Allen Muzorera

▫️God 🙏
▫️Cybersecurity🕵️‍♂️🛡️
▫️Software💻⚙️
▫️Construction🔨🏗️
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes the difference

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

#ALX_SE #ALX_FE #ALX_BE #ALX_PDBE #ALX_Africa

[Village Lawyer ⚖️🇿🇦👆 @Malatjie_]

Do not be the office clown.

No matter what.

[Wanda Wandia @Wanda_Wandia]

I’m 30. This is my third time starting over.

There’s no limit on fresh starts. Do it, until it feels right 🌻🌻.

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

I’m here, I care, and I’m ready to grow—with and for this community.

Let’s begin. 💪
#ALX_SE #ALX_PDBE #ALX_AFRICA

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@VusiThembekwayo The results are loud!

[Village Lawyer ⚖️🇿🇦👆 @Malatjie_]

What’s with women and small TVs 😩

Like you stood there and saw all those huge nice TVs and you decided you just want a cute 40”

hai la mbora

[𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒕 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 @Shadaya_Knight]

Bro to bro: I hope you win the battles you don't talk about

[VT @VusiThembekwayo]

I have been very careful not to comment on #DRIP issue at this time. Our brother & his team are already having a plenty tough time right now, they don’t need voices of condemnation at this time.

Even if some warned him & he didn’t listen, now might not the best time to pick at the wound. This is just my opinion, you all are free to express yours fam.

A public failure of something that has so closely defined you (something on which you built your credentials) is humiliating to say the least.

So, and maybe I am getting old, but my default is to give grace.

Here is what all entrepreneurs - especially 1st generation entrepreneurs - can learn from this painful episode:

1. Seek out mentors as early as you can.

A lot of us have made the kinds of mistakes that could have easily resulted in our businesses failing.

My personal saving grace has been that I have been very intentional about seeking advice & perspectives from more experienced entrepreneurs.

This is why - very publicly - Dr. Richard Maponya was a mentor when we started @MyGrowthFund . Since his passing, I have decided to keep my relationships with my mentors private because most of them just don’t like the limelight or attention. But believe me, I have them.

So, if you’re reading this, find somebody with at least 10yrs of experience (the 10yrs is because you want somebody that has been through economic & market cycles) and ask them to meet with you once every 3-months for an hour coffee.

IF THEY AGREE, Come with very specific questions, share what you’re struggling with - don’t bring the PR version of yourself - and then sit there and uncomfortably let them rip you apart.

Rather they amplify your failings in private so you can fix them, than those failings become humiliating blind spots.

Remember that by the time your failings become public, it’s usually too late.

2. Find your wolf pack.

Being an entrepreneur is lonely. Being successful at something can fool you into thinking that everybody genuinely loves you, or wants you to succeed or that you’re just a “genius”.

Newsflash: You’re not.

Joining communities like EO (for lower revenues businesses) or YPO (for more mature businesses) is a lifeline. Take it. There are also Chambers of commerce in most towns. Join them.

Don’t walk alone!
It’s dangerous.

3. There is a distinction between the four stages of a business & you need to know which stage you are good at:

Stage 1: starting a business,

This requires innovation & self motivation.

Stage 2: running a business,

This requires grit & patience. Business is hard and it takes time to learn. Give yourself time.

Stage 3: Scaling a business,

This requires brutal clarity. I have seen folks critiquing the brother for expanding into adjacencies.

But I don’t agree that he was wrong. I think he may well have been correct.
It’s called “economies of scope”. And is an often used but seldom understood model for scaling a business.

The core issue - from my vantage point - seems to be ‘over-trading’.

What I can tell is you most businesses that survive early stage are actually destroyed by a poorly executed attempt at scaling.

Scale can kill you. How do you avoid that? Refer to point (1) above.

Stage 4a: Managing a struggling business. This requires an entire post on its own. Suffice to say, there are people who specialise at just this part. That’s why large companies hire a turnaround team.

Stage 4b: managing a successful business is also hard because you must be disciplined in your actions & measured in your decisions. Don’t drink your own cool-aid or believe your own hype. Stay teachable.

Footnote: we must resist the urge to be simplistic in our analysis of why companies fail or why founders sometimes destroy the value they have created. There are academic theses on this subject and yet it still happens. So we are all students.

Recommended reading “The Science of Failing Well” by Dr. Amy Edmonson.

Sorry for the lecture.

VT

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@MissAmahle_Zulu @SizweDhlomo Borrow me = "Ask from me"

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@SpArKsMaN_SA @ddlvidbot

[RDCWORLD1 BURNER @rdcburner]

Kendrick Lamar Fans after he dropped Euphoria 😂

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@Solphendukaa Lol they missing the pun intended🤣

[Julien Barbier 🙃❤️🏴‍☠️ @jbarbier]

Switch to Emacs!

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

#SoftwareDeveloper #entrepreneur #technology #tech

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@Sarahwa338 @jbarbier Looks great! Care to assist a brother on this project?

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@LimitlessClaver @FredSwaniker @alx_africa I'd appreciate that. On whoch platform? Slack?

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@rahhouyassine1 Care to help? Honestly struggling 😂

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

@fa_v_iM @alx_africa It's a mess on my side😂

[Allen Muzorera @king_Tongaa]

#NewProfilePic