The Elevator Pitch Whizz-Kid Tumelo Mapila.
A savvy master
of his craft, doyen of the succinct, powerful and persuasive sales pitch.
One of the worlds celebrated scientists and Nobel Prize (Physics) laureate, Albert Einstein is credited for saying, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” In present day’s fiercely competitive and fast paced world, entrepreneurs are increasingly required to master the art of the elevator pitch to convey their business idea in a clear, succinct and compelling manner to potential investors, mentors or clients.
The elevator pitch denotes the rare opportunity entrepreneurs have to
ignite interest in their business idea or product. It is a brief, persuasive
speech that does not last longer than a short elevator ride of 15-to-30
seconds, hence the name.
In an article written in the America business magazine, Forbes,
Kristi Hedges states that, “There’s a well-told adage that you only get one
chance to make a first impression. From personal relationships to business
meetings, we’re taught that people form opinions of us in a few moments, and
that we should be ready to show our best at all times.” On both sides of an
exchange, and with every new encounter, one is evaluated and yet another
person's impression of us is formed.
In business, making good first impression with potential investors,
mentors or clients allows one to, “Maximise their connection in a minimal
amount of time and start making valuable additions to their network from the
get-go,” says author and coach in the leadership and life skills space, Todd
Dewett. He goes on to say these first impressions can be nearly impossible to
reverse or undo, making the first encounters extremely important, for they set
the tone for all the relationships that follows.
Budding local
entrepreneur Tumelo Mapila has adopted Einstein’s wisdom and the culture of
making impressive first impressions as one of his personal and business life’s
enduring lessons and guiding principles. Mapila lives by the ethos of author
and motivational speaker, John Calvin Maxwell who asserts that, “Your network
is your net worth.”
Building and nurturing strong business networks is important for
supporting personal and enterprise advancement as it earns entrepreneur’s social capital, which compares to money in the bank. A strong
network can help one build visibility, connect with influencers, and open up doors
for new opportunities. “Networking is a valuable way of expanding one’s knowledge and learning from the success
of others, gaining new perspective and fresh insights, as well as raising one’s
profile, expanding one’s sphere of influence and meeting prospective business
partners, suppliers, customers and staff,” says Mapila.
Growing up in Botswana’s thriving democracy and burgeoning economy, Mapila was acutely aware of the contradictions
presented by the opportunities the prosperous country availed to its citizens
and the hardships and sacrifices his doting civil servant mother endured to
give him and his siblings a decent life. With a taste for the refined things in
life, the young man was very clear, from a very tender age of the type of life
he wanted to live. Having watched the rough and tumble experienced by his
entrepreneur uncle and the amazing rewards he enjoyed for his patience and hard
work, Mapila was convinced he was not cut out for the 8am to 5pm work regime.
He concluded that, entrepreneurship was where he belonged.
The road to entrepreneurship is however, never easy and at one point
Mapila joined the heart-wrenching ranks of the country’s youthful job seekers
in the unemployment trenches. “This was one of the lowest points of my life from
which I suffered bouts of depression,” he states. He goes on to say it was at
this point that his uncle threw him a lifeline when he took him under his wings
and helped him establish his own company. The mentorship provided invaluable guidance
and lessons that helped him develop and grow his entrepreneurial skills.
Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug at an early age, Mapila went on to
overcome the initial stumbling challenges and become the founding CEO of All
Bosses (Pty) Ltd. The company offers research consultancy services that engage innovative data collection and
analytic technologies. All Bosses flagship service offering is Focus Surveys, a
dynamic and robust intelligent data collection and analysis reporting
service.
Businesses - in general and startups in particular - face a myriad
of challenges. The lack of business experience and the wherewithal to get the
right exposure and make the essential business networks can stifle and may even
kill off a budding enterprise. American policymaker, academic and director of the
project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security (TENS) at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Edelman says, “It’s a false
economy to put your faith in customers discovering you unless you make a
concerted effort to grow them with a proper structured plan to promote your
startup.”
This is one lesson Tumelo learnt earlier on in his entrepreneurial
journey of self-discovery. He learnt that in present days highly competitive
business world, an international outlook and collaborative approach are some of
the critical requirements that underpin a vibrant startup ecosystem. He
testifies that, “Networking and brand awareness are two of the critical
business development components that have promoted and grown this enterprise.”
He says the story of his company’s life began with the establishment
of Focus Surveys in 2013. After a difficult and painful start, the company got
a break when it was engaged to do data collection and analyses for the
country’s premier business to business (B2B) exhibition and conference, The
Global Expo in 2015. That being their first major job, they went all out to
make a bold statement and prove to the client that they were more than capable
to execute the task on time and within budget. Mapila boasts that their final
submission to client was exceptional to the extent that they were later invited
to present their report to The Global Expo executive committee which affirmed
their credibility and assured them of future jobs.
