If you consider yourself to be an innovator with an out-of-the-box business idea, this competition is just for you and offers you the opportunity to realise your business dream. Just ask Melanie Pieterse, the 2019 winner of the competition.
Winning advice from a Leopard’s Lair conqueror
When Melanie Pieterse tells you that a successful entrepreneur has to continuously build, measure and learn, you should pay attention. Melanie conquered the Leopard’s Lair Business Competition in 2019 with her entrepreneurial venture, The Period Package, and by doing so not only impressed as a start-up fempreneur, but also actively supported fellow entrepreneurs.
According to Melanie, studentpreneurs should not let fear of failure hold them back. “Just go for it! Your idea might just be the breakthrough the world didn’t realise it needed. In my case, the competition was the boost I needed to put my idea into action.”
Since participating in the competition, Melanie has built, measured and expanded her vision and thoughts on entrepreneurship even further and came to the conclusion that it is all about taking consistent action. According to her, an idea without action is nothing but wasted potential.
“With the new normal that we face, I now have to build, measure and learn yet again as an entrepreneur. It is a rollercoaster ride, but it is so worth it! Even if you fail, you still win, because you took action, you learned and built something better. And in the process you are shaping the future of our society. We need entrepreneurs, we need new ideas. So, just go for it and enter the competition. You won’t be disappointed.”
More about Leopard’s Lair
This year marks the fourth time the competition has been presented and will see students from across the NWU’s geographical footprint – and their counterparts from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) – step up and pitch their entrepreneurial ideas in the hope of realising their business dreams. Through the competition students are also motivated to become future employers and job creators by embracing the value of entrepreneurship as a career choice.
Heading up the competition is the NWU’s bhive EDC. The competition format is based on similar national and international business challenges such as Shark Tank and Dragon’s Den.
Undergraduate and postgraduate entrepreneurs should enter before the end of July by visiting our website: http://commerce.nwu.ac.za/bhive-enterprise-development-centre/leopards-lair-business-competition.
Melanie Pieterse.
