In the Boardroom with Allon Raiz – facilitated by David Zidel
David Zidel facilitated a talk for ORT by Allon Raiz, the CEO of Raizcorp.
Raizcorp according to the Economist is the only genuine incubator in Africa, it supports over 500 businesses. Allon was recognized in 2008 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a young global leader.
The talk was given in the presence of many ORT Jet mentors. These are the people that assist with knowledge and insight to assist many small ORT Jet businesses overcome their challenges and to grow.
Allon shared his journey from being a youngster in his family’s business in Durban to running the most successful business incubator in Africa. He shared many pearls of wisdom, the 5 traits of an entrepreneur being just one of them.
The question is often asked is an entrepreneur born or bred? Alon believes that that is the wrong question to ask. He said that to know if you are an entrepreneur, you need to ask yourself if you have the following traits:
1. Crisis / Opportunity: Do you see an opportunity when faced with a crisis? Do big problems paralyze or motivate you?
2. Tolerance for pain: Can you handle the pain of rejection? Can you handle being told “No” again and again, but still push forward?
3. Tolerance for risk: Can you handle uncertainty and the chance that you will lose, not only money but much more?
4. Muster resources: Do you have the belief in your ability to find what you need, when you need it? Do you believe that you can source what is required, even when you do not currently possess those resources?
5. Learn & iterate: Do you learn from failure, do you have the ability to continuously change the way you do things, so that each iteration is more successful than the previous one?
IF you want to know more, get hold of the two books Allon wrote:
“What to do when you want to give up”
and
“lose the business plan - what they don’t teach you about being an entrepreneur”