Enter Cirqls, an online classifieds and store front marketplace that allows people to buy and sell based on trust. Cirqls leverages the social networks you are connected to in order to build trust between buyers and sellers as well as provide recommendations.

After chatting for Mark and Donovan, the founders of Cirqls, I’m convinced that they are onto something with potential. I think it’s fair to say that classifieds have been fairly anonymous up until now. In blending your online identity and social graph they are able to create some kind of measurable trust for both buyers and sellers. For once, you can finally figure out who is on the other side of the transaction and it’s not limited to your immediate connections.

While it might not be for everyone, especially those are skeptical about using their online identity for classifieds. I still think there is a massive opportunity to capture an untapped market. I often come across people are too nervous to use online classifieds because they either too afraid of being caught out by a scam or they don’t want to meet with strangers to complete the transaction. The benefit Cirqls provides in terms of reducing scams and other issues is obvious. I also think it’s in line with things on the web moving from being anonymous to being more transparent (in most cases).

Going a step further Cirqls also provides hosted store fronts for anyone looking to get online and sell products. In combining classifieds and store fronts by seeing everyone as a store front, Cirqls aims to create an efficient and personalised market place over time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling a once-off item or are looking to sell stock, it can all be done on one platform.

Since the startup is still in it’s early days, I think they have been able to move relatively quick. It’s one of the benefits when both founders are developers. While they are learning fast and hard about all other aspects of business, they are still able to ship code – which they’ve been doing at a frantic pace. They have also been able to benefit from making it into the first class of Seed Engine, a new tech focused business accelerator.

In closing, we all know that in the new economy trust is everything. I think Cirqls is solving a valid problem in an interesting way. I’m always pro startup and therefore I hope they succeed. I think they have the potential but they will need to move fast in order avoid the 800 pound gorillas in the room.

Note: I originally posted this on Bandwidth Blog.

Yesterday I attended a customer launch event for the Absa app. I was able to chat to a few people at Absa who are behind the app as well as their mobile and digital strategy. They answered some really tough questions from me and provided some insight and shared their vision going forward. Based on what I know and have experienced, I’m going to share my thoughts as an Absa client as well as someone who has a keen interest in the intersection of banking and technology.

Why did Absa make us wait so long?
Around two years ago Absa realised that its internet banking portal and associated technology was starting to become outdated (or legacy). They realised that they needed to embark on a long journey of rewriting it and planning for the future. The new system needed to support a new vision for Absa’s internet banking and digital strategies. Essentially Absa have spent time sharpening the axe by creating a platform that will allow them to roll out service much faster going forward.

The first service launched on this new platform was the new Absa Online. Even though I was able to create my own Absa app by scraping their mobile banking site, Absa insisted that they couldn’t take the approach of “re-skinning” on top of their existing stack for numerous reasons. The primary reason being that they preferred to do it right rather than rush it and sacrifice quality as well as lose the ability to leverage the power of their new platform going forward.

Was it worth the wait?
I’m not going to say that I am blown away. However, the sentiment that I have followed online suggests that most Absa customers are quite happy with the new Absa app. It checks most of the boxes that one would expect from a banking app. I think there are a few interesting and exciting things that they have done but I also have a few gripes. I will get into that in a moment.

I can empathise with Absa from the point of view that they have taken flak over the past while – even from me. Banks are not known for being great consumer technology companies or moving fast at all. At some point they realised they need to get this out. In a bold move, they have adopted an agile approach and have committed to pushing out something new every 8 – 12 weeks. This first release is missing a few things they themselves would have liked to see go live but shipping was more important. We should see a few neat things in the next release or two.

Absa App – The Good
I’m going to start with the good stuff first. I think Absa have done some things right that will only get better with each release.

