Herman Heunis

Izimvo is truly honoured to introduce the founder and CEO of MXit, Herman Heunis.

MXit, a true South African success story, was the first mobile instant messenger of its kind in the country. Today, it is used by over 15 million users in 120+ countries and transmits upward of 250 million messages per day. Since launching in 2005, the product has evolved to include various other services including e-commerce, music, dating and gaming.

Website: http://www.mxitlifestyle.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HermanHeunis
Location: Cape Town

Herman was kind enough to answer the following questions:

Personal

Q: The all important personal profile. How would a close friend introduce you at a social event? i.e. Name, age, company, interesting fact etc.

A: Knowing some of my friends, this could be embarrassing as their introduction would most probably be “This is Herman, he used to be normal before he started MXit, but now I’m not so sure ….” :)

Anyway, I have been a software engineer since 1980 but for the past few years I had to exchange that wonderful life for a management role, which has its own challenges and rewards. In my spare time I’m a very keen wildlife photographer and I am also keen on windsurfing and mountain biking.

Q: Tell us something that not many others know about you. This could be anything from a phobia to your favorite movie.

A: At heart I’m an artist, hence my love for software engineering – one of the ultimate forms of creativity. All my aptitude tests at varsity confirmed that I should have become an artist – a sculptor or painter to be exact and shortly before varsity started, I was still seriously in two minds as what to study, a degree in Arts or B.Comm. It was a matter of head overriding the heart– I did the B.Comm as the employment potential for artists at that stage was not great.

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you want to get away from it all?

A: Traveling and exploring new places is certainly at the top of my list and when you can combine it with photography, even better. My wife and I have traveled more than 100,000 km, (mostly by adventure bike) through various parts of Southern Africa over the past four years and I wish we could do more.

Q: How would you describe your dream home and where in South African would you like it to be?

A: Where I live and work now is the ultimate for me. Somerset West with the Helderberg in the background, vineyards almost on our doorstep, and the ocean on the horizon -it’s really a great place to live. Working in Stellenbosch is also very special – one of the most beautiful towns in the world with so many creative minds walking its streets.

This question was proudly sponsored by Private Property

MXit

Q: Can you tell us a little about the R&D project that lead to the development of MXit? What were the goals of the project and when was the eureka moment?

A: We had this “urge” to create a community using mobile phones and we thought a massive multiplayer game would do it, but we were wrong. The game was re-shaped several times but eventually we realized that the number of hurdles were just staggering, so we parked it.

Months later, we hit upon the idea of a mobile search engine with social aspects that was followed by a community classifieds element – but also no joy here.

Then one day we decided to drop all the fluff surrounding our offering and just focus on IM. If you look carefully at what we did, we just switched the primary and secondary objectives. Initially it was a) offer gaming (or search or classifieds) and b) offer messaging as a secondary. With MXit, we a) offered messaging as primary and b) used the IM to offer gaming, classifieds, etc.

Q: Since launching in May 2005, MXit has shown explosive growth and has introduced many new products including classifies, music, gaming, counselling etc. Which of these products are you most most proud of and what can we expect in 2010 and beyond?

A: Every product was special in some way, some more than others. If I have to rate one highly, it would be our latest, a multiplayer game called tiXi. You play the game within MXit which is great -a brand new game and a brand new concept. I’m really looking forward to seeing what will happen when we start promoting the game, especially since it has an education value to it.

I think MXit Xchange, our classifieds, was also a highlight. It started off as a simple prototype developed within a very short timeframe. We learned quickly that user moderation does not always work and we had to change the software numerous times to allow for moderation before the ads go out. Today we have more than 1.3 million users of MXit Xchange which is quite an achievement for a product only 6 months old. With regards to the future, we hope to focus on more entertainment offerings.

Q: Question from Mike Sharman (@mikesharman) – What are your thoughts and plans for location-based services, considering future trends of Twitter / Facebook as outlined by @mashable?

A: I have not looked in detail at the Twitter and Facebook plans, so I cannot comment. Our own plans will revolve around the importance of location-based information to our users when it comes to searching for, or engaging with, other people or products. One obviously needs to be aware that there are privacy/security issues when it comes to location-based information.

Q: How do you hire great talent?

A: This is really difficult and requires a tremendous effort but is worthwhile when you get it right. Great companies are made up of a collection of great people with great ideas and lots of energy and passion. Hiring the right skills and personalities is probably the most important aspect of a company. We have learned that a process must be in place to enable you to choose and then to screen vigorously until you find exactly what type of individual you are looking for – from an experience, talent, attitude and personality perspective. If you can’t find the right person, you might be better off not employing anyone.

Q: What advice would you give young Internet entrepreneurs starting out with little or no money?

