Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden built Yuppiechef from a lounge-floor startup into one of South Africa’s most recognisable online brands – then had to confront the hardest truth in founder psychology: the skills that build a business are rarely the ones that scale it. A self-confessed people-pleaser who struggled to delegate control, Smith’s real leadership test wasn’t the funding rounds or the growth – it was learning to get out of his own way. This is a conversation about the gap between building something and running something, and why the exit cheque is sometimes the most honest feedback a founder ever gets. This series is sponsored by Discovery Bank. Editions drop on Tuesdays at 07:00.

Mike Teke built Seriti Resources into one of South Africa’s most significant coal miners. 

Now he’s navigating the uncomfortable transition to renewables in a country that still depends on fossil fuels to keep the lights on. No consultants. No compromise. Just an expectation that his people show up with global best practice or don’t show up at all. 

This is a conversation about what genuine conviction looks like in an industry where everyone is hedging, and why being unreasonable is the only honest response to a global crisis.

This series is sponsored by Discovery Bank.

Follow all the episodes here.

Editions drop on Tuesdays at 07:00.

Natasha Sideris grew up running the till in her dad’s restaurant, and was studying psychology when she started a side hustle she named after herself. 
Now with 45 stores in five countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, she has been fighting for survival on the dangerous fringe of the Iran war. 
This is a conversation about what you actually find out about yourself when the thing you built gets taken apart by forces you never saw coming.
This series is sponsored by Discovery Bank.
Editions drop on Tuesdays at 07:00.