• Contact & Beneficiary Integration – Associate contacts in your phone’s address book with your Absa beneficiaries. I think this is really important. It finally makes digital banking feel personal again. I don’t pay account numbers, I pay people or businesses. It’s subtle but really powerful. Also, you can buy airtime for anyone in your address book without needing to remember their number.
• Quick Transact – The first screen after signing in presents you with beneficiares that you most frequently transact with or purchase airtime for. It speaks to their focus on users being able to perform actions within 2 taps. It’s also customisable.
• Basic PFM – Absa have implemented some basic personal finance management features. I like how they focus on the simple concept of money in and money out. There are a few different views but I really like the calendar view of money in and money out.
• Tablet Support – At least after all that waiting customers can also use the Absa app on their iPad or Android tablet. I actually think the Absa app works and looks better on a tablet than on a mobile device.
• Branch Location & Directions – The Absa app locates branches and ATMs near you by using you device’s GPS and can provide you with directions if you need them. It seems basic but this happens without the need to perform a search as with other banking apps.

There is also the ability to switch the language in the app between English and Afrikaans, the ability to use CashSend and purchase prepaid airtime or electricity quite easily.

Absa App – The Bad
I had a list of minor gripes but they all fall under one category, the Absa app’s overall design, aesthetic and in some cases usability. Before I get into it, I really want to stress that I’ve used all the other banking app as well and they all fall short in some way with regards to design, aesthetic or usability. Don’t get me wrong, they work and in some cases there are acceptable use cases of usability. However, I sometimes get the impression that some areas of these banking apps are designed by someone using a terminal.

The Absa app isn’t entirely ugly but it does appear inconsistent in many places. I don’t get the impression that somebody is responsible for caring about every pixel. There are a number of areas where alignments aren’t proportionate. I noticed a difference in fonts. There are scrollable areas that remind me of iframes which don’t always behave as expected, as in the case of viewing transaction history. The app also shows a loading dialog for most interactions which makes the app feel sluggish. I have yet to test its impact on data consumption.

Absa stated that they spent a lot of time on usability and I don’t dispute that you can perform most of the common tasks within two taps. However, I do think more attention needs to be paid to the presentation of information. As I said, it works and many people might say I’m arguing semantics. I argue that great design and attention to detail coupled with consistent usability patterns translate directly into usage patterns that, at the end of the day, affect the bottom line.

The new Absa?
At the event yesterday, I got the sense that there is a massive cultural shift happening at Absa. They acknowledged criticism both online and in person. They admitted that they didn’t meet their customers’ expectations and want to make up for it. They were genuinely honest and sincerely apologetic. It may sound strange but it was quite unconventional to see a bank making themselves slightly vulnerable and I admire that.

With this new energy, Absa seems to know exactly where they want to be and how to get there. They have made a commitment to delivering things sooner and more frequently. With over 30 000 employees and 10.9 million customers Absa is a big ship to turn around but I think they will miss the iceberg.

Irrespective of who you bank with, you have to admit that the next few years are going to be some of the most exciting in the banking industry and consumers are set to benefit.

Note: I originally posted this on Bandwidth Blog. I have posted a few screenshots of the app on Bandwidth Blog.

Mobile network operators offer two methods for purchasing airtime. The first is on contract (or postpaid) whereby you are generally bound by 24 month agreement and billed for your usage at the end of every month. The second is prepaid (or pay as you go) whereby you pay in advance, through vouchers or 3rd parties, and your usage is limited to the amount you topped up with.

The concept of using airtime as currency is not new. It has been used by mobile content companies to sell crappy mobile content since time itself began as well as by mobile subscription services. The method used in this instance is called operator billing. Unfortunately, the network operators’ cut is between 30 – 50% (gross) per transaction. Essentially, when you charge R5, you might only end up with R3 or less when using operator billing.

1 Unit of Currency != 1 Unit of Airtime

Let’s assume a person purchases R29 worth of prepaid airtime. Indeed that person receives R29 (or more) worth of value from the operator, whether it be for voice, messaging or data. It’s at that point the value of prepaid airtime becomes deceiving though.

As I mentioned, prepaid airtime is sold through vouchers or 3rd parties. There are all sorts of people along the chain that take their cut for selling prepaid airtime, not to mention the cost of getting that voucher into the hands of the consumer. In order to keep things simple, let’s assume that the network operator only receives R25 from the sale of the R29 airtime mentioned above.

