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FIVE MINUTES WITH LINDA RAVENHILL

8 Aug 2011
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Linda Ravenhill is one of the finalists for the Cartier Womens Initiative, an international entrepreneurship competition for women. Linda founded VideoLive, which uses video and audio streaming technologies to supply adult education focusing on health care in developing countries. We are so proud to have a South African woman in the finals of this prestigious competition!

Linda Ravenhill

How did you go from nursing to working on web-based adult education?

Believe it or not, it was not as much of a leap as it sounds. Nursing in retrospect was the best grounding I could have had. My Intensive Care
qualification in particular taught me the invaluable skills of thinking out the box, problem solving and staying calm under fire. Those skills made the transition easy – IT is really about logic.  Where there’s a problem there has to be a solution if you just think it through logically. I am as passionate about building good technology systems as I am about the opportunity to make medical information and education accessible throughout Africa.  In a world as connected as we are, there should be no reason why anyone should be left behind or not have access to up-to-date and relevant information.

What were some of the problems you faced when you started out?

I did not follow the recommended path when starting my business – I really
just decided there had to be a better way to do things. I resigned from my job and started the business literally the next day. Luckily I had an excellent network of clients and suppliers that I had built up over the years so I was able to generated business almost immediately. That’s where I learnt the power of networking!  And the power of having a plan. It worked for me, luckily, but I would not recommend it to everyone! Knowing what type of business is ‘good business’ took me a long time to understand. I think initially as a small business you feel compelled to take on anything that comes your way because you are trying to grow. As a result I did pay school fees financially, because the ‘wrong type’ of business will ultimately cost you money. This was the biggest lesson I learnt. Finding the right people to work in the business was also a challenge. While I was fortunate to have a great network of suppliers from the start, I did make some hiring choices that were not right for the business and I learnt very quickly the price of that. It pays to take your time, ask for an independent opinion and really think about what your business needs before hiring. Once you have someone good  treat them like gold! Managing cash was also a challenge for me initially.  I learnt through my mistakes that you need to define your payment conditions to your clients to ensure that you are not left cash strapped when they take 90 days or longer to pay you.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment so far?

I would have to say figuring out how to get online video to run smoothly on minimal bandwith.  I think everyone including my own team thought I was mad and that it couldn’t be done without HUGE budgets. It took years of trial and error and all my financial savings but here we are  – a small, woman-owned company, a leading provider of online video content up into Africa. And when a doctor in a country that previously was left off the grid in terms of access to new information sends you a mail to say ‘Thank you for
doing this’, what greater acknowledgement could there be?

You are one of the first South African Women to run a web company. Why do you think so few women entrepreneurs enter this sector?

I¹m not really sure why it is not seen as an attractive segment to enter, because the need for good suppliers is definitely there. I think if you have determination and the right skills, it is a relatively easy sector to enter into,  especially for working mothers because the internet runs 24 hours a day, so you can work around your schedule which most start-ups do not allow you to do. I am hopeful that the government¹s drive in science and technology will make it a more attractive option for female school leavers which in turn may drive the entrepreneurial sector.

Do you have a five-year plan?

Five years is a long time in our industry. We often joke that, at this pace, in
two years’ time we may have robotic learning in place, so we’d better get
moving!  So I do have a plan, but I am aware that to be successful you have to remember to be flexible. Our five-year goal, however, (and passion) is to see our platforms up and running throughout Africa.  This will ensure that we deliver on our commitment to make medical information and knowledge as accessible to the greatest number of people no matter where they are.

Is your business woman-friendly from an employee perspective?

Absolutely. Our philosophy as a company is to employ women where possible. Our work is not 9-5, and we really work flexible hours, so it is well suited to skilled women who want to both have a career and still be with their families. These women are often not able to find jobs in the formal sector due to their commitments, so this way we all win.

If you are named one of the Cartier Women’s Initiative winners, how would you use the $20 000 prize money?

That’s an easy one!  I would like to divide the money between two initiatives:
As we are completely self-funded in a high-tech environment, that money will
be a very welcome addition to our product development budget  – we have a
very long list of projects we are itching to roll out, so the money will be
put to very good use there! I am passionate about skills transference and extending learning, and we are in the very early stages of setting up a learnership program, training learners, particularly women, in the various skills needed for a business such as ours. Obviously this takes money to do, and I would use a portion of our winnings to invest in that programme.

What do you hope to gain from the mentoring component of the Cartier Inititiave?

I am already benefiting from the initial coaching. I am extrodinarily lucky to have two coaches with very different skills and they are already contributing to my business in a fundamental way, challenging the way I think about what we do and how I want to grow the company. As an entrepreneur, it is not possible to have all the skills necessary to run a business.  You need to access people who fill those gaps and a mentor who has those skills is invaluable, even if it is just as an independent sounding board. As a company we are now entering a global environment. I know I will benefit enormously from the experience of my mentors and this will definitely make me more confident about driving the business here. The mentorship programme is to my mind is the Cartier initiatives’ biggest gift to us as finalists!

What advice do you have for women who want to start their own ventures?

• Never accept it when someone says it can’t be done.
• Employ the right people, and then treat them well.  You are as only as good
as the people who support you.
• Get sound financial advice: hire a bookkeeper, put your systems in place,
do it right from the start – it’s worth it.
• Spend cautiously and wisely. Cash is king, and you may live to regret your
rash expenditure when your client doesn’t pay on time!
• And have fun! Don’t forget why you started your business in the first place.

What have you sacrificed to become a business owner? Was it worth it?

I think it was more an investment than a sacrifice. If you want to be successful you have to do your time, so to speak.  As Gary Player said, the harder I practice the luckier I get. Financially initially I incurred the full cost of trying to find a solution to the video streaming problem – and to do that I cleared out all my personal funds, I took a very small salary from my then development company and poured any extra money into research and development.
Many long hours, many tears, many frustrating, disheartening meetings over
the years when I could not convince anyone to try even the product  – these
all served a purpose. They strengthened my resolve, made me really clear about what I wanted and what I believed in, and I don’t think I could have made a better investment ultimately.  Was it worth it?  Without a doubt!