🎈 4M New Types of Earners…

Need a superpower? Don’t discount crowd-funding: this startup raised 10x more than they asked for on Kickstarter to build a working invisibility shield (and now we want one).

In this Open Letter:

• Market moves: SA’s 4M new types of earners.

• Robo Grand Prix, high steaks & micro Makros at Game.

• More reach: Building products with emotional connection.

• The loop: How to ask (and receive) useful feedback.

• Most underrated skill in startup: The results are in.

• Free stuff? Share The Open Letter & get business tools.

In partnership with

TRENDING NOW

Congratulations, SA Just Got 4M New Earners

The gig economy… people have been speaking about it forever, yet it's never really lived up to expectations. 

Many a startup tried to build platforms for gigs (like M4JAM), but traffic was low and margins never really made it work.

But things might just be changing.

Capitec had its annual results presentation last week and about 40 minutes in, CEO Gerrie Fourie speaks about how Capitec did R1 billion in loans to multiple-income earners, growing 93% from the previous year.

I.e. side hustlers and freelancers! 

The presentation also claimed one in three Gen Z (aged 7 to 27) have side hustles. Assuming it's mostly working-age individuals, that could be as much as 4 million South Africans! 

That’s a whole lot of gigs. 

The Gig Economy Around the World.

Globally the gig economy is thriving, with an estimated 12% of the global workforce participating in online gig work – anywhere between 154 million and 435 million people. 

It’s estimated that the gig economy is growing 3x faster than the total US workforce and that more than 50% of the US workforce will likely be participating in the gig economy by 2027.

Jobs in the gig economy vary greatly from lawyers and accountants to actors, designers, developers, social-media influencers and content creators to travelling nurses, and other specialist jobs. 

There are also many gigs with a low barrier to entry, like: 

• Driving passengers (Uber),

• Delivering takeaways (Mr D Food) and groceries (Woolies Dash) 

• Cleaning (SweepSouth)

• And even people who rent out their homes, short-term (Lekkeslaap), are considered part of the gig economy. 

But the Money’s Not Just in the Gig…

The opportunities aren’t only in earning from gigs and side hustles, these gig workers are 4 million “new” customers to serve. And some of their major pains are: 

• Many freelancers don’t have a background in finance or accounting, so they might battle to make smart financial decisions.

• They don’t always have access to the type of qualified financial products that employees enjoy, because of the perception that they don’t have the right systems in place to be financially credible.

• They often have to pay more in tax expert fees, simply because tax laws are so complex and they don’t get it all neatly wrapped up in a sleek IRP5 form, making effective/efficient SARS compliance a risk.

• Cash flow can be a big deal, especially when you have clients with delayed payments, which disrupts financial stability.

And local startup Craft is working on solving this. 

Craft enables side hustlers and freelancers to send professional, customised and automated invoices. They also have a dashboard where users can see all their income and make smart business decisions. 

And this is just the start, they are working on tracking invoices vs payments, billing in other currencies (coz earning them dollar bills, slaps!) and also a solution for the major pain for freelancers… tax.

Finally, with Craft, freelancers can have all their invoices in one place to prove their sources of income, should they wish to apply for loans or financing (think cash flow or even buying a car or house). 

The gig economy might finally be here. And if you want to get in on the action, here are two great places where you can start:

• Head on over to check out today’s sponsor, ClickFunnels’ free course on how to get going with an online business. It’s 100% free to attend.

• You can also check out Craft’s playbook to side-hustling, which is also free!

IN SHORT

📱Mo Payments. PayShap, SA’s instant payments platform will launch on MTN’s Mobile Money — the first non-banking player to do so — in collaboration with Investec and Electrum.

❌ BannedTok. Joe Biden this week signed the bill approved by Congress into law that will see the owner of TikTok, ByteDance, either have to sell it to an approved American buyer or face a banning (this could take years to come into effect, though).

🥩 High Steaks. 3 African Tech Startups, including a local cultivated meat producer Newform Foods (formerly Mzansi Meat Co.) have each received a $200’000 funding injection from pre-seed investment vehicle Madica.

🛒 Micro Makros. Massmart will roll out 4 small-format Makro stores at existing Game sites inside malls. The pilot programme will test the concept of a 3’000 m2 Makro store inside an existing Game store.

🏎️ Developer GP. The world’s first autonomous car race kicks off this weekend in Abu Dhabi with prize money reaching $23.25 million. What could go wrong?

HOW WOULD YOU BUILD IT?

