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Springleap wins at MentorCamp! shoutOut on 1/10/12 by travis.lyle1 in paparazzi |
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(Above: Eran Eyal, Springleap CEO, at MentorCamp - image courtesy Bandwidth Barn) by Peter Moreira via Entrevestor. Springleap of Cape Town, South Africa, and LeadSift of Halifax have been named the two top companies appearing at MentorCamp Atlantic Canada 2012, a one-day forum of advice and learning for nine startups and 37 mentors. Permjot Valia, CEO and founder of the event, tweeted last night that the mentors had chosen Springleap, a design crowdsourcing startup, and LeadSift, which mines social media to find sales leads, as the two top presenters. Each company will be offered a $25,000 seed investment from MentorCamp. Springleap CEO Eran Eyal told the opening session that his company is gaining momentum and would be interested in relocating to Canada, if it could be arranged. One company that attended MentorCamp 2011, Wooshii of the U.K., set up shop in Halifax last spring. LeadSift, which went through the Launch36 accelerator in the spring, generates sales leads for businesses by mining social media. CEO Tapajyoti Das said there are 400 million tweets a day, and then there is Facebook and LinkedIn as well. The company has signed up early adopters, will attend the Ad:Tech in New York in November and has received commitments for investment. Though some of the young companies were interested in looking for money at MentorCamp, most stressed that they wanted to tap the mentors’ knowledge with specific strategic challenges they were facing. For Frank Lessard, the CEO of Fredericton-based software company Tabture, that means gaining market presence internationally. “We want help thinking outside the box,” he said. “How do we get out of Atlantic Canada without leaving Atlantic Canada? How do we bring it to the next level so we’re not just a New Brunswick thing anymore?” Tabture, which also went through Launch36, helps people share links on the internet, unifying a process of sending links over Twitter, Facebook, email etc. Jumpstart 720, another Launch36 company appearing at MentorCamp, gives companies and organizations an SaaS solution to the problem of assessing workforce morale and mental health in real time. The Moncton-based company now employs nine people and has six investors, and its early adopters include Irving, Grand & Toy and Purolator. CEO Paula Morand said the company now has a weighted pipeline (meaning it gives extra emphasis to those most likely to sign) of $43 million. G2 Research is a Dartmouth company that analyses data from GPS to allow law enforcement agencies to follow suspects, track their networks or predict where they may be going. CEO Tom Gilgan said the technology could have other applications, such as tracking sex offenders, or tracking shipping. The other companies attending MentorCamp were Boondoc, znanja, Strue, and Xiplinx. The second annual camp took place yesterday at the Dalhousie Life Sciences Building in Halifax with all the polish and confidence of an event that had been around for years. It was a reminder of how quickly novices – both people and events – become established in the startup world. Mark Kennedy, the CEO of film industry support software maker Celtx of St. John’s, attended the first MentorCamp as an entrepreneur. Yesterday, he was back at the event, this time as a mentor. |
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Eran Eyal interviewed on Yotpo! shoutOut on 1/8/12 by travis.lyle1 in paparazzi |
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Our Springleap CEO, Eran, was recently interviewed by Tiffany over at Yotpo! Check it out: We are happy to interview Eran Eyal, the Co-Founder of Crowdtech, evly.com and Springleap.com. Besides that Eran is an entrepreneur, tech journalist and a recent speaker at Tedx. Moreover he’s a technology Journalist on Cape Talk KFM and Radio 702 Primedia Broadcasting. In your opinion how important is online content strategy for e-commerce perspective strategy? Hugely so. more so now than ever – players are realizing that engagement precedes consumption and that there are long lasting benefits to organic SEO of creating engaging content. Engaged consumers hang around for longer on your site and are not just consuming your products, but your culture. People aren’t fans of products. They’re fans of the ideas, the conversation and the delivery. Great products are a GIVEN. The world doesn’t need more bad product. How do social media and social networks fit in the e-commerce perspective marketing? That’s a interesting one – Scommerce has yet to find traction – perhaps it’s the mindset of people in spaces like Facebook that they don’t want to buy within the Facebook system, but it’s equally possible no-one