Shows
Breaking Out with Jared LesarLindile Ndzaba - From Side Hustle to Startup with Khayelitsha's Finest WinesIn the Season 1 finale, we sit down with Lindile Ndzaba, the founder of Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines, the newest addition to the wine scene in the Western Cape, South Africa. By partnering with winemakers from across the Cape, Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines is aiming to bring the kind of high-quality wine you might find in Cape Town’s finest bars and restaurants to areas like Lindile’s home neighbourhood of Khayelitsha. For too long, communities like Khayelitsha have been underserved by the wine-making industry and Lindile is on a mission to change that.
After starting out in the hospit...
2021-07-2842 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarEzlyn Olivia Barends - Leaving Corporate, Following Your Curiosity and the Value of Continuous LearningOn this episode, I sit down with Ezlyn Olivia Barends, the founding director of the South African chapter of the DreamGirls Academy. The DreamGirls Academy is a female mentorship and empowerment organisation which supports young women all across South Africa from economic dependency to self-sufficiency through education and entrepreneurship in the tech and innovation sectors. Before co-founding the DreamGirls Academy, as a young social entrepreneur, Ezlyn headed up the D.A.D Fund, an NGO started by her father which aims to develop future leaders.
Ezlyn is a career coach, mentor, speaker and blogger and has an...
2021-07-2142 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarKeenan Tyler Oliphant - Crowdfunding and Taking South African Stories to New York's TheatresOn this episode, I sit down with South Africa's latest young export to the USA in the performing arts, Keenan Tyler Oliphant.
Keenan is a Cape Town born theatre-maker and director currently in New York at the prestigious Columbia University in New York studying for his MFA in Directing for Theatre. In 2021, Keenan was named as one of the Directing Fellows for the Drama League in New York, putting him among other illustrious names like the late Chadwick Boseman. Keenan is also a founding member of Mixing Bowl Productions, a Cape Town based theatre company which produces m...
2021-07-0747 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarArthur Attwell - Starting Over After Setbacks and Disrupting the Book Publishing IndustryBuilding the latest new disruptive start-up these days is something glamorous and often celebrated. But what happens when your business fails? How do you pick yourself up after setbacks and start over as you continue to pursue your mission?
On this week's episode, I chat to Arthur Attwell who is on a mission to change the book publishing industry. Arthur is the co-founder and MD of Electric Book Works, a Cape-Town based book publishing innovation company that is helping bring book publishing into the digital age. Arthur is a Shuttleworth Foundation fellow and serial business starter - a...
2021-06-2344 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarAllan van der Meulen (Bonus Episode) - Overcoming the Reporting Problem of Impact with ZltoBefore you listen to this episode, make sure you first listen to my full interview with Allan van der Meulen - The Power of Choice and Destroying Stereotypes: The Zlto Story!
On this bonus episode, I chat to Allan van der Meulen, co-founder of Zlto, about a pressing problem for impact ventures and impact investing: reporting. For a corporate or impact investor, being able to quantify and accurately measure and report on the impact of their investment is crucial to justifying an investment to funders. The way that Zlto has overcome this on their platform is genius...
2021-06-1610 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarAllan van der Meulen - The Power of Choice and Destroying Stereotypes: The Zlto StoryIn this special Youth Day episode, I sit down with Allan van der Meulen, the co-founder of Zlto. Zlto is a fintech start-up that has designed a platform that uses blockchain tech to incentivise positive behaviour and deeds amongst youth by rewarding users with digital currency that can be used to buy things like groceries, electricity and airtime and in doing so, helping reduce unemployment by allowing young people to develop skills and work experience. Allan co-founded Zlto as a teenager but his journey started out after a happy accident looking for a jazz cafe led him to RLabs...
2021-06-1645 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarNotes from the Host - Reflections on the Journey So Far...On this week's episode, host Jared Lesar, pauses to reflect on the journey of the podcast so far and some of the lessons learnt from his guests. He unpacks some of the themes that cut across each of the guests' stories: everyone has their own walls and the struggle to break out of them is not unique; finding purpose and fulfilment in your vocation is a worthwhile pursuit; and creating meaningful connections with people who matter is something we all need to be doing more of.
Jared also discusses, briefly, the concept of Ikigai - your reason f...
