SCZA Founder Day 2025 (Cape Town)
Thu Jun 19, 08:00 - Thu Jun 19, 17:00
Park View Event Space
ABOUT
Join us for Cape Town Founder Day 2025!
This full-day, high-value, masterclass-style event is curated once a year to help you build and scale your tech startup in South Africa.
Alongside hundreds of like-minded founders, you'll learn best practices and frameworks from expert-led masterclasses - including Product Design and Delivery, Legal & IP Structuring, Fundraising, Finance and Sales/Go-to-Market - delivered by some of South Africa's top specialists and thought-leaders. You'll also enjoy candid "fireside" conversations with the founders behind some of South Africa's leading and fastest-growing startups.
Whether you are a founder in-the-making, running an early-stage startup, or preparing to scale - you'll meet like-minded peers and walk away a better founder. This event is not to be missed and it won't be the same without you.
Presented by Startup Club ZA and supported by leading organisations: SA Future Trust, E Squared Investments, FNB SA, RMB Beyond Banking, Paystack, MakeReign, AIONS Ventures, Origen Software, Dommisse Attorneys, Jonsson Workwear, Finovate, Impact Capital Africa, Futuregrowth Asset Management and Disraptor.
AGENDA
Arrival and Check-in
Welcome
Presented by Mathew Marsden, Founder of Startup Club ZA.
What I Wish I Knew.
We kick off the day with a candid fireside conversation, featuring Claude Hanan and Luke Jedeikin, the founders behind two of the biggest e-commerce platforms in South Africa: Bash and Superbalist.
Coffee Break
Product Design and Discovery
Presented by Harley Ferguson of Origen Software, the bespoke software development agency helping founders build, startups grow and corporates innovate. Origen has supported clients like MTN, RNR App, BlooMoney, BagDrop and more - and Harley is held in high regard as a developer and founder.
Legals Masterclass
Presented by Adrian Dommisse of Dommisse Attorneys, one of South Africa's leading tech and venture capital law firms, supporting clients like Getsmarter, Snap Scan, Yuppie Chef, Offerzen, Knife Capital and Newtown Partners. Adrian has a background in law and investment banking and most recently established the "IP Incubator" program to help founders attract offshore funding.
Lunch
From Start to Scale.
Join us for a candid conversation with the founders of 3 fast-growing South African ventures, as we discuss the opportunities and challenges of moving from startup to scale-up. Featuring: Simon Ellis, Jem ($3.3m pre-series A, March 2025), Lara Dendy Young, Conservio ($1m seed, January 2025) and Thandwe Radebe, Qwili.
Finance Masterclass
Presented by Francois O'Kennedy of Finovate, one of South Africa's leading fractional CFO and expansion-advisory businesses - with offices in London, CPT and JHB - supporting clients like HappyPay, HireJustNow and Paytec. Francois has a background in accounting and entrepreneurship and is passionate about supporting CEOs in their quest to grow their businesses while taking exceptional care of their teams.
Coffee Break
Sales & GTM Masterclass
Presented by Keith Jones of SW7, Africa’s leading virtual GTM accelerator platform that has supported over 350 B2B tech businesses and serves as the GTM partner for AWS. Keith has over 30 years’ experience in the tech sector and alongside his wife, Odette, built Africa's first startup accelerator in 2013. His passion is growing product-led technology businesses.
Fundraising Masterclass
Presented by the investment team at Futuregrowth Asset Management, one of the largest and most experienced investment teams in the South African fixed interest arena. Futuregrowth has also spent the past decade backing local startups like Yoco, Ozow, HearX, LifeCheq and SweepSouth through their High Growth Development Equity and Early-Stage Venture Capital Funds - and have a wealth of experience in investments and fundraising.
Final Remarks and Close
NEED TO KNOW
Registration opens at 8am and we start promptly at 9am.
We reserve the right to admit late-comers until the soonest intermission.
Secure parking is available on site, but is limited. We recommend ride-sharing where possible.
Your ticket price includes a light lunch, coffee and snacks. A cash bar will be available on site. Note you need to advise us of any dietary requirements at least 72 hours in advance - please email [email protected]).
* Tickets are mandatory for admission and do not include plus-ones.
* This is a catered and in-demand event. "No shows" without prior notice may be excluded from future events.
* Tickets are not refundable, but are transferable. To transfer your ticket, do so directly your Quicket account or email us the name/surname or your replacement ([email protected]), by 5pm on 17 June 2025.
STARTUP CLUB ZA
Startup Club ZA is South Africa's largest tech startup and investor community, on a mission to build a startup nation by fostering connections, growing awareness, creating access and catalysing opportunity.
We host the country's premier startup events and are building the first ecosystem-wide media & jobs platform, alongside the launch of our disruptive pre-seed investment fund in late-2025.
We are a network of doers that values relationships, diversity, unity and are proudly South African. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, solving hard problems and co-creating a better country, then you'll be right at home with us!
In 2025 partnership with leading organisations SA Future Trust, E Squared Investments, FNB SA, RMB Beyond Banking, Paystack, MakeReign, AIONS Ventures, Origen Software, Dommisse Attorneys, Jonsson Workwear, Finovate, Impact Capital Africa and Futuregrowth Asset Management.
Visit https://startupclubza.com/ to learn more.
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