Ventureburn

7 inspiring TED talks every entrepreneur should watch

I think most entrepreneurs should dedicate some time out of their week just to watch TED Talks. It might seem silly or a waste…

Fold, rinse, repeat: risk-taking and startup failure in South Africa

Failure is basically being encouraged in Silicon Valley. The old-time favourite “failure is the greatest teacher” saying seems like their daily bread and butter….

Worthless, impossible and stupid: the entrepreneur’s way

“If everyone tells you it is a good idea, run the other way,” Jay Rogers, Local Motors. Here in the second part of our…

4 ways to build offline connections with your startup’s customers

Entrepreneurs are bombarded with advice on using digital means to connect with customers. But what about connecting in real life? Although much of the…

5 massive PR lessons learned from working with startups in Africa

I’ve been involved with tech companies and startups in Africa for the past 15 years, and have seen some major success stories that have…

Startups keep it personal: build your company for people

There is a plethora of startup advice out there: find your market need, get an MVP (minimal viable product), find funding, expand, go global,…

How emerging markets are rewriting the online payments play book

Starting a new business in an emerging market has always been a daunting task with endless challenges greeting the entrepreneur at every turn. Having…

Ra.ise a to.ast with some Bre.ad

URL shorteners have become ubiquitous to social networking, especially with the sharing of links across Twitter. Bit.ly, Cli.gs, Goo.gl and many others offer an…

Six questions that rejected Venture Capital seekers could not answer

Raising funding for an early-stage venture is always difficult. There is no bottled recipe for success, but even if you have a great concept…

A look at some of Africa’s hottest startup incubators

Although investment in Africa has traditionally focused on commodities rather than technologies, the explosion of mobile usage has opened up opportunities for small-business development….

Why most startups fail … and here’s how not to

It’s easy to think of the latest startup like a pimple in the middle of your forehead: you wake up one morning and it’s…

Myows: managing your copyright online

Creative people are generally not well known for being legally switched on. But the challenges of protecting original work in the digital age means…

Visa snaps up SA mobile financial services company Fundamo for $110m

Visa, the world’s largest credit and debit card network, has snapped up South African mobile financial services company Fundamo for $110-million in cash. The…

Silicon Valley: There’s no bubble but there could be a bust…

Are we in a bubble? This is the common question as I chat with people at various events around Silicon Valley. The concern that…

Groupon a ‘tech startup’? I don’t think so

Tech companies can scale their business largely through adding servers and software, which is why VCs love to invest in them. That’s why they…

GetGlue brings social check-ins to media and entertainment

People like to be rewarded for things they would probably do anyway. Hence it stands to reason that sooner or later someone would capitalise…

WebGrowth — Boosting your business’ Google ranking

Many companies want to rank better in search. Many SEO tricks have seen companies try to fight their way to number one. Google’s Panda…

12 emerging market startups to watch

Emerging market startups are coming into their own and increasingly appearing on the radar of mainstream venture capitalists in established markets. Skype recently announced…

How to do market and competitor research that wins investment

Regardless of whether it’s an angel investor or venture capitalist you are approaching, every funder will narrow things down to one major question: “Who…

An international perspective on SA startups [NetProphet]

Angel investing came accidentally to UK-based Permjot Valia. As the sales and marketing director of Ernst & Young, he became involved in their entrepreneur…

38 emerging South African tech entrepreneurs to watch [Part I]

The technology space is particularly notable for the amount of entrepreneurial activity it attracts. The word “startup” has become almost synonymous with the tech…

MTN MoMo’s R10-a-Day Smartphone Offer Aims to Bridge South Africa’s Digital Divide

Acer Rolls Out Student-Focused Tech in South Africa Ahead of New Term

South African Businesses Face Growing Legal Risks as AI Adoption Soars

Cape Town VC firm HAVAÍC secures $25m second close to power next wave of African tech startups

Binance Pay Unlocks Everyday Crypto Spending in South Africa

Memecoins Outperform All Crypto in 2025 But South Africans Should Tread Carefully

Acer Unleashes Beastly New Predator BiFrost and Nitro GPUs with AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series

Philips Evnia Drops Jaw-Dropping QD OLED Monitors: 240Hz, Ambiglow, and All the Good Stuff

Microsoft launches new Surface devices in new AI era

Omoda C5 X review

TDK enhances IMUs for extreme temps

Data centres and defence are reviving diesel