Sean Nieuwoudt - Web, Business, E-Commerce, Tech

10 South African Tech Startups 2

10 South African Tech Startups

South Africa is abuzz with startup fever. It’s a good thing - we’re gaining traction on other technology hubs.

UPDATE: This list is not based on revenue in any way what so ever.

I define a startup as a company that is in it’s first or second phase of the business cycle; inception(product development) and growth(market development).

Here’s a list of 10 Popular South African tech startups as nominated on Twitter (in no particular order):

1) Yola

A website builder for anyone that wants to build and host a website quickly and easily. Heavily based on the Freemium model with paid upgrades. They were founded in Cape Town in 2007 and currently have offices in Cape Town and San Francisco.

Google Page Rank: 7
Alexa Rank: 4478
Compete Rank: 4152

2) Blueworld

A Cape Town based social network started by Charl Norman and Bradley Voges

Google Page Rank: 6
Alexa Rank: 41,597
Compete Rank: 295,336

3) Zoopy

Zoopy is a social platform for sharing video, photo’s and audio.

Google Page Rank: 5
Alexa Rank: 19,301
Compete Rank: 72,983

4) Afrigator

Africa’s largest social media aggregator and blog directory founded by Justin Hartman and Mike Stopforth and Stii Pretorius.

Google Page Rank: 4
Alexa Rank: 40,332
Compete Rank: 409,766

5) Springleap

A community based platform where users create designs, vote and interact with one another. Winning designs are printed on t-shirts and sold.

Google Page Rank: 5
Alexa Rank: 39,231
Compete Rank: 2,012,918

6) Memeburn

A blog focussed on tracking startup news and tech entrepreneurs’ stories from the emerging market sector. Founded by Mathew Buckland.

Google Page Rank: 0
Alexa Rank: 37,197
Compete Rank: 0

7) WooThemes

WooThemes is probably one of the most successful designer Wordpress Theme businesses in the world.

Google Page Rank: 7
Alexa Rank: 1747
Compete Rank: 5755

8) SACamera

An online store focussing entirely on photographic equipment and accessories.

Google Page Rank: 3
Alexa Rank: 101,668
Compete Rank: 1,903,636

9) Skyrove

A WIFI hotspot provider with a twist. Skyrove pays a percentage of revenue to people who host the Skyrove routers at the end of each month.

Google Page Rank: 5
Alexa Rank: 314,499
Compete Rank: 4,260,344

10) FireID

A universal authentication system that makes accessing internet transactions and secure data safer than ever.

Google Page Rank: 4
Alexa Rank: 491,683
Compete Rank: n/a

There are a few other startups running under the radar of attention, but as Jason Fried sais: “Competition that kills isn’t pre-announced - it catches an unsuspecting incumbent by surprise”.

Let me know if there are any you would like to see on the list.

18 May 2010 · Comments

Design Posters, Not Landing Pages 9

Design Posters, Not Landing Pages

What are posters?

Well, in a nutshell, posters are visually pleasing single pages of highly optimized information for quick scanning and understanding.

Does that not sound exactly like what you are trying to achieve with your landing page?

The guys over at Carsonified understand this concept really well and they managed to convert really well with this style.

Designing a poster is easier said than done; here’s what you need to focus on:

Well placed headlines
Concise and to the point copy
Eye catching imagery and design
Creative use of color
Simplicity

Here are some great examples of “posterphile” type web design:

Carsonified

Noel Design

Carsonified Summer Camp

Carsonified Twiggy

Additional Resources:

17 May 2010 · Comments

The Freemium Model - The Enterprising Troll

Firstly, this is just my opinion; use it, don’t use it…

Via wikipedia.org, “Freemium is a business model that works by offering basic Web services, or a basic downloadable digital product, for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features.”

What exactly is the cost of “free”? Nothing is free, the cost could either be incurred by the customer or the provider, but one guarantee is that there is always a cost involved - its the cost of doing business.

That old automatron of “Let’s get them in the door and we’ll become rich” no longer applies today; you need to be creating enough value to keep your free to paid conversion rate up.

Users are a strange breed - a huge percentage of your users will always only use the free version of your product or service and essentially you will still be paying the bills.

Focus on revenue from the start, then build a quality user base - do you really care about the loafers that will undoubtedly burden you with support queries and never spend a dime?

The Freemium model is plagued with the issue of perceived value - how can something for free be of value? This is where your marketing needs to kick in …

So, before you vigorously consume the Freemium model, check that:

This is the business model you want to start off with.
Ensure that your business can scale to meet the requirements of free AND paid users.
You know your revenue streams.
You don’t play in the dark forrest, ensure that you are creating tangible value.

Thoughts?

No Space for Complacency

adii:

One thing that I’ve learned over and over again of late is that there is absolutely no space for compromise & complacency when dealing with customers. These are the people that makes your business a success and they ensure that you are able to pay the bills; so never - ever - stop short of pulling out all the stops to please your customers!

13 April 2010 · Comments

What Success Means to me

Every person has a different definition for success, here are mine. Hopefully it inspires you in some way.
It’s a good idea to write them down as it tends to solidify them in your mind as opposed to simply thinking about it.