#EntrepreneurMonth: Sylvester Chauke's tips on living your full entrepreneurial potential

As recipient of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the South African Premier Business Awards last year, Chauke’s no entrepreneurial newbie. He was nominated in the Business Innovation Category at the South African of the Year Awards, the Top Empowered Young Achiever of 2016 at the South African Oliver Empowerment Awards and took home the CEO Award as Best Enterprise and Manager from the European Business Assembly 2016. He was also named as one of Superbalist’s Top 100 this year, among others, and heads up marketing teams for several brands while running his own agency, DNA Architects. A true entrepreneur.

Little wonder then that his name sprang to mind when Rémy Martin was looking for brand ambassadors that live their lives to the fullest. The “One life. Live them,” campaign was first launched for the brand by Saatchi & Saatchi Brandsrock last year, with this year’s update continuing the call for individuals to explore a life that is rich with experience.

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Who better than a true entrepreneur like Chauke to demonstrate how to live life as more than just the name on your business card? He was selected as “the sum of many talents and diverse interests”, having built up unique experiences in his life as a result that is hoped will encourage Rémy Martin’s consumers to also embrace this philosophy, and celebrate their multi-talents and experiences with a spirit that’s equally hard to put in a box.

Chauke in particular is obsessed with creativity and how people express that, while championing for the voice of young entrepreneurs, and brings this to life through his involvement in global organisations as a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shaper Alumni, a United Nations MDG Sustainability Ambassador and a board member for the South African State Theatre.

He penciled in time to share with us some of the incredible moments and learnings from his diverse career so far and how he hopes to inspire South Africans to be the greatest they can be…

1. Talk us through your career journey and list all your current ‘work roles’.

Chauke: I started my career in advertising, working at some of the best agencies in the world – FCB, Ogilvy and DDB, in roles of account management and strategy. I moved to Nando's as national marketing manager and from Nando's moved to MTV Networks Africa as marketing director before starting DNA Brand Architects. My job is about finding solutions that elevate brands in the mind of consumers, using tactics that connect deeply. We are fortunate to be doing that for some of the best and loved brands in the continent and abroad

2. Share your favourite entrepreneurial life lesson.

Chauke: I was lucky that before going solo, I worked in companies that were very entrepreneurial in nature. So it has always been my operating style. Kevin Utian, then CEO of Nando's, asked me a question which pretty much summed up why we do what we do. He said, “Sly, I see all this that you say you have done brand-wise – people love the ad, we are getting massive love on social platforms etc, but what is the tachlis... Where are the dollars?!” This sobered me up nicely and reinforced the need to ensure that with all the buzz, the tachlis is achieved. I ask the team this very question daily.

3. Why is entrepreneurship so crucial to the future of business, particularly in SA?

Chauke: We are in a very challenging period economically in South Africa, with job creation as a very urgent need in the region. It is very clear that entrepreneurs, especially within the SMME space, are central in the creation of these jobs. So in essence, the need for job creation is real and we need all the help we can get in order to turn the tide on unemployment.

4. List a few qualities of a good entrepreneur.

Chauke:

• A self-starter. Waits for no one in the pursuit of where he/she needs to go.
• A clear long-term vision beyond the money.
• Ability to make people see the need for his/her services/brand.
• Obsession with understanding and delivering to his/her client or customers.
• Care for people that work for and with him/her.
• Very thick skin and a good healthy heart (do good in the process).
• Ability to differentiate between hype and real value.

5. Explain your involvement in the Rémy Martin campaign and the appeal of living life to the fullest.

Chauke: The campaign hit the mark for me in its proposition of #OneLifeLiveThem. I joined the campaign as influencer/ambassador based on the way my life is: So I may be a brand builder but there is more to me. I want the world to know me for all that I am, not just one thing that I do. My mission is to encourage people to embrace all sides of who they are and use that as a springboard to thrive. Remy Martin celebrates this ethos and the relentless pursuit of living your best life doing all the things that make you, you!

That’s entrepreneurial inspiration if ever I’ve heard it. Click here to sign up for Rémy Martin experiences around the country, follow Chauke on Twitter, and watch for further entrepreneurial insights from his fellow campaign ambassador Madoda Khuzwayo...