Author: Lindokuhle Ntombela

Alumni meet up Cape Town 2023

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 23, 2023. Posted in Alumni Events.

Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.

Alumni networking and dealmaking

Date and details TBC

Cape Town

Get access to and insight from a network of peers in a casual, convivial setting that will offer:

Networking: build relationships and connections that can lead to new business opportunities
Learning: draw on the insight and foresight of established business owners with direct experience in problem-solving and opportunity creation
Collaboration: develop opportunities, such as partnering on projects or sharing resources.
Innovation: gain exposure to new ideas from peers at the forefront of their industries

Please note this is a closed event, exlusively for Aurik Alumni, your invitation is not transferable.

COMPLETE THE SHORT FORM AND WE WILL UPDATE YOU WITH EVENT DETAILS

Alumni online roundtable 15 September 2023

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 22, 2023. Posted in Alumni Events.

Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

15 September 2023
9am to 10.30am

Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –

Networking: build relationships and connections that can lead to new business opportunities
Learning: draw on the insight and foresight of established business owners with direct experience in problem-solving and opportunity creation
Collaboration: develop opportunities, such as partnering on projects or sharing resources.
Innovation: gain exposure to new ideas from peers at the forefront of their industries

The Two Halves of a Successful Business: Product and Commercial System

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 21, 2023. Posted in Exits, Insights, Team.

In a recent discussion on the money show, Pavlo highlighted the importance of creating opportunities for oneself and taking responsibility for one’s own success. He discussed a remarkable success story of a couple who built a billion-dollar business out of a highly specialized product. However, he noted that having a great product or service is only half the battle – the other half is having a well-designed commercial system to market and sell that product.

According to Pavlo, a business can be split into two halves – the product or service and the commercial system. These two halves require different skills and leadership and management styles, but they must both be executed well to create a successful whole.

Pavlo gave an example of a Ph.D. holder who built a business that manufactures cages for lab rats to test the osmotic transfer of gases in and out of living organisms. The product is highly specialized and worth $1 billion annually, making it a global leader in its industry. However, the success of the product alone is not enough to build a successful business.

The second half of the business – the commercial system – is equally important. This involves marketing, sales, logistics, and other aspects of the business that ensure the product reaches the customer. Pavlo emphasized that a business should see the product and the commercial system as separate entities, each requiring different skills and designs.

To illustrate his point, Pavlo quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said, “If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door.” However, Pavlo noted that having a great product alone is not enough to attract customers – the product must solve a problem for the customer, and the business must provide value for money. This requires a well-designed commercial system that can effectively market and sell the product.

A successful business requires both a great product or service and a well-designed commercial system. Entrepreneurs must focus on both halves and ensure they have the necessary skills and resources to execute each half effectively. By doing so, they can create a successful whole and dominate their industry for years to come.

Alumni online roundtable 20 October 2023

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 21, 2023. Posted in Alumni Events.

Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

20 October 2023
9am to 10.30am

Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –

Networking: build relationships and connections that can lead to new business opportunities
Learning: draw on the insight and foresight of established business owners with direct experience in problem-solving and opportunity creation
Collaboration: develop opportunities, such as partnering on projects or sharing resources.
Innovation: gain exposure to new ideas from peers at the forefront of their industries

Alumni online roundtable 17 November 2023

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 20, 2023. Posted in Alumni Events.

Join us for 55 minutes on 3rd November to understand how we would work with you and your team to achieve your business goals and ambitions.

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

17 November 2023
9am to 10.30am

Keep good company by engaging and developing relationships with established, growth-minded business owners through an online roundtable event that will enable –

Networking: build relationships and connections that can lead to new business opportunities
Learning: draw on the insight and foresight of established business owners with direct experience in problem-solving and opportunity creation
Collaboration: develop opportunities, such as partnering on projects or sharing resources.
Innovation: gain exposure to new ideas from peers at the forefront of their industries

Variety of canned beans, This week @ work

This Week@Work: Beans are not just beans, but they can help you get your positioning right!

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 16, 2023. Posted in Mindset, Positioning, Scale & Grow, Week at Work.

This Week@Work Pavlo met with a business that is deeply entrenched in all things solar – a great sector to be in but their problem is that they have evolved to be everything to everyone. Their positioning is not clear, and they won’t be able to scale and grow until they get that right.

Pavlo looks to baked beans to illustrate how to think about your business’s positioning.

