From ‘naughty lists’ to sprinting swans, wandering ducks to Amarula-based incentives, The First Kudu takes you on the roller coaster ride of a start-up, and dives into real learnings along the way. The narrative invites you to journey through the chaos with the young team and unpacks in gritty detail what goes into building a tech start-up – with stories of fun and failure honestly told in equal measure. The First Kudu tells the story of HouseME, a rental technology company founded in South Africa that grew to 34 employees and 50 000 registered users, processing hundreds of millions of rands each year. The company won awards, raised several rounds of funding and was sought after by competitors.

What does it take to be an effective leader in today’s business world? Mike Teke, the CEO of Seriti and well-known entrepreneur, has more experience than most as a leader. His opinion is heeded and followed by many. In The Future of Leadership is Collegiality Mike shares some of his insights on leadership and the approaches that have made him successful. Indeed, it is a book that belongs on the desks of every existing and aspiring entrepreneur, CEO and manager.

Are you ready to rise to the challenge of increasing the metabolic rate and success of your business? The Other End of the Telescope is a high speed gallop through the absurdities and challenges of getting things done in large companies, and the inherent contradictions in leadership and organisational behaviours that prevent businesses from realising their potential and achieving greater success. In this collection of thought provoking essays, Ian Russell draws on more than 25 years’ experience of leading and working in large organisations around the world to distil the key themes and challenges confronting big business today.

What would you do if you suddenly lost everything? If the business you’ve put your heart and soul into is gone overnight? This question became a reality for many entrepreneurs whose businesses were destroyed during the looting of July 2021. Alef Meulenberg travelled into the heart of townships like Alexandra in Johannesburg and the deep rural settings of KwaZulu-Natal to follow ten entrepreneurs who built businesses from nothing, nurtured and grew them over the years, only to lose everything during this time.

‘The only thing in life that you have 100 per cent control over are the thoughts in your head. When your thoughts are centred around the very essence of your purpose, and the meaning of your life, you unleash immeasurable power.’ In 2016 Richard Wright was confronted with a diagnosis of rare pituitary cancer – a disease about which little is known, other than that it is almost invariably terminal. In attempting to deal with this bleak knowledge Richard defined what mattered most in his life – his true purpose – which was ensuring that his two young daughters would not have to grow up without their dad.

In 2011, the sharing economy was dubbed by Time magazine as one of the ‘Ten ideas that will change the world’ and it has been widely hailed as a major growth sector, by sources ranging from Fortune magazine, to the World Economic Forum, to former President Obama. The sharing economy is a new economic model that focuses on access to assets or resources, instead of ownership. It has exploded in popularity over recent years and has disrupted a significant number of mature industries such as accommodation, automotive, and entertainment. The total value of the global sharing economy is estimated to grow from $14 billion in 2014 to $335 billion by 2025.