Now we know that it doesn’t cost the operator R29 (or R25) to provide the full value of the airtime. Let’s assume the cost of value of the R29 airtime is R15. The operator makes a profit of R10 for every R29 worth of airtime sold, unless they provide additional value. Sounds pretty neat, right?

However, at the point that the operator receives R25 from the sale of the R29 worth of airtime, the person’s account balance would reflect as R29. Unfortunately this is where the deception lies. There is a discrepancy of R4 between how much cash the operator is holding and how much value they are offering you.

Imagine if the operator let every person with a R29 balance worth of prepaid airtime make purchases to the value of R29? The operator would be losing R4 (if not more) per transaction and eventually go bust. It’s why they take 30 – 50% (gross) of the transaction, to cover that kind of short fall.

While the above is true for prepaid airtime, postpaid airtime could very well work as collections occur directly from the person’s bank account with minimal transaction fees. Unfortunately prepaid airtime is drastically more popular than postpaid throughout South Africa and the African continent.

Airtime Is Great for Virtual Goods

If a chair costs R100 and a merchant sells it for R200 and the transaction is done using airtime (operator billing), the merchant will have to lose between R60 and R100 to operator fees. At best case the merchant’s margin is reduced to 40%, which could be seen as acceptable. However, what if the chair could only be sold for R150? The merchant either just breaks even or makes a loss.

It doesn’t make financial sense for the merchant to accept payments via airtime. The same example could be made for person to person payments. If John pays Sue R100, Sue would end up with around R50 – R70. Even if the operator reduced it’s fee to an acceptable 5%, the operator would then be taking on the loss, as per my previous point. Somewhere along the line someone has to lose since we’re not dealing with a 1 to 1 conversion of airtime and currency.

While it might not be good enough for real world purchasing. Airtime as currency is great for virtual goods. It’s how mobile content business flourished during the last decade. In fact, Mxit is just one of the many examples where airtime can be an accepted form of payment that works well for virtual goods and digital content. Mxit take it a step further and converts airtime into their own currency called Moola. It seems to have worked really well for them.

Airtime Instead of Forex? The African Currency

I think this is quite tricky. I’m going to rather explain why I think this is complicated. After taking the above points into consideration, I think that each operator is essentially managing the value of their airtime against real world currency (see notes). Unless you could get each operator to agree on fixed pricing, you would essentially sit with the same problem that regular forex has – fluctuation between different currencies or in this case the value of each operators airtime.

Instead, I would argue that something like Bitcoin has more potential for a global or continental currency. Maybe it’s not Bitcoin itself, but I’m not yet convinced that it could be airtime. On top of that, I haven’t even explored the technical integration between networks, the accounting nightmare for operators or the regulatory requirements that need to be met in order for this to work. Sure, I can see it working technically but I can already smell the red tape holding things up – and once again, it’s only best for virtual goods.

Notes: When I say that operators are managing the value of their airtime against real world currency. What I mean is that depending on how much value each operator offers for each unit of airtime, the unit of currency has more value. As an example, Cell C currently offers way more value than competing operators with it’s Super Charge offering. Therefore making their airtime more valuable, even if it’s the same currency value.

Image Credit: Institute for Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion

1. Where is my Nike+ for your brand? An effing shoe (and now other gadgets) give me meaningful data and they make it look pretty too. Surely you can do something to offer value?
2. I want to have some level of control. Give me access to tools. I can solve my own problems too (probably more efficiently than your call centre or Twitter folk).
3. It’s not a requirement, but being able to connect and share (but not always) with either people I know or people I should know through shared interests can have value. We all haves egos.
4. Stop spending good money on dumb shit?!
5. I don’t want to see another shitty brand Twitter account or Facebook page unless it’s actually useful. And by useful I mean not spewing out how “awesome” your brand is, constantly.

Clearly I decided to rant instead. We’re at a point in time where technology allows us to do way more than ever before (it’s always like that). Yet all I see are brands doing the same old. And yes I’m biased, I want to see more utility and value instead of another customer support channel. </rant>

When I first read the book I resonated with some of the Stoic principles as I felt that I already followed some of them innately to some extent. I don’t plan on becoming a full on Stoic, but I appreciate the philosophy behind it and in many cases agree with their way of life. However, I subscribe to always taking what works for me from whatever discipline I have learnt about and applying it in my own way.

