Ventureburn

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…

Security startups and Africa’s mobile boom: big problems, huge opportunites

The bigger the problem, the greater the opportunity. With the increasing popularity of smartphone usage paired with greater internet penetration in Africa, mobile security…

3 reasons why your ecommerce startup shouldn’t ignore LinkedIn

Anyone with an entrepreneurial passion can start a business because startup and marketing costs have plummeted. All this is because of the internet. The…

Man versus machine: virtual real estate agent Property Switch bets on tech

Selling your house in the 21st Century has come a long way. Days where your only options were to go with an agency or…

Meet mobicred: South Africa’s first online only credit facility

There’s not much of a limit on what you can buy online these days. Thing is, in South Africa at least, almost all of…

6 ways to increase sales and optimise your ecommerce payment page

Online merchants can reduce payment page abandonment by focussing on a few key changes to their payment page which can increase checkout conversion rates….

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…

Mobiflock — Helping parents keep an eye on kids’ mobile habits

We live in a mobile centric society. To deny that would be foolish. Everyone has a mobile phone — adults, teens and children. The…

Coming soon: A homegrown tech entrepreneurship guide

All rising economies need a helping hand to achieve greatness. Economies that wish to thrive in today’s fast-paced world of changing commerce and enterprising…

South African venture capital exit to US technology giant

Graceful exits are often unreported, but one South African venture capital company has done it smoothly with seemingly positive effects for the local emerging…

Innovation journalism — Media coverage is important to startups

Media coverage is very important for startups. It is how they gain respect in their community, it is how they can win investors, and…

Young Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and their unethical ways

The film “The Social Network” has helped to make startups popular among young people the world over. It’s just one factor inspiring new generations…

Broadband Africa Forum 2024

South Africa’s Deskless Workers: A Workforce Under Strain

How AI is Rewriting Urban Planning in Developing Regions

Microsoft launches new Surface devices in new AI era

Honor Magic V3 launches, four things to know

Honor Magic V3, a Guinness world record attempt

Jaguar rebranding creative is crazy – good?

German luxury cars require a rethink for China

Trump wins – Tesla goes beyond $1 Trillion