MADEINC
CRAZINERD
MADZENGA MABASO
Madzenga Mabaso , founder of web development company CraziNerd knew there was a need for highquality digital services in South Africa . He just wasn ’ t sure how much of an impact his tech startup would make in such a large market . To date , he has launched 75 websites and helped the online presence of 94 new businesses with those numbers steadily climbing by the day . He recently spoke with MADE to tell us about how he started the movement .
AT WHAT MOMENT DID YOU REALIZE THAT A COMPANY LIKE CRAZINERD WAS NECESSARY IN JOHANNESBURG ? I am very interested in current trends in the tech world , so I am always researching into what new coding languages there are , new software , online courses , etc . So after researching into the website development industry in South Africa and noting down the prices that companies charge for their services , I realized that not only are they catering for the rich few , but that they are overpricing their services and that ’ s when I realized that a company like CraziNerd is needed .
FROM WHERE DID THE NAME CRAZINERD DERIVE ? Like every other student in high school , I was looking for a group to fit in with . I ended up joining a rap group called South-Side Mafia , which helped me come up with the nickname CraziNerd . So CraziNerd was my rap nickname which of course then turned to a name for my entrepreneurial platform , because that name describes all that I am in terms of my goals , they are all crazy goals , and are mostly based around nerdish concepts .
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES CRAZINERD HAS FACED BEING ONE OF THE FEW COMPANIES OF ITS KIND IN JOHANNESBURG ? Financial problems and getting ourselves to be known and trusted by people , because with our low prices , people initially assumed that we were trying to scam them until they realized that people were getting the services as promised . As for the financial part , I used a lot of my bursary money to establish CraziNerd which of course led to a lot of sacrifices from my side .
WHAT ’ S SOME ADVICE YOU ’ D GIVE TO THOSE INTERESTED IN STARTING A WEB DEVELOPMENT COMPANY ? If your aim is to get rich quick , don ’ t start the company . If you are excluding a group of people with your prices , don ’ t start it because you need to understand that in this digital age , you are the gateway to entrepreneurs establishing themselves .
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