MBS089 - Michael Van Straaten, CEO Verimark
11/26/17 • 46 min
Hey guys, so today I want to talk to you about Toys R Us. In 2012, they were a $12 billion company with a massive retail network of 1600 stores. In September 2017 – that’s just last month – they went bankrupt. In fact, Toys R Us is just 1 of over 300 retail brands have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past 9 months alone. So, how does a $12 billion a year company go bankrupt in just 5 years? Well, there are several factors in play ranging from crippling debt, a consumer which is moving to the online shopping space and perhaps most obvious is a distinct lack of innovation – apart from a fulfillment partnership with Amazon they almost ignored the Internet completely. As the world continues to evolve on a seemingly cyclical basis, stories like this are becoming ever more common place and in my view, it is becoming increasingly harder to find stories of companies that have truly stood the test of time. But one of those companies isn’t a global story – it is in fact a local story – that almost all of us would have heard about at some point or another over the past 40 years or so. It is the story of Verimark – a direct marketing and direct response TV play. Verimark was founded in 1977 with a capital base of R5,000, a staff of 2 people and a dream. Fast forward to today however, and it is a R500 million a year company which employs over a thousand staff. In short, it is a brand and business that has truly stood the test of time. I reached out to the CEO Michael Van Straaten, to find out what he has learnt in the process of building Verimark into a household brand, a global leader in home shopping network innovations and most importantly, how we as entrepreneurs can with stand the pressures of an ever changing business environment.
Hey guys, so today I want to talk to you about Toys R Us. In 2012, they were a $12 billion company with a massive retail network of 1600 stores. In September 2017 – that’s just last month – they went bankrupt. In fact, Toys R Us is just 1 of over 300 retail brands have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past 9 months alone. So, how does a $12 billion a year company go bankrupt in just 5 years? Well, there are several factors in play ranging from crippling debt, a consumer which is moving to the online shopping space and perhaps most obvious is a distinct lack of innovation – apart from a fulfillment partnership with Amazon they almost ignored the Internet completely. As the world continues to evolve on a seemingly cyclical basis, stories like this are becoming ever more common place and in my view, it is becoming increasingly harder to find stories of companies that have truly stood the test of time. But one of those companies isn’t a global story – it is in fact a local story – that almost all of us would have heard about at some point or another over the past 40 years or so. It is the story of Verimark – a direct marketing and direct response TV play. Verimark was founded in 1977 with a capital base of R5,000, a staff of 2 people and a dream. Fast forward to today however, and it is a R500 million a year company which employs over a thousand staff. In short, it is a brand and business that has truly stood the test of time. I reached out to the CEO Michael Van Straaten, to find out what he has learnt in the process of building Verimark into a household brand, a global leader in home shopping network innovations and most importantly, how we as entrepreneurs can with stand the pressures of an ever changing business environment.
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MBS088 - Robin Olivier, CEO Digicape [Sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine]
We’ve seemingly heard it all before – you know, that classic rags to riches story of an entrepreneur who despite all the odds has built a business that has stood the test of time. Well, here’s the thing. For me, these stories are becoming rarer to get ahold of. It is becoming harder to build big businesses from scratch – especially for aspiring entrepreneurs who haven’t acquired what seasoned entrepreneurs often refer to the MBE or Masters in Business Experience. It’s for this reason that when stories of entrepreneurs who have succeeded are shared with other entrepreneurs – lessons and insights are invariably and ultimately, this can make the difference in your business succeeding or failing. One of these stories is the one of Robin Olivier who launched his first business with two partners and just R5 000 between them and a dream – fast forward to today, and Digicapeis a R240-million business with highly engaged and empowered employees, and the goal is to hit R400 million by 2020. This is the story of how Robin and his partners have built an entirely self- funded business that’s heading for the half a billion mark.
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MBS090 - The Pivotal Group [Sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine]
When Paul Hutton, Joel Stransky and Bruce Arnold launched Pivotal Group in 2012, they did so with a wealth of experience and business relationships on their side. But it was still a start-up. They worked from home and then the SLOW Lounge, and they raised some angel funding, accessed personal capital, significantly reduced monthly income and took out personal loans to make it work. They had a vision, and they were determined to be disruptors. In this episode of the Matt Brown Show, we share the story of how they’ve built what they believe to be the foundations of a successful group of businesses and in only five years. But perhaps most importantly, we unpack the realities of being a team of founders that have to overcome significant challenges unique to Africa and what they have learnt as a management team and about themselves in the process of building Pivotal group to where it is today
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