Early seed funding yields green dividends
New Ventures Studio is empowering youth by investing in entrepreneurs at the idea stage
IT would be difficult to find two environments more different: a casino in the early hours of the morning when red-eyed gamblers are still trying their luck, and a sunny garden where the indigenous plants and ecofriendly pesticides are in the safe hands of a gardening entrepreneur.
This is the story of former croupier Nick Adriaans who, after a 3am revelation at a blackjack table, decided to start Lawn in Order, a gardening service in Cape Town that is ecofriendly, trains others to do gardening and offers contract work to trainees.
Adriaans is now in a position to “pay it forward” — giving others work opportunities and GONE GREEN: Nick Adriaans left his life as a croupier to start his ecofriendly gardening service training as his calendar fills up with requests for garden makeovers.
Not that long ago, he was the one benefiting from another group of “real heroes” who nurture people who have an idea for a start-up.
New Ventures Studio selects applicants for an eight-week course in personal development and entrepreneurial skills, some of whom will be chosen to be part of an incubator and provided with seed funding for their ventures.
Started in 2014, it is part of the Salesian Life Choices project, which has been around since 2005.
Matt Fisher, the manager of New Ventures Studio, says many organisations invest in start-ups — but often too late in the process.
“We are pioneering the idea of investing in people and their ideas at the idea stage and the early stage, whereas others tend to invest at a later stage. This means we are part of the journey,” he said.
New Ventures Studio encourages potential entrepreneurs to identify the everyday problems their customers experience and how they can be solved.
The course isn’t just about business skills. By focusing on personal development too, the recruits are given skills in how to deal with stress, embrace their life story and grow an enterprise focused on people.
Nthakoana Maema, New Ventures Studio’s income generation officer, said: “On the one hand, you have young people dropping out of school and not KICK-START THE ECONOMY: Matt Fisher, manager of New Ventures Studio, and income generation officer Nthakoana Maema help young entrepreneurs develop the business and personal skills necessary to launch their start-ups
South Africa is a very risk-averse country. People are too scared to dive in
being trained in anything. On the other hand, there are simply not enough companies hiring.
“What you end up with is a massive problem in unemployment of the youth.”
This was the starting point for New Ventures Studio: offering a combination of personal development and training in entrepreneurial skills to empower young people “to kick-start the economy”.
Maema said the most satisfying aspect of New Ventures Studio’s approach had been taking risks and watching young people do likewise.
“South Africa is a very riskaverse country. Many people are hoping entrepreneurship can build the economy, but so many people are too scared to dive in,” she said.
“But I always believe in the potential of individuals and that’s what we’re all about.”
On completion of the course, those selected for the incubator stage receive services worth R150 000 in exchange for 20% equity in their businesses. The idea is for New Ventures Studio to use the profits from its equity stakes to ensure the project is sustainable.
Adriaans, one of two participants whose businesses are already up and running, describes the journey from responding to a Facebook ad to his current circumstances as nothing short of a miracle.
“My dad had always asked me to help him do the garden. But I used to secretly wish the lawnmower would break so that I could use the wheels to make a go-kart,” he said.
“I didn’t appreciate what he did, but after he passed away the grass was growing and nobody noticed until then the value of what he did.”
The skills Adriaans learnt from his dad became a crucial aspect of the success of his new business — but without the help of New Ventures Studio he would have been far less likely to be standing with a rake in hand and his team at his side, running a successful business.
“It is still stressful to have your own business,” he said, “but at least now I know how to cope with the stress.”