Building & Scaling Venture Backed Businesses

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Ends:

Format: In person

Location: Workshack, Workshack, 16 Elektron Rd, Techno Park, Stellenbosch, 7600, Stellenbosch

Organiser: The Open Letter

About this event

Built in SA. Scaled to the world. Two conversations about what it takes to build a great business from South Africa: the founder doing it right now, and the investor who has spent 15 years backing the builders. Drinks, snacks and networking before we dive in. Panel Chat: Building Right Now, with Thalia Pillay (Co-founder & CEO, Orca Fraud) Thalia started Orca Fraud in her living room in January 2024. Two years later, Orca protects over $5 billion in monthly transactions across 70+ countries for banks, telcos and payment providers. An engineer who cut her teeth at Investec, Aerobotics and Stitch before building her own, Thalia joins us to unpack how you build a world-class product from SA: finding the gap, winning enterprise customers, and yes, the oversubscribed seed round that followed. Main Conversation: Lessons From One of South Africa's First Venture Capitalists Brett Commaille has spent more time inside SA's best businesses than almost anyone. He ran Invenfin, Remgro's venture capital arm. He founded AngelHub, one of the first angel investment groups on the continent, backed by Michael Jordaan. Today he's Partner and Co-founder of Hlayisani Capital, built alongside Dr Reuel Khoza, and fresh off an investment in Wamly. Fifteen-plus years in the boardrooms of companies that made it, and plenty that didn't, means Brett knows what separates the businesses that last from the ones that fizzle. Expect a no-spin conversation on both. If you're building something, or deciding what to build next, this is the room to be in. Our Stellenbosch events sell out. Don't sit on it. Tickets include: Drinks, Food, Talks, Networking and live music.

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