AfricanOptimist #13 Claudia Castellanos - How you dust off an old family recipe and build it into a super hot brand, while being fair to suppliers and the planet

We hold a delightful conversation with entrepreneur and self-proclaimed food rebel Claudia Castellanos who takes us on the rollercoaster ride of growing an international business that started with her and her husband's first sell out of 400 bottles of chilli sauce from a tiny stand at a music festival in Eswatini, southern Africa.

What follows is nothing short of a gutsy tale of what it really takes to turn a single recipe, on a fat-stained paper, into an international, super hot brand with a venomous bite.

This, despite insisting on local production, permaculture training, organic certification, glass bottles, pure ingredients, and facing revolving staff at retailers, naysayers who don't get it, crazy deadlines and serious competition from rows and rows of other chilli sauces sitting neatly on supermarket shelves.

Claudia was very generous in her sharing of every detail. It is a rare insight into how a couple who knew nothing about retail, and manufacturing, in a country not known for its chillies, managed to build something truly special.

If you need a touch of inspiration, and a load of really well-earned and practical business advice - this episode is for you!

For more info on Claudia, a transcript and show notes, visit Claudia's guest page on the africanoptimist website (africanoptimist.co.za).

TIME STAMPS

00:00 Introduction to the African Optimist Podcast

00:23 Claudia Castanos: The Birth of Black Mamba

01:21 Values Over Profit: The Philosophy Behind Black Mamba

02:52 Claudia's Journey: From Colombia to Eswatini

12:04 The First Recipe and Launch at Bushfire Festival

21:19 Building the Brand: Challenges and Successes

31:01 Expanding Distribution and Overcoming Obstacles

39:34 Sourcing Chillies from Smallholder Farmers

42:36 High Value Crops and Farmer Partnerships

43:59 Initial Farmer Reactions and Market Access

46:38 Challenges and Solutions in Crop Production

54:50 Scaling Production and Food Safety

01:09:41 Recipe Development and Product Innovation

01:17:10 Future Challenges and Optimism

Meet the founder of Brand Africa, Dr Thebe Ikalafeng.

Once decked out in immaculate corporate suits, he is now a walking celebration of African creativity and haute couture, a mentor to many a young talented creative bubbling up through the entrepreneurial ranks and a passionate promoter and protector of all things branded African.

Much is written and broadcast about this award-winning marketer. But now he has written a book in which he is the teller of his marketing tales and his turn away from corporate and big brand marketing towards marketing an entire continent. This episode delves into some of the key moments that marked this journey.

We cover his pursuit of excellence from an early age, his 'almost career' as an accountant, studies in the United States before South Africa became a democracy and why when destiny calls, your only job is to listen and follow.

We explore his time as Nike's Chief Marketing Officer for Africa, and why he turned his back on some big money in the corporate world to focus solely on promoting African brands.

We then dig deeper into what a brand-led African Renaissance means, how you can market a continent through brands, and why it is so important for African leaders to 'put Africa first'.

We also cover the founding of his organisation Brand Africa, and the insights of its flagship programme, the Brand Africa 100 survey (and how he created it from scratch) and why the survey consistently has shown 'how Africans say one thing, and do another' instead of buying African products.

He emphasizes the importance of visiting African countries for oneself, and why he decided to visit every single country on the continent following a conversation with Samsung Africa CEO KK Parks.

Thebe does not suffer fools lightly and looks to a future filled with action, rather than backward, in regret. Asked about where he gets the energy from to do what he does, he laughed and said, 'You sleep when you're dead.' He is a whirlwind of action, who epitomises his own mantra.

Through his travels, his organisations, his insights and regular talks, Thebe has shown us all another side of what happens up and down the continent, and is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable advocates for African brands you will ever meet.

Settle in for a fantastic listen to the life of the African Traveller, Dr Thebe Ikalafeng.

For more info on Thebe, a transcript and show notes, visit Thebe's guest page on the africanoptimist website (africanoptimist.co.za)

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction to the African Optimist Podcast

00:25 Meet the Guest: Intro to a Marketing Icon

01:33 Affirmations of African Identity

02:25 The Journey of Self-Discovery

02:55 The Book: A Different Perspective on Africa

03:31 Marketing Mastery with Nike

05:16 Iconic Campaigns and Creative Risks

07:41 A Passion for Marketing

09:32 Life and Studies Abroad

11:04 Returning to a New South Africa

12:36 Following One's Destiny

16:39 Corporate Offers and Entrepreneurial Decisions

20:23 Building African Brands

26:06 Branding Africa: The World Cup and Beyond

27:06 Redefining Africa's Agenda Through Branding

28:20 The Power of Brands in Shaping National Identity

29:54 Challenges and Opportunities in Branding Africa

32:11 Establishing the Brand Africa 100 Metric

34:51 The Gap Between Trust in African Products and Buying African Products

37:58 The Importance of Intra-Africa Trade

40:00 Learning from Global Branding Success Stories

43:21 The Role of Intellectual Property in African Branding

45:11 Personal Contributions to African Branding

48:28 The Need for Political Will and Local Agenda-Setting

56:03 Thebe's Journey Across Africa and Its Impact on him

59:53 Countering Negative Narratives with Optimism

01:01:51 Conclusion

#11 Sarah Dusek - on becoming an entrepreneur who thinks BIG, and a venture capitalist who helps African women think BIGGER - an insider's guide to scaling and pitching your business.

Take a wild entrepreneurial ride with Sarah Dusek, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author of Thinking Bigger, a powerful guide to growing a business, scaling a business and pitching a business for more money than most women dare to imagine.

In this episode, Sarah shares tactical advice on the shift in mindset that is required to grow big businesses as a female entrepreneur, and candidly speaks about how she had to come unstuck from outdated notions on motherhood and a woman's traditional 'helper' role in order to build her business - which she sold for a whopping $100 million ten years after she launched it.

In her book, Sarah highlights the fact that currently less than 2 percent of women-owned businesses do more than $1 million in revenue annually and only 2 percent of all venture capital dollars yearly goes towards funding female entrepreneurs. The book, and this interview, are part of Sarah's mission to demystify the world of fundraising and the basic building blocks needed to systematically and tenaciously pivot and push until a minimum viable product is created that can ultimately scale.

If you read one entrepreneur book this year, let it be Thinking Bigger, and if you only listen to one entrepreneur's intrepid and inspiring journey, let it be this episode. Sarah masterfully weaves her thoughts on why female entrepreneurs play too small, with practical advice on how to draft a winning pitch deck for something big, all the while sharing her personal success story of growing a business from four tents on a family farm to an international luxury lifestyle brand known for pioneering glamping.

For more information on Sarah Dusek, visit her page on the AfricanOptimist website, where you can find her bio, show notes and episode transcript.

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Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction to the AfricanOptimist Podcast

01:18 Sarah Dusek's Journey: From Zimbabwe to Montana

06:00 The Birth of Under Canvas

09:57 Challenges and Pivots in Entrepreneurship

20:16 Overcoming Doubts and Embracing Risks

29:24 The Tent Rental Business

33:10 Creating a Tented Hotel Experience

36:57 Overcoming Initial Challenges

37:48 Living Conditions and Staff Dynamics

38:37 Realizing the Business Potential that Can Scale

41:14 Understanding Venture Capital

42:47 Shifting Mindsets and Building Value

49:56 The Importance of a Pitch Deck

54:44 Facing the VC World

01:02:02 Embracing Thoughtful Capitalism

01:05:41 Empowering Female Entrepreneurs

01:11:58 Conclusion