has cracked the S-Consumer code yet. I’m pretty confident someone will crack the model wide open. Once this happens – watch out – the propensity to consume via sCommerce will be set and the trend will follow. I won’t expand too much on this since we have a model to address this issue due this year which we believe will be the soothing balm to this glaring problem. (Secrets! JOY!) Inhouse your social media conversation. Get a great community manager who sets and keeps and even tone for the brand – don’t farm out your conversations. It’s bad business in principle. Any social media work should be holistic to your real-world strategy. The whole idea of social is to take something you do or are doing REGULARLY or as a part of the core brand strategy and create conversation around it wherever the conversation can occur. It doesn’t matter which platform it is – the key is to converse around what you do rather than seek a conversation for conversation or hype’s sake. You should be outsourcing strategy and adspend -but to avoid tears: Ask the company you’re speaking to the following questions: What previous successes have you had? On what budget? What do you consider a success? Who will be managing my account? What is their experience? What tips would you give founders/CEOs on how to keep a team motivated? Don’t separate yourself from your team. If you do you will never understand what truly motivates them. Some CEOs build up a thick management layer to protect themselves. I think that just makes one thick skinned. The best CEOs I know out there, walk into an office and know the majority of the staff (if not all!) personally and have vetted their hire – that buy-in is based on a cultural fit as much as any other criteria. The closer you are to the team, the sooner you hear rumblings and shaking. Springleap.com is a perfect example for a successful business that uses the crowd sourcing social media as a platform. What advice would you offer to sites wanting to commerce enable their sites? There are so many platforms available. First off – don’t go develop what’s already out there. There is no intrinsic value to recreating Magento, Shopify and others. Rather integrate what exists. That way you stay on point with your core business model and they push the tech forward. Springleap was created from the ground up because at the time the products available didn’t have decent APIs or weren’t flexible enough to develop around quickly. Cool inside info: Springleap are now offering embedable micro-shops to clients who run design contests with us. This means that at Springleap clients can now run a contest to source new designs for products, engage their fans to to consumer uptake testing and get their buy-in, have Springleap produce the products and then have their own custom shop in Springleap to resell the products. Springleap will handle all the distribution, admin, logistics. That means you get a cheque at the end of the month, no hassles and a sterling report. The embedable part? This means that WITH NO DEVELOPMENT necessary – we can embed the shop and entire experience in your site, Facebook, blog or to share with affiliates and partners. Yotpo’s goal is revolutionizing the way vendors integrate product reviews. How much influence do you think product reviews play in a costumers purchasing decision? Massive – especially with regards to technology products. Before I buy any product, I hunt down product reviews from several sources. More to the point – have a look at products like eKomi and Get Satisfaction, where it’s been proven in consumer behavior testing, that allowing community members and experts to rate and review contents and products creates greater uptake. Reviews create trust – either from an authoritative source or a peer. We wanted to thank Eran for the interview, we learned a lot! See more on Yotpo here. |
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Finweek: Springleap's Facebook community - 180 000 'likes' shoutOut on 22/3/12 by Duncan Boxshall-Smith in paparazzi |
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Springleap.com has once again appeared in the pages of the respected South African business magazine, Finweek.
This time around we received praise for how we have grown our Facebook community so effectively. Springleap currently has a staggering amount of ‘likes’ – 180 000
Growing a community this large and as quickly as we have is by no means an ‘easy feat’. Our founder Eran Eyal, mentions a few points on how we have managed to reach such an impressive number and also sustain its growth! We are very happy to see that Finweek has noticed this growth and shared it with their readers. If you would like to get your hands on the article you will find it in the 22 March edition of Finweek on page 45. Onwards and upwards, things are only going to get better!
