<description>&lt;p&gt;Today’s guest, Melilizwe Gqobo (he/him) - Founding Director of Hubspace (Khayelitsha) and Venture Scout, has successfully created space for founders and entrepreneurs to thrive by strengthening and reinforcing their capacity or ability to seek opportunities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With the hindsight of co-founding Hubspace, a pioneering startup ecosystem or incubator space to bring communal offices and resources to entrepreneurs and founders within the township economy, meaningfully contributing over 5% to South Africa’s GDP, Melilizwe shares key lessons and insights on what it takes to make a successful venture while highlighting examples from Bolt and Uber’s entry to the South African/African market.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What's Covered On This Episode:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(0:00) The Entrepreneurship and Founder Ecosystems&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(1:23) Founder Lessons and Challenges&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(4:40) Reasons why I became an Entrepreneur&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(6:02) The Opportunity Set – NGOs&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(8:07) Making a successful venture&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(10:51) Does First Mover Advantage Exist?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(12:50) The Role of Enterprise Development&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(14:51) The Township Economy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(25:39) The Importance of Patient Capital, Support, Routine and Mindset for Preservation&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(32:57) Allyship: Creating space and an intentional community&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(38:29) Innovation and AI&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(46:17) Wrap-up: Key Takeaways&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;RESOURCES:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/04/397101933/far-from-silicon-valley-a-disruptive-startup-hub"&gt;https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/04/397101933/far-from-silicon-valley-a-disruptive-startup-hub&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://disruptafrica.com/2014/11/15/townships-offer-real-investment-opportunities-hubspace/"&gt;https://disruptafrica.com/2014/11/15/townships-offer-real-investment-opportunities-hubspace/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.news24.com/news24/partnercontent/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-township-economy-20230621"&gt;https://www.news24.com/news24/partnercontent/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-township-economy-20230621&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multifaceted-approach-needed-deal-protection-fee-and-business-extortion-syndicates-ncop-hears"&gt;https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multifaceted-approach-needed-deal-protection-fee-and-business-extortion-syndicates-ncop-hears&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5reve8476o"&gt;https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5reve8476o&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Melilizwe: &lt;a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melilizwe-gqobo-6229a729/"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/melilizwe-gqobo-6229a729/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you for listening, following and sharing the podcast. Help us grow, please rate and leave a comment for the show.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The Add IDEAS Podcast

Bandile Mndebele

8. Building startup giants and community: lessons from Hubspace, Facebook, Bolt and Uber with Melilizwe Gqobo

JUL 30, 202450 MIN
The Add IDEAS Podcast

8. Building startup giants and community: lessons from Hubspace, Facebook, Bolt and Uber with Melilizwe Gqobo

JUL 30, 202450 MIN

Description

<p>Today’s guest, Melilizwe Gqobo (he/him) - Founding Director of Hubspace (Khayelitsha) and Venture Scout, has successfully created space for founders and entrepreneurs to thrive by strengthening and reinforcing their capacity or ability to seek opportunities.</p><p>With the hindsight of co-founding Hubspace, a pioneering startup ecosystem or incubator space to bring communal offices and resources to entrepreneurs and founders within the township economy, meaningfully contributing over 5% to South Africa’s GDP, Melilizwe shares key lessons and insights on what it takes to make a successful venture while highlighting examples from Bolt and Uber’s entry to the South African/African market.</p><p></p><p>What's Covered On This Episode:</p><p>(0:00) The Entrepreneurship and Founder Ecosystems</p><p>(1:23) Founder Lessons and Challenges</p><p>(4:40) Reasons why I became an Entrepreneur</p><p>(6:02) The Opportunity Set – NGOs</p><p>(8:07) Making a successful venture</p><p>(10:51) Does First Mover Advantage Exist?</p><p>(12:50) The Role of Enterprise Development</p><p>(14:51) The Township Economy</p><p>(25:39) The Importance of Patient Capital, Support, Routine and Mindset for Preservation</p><p>(32:57) Allyship: Creating space and an intentional community</p><p>(38:29) Innovation and AI</p><p>(46:17) Wrap-up: Key Takeaways</p><p></p><p>RESOURCES:</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/04/397101933/far-from-silicon-valley-a-disruptive-startup-hub">https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/04/04/397101933/far-from-silicon-valley-a-disruptive-startup-hub</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://disruptafrica.com/2014/11/15/townships-offer-real-investment-opportunities-hubspace/">https://disruptafrica.com/2014/11/15/townships-offer-real-investment-opportunities-hubspace/</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.news24.com/news24/partnercontent/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-township-economy-20230621">https://www.news24.com/news24/partnercontent/the-rise-and-rise-of-the-township-economy-20230621</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multifaceted-approach-needed-deal-protection-fee-and-business-extortion-syndicates-ncop-hears">https://www.parliament.gov.za/news/multifaceted-approach-needed-deal-protection-fee-and-business-extortion-syndicates-ncop-hears</a></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5reve8476o">https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5reve8476o</a></p><p>Melilizwe: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melilizwe-gqobo-6229a729/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/melilizwe-gqobo-6229a729/</a></p><p></p><p>Thank you for listening, following and sharing the podcast. Help us grow, please rate and leave a comment for the show.</p>