Shows
Business Excellence - TOP 5 SeriesIn Conversation - Brendan Lee Top Five Tips For Improving Your Digital Ads Conversion Rates“People get caught up with digital and data and thinking, 'Oh, I've got to game the system. I've got to know the algorithm. But at the end of the day, remember that there's actually a human on the other end." Brendan Lee Top Five Top Tips For Improving Your Digital Ads Conversion Rates1. Know who you are most going to be able to help2. Speak specifically to that target audience3. Talk about the problem they have that you will magic make go away4. Offer something small o...2025-07-2117 min
Business Excellence - TOP 5 SeriesIn Conversation - Lee Stewart Top Five Tips For Embedding Sustainability In Your Business Strategy“The key is finding ways that collaboration can benefit all parties and lead to greater sustainability impact than any one organization could achieve alone.“ The Top 5 Tips for Embedding Sustainability in Your Business Strategy1. Confidence 2. Commitment 3. Consistency 4. Courage5. Collaboration TIME STAMP SUMMARY01:07 Understanding the global issues that affect sustainability.06:39 Why maintaining frameworks is a major key.13:25 Taking accountability for your role in the damage.18:00 Community is important in achieving s...2024-11-1020 min
Business Excellence - TOP 5 SeriesIn Conversation -Wendy Lee Adapting without losing your personal brand“We will go in and we will look into the business and see how we can translate that in order for your corporate executives to be able to live and breathe the brand.” “Number one would be what is the product or services that you are selling? Yeah, and number two, which kind of customers are you targeting.”“Appearance, behaviour, communication, the ABCs of image. So, there is no point in you dressing up very nicely, but at the end of the day, when you communicate, it doesn't sound professional. The language that you use, you know, yo...2022-01-3027 min
Business Excellence - TOP 5 SeriesIn Conversation- Victoria Lee Using Social Media to Market“And for the team as well, it means that we've got wider access to talent, because we don't have to nail down into one particular geographical location” “Prior to the pandemic, people were commuting for at least two or three hours a day getting to the office and getting home again. And suddenly their commute is from their bedroom to their office or their living room. And they've freed up so many hours in their day. So maybe you do end up doing 15 minutes, half an hour extra work in the day, but yet you actuall...2021-11-0724 min
SeedpodSeason 2 IntroHello again, its me, Lee, I am back finally with season 2 called Big Questions.This is just an intro and small taste of whats to come.Look out for new episodes dropping soon!2021-10-1203 min
Seedpod93: Nhlanhla Mahlangu - Chant of a nationIn this week's episode I jump back to an interview I did at Design Indaba earlier this year but the relevance of the content has not changed and if anything in light of recent events is that much more powerful to listen to. I had the privilege of a half an hour conversation with Nhlanhla Mahlangu known both locally and internationally for his richly choreographed theatrical productions and his work with the famous South African artist William Kentridge. Nhlanhla is the very embodiment of tenacity. Born in Phola Park informal settlement on Johannesburg’s East Rand during the height of...2020-08-1129 min
Seedpod92: Justin Needham - The business of wasteJustin Needham, my last guest for the plastics free July series, has been involved in recycling for many years on a grassroots level. Having started one of the first consumer recycling collections businesses in South Africa he has first hand knowledge of how the system works and what the inherent shortfalls are. After spotting a gap in the market he is now pioneering the sector once again by bringing the reverse vending machine concept to our shores but tweaking it for local application and backing it with data and a custom consumer app.We discuss the state...2020-07-291h 16
Seedpod91: George van der Schyff - Pristine heartIn his latest incarnation, this weeks guest, George van der Schyff heads up Pristine earth, an NGO based in Cape Town working in the environment and specifically plastics waste and pollution. Their goal is to form collaborations and bring stakeholders together to enhance the best solutions in order to support them to achieve maximum impact.One of the projects they have involvement with at the moment is brimming the Litterboom concept to Cape Town which provides a simple yet innovative way or retrieving litter from rivers.Our conversation traversed plastics pollution, our plastics industry, poverty a...2020-07-221h 11