A: We have learned so many lessons over the years – some of them were VERY expensive which I would never wish to repeat again. To highlight just a few:

• Do your market research and make sure that your product is much more than nice pictures and a cool website.
• Make sure you have something that has a very unique appeal to a vast number of people. Bottom line, how will your product or service be different to what is currently available and what will entice people to use it? Price is not always the best differentiator.
• You have to think “out of the box” when it comes to revenue generation. With so many fantastic free services out there, you might have to think about other ways (sometimes unconventional) to generate revenue. In our case we make tiny amounts, but the volumes are high.
• If you cannot compete in a certain category, create a new one.
• Be prepared to fail before success is achieved. The fact is, to be an Internet entrepreneur (today) is not the easiest of jobs and where it was virgin territory in the 90s and early 2000s, today it is a super- overcrowded red ocean where you will compete against hundreds or even thousands in certain areas.
• Funding is mostly a major issue for startups and dealing with VCs, banks or other investors can be stressful. My advice is, do your homework and prepare a proper business plan before you engage with them. Focus on things such as amount of funding required, competitors, your unique offering, potential revenue projections and so on. There are many examples on the internet of how to do this. Also, be careful who you approach for funding and see if you can rely on references – the last thing you want is to be involved with a bunch of unscrupulous people in your business. Make sure your funding partners can add more than just money.
• Make sure your paperwork is in order right from the word go. Sort out company structure and shareholder agreements and especially what happens when you have differences with your partners. Make sure you have written documents and contracts with whomever you working to avoid expensive misunderstandings/interpretations in the future.
• I cannot stress enough the importance of choosing the right partners/co-shareholders – things tend to get tough at times and the last thing you want is a partner (or funder) who does not have the stomach for it and wants to bail out during the launch or at some other inconvenient time.
• Be aware of hidden costs when it comes to hosting, bandwidth, development, IP, software licences and so on. The reality is that certain parts of the solution such as bandwidth are quite expensive in SA.
• Marketing your idea (or company) once it is launched is the golden key. Traditional advertising might not work or it could be horrendously expensive. Buy yourself a book on guerilla marketing and try to get into that way of thinking.

Q: What advice do you offer parents of young children using services such as MXit, Twitter and Facebook?

A: The concept of privacy and personal information is something young people don’t always appreciate and since they don’t always comprehend the full implications of personal information in the wrong hands, they get into all sorts of trouble. If I had to highlight one bit of advice, not only for kids, but for all Internet users – it would be that a significant percentage of Internet users are not who they say they are. Role- playing is a big thing and will continue to be – and, sadly, criminals are using it too.

Life in South Africa

Q: Have you or any of your immediate family been affected by crime? If yes, has it changed your perception of the country and the way you and your family live your lives?

A: Yes, but thankfully not seriously. We have some immense challenges in this magnificent country of ours and crime is right at the top of the list. Until now, government has failed in solving this and as a result it impacts everything, from job creation to economic growth. I think we need to re-look at the entire system, from our justice system to correctional services and ask assistance from countries that have solved these problems. Maybe we need to introduce a form of national service for all jailed criminals or hard labour as it looks like jail terms are not enough of a deterrent.

Q: Have you ever considered emigration? If yes, where do you think you would emigrate to?

A: Never. I’m an African and Africa is in my blood – the sky is different and the land smells different and we have so much space. I cannot see myself living in another country.

Q: If you were given the opportunity of sitting down with the president, what advice would you offer him?

A: It is clear that many departments in government need all the help they can get as they are failing him and the people of this great country. If I was him, I would re-structure government departments to enable them to implement the knowledge and processes of the private industry. I would employ ex-CEOs of very successful companies, and give them the power to turn the dysfunctional departments around.

Q: In your opinion, what is South Africa’s greatest technological export?

A: Sadly, it is expertise. We have lost, and are still losing, people with vast spheres of invaluable knowledge that is, in some cases, impossible to replace. You know, there are great similarities between people and trees in forests. Every knowledgeable person is almost like a mini eco-system, similar to big trees in a rainforest, under which new talent is born and growth is stimulated. Look at the devastation of some of the rainforests in the world and see what remains – deserts. Quite sadly we have vast areas of deserts in certain areas such as education, safety/security, ICT, health and many others. We need to keep people here and we need to persuade the ones that have left to come back – at all costs – unfortunately most left because of crime and crime is still unacceptably high.

Life in Cape Town

Q: Best spot for a romantic night out?

A: A wine farm in Stellenbosch.

Q: Favorite venue in or around Cape Town for team building?

A: I like to support Stellenbosch and the surrounding areas.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Silicon Cape Initiative?

A: I have not had the opportunity to attend any of the meetings due to my hectic traveling schedule but I think any attempt to bring the ICT fraternity together has merit. Time will tell how successful it will be.

General

Q: Which South African blog do you read on a daily basis and why?

A: I wish I had the time to do that :)

Q: If you were able to pick anyone as your mentor, who would it be and why?

A: Richard Branson. Obviously he is a very successful entrepreneur and when you read his autobiography, you cannot but have respect for what he has achieved. I always liked the fact that he’s a maverick.

Q: One book that you would make required reading for all matric pupils?

A: “Multiple streams of Income” by Robert Allen.

I would also make chess a compulsory “subject” from primary school. Many of our kids have not mastered the art of thinking for themselves. We have launched a chess initiative on MXit now and we hope it will gain significant traction.

Q: Favorite South African brand?

Q: Mrs Balls chutney / “Rust en Vrede” wines / Rooibos tea

Q: Who would you most like to read about on Izimvo and what would you like to ask him?

A: Richard Branson. How would he fix the myriad problems we have in this country of ours.

A massive thank Herman for taking the time to answer our questions. We’d like to wish him and the team at MXit every success for the future. If you have not tried MXit, be sure to download it from this address: http://www.mxitlifestyle.com/how-to-get-mxit