2021-06-0918 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarBradley Joshua - Producing with Purpose with Gambit FilmsIf you watch local South African TV and film content, chances are you've come across some of Bradley Joshua's work. Bradley is the CEO and Executive Producer at Gambit Films, an independent multi-award winning film and TV production company. Gambit Films has produced acclaimed South African films like Noem My Skollie, Nommer 37, Ellen, The Ellen Pakkies Story as well as loved local TV series like Suidooster. Most recently, Bradley produced TV series Blood and Water, which is only the second SA-produced show to be distributed on Netflix and he is the producer and executive producer for numerous other film...
2021-06-0244 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarImraan Samuels - Regenerating Self with Permaculture and Guerilla HouseImraan Samuels, co-founder of Guerilla House, speaks about his journey from dropping out of high school to becoming an award-winning permaculture practitioner and co-founding one of South Africa's leading urban permaculture platforms. Guerilla House is a registered NPO which operates as a shared learning platform for the experimentation and pursuit of regenerative technologies and regenerative worldviews using permaculture as a framework. Imraan has appeared on a number of platforms to discuss permaculture and Guerilla House, including Cape Talk Radio, and he and co-founder Josh Potgieter were honoured at the 2019 Eco-Logic Awards winning gold for their work with Guerilla House...
2021-05-2643 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarFrans Cronje - Pioneering AI & Machine Learning with DataProphetFrans Cronje, co-founder and CEO of DataProphet, talks us through how he went from a promising career in management consulting having studied Actuarial Science to co-founding one of South Africa's leading AI companies. DataProphet develops machine learning solutions which enable manufacturers to significantly increase production efficiencies. DataProphet has been named as one of the most promising AI start-ups in the world by CB Insights, and Frans has been invited to present at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Until only recently in South Africa, there was very little in the way of formal education in AI and machine learning...
2021-05-1942 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarEulyn Colette Hufkie - Costume Design and Bringing Life to The Walking DeadSouth African costume designer, Eulyn Colette Hufkie, walks us through how her passion for costume and fashion design took her all the way to the USA and a successful career designing costumes for film and TV. Eulyn is best known for her award-winning work on 6 seasons of hit TV series, The Walking Dead, but she has worked on a number of other notable projects like Hell Fest, The Purge, The Resident and Forever My Girl. While studying accounting at UCT, http://www.eulyn.com/ discovered her true calling was designing fashion and costumes and got her first job in d...
2021-05-1245 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarDalin Oliver - From Teacher to ComedianDalin Oliver, comedian and sports presenter on Goodhope FM, discusses his improbable journey as a high school mathematics and history teacher to becoming one of South Africa's most loved comedians and voices on radio. His comedy shows "I Came, I Taught, I Left", "Face for Radio" and "Day Zero: the Water Shortage Comedy Tour" have each had very successful runs and are currently available for viewing on Showmax. Dalin also made his on-screen debut in a lead starring role in the action comedy movie Finders Keepers in 2017. Dalin's story truly illustrates the value of perseverance, investing in yourself and...
2021-05-0554 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarGlenn Kisela - NiBBLE and a Career in Esports and GamingGlenn Kisela, the Creative Director of NiBBLE Esports, talks about his journey from studying finance to co-owning one of South Africa's premier Esports organizations. Esports, short for 'electronic sports', is a form of online gaming that has transformed traditional gaming into a full-blown spectator sport and is now firmly part of mainstream media worldwide. Although Glenn always had a love for gaming, it was after becoming a prominent gaming columnist and advertising guru that Glenn first became involved with https://nibbleesports.co.za/ It hasn't always been an easy road and Glenn's story highlights the importance of having a passion...
2021-04-2953 minBreaking Out with Jared LesarSarah Collins - Wonderbag and the Journey of a Social EntrepreneurSarah Collins, founder of Wonderbag, unpacks her incredible journey to founding a multi-million dollar global social enterprise focused on empowering women and impacting climate change. Raised in rural South Africa during Apartheid, from a young age Sarah was confronted by inequality and injustice and it was then that a burning desire to change the world around her, and the inspiration for https://www.wonderbagworld.com/ was born. Jared and Sarah discuss a variety of topics:
What is the Wonderbag? (3:30)
How Wonderbag alleviates the effects of poverty in Africa (7:35)
Building a Carbon Credits business model (16:30)
Life as a young Sarah Collins a...
2021-04-291h 17Breaking Out with Jared LesarEpisode 0 - Introduction to Breaking OutListen to host, Jared Lesar, about the inspiration behind Breaking Out and his personal journey to starting this podcast.
2021-02-2705 min