Seedpod90: Paul Cocksedge - Inspiring joyLondon-based Paul Cocksedge has worked on projects as diverse as a flower-powered light, a canopy for the world’s largest botanical gardens, and furniture that fuses different metals through a freezing process. It’s impossible to pigeonhole the restlessly inventive Cocksedge, who studied industrial design at Sheffield Hallam University and product design under Ron Arad at the Royal College of Art in London. Few people are more adept at seeing everyday problems that cry out for design solutions – and he’s intent upon solving these problems in elegant and unexpected ways.For me to sit and unpack the crea...2020-07-1437 min
Seedpod89: Ian Dommisse - To Ecobrick or notThis week for plastic free July I chat to eco pioneer Ian Dommisse who is an architect with a passion for alternative, environmentally friendly construction methods. In 2013 he founded The EcoBrick Exchange (EBE), a recycling non-profit, which aims to use upcycled plastic waste as a building material. Ian now also focuses on landscaping projects, education and training as his way of making a difference.We chatted about many of the myths around Ecobricks and how they can best be used to divert waste from landfill and microplastics from the ocean. Going into the conversation I was speculative...2020-07-071h 21
Seedpod88: Manu Prakash - Democratising scienceThis weeks guest Manu Prakash, who I met at the design Indaba earlier this year, did his master’s and PhD in applied physics at MIT before founding the Prakash Lab at Stanford. “Manu works at the molecular scale to literally try and understand how the world really works. he is the co-inventor of the Foldscope and co-founder of Foldscope Instruments. Manu is dedicated towards inventing and distributing “frugal science” tools to democratize access to science , diagnostics of deadly diseases like malaria and convening global citizen science communities to tackle planetary scale environmental challenges such as mosquito surveillan...2020-06-3027 min
Seedpod87: Rowan le Roux - Business for goodAs part of my Foodnext conference series I had the privilege to interview Rowan le Roux, who has been involved in sustainable activities for over 15 years from ecological economic research, to environmental finance to being sustainability manager within a large plastic manufacturer. Rowan believes, wholeheartedly, in business as a force for good and in the role that purpose driven businesses can play in restoring environmental and community systems in South Africa. Rowan is currently Operations Director at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa where changing business for good is their businessI learnt a hell of a...2020-06-231h 07
Seedpod86: Catalina Lotero - Natural by designTogether with a multidisciplinary team, Catalina Lotero is tackling the global energy crisis with a surprisingly simple, plant-based idea. The Colombian-born American, who studied industrial design in Bogotá, Colombia, and is currently doing her Masters in design at Keio University in Tokyo, came up with the sustainable solution to solve a pressing problem. One in eight people worldwide does not have access to electricity, with 84% of them living in rural areas. Lotero’s ‘Raiki’ – essentially an autonomous generator – is sure to be a game-changing project. This conversation was one of the inspiring interactions I had at Design Indaba earli...2020-06-1737 min
Seedpod85: Pavitray Pillay - Active awarenessThis weeks guest, Pavitray Pillay, is the manager of the WWF (SASSI) program or Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative. She has been involved in consumer awareness, education, outreach and public engagement on sustainable seafood and marine conservation for the last 5 years. Coming from humble beginnings and a background in marine biology Pavs brings both passion and deep knowledge to the work she does. She is now heading up behaviour change at WWF using the experienced gained through the SASSI program combined with behaviour science to bring a new edge to the campaigns WWF are running aimed at driving real c...2020-06-081h 19
Seedpod84: Debbie Millman - Design your life“Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an author, educator, curator and host of the Design Matters podcast.As the founder and host of Design Matters, one of the world’s first and longest running podcasts, Millman has interviewed nearly 500 artists, designers and cultural commentators over the past 14 years. Design Matters won a 2011 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, in 2015 Apple designated it one of the best overall podcasts on iTunes, and in 2018 the show was honored by th...2020-06-0237 min
Seedpod83: Nicki Russell - Big heart, big impactLast year as part of the Foodnext series I had the privilege of chatting to Nicki Russell, head of Innovation at Pick n Pay.Nicki is a passionate foodie and product developer demonstrating a 20 year history of working across multiple categories in food retail. She is skilled in trend analysis, creating and landing new concepts and inspiring teams and suppliers to push product boundaries. Her world is “all about the product,” and the customer experience is key to ongoing growth.We had a great conversation focused on innovation in the retail space from supporting, growing and...2020-05-2542 min
Seedpod82: Vukheta Mukhari - Nature sees no wasteEarlier this year I had the privilege of attending the Design Indaba before lockdown. This weeks guest, similarly to last week really impressed me with his energy, passion and focus toward making our world a better place.A born innovator, Vukheta Mukhari was always going to be at the forefront of human knowledge. As a Masters candidate in civil engineering at the University of Cape Town (UCT) he is passionate about greening the economy, and the ground-breaking project he is currently involved with seeks to develop more eco-friendly building materials, such as bricks. What makes these ‘bio-bricks’ uniqu...2020-05-1851 min
Seedpod81: Gift Lubele - What it means to be humanIts been quite a long time since this conversation was recorded and the world has changed significantly but I feel its even more relevant today where we are busy evaluating the world we want to see post Covid.Gift Lubele is the co-founder of Kudoti – South Africa’s first data and analytics recycling platform that increase efficiency and reduce costs in food, general and other waste operations. Kudoti was named one of the 25 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company SA. He is one of the 2019 top 20 under 30 entrepreneurs by Fast company and currently works as a research engi...2020-05-111h 15
Seedpod80: Stephen Fern - A new world ArkThis week I had the fortune of connecting with Stephen Fern who has a background working with many of the worlds wealthiest families and helping them to find purpose in their wealth.He has now created his own project called Ark2030 which has among others the ambitious goal of restoring 500 Million hectares of land to their pre-industrial state by 2030. He aims to do this using a unique organisational and funding model which I will leave you to listen to the conversation to discover. This conversation left me feeling inspired and motivated knowing that there are people like...2020-05-051h 09
Seedpod79: Jon Duncan - Shared valueEarlier this year I had the privilege of chatting to Jon Duncan, head of Responsible Investment at Old Mutual. An engineer by training, with a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, Jon has over 20 years of professional experience in the field of sustainability research and engagement. He has worked extensively throughout Africa across a range of sectors supporting organisations with strategic social, environmental and sustainability related issues. Jon now leads the Responsible Investment Programme at Old Mutual. The Programme is focused on driving the systematic integration of material environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues across the man...2020-04-281h 18
SeedpodCOVID-19 Series: Episode 4 - Seraj ToefySeraj Toefy joins me on Seedpod again bringing with him a wealth of knowledge to talk about entrepreneurship and what is like for business owners during this difficult time of COVID-19. He has some practical advice for what we can as business owners do now to minimise the damage while we try to reach the other side and then some things to start thinking about for when we can start operating again. Seraj is a father, husband, entrepreneur, mento, speaker and awesome human, we also speak about the juggle that we are all facing being at home with kids...2020-04-2158 min
SeedpodCOVID-19 Series: Episode 3 - Fred RoedFred Roed runs the Heavy Chef events platform and entrepreneurship community, is a seasoned entrepreneur himself and is well respected across the board for good reason. Fred is a legend. So I thought it would be great to get his perspective on the COVID-19 crisis we find ourselves in, the business side of its impact and take a peak behind the scenes at Heavy Chef and find out what it takes to turn your business into a digital one practically overnight. Fred is also filled with wisdom and advice but you will need to listen to the episode to...2020-04-141h 18