This Week@Work – Simplify your business using the Onion Method

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 9, 2023. Posted in Exits, Grow & Exit, Leadership, Mindset, Scale & Grow, Week at Work.

This Week@Work a meeting with a pump business reminded Pavlo how complex and complicated businesses can become as they grow. To be able to scale, successfully, you need to understand clearly where your focus and investment should go. To get this right, think about your business like an onion.

Watch as Pavlo shares the Onion Method.

This Week@Work – Unconscious Competence

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 2, 2023. Posted in Exits, Grow & Exit, Leadership, Scale & Grow, Succession, Week at Work.

This Week@Work Pavlo met with a business owner whose growth is being hindered by his unconscious competence – he’s mastered what he does to the point where he gets things done without thinking. It may seem like an advantage, but it can also lead to complacency.

Watch as he discusses this ‘blind spot’ which affects many of us in our businesses.

ChatGPT: friend or foe, and what does it mean for a business owner?

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on February 2, 2023. Posted in Innovation, Insights, Lead generation and conversion, Operational systems, Pavlo Phitidis, Positioning, Scale & Grow, Team.

“ChatGPT: The AI Language Model Taking the Business World by Storm”

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a topic of interest for decades, but with the advent of cutting-edge technology, AI is now more accessible and applicable to the business world than ever before. One such AI tool that has put the business world on red alert is ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI, a private AI organization founded by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and Wojciech Zaremba. With Microsoft among its investors and a $1bn investment, OpenAI is a driving force in the development of AI technology.

So, what is ChatGPT, and why is it so significant? Essentially, ChatGPT is a tool that helps businesses and individuals to communicate and engage with their customers and audiences in a more effective and efficient manner. However, it is important to note that ChatGPT is not a solution in itself but rather like an exoskeleton, providing support and enhancement to human capabilities.

The rise of ChatGPT has caused concern among some, who fear that its widespread use could lead to a homogenization of language and a loss of creativity. While there is some truth to these fears, ChatGPT has the potential to free up time and energy for individuals, allowing them to focus on more important and creative tasks. Moreover, the technology is still in its early stages and will likely continue to evolve and improve, offering even greater benefits in the future.

Pavlo expressed interest in his perspective on ChatGpt in a recent Money Show podcast.

So, why are we talking about ChatGPT now? As the first of many AI tools set to enter the public domain in a usable format, ChatGPT represents a huge opportunity for businesses to get ahead and use it to increase their performance.

Looking to the future, ChatGPT has the potential to create a range of new careers, including language model experts who will be responsible for fine-tuning, teaching, and optimizing the technology. Content creators who can step up and go beyond the vanilla will also have a key role to play, as will project managers, who will be required for all projects utilizing ChatGPT.

In terms of competition, it’s inevitable that it will come. However, the opportunity to use ChatGPT across all business functions is simply too good to ignore. From marketing research and communications to sales, operations, accounting, procurement, and recruitment, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses operate.

Marketing departments, for example, can use ChatGPT for research, with the ability to ask and get an answer, without having to spend hours searching across websites looking to upsell. ChatGPT can also be used to improve the quality of communications and product descriptions, as well as translate website content into different languages.

In sales, ChatGPT can help to understand customers and markets, and improve engagement with relevant messaging, even in second languages.

In operations, ChatGPT can automate repetitive tasks and provide consistent product descriptions across all media. In accounting, ChatGPT can help with benchmarking and interpretation, while in procurement, it can aid in research and negotiation. And in recruitment, ChatGPT can be used to create job descriptions and KPIs.

ChatGPT is a game-changer for the business world and represents a huge opportunity for businesses to improve their performance and stay ahead of the competition. The future is here, and the time to act is now.

This Week@Work: Specialisation alone is not enough to scale, grow and secure a successful business exit

Written by Lindokuhle Ntombela on January 25, 2023. Posted in Exits, Grow & Exit, Leadership, Scale & Grow, Succession, Week at Work.

This week at work, Pavlo met with a group of brilliant engineers who undoubtedly offer a highly specialized solution. It’s something no one else can do at this stage and they believe that is enough to drive their growth. It made me ask whether these engineers are building a business, or if they are just creating a job for themselves. The difference is profound.

Watch as he address what’s missing if all you have is a brilliant product or service.

Author: Lindokuhle Ntombela

Alumni networking and dealmaking

Date and details TBC Cape Town

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

Online roundtable session facilitated by Pavlo Phitidis

Date and details TBC

Cape Town