Matt Brown Show

Disruptology. This is the study of the discipline of disruption in business. Self-confessed naive optimist and change-advocate, Juanita Vorster has studied the world of disruption and change, how work used to be and where it is likely going to be heading. A successful business owner with designations of Certified Director (SA), Certified Ethics Officer, and Chartered Public Relations Practitioner, she is uniquely positioned to give practical guidance on how to stay ahead of the curve of change and how to remain relevant in the face of a world permeated with robots and artificial intelligence. She regularly inspires audiences to embrace change, welcome disruption, and kickstart innovation. In this episode we discuss the importance of learning, unlearning and how to prepare yourself and your loved ones for the future. Support the show

The Cloud. When it comes to the Cloud, there is no actual computer in the sky, the Cloud is just a computer somewhere else. In this episode, I chat to Brett StClair, Ex-Googler turned digital banker, leading mind on Digital transformation and distributed trust and now CEO of Siatik. With a curriculum canon that spans 2 decades of leading Google Mobile, Youtube, Google Display and Google’s Cloud Computing across Africa and rebuilding Barclays Africa Digital Business. Brett Shares his insights into the world of IT services and the opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners in Cloud adoption the potential of Cloud computing. If you want to learn about how to build a business to scale then this one’s going to float your boat and your business. Support the show

Comedy. A profession intended to entertain and make people laugh- and as is said, a day without laughter is a day wasted. However, each day brings with it its own challenges, disappointments and mountains to climb; but everytime you are able to find laughter in a difficult situation, you win. Today we are joined by Nik Rabinowitz, a comedian who has managed to be moderately successful, sporting a list of achievements the likes of which many can only aspire to. For instance, he once posed nude. Not because anyone asked him to, he just did it. Also, he represented South Africa at the Jewish Olympics, which is like the Special Olympics, with more accountants. He has made appearances on international stages in: Australia, Canada, Holland, the United Kingdom, London’s Royal Albert Hall, the US and Zimbabwe. In this episode of the matt brown show Nik Rabinowitz - and I wax lyrical about life, genealogy, kids and wives and chat only for 1 minute about his current show “Dry White” currently running at theatres around

Pitching. In any pitch for new business, it’s not the best product that wins but the best pitch. Whether you’re looking for clients, investors or employees, you need to know how to pitch your products, services and ideas in a way that is most likely to secure you the deal. Justin Cohen’s internationally acclaimed six-step formula is designed to do just that. Justin is the author of 4 books and 8 audiobooks. He hosts a CNBC Africa TV show in which he interviews some of the world’s top experts on success. As a leading authority on human potential, with a postgraduate degree in psychology, Justin Cohen speaks and trains in the fields of motivation, sales, customer service and leadership. Over the past seventeen years he has presented in 20 countries, and in virtually every industry, to an average of 8000 people annually. Justin is a Certified Speaker Professional and a Southern African Speaker Hall of Fame inductee. Having taught and refined his Pitch To Win programme for five years, and having helped win numero

www.digitalkungfu.co.zaMark Twain once said: “Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.” If you’ve been following this show you’d have noticed me alluding to a big market making initiative that my company Digital Kungfu is going to be taking to market. Well that day is finally here, we have officially launched the Digital Kungfu Lightning Strike – a lead generation system built specifically for technology businesses to help them generate leads and maximise their market share. This system has been in development for the past year with our tech clients in the United States and across South Africa. Nadine Todd grills Matt Brown about the inner workings of the Digital Kungfu 2.0 Support the show

Transformation. Real transformation isn’t a future event, it’s a present-day activity. The irony is that most people choose to stay the same and settle for the status quo and don’t challenge themselves to become more than what they currently are. If you don’t make a conscious choice to grow yourself every single day this can have a disastrous impact on your business, because your business can only grow to the extent that you do. Our guest today is Caroline Ravenhall, who spent the best part of a decade working closely with Richard Branson but despite all the trappings of a successful career she found herself on the day of the launch of Virgin Airlines in South Africa, staring down the abyss of total burnout and with Richard Branson about to do one of his dare devil entrances. The threat of Burn out for entrepreneurs is very real, so I invited Caroline onto the show to talk about her recovery and incredible transformation to today where she is a captivating professional speaker, leadership development facilita

Truth. In the context of entrepreneurship, the truth is rarely pure and never simple. Unless you’re Allon Raiz with a Twitter account. Allon is the founder of Raizcorp, a business prosperator that supports the growth of entrepreneurs. Raizcorp currently looks after about 500 businesses across South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, and about 12 000 businesses have gone through Raizcorp’s programmes over the years. He is more exposed to the realities of entrepreneurship than anyone I know and has a clear view on the truth behind the challenges we have to overcome on a daily basis. He has been tweeting a bunch of unbelievably insightful stuff on Twitter and so I reached out to him to explain some of the underlying reasoning and thinking behind some of his tweets. The producers of the Matt Brown Show went through two years of his tweets and selected 20 of the best ones which we discuss on the show. We’re calling this episode “Twenty tweets to setup your best year yet”. Support the show