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Memeburn - Springleap.com brilliant African tech startup shoutOut on 13/3/12 by DuncanBoxie in paparazzi |
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Africa is a land of incredible talent! Industry leaders have already begun describing Africa as the continent with the most potential for tech-industry growth in the near future. The amount of individuals moving into urban areas is increasing at lightning speed and along with it we are beginning to witness an evolution in social behaviour with a massive increase of brand conscious consumers. If you are looking to get into the tech industry and make lots and lots of money, Africa will soon be the number one place for you to do so! Memeburn.com, one of the leaders in tracking global technological developments, has put together an interesting article which focuses on 30 of the most Brilliant African Tech startups.
We were absolutely ecstatic that Springleap.com was selected as one of these 30 businesses which are leading the way for Africa. Cruise across to the Memeburn article to take a look at what they said about us and also check out the other amazing African start-ups that are set to change not only the African continent, but the entire world! |
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Finweek: Great exposure for Springleap shoutOut on 26/1/12 by DuncanBoxie in paparazzi |
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Springleap has recently appeared in Finweek (issue – 19 January 2021). Yes indeed, we have just been mentioned in one of South African’s most popular business magazines. This is such great news for us! It is always fantastic to see that publications, especially those in influential circles, are recognizing our achievements and sharing them with their readers. This Finweek article highlighted the fact that we have over 120 000 members and are now the fifth largest branded online Facebook community in South Africa. Well, actually now we are third largest ;) We are ecstatic, thank you Finweek!
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Eric and Eran featured on Old Mutual and Memeburn shoutOut on 16/5/11 by DuncanBoxie in paparazzi |
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Springleap.com as a company has always done its best to bring you the very best designs from around the world, as well as a product that stands up with international standards. Starting a business is never easy , which is why you need a crew of talented people who can carry your business forward. Eran Eyal and Eric Edelstein , co-founders of Springleap.com, are most certainly the kind of people who can make the best of a business. These two long time friends and business partners have always been a perfect business duo. We were so happy to see that both of them were featured in the Old Mutual ‘Entrepreneur Guide’ ! If you would like to start your own business , or are looking for some super tips on how to conduct your own business, then it is a good idea to take the time to watch the clip . Not only did they make it on to the Old Mutual ‘Entrepreneur Guide’, but they were also listed in Memeburn’s article on the Top 38 emerging tech entrepreneurs in South Africa . Congratulations to our fearless leaders, we are so happy for you. Watch this space for more innovation and business-power from these two very cool customers :) D. |
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Springleap and Turbovite presents: Stepdog 'Powered by music' design competition shoutOut on 11/4/11 by amyabrahams in paparazzi |
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This competition is going to be music to your ears! Springleap.com brings you the Stepdog theme competition, in association with Turbovite. It’s time to celebrate the very best in South African music, with our first ever band competition! Stepdog, would like to challenge your design skills by asking you to create their new band t-shirt, which will be sold at gigs and right here on Springleap.com Music is undoubtedly one of the most influential experiences of human society! Stepdog is a South African Folk rock band, based in picturesque Stellenbosch. They have been described as a “ super tight three-piece bearded wonder and produce a funky blend of Creedance Revival meets Bob Dylan with really raspy vocals and toe tapping rhythms ”. DANCE ALL NIGHT! We are all… Powered by music! This is the core concept behind our latest theme competition. It’s time to get creative. How does music power your life? Create a design that shows how music has the ability to influence our lives and gives us the power to be who we truly are. Illustrate to us the underlying theme: Powered by music. THE BRIEF: 1.) Listen to the Stepdog songs on the brief page, choose one and use it as your theme. If you would like to read the lyrics please go to www.stepdog.co.za 2.) The Stepdog logo needs to be used in the design. 