What every tech start-up businesses should know with Vinny Lingham invaluable advice

When it comes to the South African start-up tech scene there seems to be some conflicting ideas. Some say we have so many good ideas but not enough funding whilst others say there is loads of cash but not enough good ideas. One person who understands both the local South African scene and the International Silicon Valley vibe is tech-legend Vinny Lingham.

For those who are not in the know Vinny is the founder and CEO of Gyft, a mobile gift card company who, according to the all-knowing-Wikipedia, is rumoured to have sold Gyft to First Data for “excess of $54m”.

Whilst Vinny does live in the US, he has strong ties to South Africa having co-founded Silicon Cape Initiative which “is a non-profit, community owned and driven movement, that aims to improve the environment in the Western Cape to create more and better start-ups as well as increase access to capital.”

Having been a Dragon on South Africa’s Dragon’s Den, Vinny has invested into several South African companies. As a result he, together with his business partner Llew Claasen, started Newtown Partners which is an angel investment company based in Cape Town. Through Newtown Partners, Llew and Vinny look after their local businesses which include companies such as SweepSouth and WumDrop.

Clearly this partnership is working as SweepSouth is the first SA start-up to join Silicon Valley’s 500 Start-ups accelerator and WumDrop has recently won the MTN App of the Year Awards.

So when looking for tech tips on businesses, Vinny is clearly well positioned to provide good, solid advice – including some info about an upcoming book launching soon in South Africa.

I was fortunate to spend time with him: