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	<title>Tim Harper &#124; Blog &#187; Springleap</title>
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	<link>http://www.timharper.co.za</link>
	<description>Tim Harper&#039;s personal blog, covering kiteboarding, Internet and SEO topics</description>
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		<title>Is all the South African VC only going to go to internet startups with proven revenue models?</title>
		<link>http://www.timharper.co.za/2009/10/is-all-the-south-african-vc-only-going-to-go-to-internet-startups-with-proven-revenue-models/</link>
		<comments>http://www.timharper.co.za/2009/10/is-all-the-south-african-vc-only-going-to-go-to-internet-startups-with-proven-revenue-models/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:49:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tim</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Strategy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Springleap]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Venture Capital]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.timharper.co.za/?p=58</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the recent news of the springleap investment by Lord Duncan Barratt(??) (Original press release) it left me wondering whether initiatives like Siliconcape will ever really help South African internet startups get anywhere.
Most bootstrapping, hardcore internet startups do not have any idea on their revenue model when they get going (dare I mention twitter?). They [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the recent news of the <a href="http://www.springleap.com/">springleap</a> investment by Lord Duncan Barratt(??) <a href="http://www.springleap.com/posts/view/fashion-evolution-raises-r4m-to-expand-springleap-com-crowdsourcing-concept">(Original press release)</a> it left me wondering whether initiatives like <a href="http://www.siliconcape.com/">Siliconcape</a> will ever really help South African internet startups get anywhere.</p>
<p>Most bootstrapping, hardcore internet startups do not have any idea on their revenue model when they get going (dare I mention <a href="http://twitter.com">twitter</a>?). They pretty much have a great idea, work on it until it&#8217;s a finished product, launch it, and go broke. Whether you like it or not, startups don&#8217;t fund themselves and there is a significant amount of work to be done to get any form of company going, which in turn requires time, and ultimately you need a salary to be able to eat.</p>
<p>I really like the idea of SiliconCape, I think that there is a great tech community in Cape Town, and bringing all the top Internet guys together and branding them correctly will definitely attract more top talent to our <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za">Fine City</a>.<br />
<strong>BUT</strong><br />
In terms of actual VC investment though, how many other startups have been funded in the last few years in SA? (Ok I actually have no real data to support this)<br />
Mxit was selling themes and wallpapers before it received it&#8217;s boost from Naspers, so is this the general trend, start making some money, however small, and then get somebody to take you to the next level??</p>
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