Seed Academy provides fast-track and practical training and mentoring to startups and early phase entrepreneurs. The focus is on the tech space but other ideas which are scalable are also considered. Seed Academy is also strongly committed to the development of women entrepreneurs.
Says Lara Rosmarin, CEO of Seed Academy, “We provide practical training by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, targeting their specific needs to help them realise their idea and grow their business. We want our participants to succeed, so our relationship continues up to 18 months after the course ends. We create course content around an entrepreneur’s specific needs. The material is neither theoretical nor academic and the training is carried out by entrepreneurs who have built their own businesses. They know what works.”
The practical sessions are presented once a week over ten weeks between and 6pm and 9pm, as not to interfere with an entrepreneur’s working day.
Rosmarin continues, “Throughout the programme we aim to nurture, develop and train the skill sets mind sets, attitudes and behaviours of potential high growth entrepreneurs and provide them with access to their next growth checkpoints. These include personal and leadership development, sound business skills, a business plan and pitching skills.”
Says Jermain Kallideen, CEO of Kallideen Technologies who attended Seed Academy, “I would strongly recommend Seed Academy to people at an early stage of their business. The programme helped my business dramatically. Six months after completion, Seed Academy arranged for me to pitch to Microsoft BizSpark which I got into. Microsoft has introduced me to critical contacts and we are selling more thanks to Seed Academy.”
Nonqaba Stamper of FundBabies who also completed the training comments: “I met other entrepreneurs facing many of the same challenges that I faced. We were also guided by other entrepreneurs. The course highlighted many aspects that new entrepreneurs don’t know about.”
The Think Be Do Programme delivers success by tackling three aspects:
- Think: The mindset required to succeed, coupled with the knowledge necessary to make it happen.
- Be: The entrepreneurs’ belief in themselves and their ideas; how to keep going and how to make an impression.
- Do: The practical steps that need to be taken to carry a business through to success. How to solve problems, take risks, communicate, understand technology and get things done.
South Africa’s first startup survey
Seed Academy has developed South Africa’s first start up survey to get a national picture of startup entrepreneurs, what challenges they face, what issues relate to funding, what sort of additional support is needed to increase success rates.
According to Jeff Miller, chairman of Seed Academy, “We hope to get up to 1000 responses and we will share our findings. This national survey will develop impetus for industry and government to align efforts to create a more sustainable and successful startup culture in South Africa. It’s essential that we succeed to create an economically successful country and to reduce our high unemployment rate.”
The survey, which targets startup entrepreneurs who have been in business for less than five years, should take about five minutes to complete here. Those that participate could win one of three places at Seed Academy’s entrepreneur training programme valued at R48 000.
The results will be revealed at Seed Engine’s SA Entrepreneur Funding Summit 2015. This one day summit will involve all stakeholders in the SA entrepreneur funding ecosystem and will come up with practical ideas to enhance, grow and develop the funding networks for entrepreneurs in South Africa.
To apply for training or complete the start up survey go to www.seedacademy.co.za or email sisanda@seedacademy.co.za