Special tech startup secrets: social media and gamification FTW!

While the focus for digital over the past decade has mainly been on search engines such as Google, MSN and Yahoo or Bing, Pays says we need to shift focus. With social media platforms becoming so much more popular and part of our daily life, you can often capitalise on the best segmented audience for your business to create quality leads and sources of revenue through these platforms.

Thomas Pays

What makes him an authority? Well, he's not your typical businessman. in addition to being CEO of the i-Pay Payment Solution, he went where few South Africans have gone before by launching the Gambling-Advertising agency as well as dabbling in the online auction space with Smokoo and keen to help young South Africans bring their entrepreneurial visions to life. Now, he's CEO of Just Perfect Digital and i-Pay, his cutting-edge instant payment processing platform. Having come to SA from France with just R500 in his pocket, he's made a success from his belief that: "Africa remains an untouched land of opportunity for e-commerce".

Pays shares some key learnings and how you can take advantage...

1. Let's start with looking into why you decided to relocate to SA from France?

Pays: I had any guy's dream job before I left France: selling luxurious Italian supercars for Ferrari. However, my South African wife, mother of my first-born child, didn't find the culture and environment suitable for her to settle there, and she had told me so much about South Africa and asked to move back and be with her family. As a husband and father I knew it was important for us to find comfort, to build a home and a life together in a place where we could both thrive. And so, after a short holiday in South Africa, a month to be precise, we agreed that South Africa was 'home.'

2. You're the right person to answer this, then: How does the SA market differ to that of Europe?

Pays: It's a lot less challenging when you refer to the competition, many established local businesses do not have the experience or expertise you gain when you live and work in Europe. One of the greatest assets in Europe is the culture of service - the client is king, which is something many South Africans still need to acknowledge. South Africa needs to implement tactical processes to ensure client satisfaction.

3. Let's dive a little deeper into that then, and what goes into starting up a digital agency.

Pays: You definitely have to be a little bit insane when making the decision to start up a digital agency, as you are literally telling yourself: 'I am going to be responsible in competing against hundreds of competitors on behalf of our clients and over so many industries.' All this while keeping in mind that you are competing with agencies that have been up and running for 8 to 12 years and have already built credibility, authority and a team of experts.

4. Quite daunting indeed. How did you use this insight in launching your i-Pay platform?

Pays: Again, you definitely need to be slightly insane to think you can compete with the likes of the banks or existing companies like PayPal. I heard this a lot from a few of my fellow entrepreneurial friends, however I saw an opportunity in the market that was so niche and yet so broad in terms of acquisition: I realised there was not one single payment method in the world that would allow for payments via SMS and integration into any website, point of sale or accounting software, to allow clients to pay their bill conveniently from the comfort of their mobile device, tablet or computer.