The seeds for Livestock Wealth were planted with this realisation that if you want to get into farming, you need very deep pockets. There're many people who want to get into farming, but it's near impossible to raise the funds to get started. My thinking was how can we club together and use other people's money to get started in farming. 

Initially, we farmed ourselves because no one wanted to be a guinea pig. So initially we had to rent a farm, put in some cattle, and then put those cows up for sale on the website, saying, “Do you want to own a cow? Here's one.” From those early days in 2014, it has grown over the years into what it is now.

The business model is really simple. We have a platform that enables anyone to be a farmer. How? By matching you with a farmer who already has what you want to farm.

Back in 2014 when I first started working on the Livestock Wealth idea in my head, one of the very first things that I did was one day, when I drove past the Adams and Adams offices in Pretoria, I went to reception and asked to see a patent attorney because I just wanted to run an idea past them to see if it's got any legs for patentability.

It helps in terms of creating this buffer between you with your limited or no funding and the guys with all the money and no ideas. Then you at least have a chance to get started on something without the copycats.

Initially it was the skills to produce the tech that keeps our promise alive. If I'm taking stock, that's probably been the biggest pain point we've had over time. When starting out, people can be forgiving if your website is a simple, basic WordPress website. 

I think the answer relies on the funding ecosystem. If we can solve the funding ecosystem in the country so that startups can raise serious funding early on, then they would be able to afford the skills they need early on so that they can run faster. 

In this country, with our unemployment rate and many people not being able to afford food, there’s a huge opportunity around localised production, where you're not aiming to sell to the big retail chains. Instead you're producing enough to supply your local shops and school feeding schemes.

There is huge room there once you get the idea out of your head that agriculture is only about food. There are other elements to agriculture, such as energy, that require the same land and the same skills. 

It is important to understand that potential investors want to see some traction. So create that with your own funds. Next, always have your tax clearances and financials ready all the time.