I looked at Stoicism from two points of view. The first being in my personal life where many principles could be applied to make me a better person overall and secondly as entrepreneur where getting to understand Stoicism has really helped me, even in such a short period of time.

I’ve decided to share a few quotes from Seneca (and other Stoics) and explain how I apply them in both my personal life and entrepreneurial endeavours.

“Wild animals run from the dangers they actually see, and once they have escaped them worry no more. We however are tormented alike by what is past and what is to come.”
- Seneca

In both my personal and entrepreneurial life I have constant worry and stress. Often it’s small things that don’t bother me too much, but they can add up on a bad day. I thrive on looking into the future, planning and trying to predict outcomes. Unfortunately, a by-product of that can create self doubt or have me questioning risks I take. I’m getting better at dealing with this stress and I now force myself to relax and only focus things I can directly influence and wait to deal with issues if and when they arrive.

“Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he be master of the whole world.”
- Stilbo

It’s difficult to balance this one with my entrepreneurial ambitions. Fortunately I decided early on what my minimum bar for success and happiness would be. I think that was achieved quite a long time ago, everything else is just a bonus. The other way I interpret this quote is not worry about keeping up with the Joneses. I’m quite content and happy.

“Soft living imposes on us the penalty of debility; we cease to be able to do the things weve long been grudging about doing.”
- Seneca

Stoics are well known for their hard living. Our modern society spoils us with luxuries and comforts we “can’t live without”. I’m into my third month of having cold showers or cold baths only for a week, which also offers some health benefits. I’m already quite comfortable with cold water now and will slowly introduce more hardship into my “Stoic week”.

I would like to adjust my diet for the week to basic food items and then move onto sleeping on something that offers less comfort than a bed. The point of this is to make me less dependant on every day comforts and to make me fully appreciate my worst case scenario – which will enable me to constantly keep taking risks. It has also helped to just “Get Shit Done“.

“And no one has power over us when death is within our own power.”
- Seneca

I am quite open with my feelings about death. I am very aware that my time on earth is limited. I was inspired by embracing death as the ultimate worst case after reading The 50th Law in early 2010. It was refreshing to revisit this from a Stoic’s point of view. It doesn’t mean I go bungee jumping at every opportunity but more so that I value my time and live how I want to live. In business this translates into walking away from opportunities and deals if they don’t suit me. It’s harder to lose a negotiation when I’m prepared to walk away from the start.

I could probably go on some more, however I think many of the ideas and principles of Stoicism are better explained in the book. As I mentioned, I take what I feel will work for me and apply it accordingly. I suggest that anyone, especially entrepreneurs, give it a read.

It’s accepted practise that the visionary founder assumes the role of CEO. I see the role of CEO as two parts. Firstly to set direction, define culture, motivate and inspire, recruit, and reinforce the vision. Secondly to manage the business of the business – essentially the operations of the business.

Initially, leadership is more important than management. However, as the startup grows and matures, the role of management must begin to take equal priority. It can be challenging, especially for first time founders. I know I find it easier to lead rather than to manage. Maybe it’s because leading means starting, while management means to maintain (at least to me). Obviously, over time, I am slowly becoming a better manager.

While management is a skill that every startup CEO should learn and continuously improve upon, it doesn’t mean that you need to perfect it. It’s why you build out a management team around you, so that you can focus on the vision and being a great leader. It’s why Mark Zuckerberg hired Sheryl Sandberg, why Steve Jobs hired Tim Cook and why Matt Mullenweg hired Toni Schneider.

In closing, the point I am trying to make is that as a startup founder or CEO, you shouldn’t forget the importance of management. However, if you feel it is your weakness then you should recruit people who are better managers than you. It will allow you to focus on leading the company.

Great leadership and excellent management are critical to a startup’s growth and success. Arguably you could make do with only one of them, but without both, you will be on a steady path to the deadpool.