Mind power. The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down. You get two types of entrepreneurs: those who live in cause and those who live in effect. If you are at cause you are largely the victor and in control of your destiny. If you are living in effect, you inevitably wind up being the victim of your circumstances and at the whims of the world around you. Richard Wright is very much a man with a cause, how to survive brand cancer for the third time. When he was told he had only 6 months to live, he had a choice. To let the effect of cancer determine the future of this life or to be at cause and do everything in his power to overcome his illness. Today, Richard is only the 118th human to survive pituitary cancer of the brain in history and has completed an incredible 11 Iron Mans. This is a story of human potential and living proof that the power of the mind truly is one of the greatest gifts you have in your possession. Because, when your back is against the wall and you are facing fear head o

Sales. You know in many respects, sales is not about selling anymore, instead it’s about building trust and educating at the same time. With sales being the lifeblood of any business it’s important that we do sell and sell well. But for many of us, the science of selling is not understood very well if at all. For instance, did you know that there are 48 different kinds of sales profiles of which you have one? Up until meeting Tanya Kunze, I did also didn’t know that neuroscience plays a big role in your ability to sell. Tanya bring psychology, maths and science into business development and is the CEO of Swift Coaching, which for almost three decades has coached and trained sales teams on four different continents. She is one of the leading speakers on neuroscience-based conscious business development and a published author of two sales books and was recently elected as a global LinkedIn Goodwill Ambassador. On this episode, we dive into the world of neuroscience and sales and explore how you can improve your

Ethics. Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. But the ethics of any company and individual can be tested, especially in the pursuit of profit and when under pressure. Google was famous for including the words ‘don’t be evil’ in their code of conduct, but in April last year they removed it in order to expand in China. Being 'evil' is very tempting. Brands and businesses are constantly tempted to exploit consumer data and values for profit. Take Google; the temptation to sell out their values, in the form of submitting to China’s state censorship to secure a shot at the massive Chinese market, was just too alluring to pass up. Similarly, beauty brands, including fan favourites MAC and Revlon, agreed to animal testing (a practice they reviled in their home markets) to gain entry to lucrative markets (China again) that insist on the practice. As we head into 2019, it’s worth our while to examine the trends that highlight the potential brands have t

Forgiveness. Nelson Mandela once said: “As I walked out the door towards the gate that would lead to freedom, I knew that if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” Imagine the scene. You are a successful business man with a 40,000-acre farm, 9 sports cars and multiple successful businesses. Then one day, everything is taken from you. Rusty Labuschagne has been through a trauma few have experienced anywhere in the world. In 2003, the successful Zimbabwean businessman, who ran a safari outfit, flew his own aircraft and had a fishing resort on Lake Kariba, was framed by a poacher, the police and the courts and wrongfully convicted of drowning a poacher. He served 10 years in Zimbabwe’s prisons, including notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison during the Zim dollar crash, with food shortages, no running water and people dying around him daily. On this episode of the Matt Brown Show, Rusty shares his lessons about forgiveness, gratitude and finding true freedom in life. There

Reflection. Reflection is one of the most under used yet powerful tools for success. My good friend Allon Raiz, the CEO of Raizcorp recently put out a tweet which said: “Holidays in the past used to be about R&R, rest and recreation, a 20th century concept. I think R&R needs a new definition for the 21st century. Rest and #Reflection. Quality quiet time to reflect is so hard to find and is critically important in today's manic fast paced world. In this, the final episode of the Matt Brown Show in 2018, I invited the hugely entertaining and quirky Carmen Murray, to host the show and we reflect on what has gone down this year, on the Matt Brown Show and what I’ve learnt from yet another incredible year running this podcast. Before we jump into the action, I’d just like to say thank you to each and every one of you have spent time this year listening and now watching the show, thanks to your support the show has consistently been in the top 20 podcast in the country for over 18 months now, has been

Weed. In September this year, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the country’s highest court, on Tuesday morning ruled that the personal use of cannabis is not a criminal offence. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that the ban on private possession and consumption, and cultivation of the plant for own use is unconstitutional. It found that the country’s cannabis ban infringed on section 14 of the South African constitution which gives all citizens the right to privacy. This has far reaching implications for ordinary citizens and entrepreneurs alike. The decriminalised global weed industry is forecast to run into the billions of dollars, but what are your rights in this space and immediate opportunities for entrepreneurs? To get the answer I reached out Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clarke AKA the Dagga couple and Paul-Michael Keichel from Schindlers Attorneys. We discuss the 8 year legal battle of Julian and Myrtle with the South African government, their personal case instrumental in the lead up to

