 Q&A: Rob Stokes
CEO of Quirk Marketing and chairman of the Silicon Cape
Q: What is Silicon Cape?
A: Silicon Cape is a conceptual brand, a committee and a community that was established late last year to drive the growth of the Western Cape as a global tech hub. The founders felt that the existing tech community in Cape Town needed a rallying point that would inspire the ambition to create an African equivalent to Silicon Valley and regions like Bangalore, which has become known as the Silicon Valley of India. Silicon Cape is similarly, a reference to the original Silicon Valley, based around Santa Clara Valley, California, a major hub for IT companies in the United States.
Q: What does Silicon Cape hope to achieve?
A: We want to create a general awareness that South Africans can produce top-class tech start-ups. We hope to establish an environment in the Western Cape in which local and foreign investors, tech talent, entrepreneurs and role models can congregate and form a close-knit innovation community, share ideas and make these come to life in a sustainable, even profitable fashion.
Q: As new CEO of Silicon Cape, what qualities do you believe you bring to the initiative?
A: A “can do” attitude and some real impetus is what I hope to bring. Enough talk - let’s get down to action. For one thing, I think we need to have more niche offline events to support the online community, so I foresee a developer’s event, a “meet the investors” event and a number of other networking events for the tech community, in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. While Silicon Cape may be named after Cape Town, it stands for whole industry in South Africa with long-term economic and prestige benefits for the whole country.
Q: In your opinion, what do local tech start-ups do right and what do they do wrong?
A: Our strengths are that we are hard-working, have great ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit but we fall short in our thinking, as we tend to limit ourselves to the local market while we should be thinking global and competing on that level. We also need to work hard on building an investment culture that supports start-ups, and focus on building products based on what the market really wants.
Q: Any tips for people thinking of starting a tech business?
A: Quit thinking about it and just do it! If you are young, you can afford to take a few risks, and if you have a big idea, don’t wonder why the big companies are not doing it. Do it yourself! Connecting with initiatives like the Silicon Cape will give you the support and guidance you need.
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