Notes: I know Toni is the CEO at Automattic, but Matt still sets the direction and vision for the company.

Fortunately, privacy is something we all hold very dear and there is always someone (like Malte in the video above) who is willing to fight for his right to privacy. Every day we see large companies being taken to task about their privacy policies and practices. However, we can’t always rely on other people to stand at the guard tower for us. We need to become more conscious about who and what is tracking us, what data we put out there and more so how to protect ourselves and our privacy.

If you are interested, I have compiled a short list (below) of tools and services you can use to aid in the projection of your privacy online and on mobile. However, it’s not just about browsing or watching what information you share. It’s also about what applications you install on your devices and what access you give 3rd party services to your accounts. Before you “Connect with Facebook” or “Upload your Contacts” make the effort to find out if the service you’re engaging with is reputable and secure.

Tools & Services

• AdBlock Plus – An old favourite and well trusted ad blocker.
• Disconnect – Blocks 3rd party tracking sites, notably popular social networks which track your browsing around the web.
• Do Not Track – Essentially tells websites you wish not to be tracked.
• DuckDuckGo – A search engine that doesn’t collect or store any personal information.
• HTTPS Everywhere – Forces an HTTPS connection, if the site offers one, in order to encrypt communication with the site.
• Onion Browser – Encrypts and tunnels your traffic to allow you to browse securely and anonymously for iPhone.
• Orbot – Similar to Onion Browser but for Android.
• PreyProject – Track your device(s) if they ever go missing.
• Tor Project – Encrypts and tunnels your traffic for secure and anonymous browsing, backbone for Onion Browser & Orbot.
• TrustFabric – It’s early days but it aims to allow you to control your data and how companies communicate with you.

Note: I recently enabled HTTPS-only browsing on this blog for all visitors. I know it’s not essential, but it’s nifty.

If a writer knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water.
- Ernest Hemingway

I have so much to say. So many things that I would like to weigh in on. Whenever I get the urge to blog, I map out the post in my head. I start writing the blog post and then after writing for quite a while, I save the post as a draft and never get around to publishing it.

The problem I have is one of “insecurity”, for lack of a better word. In most of my posts I strive to get a point of view across. However once I near the end, I start to attack my own post from the point of view of someone with a differing opinion. I then try and close all the gaps in the post in order to prevent someone from counter arguing or arguing with semantics. It becomes too tiring and eventually I give up on the post.

The real motivation for me preventing confrontation is not out of fear but rather me being too tired to justify myself. So I take the time to try and prevent that. I guess it’s kind of pointless in a way as the post never ends up being published. Perhaps I should just disable comments?

Another minor problem I have is that I assume what I want to write about is pretty obvious and that people already know what I’m writing about. I know this isn’t always true. However, I spend a lot of time consuming content and I often get the impression that I might not be really adding anything new – even when I add my own opinion or insight.

I don’t know, perhaps somewhere I just got some kind of writer’s block. It’s going to stop though. I am going to make time and publish posts that might not be bullet proof (IMHO). All I know is that I really enjoy blogging and I shouldn’t make it anymore complicated than it really is, because it isn’t. Expect some drafts to be published and a whole lot of opinion and insight from me, whether you like it or not.

I remember when I bought my Nokia N95 8GB. I can compare the feeling to when I got my first iPhone. In fact, it took me a while to switch from my N95 to my iPhone. I really wasn’t sure about the whole touch screen interface and everything on my N95 just worked. It had a better camera, it worked as my 3G modem, it had apps I used often, and it also just felt right. I can’t explain it, but I was emotionally attached to this device because it was just brilliant.

I’ve used many Nokia devices since the N95, either as a testing device or by playing around with a friend or colleague’s phone. I have yet to experience a Nokia device as magical as the N95. I know most people have heard that the Nokia Lumia is a wonderful device but quite frankly it’s not!

You see, the N95 came from years of both failure and progress with the long line of mobile phones Nokia had created over the years. It’s as if they took the best features from their range of phones and put them into one device. It had no real competitors, it was in a class of its own. Nokia led the pack and everyone else was playing catch up (until the iPhone 3G).

