It’s been a pretty interesting month since the Johannesburg Chapter hosted its first event in June 2014. We’ve invested our resources in establishing and fostering a relationship with our local tech ecosystem. We plough efforts into our social media pages by interacting with our followers and simultaneously ensuring that we update them on the latest tech developments in South Africa and the African continent.
We also read tech and business blogs, subscribe to tech publications and identify the relationship that the plethora of information we absorb has on Startup Grind Johannesburg. From this we realized that our ideal candidate to interview next would be a personality that’s involved in the South African tech space from a news angle. Therefore it was only natural that we sit-down and chat to Brett Haggard who is a tech fundi in his own right.
July 23rd,2014 saw Startup Grind Johannesburg hosting Brett Haggard who is not only a leading tech advocate in South Africa ,he is the Founder and Managing Director of Hypertext Media whose titles include Tech Made Easy, Tarsus Channel , Bookazines and htxt.africa which is South Africa’s best tech website.
The event commenced with an hour of pre-drinks and networking. Guest of honour, Brett Haggard enthusiastically interacted with invitees and prepped for his hour long fire-side chat with Startup Grind Johannesburg Chapter Director Athule Mbena. The informal fire-side chat commenced with Mbena reinforcing the Startup Grind values; making friends, giving and helping each other.
Throughout the one hour interview the onstage chemistry between Haggard and Mbena was rather stellar to watch. Mbena’s questions whether easy or hard-pressed, Haggard answered with candor. Haggard more than anything raveled in his early failings and current struggles which he reinforced are the trappings that any entrepreneur faces on a daily basis. However the chat was not wrought with doom and gloom, Haggard walked guests though some of his big successes which included collaborations with leading tech manufactures and his many exciting projects that have been the result of his tech entrepreneurial chutzpah.
Guests were also given an opportunity to ask Haggard questions which Haggard answered keenly. Guest of the evening, Tsepo Bodibo, ‘found the experience and Haggard as the speaker to be one that has inspired him to soldier on in his entrepreneurial ventures.’ Similarly Natasha Robertson of Joe Doe said that these monthly events and guest of speakers such as Haggard reinforce the notion that entrepreneurial road is one which is not easy but really rewarding at the same time.
Post the informal chat, Haggard shared some great ideas and the new developments and plans he has for Hypertext Media and the positive effects it’ll have on the continent. Startup Grind Johannesburg would not be possible without our amazing sponsors JoziHub, Vimage Media, SIR JUICE, Red Bull and Joburg Today.