THE GHOST TRAIN
THE FINANCE GHOST: Why building in public is hard
Bolt Food, now closing, is a perfect example of how difficult local investors find it to stomach start-up losses. It’s why MultiChoice is under pressure too
I’m involved in a start-up called bizval. In building this business, I’ve spoken to venture capitalists both locally and in the US. Though you would probably guess as much based on the relative level of innovation in places such as Silicon Valley vs Potholeville, the US is more supportive of a culture of trying and failing than one of never trying at all. In South Africa, we are a risk-averse bunch used to tough environments with higher interest rates.
Pessimists by nature, South Africans aren’t as keen on venture capital as US investors. I can imagine that this is frustrating for those in South Africa trying to improve the venture capital ecosystem. Some of the problems are entirely self-inflicted, though. ..
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