Why would a founder (or attempted founder) submit a letter to Startup Toast?

There are three (plus 1) reasons:
1. To teach

Sharing stories about the obstacles a founder had to overcome, the mistakes they made and choices they faced can teach those who read them.

A young entrepreneur can rely on the stories of founders, who found themselves in a similar situation, to make a more informed and confident decision.

2. To inspire (and for the good of our country)

We often meet people that say they are considering leaving their jobs to start their own venture. Sometimes all it will take for them to actually make the move is a story from someone else who did it before them.

The more people in South Africa that are inspired to start businesses, the greater the number of jobs that can be created. If you don’t want to write a story for yourself, do it for the good of our country and expand in places that others won’t.

3. To reflect

Writing down a story of what you’ve done helps you reflect on where you’ve been and where you are headed.

+1. To promote their business

Telling the story of how your business was started gives it an origin story. It gives something new that your customers, potential customers, employees and potential employees can relate to.

Maybe it will help you sell more, or maybe it will help those who you work with understand how you got to where you are.

Startup toast will start publishing two stories a week from Monday 16 February. If you would like to make a submission please go to www.startuptoast.com/submit