From Small Beginnings To Big Brands

Based on the research that has been conducted by different organisations, there is a consensus that most business start-ups fail within three years of their establishment. Nonetheless, there are business start-ups which have grown and become giants in their industries here in South Africa. Others even expanded to other countries. It is therefore important to learn from the founders of these businesses, and other people who have succeeded in various fields, so we can understand what is that they did right in order to succeed. This is the theme of this book – to motivate and inspire people to work hard, try new things even when circumstances seem impossible. The stories of the businesses discussed in this book, provide more detail about the founders of these companies, as to how they went about establishing the companies in question, from the beginning until they became what they are today. Some of these people started out small but made it big ultimately. Here, I am talking about Raymond Ackerman (Pick ‘n Pay), George Sombonos (Chicken Licken), Craig Mackenzie and Andrew Harvey (Debonairs Pizza), Richard Maponya (Maponya Group), Fats Lazarides (Ocean Basket), Allen Ambor (Spur), Allan Hirsch (Hirsch’s), Brian Joffe (Bidvest), Nonkululeko Gobodo (SizweNtsalubaGobodo), Tommy Makhatho (BiBi Cash ‘n Carry) and more. What makes the story of Nonkululeko Gobodo to stand out, is that she was the first black woman in South Africa, to qualify as a chartered accountant in 1987. She was following in the footsteps of Wiseman Nkuhlu, who was the first black South African to be a chartered accountant in 1976. What is particularly exciting about the story of Debonairs Pizza, is the fact that it was established by two university students in Pietermaritzburg. This shows that starting a business is something that can be done by anyone, irrespective of their age.