3.) Designs on Black t-shirts ONLY. THE PRIZES: Turbovite have put up an awesome prize of US$700 [or R5000] for the winner of the Stepdog ‘Powered by music’ competition. The winning design will be transformed into a t-shirt and will be sold by the band at gig venues and across the world through Springleap.com’s online store. THE RULES: 1. You know the drill NO OBSCENITY, NO HATE SPEECH, ONLY ORIGINAL WORKS …all that jazz. 2. You can submit up to 5 designs so go wild! The more designs you submit the greater chances you have of winning! 3. Winners will now be chosen using votes as an indicator. The top 10 voted designs will get the golden stamp of approval and go in for review. The final verdict will come down to our esteemed design panel here at Springleap in conjunction with Stepdog. 4. Standard Springleap terms and conditions apply over and above. 5. Stepdog and Springleap reserve the rights to request the high-resolution artwork of any entry submitted into the “Powered by music” competition for non-commercial benefit such as an even media covering the process – but do not own the rights to any of the designs except the winner and thus may not print these runner-up designs for commercial resale unless by consent and arrangement in writing with the designer concerned. Everyone WINS!! THE DATES: Submissions for designs open: 11 April 2021 Submissions for designs close: 02 May 2021 Voting starts: 02 May 2021 Voting ends: 12 May 2021 Winner is announced: 16 May 2021 In order to get started on your designs download the Springleap t-shirt Submission Kit and get started right away! Confused or uncertain about anything? Good Luck and Happy Designing! More About Springleap.com Regular open-theme and ad-hoc brand- or band-sponsored competitions are hosted on the website to source great designs for t-shirts, apparel and other purposes. Local and international artists submit designs from all around the world to win large cash prizes, royalties and exposure. The public and online community then vote for the top designs, and a seasoned Springleap judge-panel (along with the sponsor for brand-sponsored competitions) selects the final winner. In addition to it’s regular design-sourcing services, Springleap also offers corporate and promotional printing services. Some of Springleap’s great achievements include a second place at the 2008 Innovation Awards in California, and winning the South African e-Commerce Award in 2009. Quote by Amy Abrahams (Marketing/PR manager at Springleap): “ I have always been really passionate about music and design. The Springleap Team is fueled by the constant creative flow in our environment and it brings us great pleasure to be collaborating with Stepdog and Turbovite on Springleap’s first ever band competition. As Springleap’s Head of PR and Marketing, I’m constantly on the look-out for new and exciting creative and artist-focused ventures, and music seems to be the natural progression for us. We are thrilled to be involved with Stepdog and Turbovite, and have no doubt that the Springleap community will deliver designs that truly capture the band’s spirit ”. For press information and interviews, contact Tim Hill at Tuned In Publicity on tim@tunedinpublicity.co.za . LINKS: Facebook: www.facebook.com/stepdogband Management: |
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Springleap and Vodacom launch a design contest which explores the theme of connectivity shoutOut on 24/2/11 by amyabrahams in paparazzi |
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Cape Town, South Africa – Springleap.com in association with Vodacom, is proud to announce the launch of their latest design initiative centred around making connections through the power of Vodacom. This is a design contest that focuses on the visual expression of connecting through Vodacom and its power to connect people’s lives. Designers are encouraged to imagine living without chatting to their friends via SMS, Social Media or email – basically without all the ways in which Vodacom provides them with the power to connect via their mobiles. The winner will receive R10 000 in cash and massive exposure to launch their design career. Richard Boorman, Head of Media Relations for Vodacom : Eran, co-founder of Springleap.com, is quoted: The competition is open for submissions until March 25, 2021. The Springleap.com community will vote on all submissions and ultimately the winner will be announced after the month voting period. To enter, register on www.springleap.com For more information or to set up an interview: About Springleap.com About Vodacom |
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Evly Press Release shoutOut on 15/9/10 by Lexi87 in paparazzi | on 18/8/11 by Infinity | 1
