From start-up to stay-up.
Most ventures die before year five. The ones that don’t share a small set of frameworks. I write about them, and I run a consulting practice for founders who want to apply them.
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What I write about.
The Stay-Up Philosophy
Long-form thinking on what it takes to grow a venture past year five.
02Founder Execution
Practical frameworks on goals, productivity, and the gap between intention and action.
03African Capital
Capital structures, term sheets, and the operator-investor lens, written from inside African markets.
04Teams & Governance
Building, hiring, and governing under the constraints of an early-stage African venture.
Recent essays
One Vertical at a Time: The Super-App Temptation and the Discipline of Sequence
Nobody uses a super-app because it has many services. They use it because one service earned their trust,…
When the Bank Wants In: Strategic Money and the Strings You Cannot See
Banks, telcos and insurers are among the most motivated investors in African startups. Their money buys a position,…
Two Signatures: Financial Controls for a Team Too Small to Have a Finance Department
Small teams skip financial controls because they trust each other. Controls are what protect that trust when a…
I’ve been on both sides of the table.
Founder of five ventures across Southern Africa. Author of Beyond Inception. Operator-investor on small African deals. I’ve watched companies survive year five and watched companies die in year three, and the difference was never what the founder books said it would be.
This site is the longer answer. I write the frameworks I wish I’d had earlier, and I work with founders who want to apply them through TBGA Consulting Group.
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