BACKSTORY: Yoco’s Lungisa Matshoba

What’s your one top tip for doing a deal?

Start by understanding what everyone needs to get out of the deal so that you can create shared success for all parties involved. This includes having a very clear idea of what matters to your business.

What was your first job?

I printed and designed business cards at a young age to make some income. However, towards the end of my school years I started working as a floor assistant at CNA to get some extra holiday money.

How much was your first pay cheque, and how did you spend it?

Honestly, I cannot remember the amount or what I spent it on exactly, but it felt like millions, and it lasted me months. Age-wise my priorities would have been PlayStation games, nights out with friends and something for my mom.

What is the one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were starting out?

Stop at the top of every hill. I think we all have a tendency to climb up a hill or a mountain, get to the top and start looking around for the next thing to climb. The reality is that life is full of mountains and if you are not going to stop and have a picnic at the top, you’ll spend your life climbing things only to find other higher things to climb.

If you could fix only one thing in SA, what would it be?

The orientation as citizens. We live in a democratic society and anything we perceive as an issue is in our joint capabilities to change. We truly are in this together.

What’s the most interesting thing about you that people don’t know?

I studied computer science because it aligned with my creative side. Most of my early programming was about creating beautiful things, and that evolved to understanding that beauty is in how those things affect the world.

What’s the worst investment mistake you’ve made?

I went through a period where I moved houses three times in four years. Two of those times we bought and renovated, which in retrospect was neither financially nor time friendly.

What is the hardest life lesson you’ve learnt so far?

How to get back up. Life is going to punch you in the face sometimes. You cannot avoid it.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Being organised — creative chaos is a form of organisation.

If you were President Cyril Ramaphosa, what would you change, or do, tomorrow?

Make tackling crime a bigger priority.