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BUILD. GATHER. SOLVE. ANYTHING Cape Town – South Africa, evly.com will be launching the first crowdsourcing social network that utilizes a custom built drag and drop website builder available for free to any registered user. Evly is an online network of crowdsourcing communities where users can create advanced crowdsourcing websites in a few clicks to bring people together to constantly solve new challenges. Crowdsourcing is the method of sourcing a solution from a crowd, community or social network as opposed to a single contractor with the understanding that the wisdom of the crowd is greater than the wisdom of the individual. This method not only gives rise to a variety of stimulating solutions but also powerful viral marketing potential. Evly websites function much like the group or fan-pages on other social media websites, however evly provides users with their own unique website and the ability to grow a network based around their particular interest or need. In addition, evly will provide advanced crowdsourcing and social networking features which will enable website owners to easily manage and grow their own community. CrowdTech, the holding company for Springleap.com, evly.com and eKomi.co.za, utilizes the insights acquired from Springleap.com’s crowdsourcing model. Along with two years of research in the development of evly, CrowdTech combines these learning’s in the development of this distinctive crowdsourcing social media platform. CrowdTech recognises the need to provide a service that will allow anyone through the medium of the Internet, the opportunity to source solutions by harnessing collective intelligence, skills, talent or collaborative efforts through a large network of people. Co-Founder, Eran Eyal suggests: “The social web is no longer going to be about idle chatter on a platform populated by reactive users: evly.com is about a world of PRO-active website creators and community members constantly looking to solve new problems and build solutions in an environment saturated by the right tools.” Evly provides the tools that enable general users and large brands to achieve various objectives: the platform allows community engagement, the ability to source answers to any possible question, fund raising for various ventures, and the gathering of market research through analysis of comments, feedback and voting. CEO of CrowdTech, Eric Edelstein, proposes that the future web will be centred on goals, objectives, purposes and challenges. “evly.com allows interaction with a purpose rather than people just interacting for the sake of it! Companies and individuals from all across the globe are now beginning to see that they can solve problems by tapping into a larger knowledge base, at a fraction of the price and in a much shorter time through the Internet.” Evly - the “network of networks”, will open up a world of hybrid crowdsourcing communities to every evly user. Just by joining evly.com or any community built off the evly platform, users will be encouraged to explore the evly network through their own personalised dashboard. There they will be able to search, discover and participate across the entire evly network of crowdsourcing communities. Analysts predict the estimated growth of evly over the next 36 months will be around 35 million registered users, along with 1.5 million active websites and 4000 corporate clients. Level 1: Starter - Individuals and companies can set up crowdsourcing websites and pose challenges for free. All evly websites will benefit from participating through evly.com’s ‘network of networks’ in order to utilize collective knowledge. Level 2: Customisation – Building on from Level 1, the first premium model of evly will give the website owner more control over the design and branding of their website. Website owners will be able to create a fully customized website in minutes. Level 3: Independence - Will afford website owners the option to remove themselves from the evly network. Website owners will also have 100% custom branding, as well as ownership of all member information. Evly.com is currently opening up 450 spots for BETA testers. If you would like to be one of the select few to test this revolutionary platform register now at www.evly.com ### About CrowdTech Co-founders of Springleap.com, Eric Edelstein and Eran Eyal, have driven their t-shirt design crowdsourcing company to become the success it is today. The online design crowdsourcing community and t-shirt store has thus far won various awards during its short lifespan, including winning the 2009 SA e-commerce awards. The company earned second place at the Innovation 100 awards held by The Standard.com in California in 2008. Other awards include the Silver Trophy in the South African Online Publishing Association awards. Recently Springleap was used as a case study for Joel Comm’s authoritative book : “Twitter Power” and Jon Reed’s upcoming book : “Get up to Speed with Online Marketing”. Eric Edelstein co-founded the incuBeta group, which launched the global search marketing company clicks2customers.com, Affiliate Marketing Network trafficsynergy.com and website builder yola.com. He is currently the CEO of CrowdTech, the holding company of Springleap.com, evly.com and eKomi.co.za. Eran Eyal is a technology forecaster, journalist and entrepreneur. He spearheaded launching iiyama Benelux in South Africa and has worked closely with major technology manufacturers internationally specializing in conceptual design solutions. He is currently the Director of Business Development for CrowdTech and heads up Springleap.com and ekomi.co.za.
