Strive Masiyiwa
When my business was still small, I heard about an industry Expo which was due to take place in South Africa… the first time it had ever been held in Africa. I wanted to be there, but we only had enough money to send one person.
I decided to send a member of my team who had a keen eye for observation. I gave him strict instructions to collect brochures from every exhibitor. In those days, there were no online presentations or livestreaming, like they do today.
When he returned, I went through each brochure carefully and asked him about one in particular: “No one even visited them. They are from France. I have a business card.”
I called the guy immediately. He began by complaining: “No one in Africa is interested in this product. You are the first!”
“Do you have an African distributor?” I asked before adding, “We are just a start-up, but I understand this product and what it can do.”
“When can you come?”
“I can fly out tonight,” I replied.
He was shocked by my response.
I literally borrowed money to buy that plane ticket, and I was off to France.
In a nutshell, they gave me the distribution agreement and the rights to use the product as I pleased. It was a huge breakthrough. Without going into detail, it was a key step in my own journey. I was to repeat the approach again and again in my career.
In my mother tongue, my mother would admonish me with this reminder: “Know what you have travelled for. Don’t wander around mindlessly, thinking opportunity will bite you on the backside. You see the eagle in the sky? It is not having fun; it’s hunting, and it knows what it is looking for.”
What do you SEE from my actions?
I need some of you to completely rewire your Mindset, away from some of the things you have been led to believe by people who did not know better and so passed on advice that does not work.
I always ask high school students three questions:
1. What are the most valuable natural resources in your country?
2. Why are they valuable?
3. What Innovation could you think of that could make them even more valuable?
I generally get poor responses to questions 2 and 3, and therein lies the problem. This we must change!
And if you, for instance, have not invested in a new technology, or even tried out something new, within the last three months [even if it was just an App or software to schedule meetings, or help with workflows], I’m sorry to say you are probably not going to make it, because you have the wrong Mindset for the game ahead.
Tool up yourself!
Tool up your employees!
Tool up your business!
I share with you things that I have ACTUALLY done, because if I don’t do it, then who will teach you these things?
One last thing from my wise mother: “You can take a horse to the river, but you cannot make him drink…”
Strive Masiyiwa is a telecommunications and technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. In nearly four decades as an entrepreneur, he has founded and invested in businesses globally, spanning Africa, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East, New Zealand, and the USA.