SeedpodCOVID-19 Series: Episode 2 - Gavin ShaskolskyIn this conversation I tap into the deep wisdom and intentionality that Gavin brings to everything he does. To find out more about the phenomenal human that is Gavin please listen to the first episode of this podcast. We discuss some deep penetrating ideas about what this time means for us as humans and bring it back to some practical steps and advice on how to move through this time in the best was possible for each of us. The episode is packed with information so might even require more than 1 listen. Gavin helps me remember what it is...2020-04-051h 11
SeedpodCOVID-19 Series: Episode 1 - Thomas BrennanI have decided to pause my normal content stream in light of the current paradigm we are living through and attempt to bring you conversations that will be of value around the COVID-19 topic. Thomas lives in China half his time, has worked in healthcare and now in finance so I believe has a unique perspective to bring and I hope some clarity and ideas for moving forward in this unprecedented time.2020-03-291h 12
Seedpod74: Bas Timmer - Seeing the unseenThis first guest from Design Indaba has done just that, he is looking at the people who live on the fringe of society on the streets and how he can help them using the skills that he has. Bas Timmer is a Dutch independent clothing designer who created the shelter suit after a father of a close friend died from hypothermia after finding himself on the streets. The shelter suit aims to protect the homeless from the elements by providing them warmth, protection from the wind, cold and rain using recycled materials from top outdoor gear manufacturers. Bas and...2020-03-1627 min
Seedpod73: Zachariah George - Be human for a little bit.Ever since I had Zachariah George on the show last year we have been threatening to get him back in the studio. There are 2 sides to Zach, the startup, corporate, finance, hustle side and the free flowing, hippie, musician side. Last time we spoke business and ran out of time so I thought it was time to show you his alter ego. This week Zach is in studio sharing his philosophy of life, a few songs and why travel is a big part of who he is. It was a fun, thought provoking conversation filled with some great pearls...2020-03-091h 20
Seedpod72: Lee Rael - Who am I?This week the tables are turned and I am interviewed by my friend Rayne Stroebel. Our conversation doesn't really go into what I do for a living and my work but rather asks the deeper question of who I am? Its a tough question to answer if anyone has really spent time thinking about and articulating this its not that easy. I hope it makes for interesting listening because I have always said this podcast is not about me but rather the people I interview. For those who are interested in finding out a bit more about me, enjoy...2020-03-021h 36
Seedpod71: Karoline Hanks - Carry your ownThis weeks guest Karoline Hanks is a passionate anti-SUP campaigner, and has been spear-heading a campaign against the use of plastic water sachets in road running in South Africa for over five years. She is a competitive Ultra distance trail runner, and recently scooped her fourth Puffer (80k) win. On the back of her latest race, she managed to raise R14 000 for a community project she manages with her partner in Noordhoek: Project Noordhoeked. She started a small business three years ago (called SUPA) making single-use plastic alternative products, which has grown from strength to strength, and which upskills...2020-02-241h 04
Seedpod70: Sipamandla Manqele - Let us be gracious and kindThis podcast is the next in the series that was recorded at the foodnext conference at the CTICC in September 2019.This weeks guest, Sipamandla Manqele is a 28-year-old entrepreneur breaking fresh ground in the realm of agro-processing with her business, Local Village. She produces a variety of artisanal and organic foods and has built a compelling value proposition within a niche health market. Manqele’s business has been running for three years and has already proven itself a viable and valuable startup, providing employment and community growth.Sipamandla has been named one of South Africas’ top...2020-02-1756 min
Seedpod69: Carmen Stevens - Anything is possibleThis week's guest Carmen Stevens is an award-winning winemaker selling her own brand of wines on the international stage. She is the first post apartheid Black female wine maker and her story is an incredible one. Growing up on the cape flats experiencing the effects of gangsterism and drug first hand she was determined to live a different life but becoming a winemaker in an all white, all male Apartheid South African industry brought a whole new set of challenges. She now has a foundation that feeds over 5000 children every year and has just opened her own winery.2020-02-101h 33
