Best time to start a business is right after university, says entrepreneur

08 November 2011

“The best time to start a business is just after leaving university, when you are still young and full of ideas and not yet tied down by too many responsibilities,” South African internet entrepreneur Vinny Lingham told students at the MIH Media Lab at Stellenbosch University (SU) last night (7 November 2011).

"You need that student mentality - living somewhere cheap, working through the night and surviving on oats and instant noodles. You need to be lean and hungry and willing to endure delayed gratification. You can always buy the Ferrari later," he said to the amusement of the audience.

Lingham knows what he is talking about. Aged 32, he has already started two successful companies, raised hundreds of millions in venture capital and is living his dream in San Francisco - yet he still manages to spend "a few months a year" in Cape Town.

"It's like gambling - you just want to keep going. I've done it twice, and I'll probably start a third company. It's difficult to kick the habit," he said about the thrill of entrepreneurship.

In 2003, Lingham founded Clicks2Customers, billed as a leader in online paid search marketing. The company lists Walmart, HSBC, Kulula and Europcar amongst its clients.

In 2007, he went on to start Yola, described as the world's leading browser-based website development tool, with 2 million users worldwide. SU Chancellor Dr Johann Rupert's Reinet Fund put up $25 million (R198 million) for this venture.

"It's always difficult to get people to risk capital on you. My advice is to always show momentum. You've got to show you are making progress, or you won't capture funders' imagination."

Lingham said entrepreneurs need to "think really far into the future."

"You've got to be able to think beyond what is already out there. You've got to think of the next big thing. If you can think it, you can do it."

Lingham is optimistic about South Africa's future prospects. He is a co-founder of the Silicon Cape Initiative, which seeks to promote the Western Cape as an information technology hub similar to the famed Silicon Valley in the US.

"We've got great talent in South Africa, but not enough qualified people. Also, we don't have the depth of a place like America, where hundreds of companies are building platforms on which others can expand. It will take time to develop these things here. What we need to do in the meantime is focus."

He tips 3D printing as a "hot technology" of the future.

"We're not quite there yet, but just think of the possibilities. If you've got people coming over for a dinner party, you would be able to literally print the extra cutlery you need."

He laughs off suggestions that the technology sector is overheated. Asked if he thought world markets were experiencing a "tech bubble", he said: "What tech bubble? If anything, shares in big tech companies like Google and Microsoft are still undervalued. No, I think we're in a tech golden age."

Lingham said "the internet changed everything."

"I've been online since I was 16. I'm always available, 24/7. I don't get it when people say they don't check their email over weekends. You've got to live on the internet to understand it."

He said the one thing all start-ups have in common is that they "want to change the world", but warned that it is not enough to be a dreamer.

"To be successful you need to be a pragmatist with a hint of idealism, not an idealist with a hint of pragmatism."

Lingham's talk formed part of a monthly series called Media Lab Mondays.

"We invite speakers from industry to share their knowledge and get savvy entrepreneurs to speak about their success, the Lab's Mariska du Preez said.

The MIH Media Lab at SU promotes "research into new-media technology in South Africa". It focuses on "next-generation technologies that will influence the ways in which humans interact with computers, the Web and other forms of electronic media". - DESMOND THOMPSON (Twitter:@know_mad)

• The next Media Lab Monday is on 5 December 2011, featuring Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, the new owner and CEO of MXit. For more information, visit http://ml.sun.ac.za.

via (US NEWS)