3 days ago
Young entrepreneur making waves in the tech world
Alex Bezuidenhout, 20, breaks the mold with a fast-growing podcast platform, a consultancy, and fintech studies.
South African Alex Bezuidenhout, left, and his British business partner, Dan Wood, have created a thriving podcast and business consultancy. Picture: Supplied
Go-getter is probably the closest term that describes 20-year-old serial entrepreneur Alex Bezuidenhout. It's been less than a handful of years since leaving school, but he's dished up a lot on his plate.
Studying financial technology at the University of Southampton, he's launched a thriving business consultancy and produces a podcast that has featured some heavy hitters in business and culture.
Alongside British business partner Dan Wood, a former army paratrooper with a background in civil engineering and leaping out of planes, Bezuidenhout's flying the Saffa flag high in Europe.
Entrepreneurs working gruelling hours
The pair met while working gruelling hours in Guernsey, an island off the UK coast.
Bezuidenhout was on a gap year after school and Wood was his supervisor. They became friends, and it wasn't long before after-hours banter turned into a shared ideal.
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The Good Ideas Club, a fast-growing podcast and content platform is one of the byproducts of their chinwags.
While it's still a relatively new podcast, the pair has hosted personalities that would make most LinkedIn recruiters blush.
'We had to think strategically. No-one's giving you an hour of their time just because you ask nicely. But say it's for a podcast, suddenly people are game. The result has been incredible. We've had the former COO of Google Europe on the show, serial entrepreneurs, politicians, even Draco Malfoy from the West End cast of Harry Potter.'
Content strategy
The content strategy is simple. It's conversations with interesting people doing interesting things. But beneath the charm and spontaneity is an intentional mission to break echo chambers and broaden perspectives, said Bezuidenhout.
'Everyone thinks their problems are unique. But when you sit down with CEOs, actors, authors, start-up founders, it's then that you start seeing patterns. The flavour might differ, but the core is the same. Everyone's trying to solve human problems.'
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That insight has informed more than just his podcast guests.
It's become his method and influences how Bezuidenhout approaches work, leadership, even life.
'Purpose came up a lot. Nobody wants to feel like a cog in a machine. They want to be part of something that matters. And they want autonomy. Give people enough room to own the outcome and they'll surprise you.'
Conversations swing from technical to philosophical
The conversations on The Good Ideas Club swing from technical to philosophical. From AI ethics to acting, strategic investment to creative process. There's no box. And that's the point.
'We're trying to diversify the mental diet,' he said.
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