Seedpod68:Thomas Brennan - Lets be FrancThis week I sit down with Franc co founder Thomas Brennan who is a Rhodes scholarship recipient, ex Google employee, MIT researcher and ex Discovery Health technology and innovation team leader with a passion for the health sector and finance. Once he realised that the financial products currently offered to the general market weren’t as good as it could be and excludes much of the population he sought about finding a solution. After taking the leap from the comforts of a pay-check he founded Franc and is on a mission to bring financial instruments to the lower end of...2020-02-031h 13
Seedpod67: Abe Cambridge - Monetized SunshineAbe Cambridge is a serial energy entrepreneur who establishes businesses and projects that use solar energy to effect socio-economic change. In 2012, one of his businesses, The Renewable Energy Co-operative, was nominated ‘International Co-operative of The Year’ in the UN Year of Co-operatives. He now lives in South Africa, where in 2014 he launched Sun Exchange, a global solar micro-leasing marketplace that closes the funding gap for commercial- and community-scale solar projects in emerging markets, while streaming monetized sunshine all over the world. Sun Exchange has been named Best Bitcoin & Blockchain Business in Africa two years in a row.I wa...2020-01-271h 25
Seedpod66: Nicola Jenkin - Where does your food come from?Nicola Jerkin has 20 years of experience working in the sustainability field with a particular focus on adding value to the supply chain, sustainable food systems, food waste, alien vegetation and forestry, ocean plastic, packaging and green skills. She holds a MEd in Environmental Education (Rhodes University); BSc (Hons) in Environmental & Geographical Science (University of Cape Town); and a BA in Geography and Anthropology (Rhodes University).She is the founder of Pinpoint, which provides independent and advisory services. Nicola is a member of the UN’s One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food System’s Multi-Actor Committee and is curren...2020-01-211h 13
Seedpod65: Goodby and thank you 2019This is a short podcast wrapping up the year and giving you a few hints about whats coming next year. Thank you if you support this podcast as a listener!2019-12-1311 min
Seedpod64: Tracey Davies - Social CapitalThis weeks guest Tracey Davies runs Just Share which is a non-profit shareholder activism and responsible investment organisation that promotes the use of investor power for a fairer South Africa.Tracey spends her days fighting for transparency, equality and positive impact in the private sector or corporate sector of South Africa. She advocates that in order for South Africa to begin to find solutions to our problems the corporate sector need to shift their focus from shareholder profit and the bottom line to the greater responsibility they have to improve the lives of the people of this b...2019-12-031h 19
Seedpod63: Lorren de Kock - A world of plasticThis week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Industrial engineer turned WWF plastics consultant Lorren de Kock. In her mid 30’s Lorren realised she needed a change in a career path and needed to do something that made a difference so she went back to University part time while still working and raising a familNow Lorren heads up the Plastics team at WWF where she works with the various stakeholders in the industry to find solutions to the problems we face.We discussed many aspects of the plastic problem from bioplastics and wh...2019-11-191h 19
Seedpod62: Makoma Lekalakala - Will you stand up?Makoma Lekalakala is a soft spoken, unassuming South African human rights activist and the director of the Earthlife Africa in Johannesburg. Earthlife Africa is an environmental NGO that lobbies the SA government to ensure environmental and climate justice in our communities. Makoma and Liz McDaid, were awarded the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize for the African region, for their groundbreaking work on using the justice system to stop a Russian-South African nuclear deal in 2017. Makoma believes that we all have a part to play, and that together our small contributions complete the bigger puzzle that brings change. In...2019-11-121h 09
Seedpod61: Mkhululi Silandela - How secure is our food?Joining us for this week’s episode is Mkhululi Silandela, Senior Manager for the Sustainable Agriculture & Smallholder-Support program at WWF-SA. This podcast is part of a series in partnership with Foodnext.africa. FoodNext.Africa is a b2b food event where startups, food innovators, foodtech businesses, investors and partners who are redefining the food industry from farm-to-fork are able to connect.Mkhululi launched his career in the food & beverages industry, and later worked as the regional manager for Fairtrade Africa before Before joining WWF in 2012. With a B.Sc. Honours in Agribusiness & international food-chain management from...2019-11-0458 min