The man that came to be seen in SA as synonymous with the First National Bank (FNB) brand - its former CEO Michael Jordaan - is starting a new venture in the idyllic student and winelands town of Stellenbosch.
In January, Jordaan will open the Bird Street doors of Montegray Capital - a company that will invest in disruptive business models enabled by technology. He will be joined by only one other in the running of the company, Atka Young - a recent B Comm graduate from Stellenbosch, who wished to return to her hometown after having worked at FNB for about three years as management trainee and credit analyst, respectively.
Jordaan is renovating a small office, aptly situated adjacent to the Oude Bank building that housed the bank around which Stellenbosch - one of SA's oldest towns - was created, Stellenbosche Distriksbank. "I hope this has good Karma!" says Jordaan.
New horizons
Jordaan came up with the Montegray name back in 2010 - although the company has remained dormant since. He says he was inspired by Stellenbosch's granite mountains. "They are grey in the day, but turn green, blue and even pink as the sun sets. I like the solidity of granite, coupled with the subtle variations of colour."
The motivation behind the business itself, he says, is his passion for the disruptive in business. "I love disruptive technologies and disruptive business models. I also believe 'the rate of change is increasing at an increasing rate'."
Jordaan says, while venture capital "is not for the faint-hearted", after decades in a bank - which has to be more conservative - he looks forward to taking more, well-considered risks. He will devote most of his time to Montegray, but this involves adding value - "hopefully", he adds - to investee companies on a strategic level.
Primary principles
Young will be Jordaan's executive assistant, office manager and "general problem solver". Jordaan says he hopes to keep the company lean, as he believes lean start-ups reduce business risk significantly.
Another creed the former bank boss swears by is not being in a rush when it comes to the growth of the company. "I am in no rush. People who cannot wait to start investing usually end up burning their fingers. I am happy to wait for the right deals to come along."
Jordaan is funding the business himself, but says the amounts involved are modest - even by venture capital standards.
"I believe that frugal start-ups, with just a few very smart and creative people, can grow into large companies, but without consuming too much capital. Being less reliant on capital and making costs variable has the beneficial impact of reducing start-up risk," he says - adding that capital can of course be provided incrementally as the business hits milestones.
On how much of an influence Jordaan's almost decade-long tenure as CEO of FNB will have, Jordaan says only time will tell. "Big businesses have a huge opportunity to 'bring Silicon Valley inside', which is what we tried to do in FNB [as well as to] marry new ideas with the benefits of scale, a customer base and established brands. In my experience though, many large corporates suffer from some degree of the 'not invented here' syndrome ? and this is what creates opportunities for entrepreneurs."
Mxit milieu
While Jordaan's new baby, Montegray, will keep him plenty busy, it will not be the only thing keeping the former CEO on his toes.
Just over a month ago, Jordaan was appointed as chairman of Mxit's board of directors - an opportunity he says he is also very enthusiastic about. "I am very excited about the possibilities of scaling a mobile-first chat network across the rest of Africa and India."
He does point out, however, that being chairman is not a full-time job, and Mxit CEO Francois Swart and his team "are doing a great job". His ultimate intention with the home-grown social network, he says, is to add value at a strategic - rather than an operational - level.
In closing, Jordaan speaks of a recent trip he took to world technology hub Silicon Valley, in San Francisco Bay. "I recently returned from a two-week trip to Silicon Valley and was inspired by the ecosystem of smart people, risk-friendly venture capitalists, great educational institutions and the sense that they are inventing the future. I think we have lots of that in SA too; we simply need to believe in ourselves more and become a little more tolerant of risk-taking."
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