I just don’t get that feeling with the Lumia or any other Nokia device. I love the fact that the N95 was so bold, so different and so great. When it comes to Nokia’s current offerings, I can tell they are constantly playing catch-up. All they’ve been able to achieve with the Lumia is better sameness.

Why was the N95 Nokia’s last great phone? Well, it might not be and I hope I am wrong. However Nokia are playing catch up by creating devices they think people want due to Apple’s success with the iPhone and other handset manufacturers’ success with Android. I also think that the decision to run Windows Mobile on their devices was a bad one. I really think Nokia could do better without Microsoft.

And lastly, because I don’t think they have anyone internally who is willing to create the next curve, to trail blaze, to be bold and create the next truly great device. They are playing it safe. Like I said, I hope I am wrong.

Side Note: Firstly, this post was inspired by Stephen’s suggestion to get a Nokia Lumia as replacement to my now broken iPhone (dropped it). Secondly, I am aware of the African smartphone, feature phone and dumb phone dilemma where the the smartphone doesn’t really feature – but that’s not important here.

When I was a 35 year old CEO, I knew everything. Now I’m a 58 year old CEO and there’s rafts of things I don’t know.
- Howard Diamond

If you have attended an event where entrepreneurs are bound to be lurking, you will undoubtedly notice they are the most optimistic people ever. It’s their job to be right? They have to exude confidence in what they are doing because they are always selling, even when they aren’t.

However what you probably might not know and rarely see are the moments when the most confident and even the most successful entrepreneurs doubt themselves. The reason you don’t see it often is because they are masters at hiding it. In fact, I doubt myself quite often but you wouldn’t notice it because I never show it. I’ll explain in moment how I deal with doubt and uncertainty.

It’s an unwritten rule that entrepreneurs should always show that they are certain about what they are doing. Unfortunately doubt and uncertainty could be seen as a weakness and if customers, employees or investors sense that the entrepreneur is not in control it could lead to disaster (or so us entrepreneurs think).

I think that doubt should be seen as an asset to entrepreneurs and can be leveraged as such. Every entrepreneur should have a core group of people around him that he trusts to share his doubts with, who can often add valuable advice and perspective. However if you don’t have that core group yet or don’t want to bother them with every case of self doubt, here is how I often deal with doubt internally.

1. Dealing with Fear & Worst Case Scenario

I think most entrepreneurs’ doubt stems from the fear of failure. Am I good enough? Will this work? What happens if it doesn’t work? We all ask ourselves these questions, it’s only natural. At some point you need to get comfortable in dealing with fear and the best way to do this is to understand your worst case scenario. I have already experienced my worst case scenario before and I would be comfortable experiencing it again – therefore the only way for me is forward!

2. Knowing What You Don’t Know

I often find that I only doubt something because I am uncertain about a specific area of expertise or how something works. I will then spend time figuring out what I need to know and educate myself, thanks to Google University. If I am unable to educate myself sufficiently I will then seek out someone who can assist. Over time I have become more aware of what I don’t know and have realised that it’s impossible for me to know everything and always have the right answers – and I have become comfortable with that.

3. Play Devils Advocate

When I am in doubt I like to play devil’s advocate in order to asses the reason for doubt. Often attacking issues from different perspectives can add clarity. It’s not an easy task because you have to be honest with yourself and it will take time for you to become better at it. It’s definitely a skill worth teaching yourself.

4. Forget the Hype & Don’t Take Things Too Seriously

I know this isn’t easy but sometimes you need to realise that you can’t control everything. Don’t take everything too seriously. Let things go and let the world figure it out for you, which can often work out better. Remove yourself from the environment that is causing you to doubt yourself and go do what makes you happy. You can always come back to it later but constantly fretting over something will only cause you to stress more which isn’t conducive to solving your problems.

In closing, don’t be afraid to doubt yourself. I think there is something wrong if you don’t experience doubt every now and again. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be certain about things, I’m just saying don’t be afraid to doubt yourself. Once you become more comfortable with doubt, it will be easier for you to be more optimistic as you will be more confident and secure in yourself as an entrepreneur.