectors like clothing/apparel, entertainment/hobbies and electronics. Alongside growing demand for conventional goods and services, has been the exponential growth in South Africa’s online grocery space - and in particular - the surge in on-demand and last-mile delivery services available. In fact, it’s now common practice for many consumers to buy their groceries online and have them delivered direct to their doorstep. Founded in 2016, OneCart is one of South Africa's on-demand grocery delivery pioneers and has played a key role in establishing the category. Within 5 years, the business grew to over 1000 direct/indirect employees and achieved triple-digit revenue growth annually - largely accelerated by the Covid19 lockdowns - before being sold to Massmart (Wallmart’s African subsidiary) in late-2021, in one of the country's largest-ever e-commerce acquisitions.Since leaving the business in 2022, Lynton has become an active angel investor and remains motivated to build Africa, armed with the insights and experience that come with being one of South Africa’s few exited tech founders.We talk about:• Lynton's upbringing, early-career and returning to South African roots.• Transitioning from corporate leader to startup pioneer.  • Building product, welcoming co-founders and raising capital.  • The companies acquisition to Massmart and his life after exit. • What's next for Lynton. -Connect with Lynton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyntonp/Connect with Mathew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with Paystack - helping businesses in Africa get paid by anyone, anywhere in the world - thanks to their suite of world-class payment solutions, intuitive APIs, founder-centric support and an exciting (and free!) credit program called Paystack Catalyst, purposefully created to help startups accelerate their growth. To learn more visit paystack.com/za.The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we're thrilled to sit down with Paul Kent, Founder and CEO of adumo, the multi-channel payments platform that's helping businesses get paid, boost their customer engagement and keep employees motivated. The last two decades have seen a radical transformation in South Africa’s payments landscape, evolving from predominantly cash-heavy commerce to a world that's embracing digital infrastructure. The space is both diverse and dynamic, with a mix of traditional banking systems, mobile payment platforms, challenger POS brands and a growing consumer appetite for fintech solutions. Having built one of the country’s first non-bank card payments businesses, SureSwipe, Paul Kent has witnessed this payments revolution first-hand. Over a decade later, his experience culminated in the founding of Adumo in 2019, which has since grown to serve more than 23 000 active merchants and process over R100-billion in throughput across channels annually. Earlier this month, Adumo received approval from the country's Competition Commission to be fully acquired by listed financial services group, Lesaka Technologies, in a R1.6bn cash/equity deal. For Paul and the Adumo team though, the opportunity remains greater than ever. We talk about:• Paul's upbringing, early career and juggling talent over passion. • Leaning in when opportunity knocks.  • Lessons from building multiple ventures in a competitive space. • The founder journey from start to acquisition.• What's next for Paul and the Adumo team. -Connect with Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulkentsa/Connect with Mathew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with Guardrisk Launchpad - a pioneering initiative that's driving insure-tech innovation through capital and value-added support services to qualifying scaleups. Learn more at the halfway mark of today’s episode - or visit https://grlaunchpad.com. The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we're thrilled to sit down with Thomas Brennan and Sebastian Patel, Co-Founders of Franc, the simple and easy-to-use mobile app that let’s South Africans invest in leading cash and equity funds in just a few minutes - with no minimums, no paperwork and no fine print.Despite having a robust financial services market, South Africa's savings and investment culture remains relatively poor - largely because of high fees, cumbersome admin, subjective advice and minimal investment education.  In response, Franc was founded in 2018 on the premise that everyone should be able to access the best investments - in a smart, low-cost and simple way. Since then the platform has grown to over 120K users, received an average rating of 4.3* across app stores and won accolades from the likes of Seedstars, Visa and MTN App of the Year. They’re also graduates of the Google for Startups and Grindstone Accelerators. In 2022 and on the back of 400% year-on-year customer growth - Franc launched it’s B2B offering (Franc Business) - fuelled by an R8 million seed round with participation from ASISA ESD and 4DX Ventures. On a mission to make investing more affordable, accessible and social, the journey is only getting started for the Franc Team.We talk about: • Tom & Seb's upbringings, early careers and alignment on their mission. • Leaving flourishing corporate careers to become tech founders. • Lessons from building a startup that's solving a hard problem. • What they would do differently.• What's next for the Franc Team.-Connect with Thomas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtpbrennan/Connect with Seb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebpatel/Connect with Mathew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with FNB South Africa - the country's "Best Digital Bank" and a comprehensive financial services provider that's committed to supporting the startup ecosystem in driving innovation and growing the economy. To learn more, or to connect with their team, visit fnb.co.za.The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In today's episode, we're excited to sit down with Thato Schermer, Co-Founder and CEO of Zoie Health, Africa's first holistic digital women's health & wellness platform, dedicated to making female healthcare more convenient, affordable and caring. Shocked at how costly and difficult it was to see a gynaecologist, get a prescription, then fill it at a pharmacy, the founders recognized a gap to improve access and affordability to female healthcare. Founded in 2020, the Zoie platform allows users to book virtual consultations, purchase medication and supplements online, as well as join a community for advice and support. Since its founding, the business has grown exponentially to now serve more than 9 thousand members and 50 healthcare providers (with a pipeline of over 300). In 2022, Zoie was recognised as an MTN "App of The Year" finalist and took first place at Harvard Business School’s "Africa Business Competition" - not to mention winning our very own Startup Club ZA “Healthtech of the Year” award in 2023. On the back of this momentum, the team closed their pre-seed round, led by 4DX and E Squared.In 2024, Zoie launched an exciting, Whatsapp-enabled employee benefits solution, “EasyDoc”, where employees can engage in convenient consults with doctors, helping employers reduce absenteeism, enhance productivity and improve retention. Armed with a bold mission to change the landscape of female healthcare across Africa, it’s clear that things are only getting started for Thato and the Zoie Team. We talk about: • Thato's upbringing, career and mission to "serve people" through business. • Taking the leap from corporate achiever to health innovator. • The nuances of building a startup in a crowded sector. • Raising capital and navigating pivots. • The Zoie Health mission, vision and what comes next.