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Sunday Times: My City features Eran Eyal shoutOut on 31/5/10 by Lexi87 in paparazzi | on 18/8/11 by Lexi87 | 1
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‘Perfect happiness is to know the wonder of oneself and share it freely’ I am … an actual nice guy with a passion for meeting new people, conversation and the wonders of life, and a flair for theatrics. Where were you born? Haifa, Israel. Where do you live? Sea Point. Who do you share your house with? My flutes, a projector and a lot of movies, music and art. And friends on occasion. How did you get into your career? I did a BA degree. I opened a business providing IT tuition and consultancy for high-end corporate clients. Then I studied graphic design, dropped out, raised funding for a mobile phone re-evolution concept, travelled Europe, launched a Japanese corporate company in SA. Then I quit and took a year to work on my art and to study how to teach English as a second language. I then went into business with my friend Eric Edelstein. We opened fashion stores and Internet companies, sold them and got into more Internet businesses. But I am best known for our brand Springleap.com, where we run T-shirt design competitions. What’s your radio show called and how would you describe it? It’s called The Whole Truth and it focuses on demystifying technology. Facebook and Twitter are … essential for the Internet entrepreneur who knows how they work and where their value lies. They have brought people closer together in a world where 15 years ago it was exorbitant to stay in touch. Either way, they’re here to stay. What’s the best advice you’d give someone who is technologically challenged? Don’t be scared to try, ask and hit that “I’m feeling lucky” button on Google. People are helpful and the Internet is a very big place filled with pretty much most of the answers you need when you calm down and read the plain English. What gadgets can’t you live without? I’m a nerd - there are too many to list. What do you think of twitlonger? These tools are great but people need to understand the Twitter vehicle is about learning to be concise. Delivering a message in 140 characters instead of a litany of drivel. I’m predisposed to … drinking too much Asian tea and great coffee, talking too much and getting lost in the details. What’s your favourite building in Cape Town? Why? I’m still pretty new to Cape Town, so off the cuff I would say the castle in Hout Bay. It has a certain crazy charm sitting all alone up there by itself. What’s the ugliest thing about Cape Town? Gangsters. I don’t like people who are mean to others. What is the most memorable moment you’ve had in Cape Town? Now that’s tough. I think it would be being awed at the silence on top of Table Mountain, sitting at one of the iodine lakes surrounded by chalk-white rocks with no sound or interference. How do you get around? I zoot around in my Nissan Almera, but am thinking of changing to an ’80s topless 911 Porsche. I can’t go a day without … kung fu training, laughing, loving, playing the flute, and a damn fine cuppa joe or green tea. If you inherited R100-million what would you do with it? Find ways to empower other budding entrepreneurs, help my friends and teachers find ways to fulfil their dreams and explore their talents and passions, travel a bit, buy my mom a new house (blush), and seek out new experiences. I might even take a break and get a steady girlfriend. What CDs are you playing in your car? What’s a CD? I use an iPod Touch loaded with Solar Fields, Vibrasphere, Aqualatica, Bjork, U2 and Radio Tarifa. If your house caught fire what would you save? My flutes, some tech, my Andrew Walford collection. And, hopefully, myself. What are your creature comforts? Green tea, fantastic coffee, XO Cognac, time with a select few people, walking through nature and life in general taking photos and playing the flute, watching beautiful movies, practicing kung fu, eating Spruengli chocolates (when available). What are you reading? Mantak Chai’s Taoist Secrets of Love, Dr Jeff Lan’s Tui-Na and De Da and Jeff Howe’s Crowdsourcing. When I go out at night … I love going out for a great meal, hanging out with fantastic company and meeting new people to strike up conversation. I love dancing for hours to great music. I collect … good flutes, amazing friends, Andrew Walford pottery and great photographic opportunities. My friends and I like … studying kung fu, Dharma, drinking tea, watching movies, going for walks and adventures. My most valued possession is … my Hocchiku Japanese flute from John Roff. If you made a movie about Cape Town what would you call it? No Fear in Sight. Perfect happiness is: To know the wonder of oneself and share it freely. Everything in moderation but … moderation itself. Still, there is a lot to be said for a lot of chocolate. I met my partner … I joke that I have been romancing a love affair with my business for the past few years. If money could buy happiness … I’d invest in a lot more of it and give it to some people I know who have a lot of money and not much happiness. By Ziphezinhle Msimango - Lifestyle Magazine
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