Mapila’s first encounter with Botswana Innovation Hub was through
the company’s technology entrepreneurship development programme, First Steps
Venture Centre (FSVC) when in 2013 he participated in one of the programmes pitch
sessions. The pitch sessions accord entrepreneurs the opportunity to present
their business ideas to prospective investors, mentors and collaborators. “Participation
in the FSVC pitch sessions gave us increased confidence and launched us further
into the local and regional market,” he says.
Botswana Innovation Hub is an innovative and networked company that
promotes technology, entrepreneurship and commercialisation on a purpose built
Science and Technology Park. Around this, Botswana Innovation Hub is building
opportunities in tenancy, membership, a globally-connected innovation
ecosystem, and world-class client services. Emboldened by the roaring success
of their maiden participation in the FSVC pitch session, Mapila enrolled Focus
Surveys into the technology entrepreneurship development programme and went on
to benefit from an array of the programmes service bouquet. These include, hot
desking, business advisory, brand activation and publicity, technology
entrepreneurs coaching and mentoring, and match making which connects start-ups
with the right business partners.
In March 2017 Botswana Innovation Hub
collaborated with DEMO Africa in an initiative that sought to provide local
entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch at the DEMO Africa competition
which was held in South Africa that year. DEMO Africa is a product of a
partnership between The U.S. Department of State, Microsoft, DEMO, USAID and
Startup Weekend called Liberalizing Innovation Opportunity Nations
(LIONS@FRICA) Partnership. LIONS@FRICA seeks to connect African startups to the
global ecosystem though its flagship programme, DEMO Africa.
Focus Surveys participated in the DEMO Africa grand finals in
September 2017 and emerged victorious in the prestigious local pitching
competition. The company went on to participate at the DEMO Africa competition
in South Africa where although they did not emerge in the top five finalists of
the of the fiercely contested regional competition, Mapila’s sterling
performance at the DEMO Africa competition earned his company a slot on the
LIONS@FRICA Innovation Tour which was held earlier this year in Silicon Valley,
California from February 10th till 18th 2018. An Angel
Investor was convinced by Mapila’s Elevator Pitch and saw the relevance and
growth opportunity in Focus Surveys and pledged to sponsor the company to
participate in the prestigious StartUp Grind competition.
The LIONS@FRICA Innovation Tour is focused on knowledge sharing with
leading Silicon Valley stakeholders and networking opportunities that are
intended to yield deeper engagement between the company and potential partners.
While in the U.S., the company participated in a series of events including
StartUp Grind, and other curated side events across the Silicon Valley
ecosystem. This presented Mapila with multiple opportunities to pitch his
company’s products, services and technologies to select groups of investors,
industry leaders, diaspora groups and expert panels.
Prior to the Silicon Valley excursion, Mapila had participated in
another pitching competition organized through the Botswana Innovation Hub
partnership with the Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (SAiS). In
that competition known as SLUSH, Mapila put up an awesome performance as always
and went on to win the local edition of the SLUSH 2017 pitching competition. He
proceeded to represent the country at the finals of the global pitching
competition in Helsinki, Finland. SLUSH is a startup and tech event that facilitates
founder and investor annual meetings with the aim of building a world-wide
startup community that helps the next generation of great, world-conquering
companies move forward.
Mapila’s journey to success is testimony that a refined Elevator
Pitch can open business opportunities and that indeed one’s network is their
net worth. The exposure of an enterprise earns it social capital which is an
essential resource in the knowledge-based economy and as DEMO Africa executive
producer, Harry Hare affirms, “The entries this year certainly kept up with the
DEMO Africa spirit to produce innovative and creative ideas that are bound to
transform the technology landscape and we are excited by the growth of
innovation and technological advancement in Africa as portrayed by our
finalists.”
Focus Surveys latest feat confirms Mapila as master of his craft.
The young man knows his story and he can break it down for you clearly and
convincingly in less than a minute. He is the undisputed national champion of
The Elevator Pitch. Having conquered the local and regional scene, Mapila has
now joined the elite global league where he hobnobs with the world’s best at
Silicon Valley. Thanks to FSVC for identifying, developing and nurturing this technology-oriented
startup business to grow into international markets.
Mapila concludes, “I am grateful for the opportunities received
through Botswana Innovation Hub’s technology entrepreneurship development
programme. The many pitch sessions we have participated in, including The DEMO
Africa and SLUSH competitions have helped us polish our pitching skills and
provided invaluable experiences that exposed us to different networks and a globally
connected innovation ecosystem.”