Blind spots. We all have a blind spot and it’s shaped exactly like us. In Africa, blind spots are everywhere, yet for some reason we do not see what often lies right in front of us. Enter the Kasinomic revolution. The KasiNomic Revolution is a murmur in the streets, a grassroots economic rising which has grown organically despite government and business regulation, and which is the future of African economic activity. It is a giant of an economy that dwarfs that of the formal economy in size, yet for many entrepreneurs who play in the formal economy space, we are not aware that it even exists and even less is known about how to capitalise on it. GG Alcock is an international best-selling author, whose books cast a light on the Kasi sector and its inner workings for the first time. If you haven’t heard of Kasinomics before, don’t worry because neither had I, so prepare to have your mind blown. Support the show

Blockchain. Blockchain is as significant now as the Internet was 25 years ago. As a technology, the blockchain promises to break old business models and to do that there will always be persuasive reasons not to take the risk. But if you only do what worked in the past, you will one day wake up and find that you’ve been passed by. For entrepreneurs, the blockchain space is arguably the biggest opportunity for business and value creation since the advent of the Internet. While the narrative is dominated with speculation over crypto asset price movements and use cases for utility – blockchain and crypto is certainly not going anywhere. In the studio today, I’m joined by Farzam Ehsani, the founder and CEO of Valr.com a crypto asset trading platform that has recently launched and which is backed by Bittrex one of the largest blockchain trading platforms in the world. We discuss current state of crypto and blockchain technology and they can be used to create an alternative monetary and political system that’s inclu

Artificial intelligence. AI is likely to be either the best or worst thing to happen to humanity and in the context of AI, it seems that our technology is on the path to exceeding our humanity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise both in business and in the world in general. But where are exactly when it comes to AI and how beneficial is it really to your business in the long run? Sure, it can take over those time-consuming and mundane tasks that are bogging your employees down, but at what cost? With AI spending expected to reach $46 billion by 2020, according to an IDC report, there’s no sign of the technology slowing down. As the saying goes, take the next 10,000 startups and just add AI. Today I’m joined by my good friend Nick Argyros, the founder of a startup called Got Bot, that uses AI to enable Social Commerce and optimize Customer Experience at scale for clients around the world. Got Bot has been voted as one of the Top 10 startups on the continent by StartUpBootCamp has raised millions in ve

Influence. You don’t have to be a person of influence to be influential. As entrepreneurs we are very much in the business of influence: influence of customers, our people and ultimately influence over ourselves in the choices we make every day. The nature of influence has changed in recent years, with the birthing of a global movement towards the sustainable enterprise and a growing appetite of corporates and impact investors to work with social entrepreneurs to solve global challenges like education, poverty, hunger, clean water and gender inequality. Today, you can become a billionaire and make a difference at the same time. They are no longer mutually exclusive. On this episode, I chat to three power house women Ezyln Barends, Mmabatho Mokiti and Natasha Katapodis about the world of social entrepreneurship, impact investing and gender inequality and how we as a community of entrepreneurs can do more in the space of social upliftment and economic transformation through our businesses. Support the show

Change. The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. If we truly want to change the world, we have to change our thinking. It is said that we should have an open mind when it comes to the subject of change, butt the trouble with having an open mind, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. Identity politics has long permeated and influenced our society and culture and it is a very sensitive subject because at its most basic level, identity politics is the tendency for people of a particular race, ethnicity, gender, social background, etc. to form exclusive political and social alliances. So why are we talking about this on the Matt Brown Show? Well, my view is that we need to unite workplaces, not divide them. Company cultures that are deeply united aren’t just better at being productive, they’re better at retaining talent - and, critically, they’re better at mentoring talent. I reached out to my good friend Brent Tollman, probably one of the smartest people

Pride. You know no entrepreneur is an island. We all need help on our respective journeys, but all too often pride seemingly gets in the way and we don’t step up to the plate and ask for help when we need it. To help bring the value of what can transpire when we do ask for help, I reached out to Craig Collins, the CEO of Cradle Technologies, a startup who has recently been selected by the Grindstone and Knife Capital Accelerator as one of the top 12 tech startups on the African continent and Howard Mann, the President of Business Brickyard in New York – for context Craig has achieved product market fit for his warehouse management system and is looking to scale his enterprise in the United States. Howard is a player coach who specialises in helping entrepreneurs generate more sales and grow their businesses. You’re about to hear a live three-way coaching session between Howard, Craig and myself designed to help Craig scale his business in the states next year. I’d like to leave you with this. Be strong enough

Communication. Since the advent of social media the way that we communicate has fundamentally changed both in society and in the context of business. When Mike Stopforth co-founded Cerebra communications, he challenged what communications could represent for brands across Africa. Over the course of 14 years, Cerebra became an award-winning social media communications agency that were the first to re-imagine what a social enterprise could be. This caught the attention of WPP, one of the world’s largest advertising conglomerates who acquired Cerebra for an untold sum. In this episode, Mike and I explore how social media communications has changed the face of business, how entrepreneurs can scale their businesses through strategic partnerships and what he learnt in the process of selling Cerebra to WPP. Support the show