-Connect with Thato on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thatomabudusha/Connect with Mathew on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with our friends at E Squared Investments - one of South Africa's leading impact investors - providing funding and support to early-stage founders, high-growth businesses and social enterprises - intent on creating meaningful employment to tackle social inequality and enable economic inclusivity. For more info, visit esquared.org.za.The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we’re thrilled to sit down with Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Founder and CEO of Float, Africa's first card-linked instalment platform that's disrupting traditional BNPL and encouraging responsible spending, by letting shoppers split big-ticket payments over time using existing credit. Despite reaching an executive position at a leading financial services business in his late twenties - Alex took the leap into tech entrepreneurship after spotting the gap to offer BNPL in a way that better serves the customer and merchant alike.After 18 months in "the wilderness" (as he describes it) building an MVP, he landed his first equity partner to bring the product to life. In the 3 years since (and with only a team of 10), Float has onboarded 1000 merchants - including big names like Apple, Samsung and The Pro Shop - and has raised meaningful equity, alongside an $11m debt facility from Standard Bank. They also placed top 5 in the Visa’s Everywhere Initiative in 2023. But as expected, there’s always more to the story.  We talk about: • Alex's upbringing, early career and wanting to start a business of his own.• Navigating "big" life and career decisions. • Making the leap from young corporate executive to fintech disruptor.• Building a disruptive fintech business in crowded sector.• The Float mission, vision and what comes next.-Connect with Alex on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-forsyth-thompson-cfa-cfp%C2%AE-6b42a75a/Connect with Mathew on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with our friends at ALX - the world-class tech skills and entrepreneurship accelerator, creating access to training for millions of young people in Africa. For more info, visit alxafrica.com.The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we’re excited to sit down with Idan Jaan, Co-Founder and former CEO of Fundrr, the fintech platform using smart scoring to provide quick and easy business funding to SMEs around South Africa.  In September 2017 - having experienced the funding struggle firsthand - co-founders and best friends, Idan Jaan and Jarred Noche, had the idea to build  a platform to solve this important need for other small-medium businesses. After bootstrapping the business for 18 months, getting investment rejections from over 70 angels, and facing an existential crisis during the Covid 19 lockdown, the founders' resilience and resourcefulness eventually saw Fundrr get acquired by the country's largest SME lender, Retail Capital (now owned by TymeBank). We talk about: • Idan's upbringing, early career and starting a family business.• Building a startup despite lacking the industry experience.• Persevering through investor rejection. • Fighting through an existential business crisis. • The ins and outs of being acquired in South Africa. -Connect with Idan on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idan-jaan/Connect with Mathew on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathewmarsden/This episode was brought to you in partnership with our friends at Aions Creative Technology - South Africa's next-generation venture builder. For more info, visit aions.co.zaThe Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we’re humbled to sit down with Karidas Tshintsholo, CEO and Co-Founder of Khula!, the pioneering agritech startup dedicated to empowering smallholder farmers through access to markets and financing. Founded in 2016, the business now enables the trade of thousands of products from hundreds of local & international suppliers on its platform and is changing the face of the agri-supply chain for good. Khula is a graduate of the Google for Startups accelerator, a past winner of the MTN Business App of the Year and has raised considerable investment from the likes of PepsiCo, AECI and E Squared Investments. But, for the companies’ founder and CEO, the Khula story is one of immense resilience, fuelled by a passion to create sustainable solutions for underserved markets.We talk about: Karidas’s humble upbringing and entrepreneurship as survival. Dropping out of university to become a full-time founder.Identifying opportunities by deep-diving the problem. Understanding the country’s agri-supply chain inefficiencies. Solving for one of the continent’s largest opportunities and convincing the right stakeholders to come along for the ride.-Connect with Karidas on LinkedIn/ karidas-tshintsholo-0301bb78/Connect with Mathew on LinkedIn/ mathewmarsden  The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/

In this episode, we’re humbled to sit down with Saul Kornik, the visionary Founder and CEO of both Kena Health and Healthforce, the technology ventures solving the gap in the country’s health infrastructure by making affordable care accessible to hundreds of thousands of patients across South Africa. Both ventures have achieved significant traction, with Kena Health raising both $2m in venture capital and winning the MTN Business App of the Year award in 2023 - and Healthforce facilitating over 3.6 million nurse consults since inception in 2018. Things are only just getting started for Saul, on his mission to make healthcare available to millions of people across the continent. We talk about: Saul’s upbringing and early career. The pivot from financial services to a career of purpose. Saul’s 15-year journey in African healthcare. A deep dive into the country’s healthcare dilemma. Solving one of the continent’s hardest problems through patience, partnerships and technology. -Connect with Saul on LinkedIn:   / saulkornikConnect with Mathew on LinkedIn:   / mathewmarsden  The Startup Club Podcast dives into the stories of South Africa's leading tech startup founders and investors, their journeys of innovation, failure, resilience, and triumph and is an initiative of Startup Club ZA - the country’s fastest-growing tech startup and investor community. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems, backing the change-makers and co-creating a better country, then you're invited to join us! 🇿🇦Connect with us:Website - https://www.startupclubza.comLinkedIn - https://za.linkedin.com/company/startup-club-zaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/startupclub.za/