Adii Pienaar discusses his journey in building a successful startup, WooThemes, from Cape Town, emphasizing the challenges of lacking a robust startup culture and resources. He shares lessons learned, such as the importance of branding, hiring talent, and fostering creativity, while highlighting that success is attainable regardless of location. Pienaar advocates for collaboration and building international connections to thrive in the business landscape.

1. CREATING A GLOBAL BUSINESS
FROM THE TIP OF AFRICAADII PIENAAR. WEBEXPO PRAGUE. 20.09.2013.

3. 2007FIRST PRODUCT. INITIAL REVENUE.

4. 2008QUIT MY JOB. CO-FOUNDERS. WOOTHEMES.COM LAUNCHES. FIRST MILLION.

5. 2009MEET CO-FOUNDERS IN PERSON. FIRST HIRES. KICKING ON.

6. 6 YEARS, 31 WOOPEEPS,
500 000 USERS &
QUITE A FEW $$$’s
RIGHT NOW.

7. $0 FUNDING
100% BOOTSTRAPPED
ALSO.

8. NOT A BAD “TIP”
CAPE TOWN

9. ANOTHER ONE
CAPE TOWN

10. WE HAVE BEACHES
CAPE TOWN

11. AND GOOD WINE
CAPE TOWN

12. WHAT’S DIFFERENT?
BUT...

13. TECH HUB
CAPE TOWN AIN’T NO

14. NETWORKING
MENTORS
ADVISORS
INVESTORS
WE DON’T REALLY HAVE...

15. STARTUP
CULTURE
WE HAVE NO

16. SHORTAGE
OF SKILLS
WE HAVE A

17. EVERYTHING TAKES A
WHILE TO REACH US
AND...

18. “WE WOULDN’T BE DOING FOUNDERS A FAVOR BY
LETTING THEM STAY IN NEBRASKA. PLACES THAT
AREN’T STARTUP HUBS ARE TOXIC TO STARTUPS.
YOU CAN TELL THAT FROM INDIRECT EVIDENCE. YOU
CAN TELL HOW HARD IT MUST BE TO START A
STARTUP IN HOUSTON OR CHICAGO OR MIAMI FROM
THE MICROSCOPICALLY SMALL NUMBER, PER
CAPITA, THAT SUCCEED THERE. I DON’T KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT’S SUPPRESSING ALL THE STARTUPS
IN THESE TOWNS - PROBABLY A HUNDRED SUBTLE
THINGS - BUT SOMETHING MUST BE.
PAUL GRAHAM

19. AGAINST ALL ODDS
OUR JOURNEY.

20. LESSONS
LEARNT

21. BUCK TRENDS
#1

22. IGNORANCE IS BLISS
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
ALSO: TECH BUBBLES HAVEN’T REACHED AFRICA YET.

23. GROUPTHINK
AVOIDING THE

24. BOOTSTRAPPING vs VC
EXAMPLE

25. NOT BASED IN SILICON VALLEY?
NEW YORK? BERLIN?
#2
BREATHE. YOU’LL BE FINE.

26. INTERNATIONAL
QUALITY
BUILD SOMETHING OF

27. INVEST IN BRANDINGBECAUSE IT’S FREE.

28. CUSTOMER SERVICE IS
CHEAP MARKETING

29. NOBODY CARES
WHERE YOU’RE FROM
IN THE END...

30. TRUST IN
PEOPLE
#3

32. HIRING THE BESTREGARDLESS OF LOCATION

33. DIY.EVERYTHING.
#4

34. DIVING INTO THE
DEEP-ENDIS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN

35. ENABLE OTHERS TO MAKE MONEY
#5
BECAUSE IT’S RECESSION-PROOF.

36. B2B vs B2C(AVOIDING THE GROUPTHINK... AGAIN.)

37. TRAVEL
#6

38. MAKE FRIENDS
MEET MENTORS

39. ATTEND
CONFERENCES
FOR THE BEST CONVERSATIONS

40. DESIGN
EVERYTHING.
#7

41. CREATE YOUR OWN
BOX
INSTEAD OF BEING PUT INTO A BOX...

42. CONSTRAINTS BREED
CREATIVITY

43. APPLYING THE LESSONS LEARNT...

44. WE’RE BASED IN...
LONDON

45. WTF?

46. ARE THE SAME EVERYWHERE...
“RULES”

47. EUROPE’S TIME IS
NOW

48. ADII PIENAAR
HTTP://PUBLICBETA.CO
HTTP://WOOTHEMES.COM
HTTP://ADII.ME
@ADII
CREATING A GLOBAL BUSINESS
FROM THE TIP OF AFRICA