How to Build Products that Create Emotional Connections

If you’ve been reading The Open Letter and realising that one of the key ways to guarantee success is to build stuff that really excites and engages people, then this week's podcast is for you.

We sat down with Jacques Oberholzer, head of product design at innovative PropTech BetterHome and founder of UI/UX studio Now Boarding to explore how UX can be a game-changer in your startup.

Catch the Highlights

1. The number-one reason to re-focus on UX 

It’s not just the output, it’s the entire Steve Jobs-style design thinking process that you unlock – check it out here.

2. How design helps your startup save a ton of time

The process forces you to come to the table with a mature idea that’s way more likely to succeed – get the insights here.

3. Customer-centric design is the tool for building lean

When the name of the game is launching a product but continuously refining it based on user feedback and data analytics, design is your best friend – find out why and how right here.

You can also grab the Spotify and Apple Podcast links on our website here.

BUILDER’S CORNER

How to Grow by Asking for (and Receiving) Feedback

by Tanye ver Loren van Themaat of Thundamental

We all crave those "aha!" moments that propel us forward in our careers. But have you noticed how often those breakthroughs hinge on a single piece of feedback – a comment on a presentation, a different perspective on a situation, or a fresh take on a sales pitch?

The truth is, that effective feedback is a rare gem. Fear of offending, straining relationships, or simply not knowing where to begin can leave us with tepid, generic responses that fall into one of two categories:

• The Cheerleader: All sunshine and rainbows, pile on the praise without any real substance. It feels disingenuous and unhelpful. They fear offending you. They speak love without truth.

• The Critic: A brutal takedown devoid of context or solutions. It leaves you feeling deflated and discouraged. They don’t see the person (and the bigger picture). They speak truth without love.

It's not enough to simply ask for feedback, you need to structure it so that it can fuel growth. Here’s how…

Cracking the Feedback Code

1. Set the Stage for Radical Candor

• Encourage Honesty: Lead with something like, "I want to improve, and that means getting real feedback."

• Embrace Openness: Show you're ready for constructive criticism by highlighting areas you'd like to improve. "I'm eager to improve, and honest feedback is crucial."

• Express Gratitude: Let them know you genuinely value their insights.

2. Ask for Advice, Not Feedback

Asking for feedback can often be too vague because it doesn’t focus on what your eventual outcome must be: how to improve. Reframe your request by asking for advice instead of feedback. "Advice" is future-focused, prompting solution-oriented guidance. It's more specific, constructive and actionable than vague, praising feedback.

“Can I ask for some advice on how I can improve this”? instead of “Can you give me some feedback?”

3. Crafting Powerful Questions

Rephrase for Impact: Instead of "How did I do?" (sounding insecure), try: 

• "What can I improve next time?"  

• "How can I make my presentations more effective?"

• "Did you understand the main point right away?"

Be Specific: Instead of vague requests, pinpoint areas for improvement.

• "How could I have made the opening more impactful?"

• "Can you tell me if a specific example resonated?"

Brainstorm Together: Turn them into a co-pilot:

• "What do you think of this example? Can you suggest another?"

• "How could I have presented this differently?"

Remember, receiving feedback is also a skill. Mastering it accelerates growth.

Bonus: The Art of Receiving

Now that you've set the stage, it's time to hone your receiving skills:

• Actively Listen: This isn't a courtroom! Soak it in without getting defensive.

• Take Time to Process: Don't react impulsively. Reflect on the feedback and formulate a response.

• See it as a Gift: Feedback shows they care about your growth.

• Summarise & Next Steps: Briefly recap what you heard and outline the next steps.

Bonus Tip: Adam Grant suggests giving yourself a "second score" – how well you received the feedback.

YOUR VOICE

We asked what the most underrated skill in our startup ecosystem is, and most say money and making sales…

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 💵 Fundraising (24%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🚀 Go-to-market/sales (26%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧩 Product building (14%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🛠️ Tech/engineering (5%)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🎨 Design (12%)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🔥 Community/collaboration (19%)

Your 2 cents…

Yeh, this is true. Most founders have no idea where to begin or how. I’m sure VCs get countless non-viable outreaches. The industry should train this, which will save them time and up their quality.

Yeh, some ideas just need a lot of money to make it, particularly the ones that need a lot of marketing to hit critical mass.

Chatting with other founders really helps with this. Founders are often curious, business-minded people and probe where things don’t line up. We need more community in the startup space and it’s something we are working on….watch this space.