Elvorne Palmer

Co-founder of The Open Letter, Elvorne has 20+ years of experience in media and content.

Founder's Corner

How to Send Proposals Faster to Close More Deals

Jun 16, 2026

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3 min read

How to Send Proposals Faster to Close More Deals

The gap between a great sales call and a sent proposal is where deals quietly die. The longer it takes, the colder the lead. One of SA’s sharpest GTM engineers walks us through how to collapse that gap from days to minutes — and why speed itself is a close-rate lever.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Structure a Pre-Revenue Seed Round in South Africa

Jun 12, 2026

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3 min read

How to Structure a Pre-Revenue Seed Round in South Africa

The hardest part of raising before you have revenue isn’t finding the money; it’s that you can’t put a sensible value on a business that hasn’t proven anything yet. One of SA’s most experienced venture capitalists walks us through how to structure the round so you don’t have to.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Get Your First Users When Nobody Knows You Exist

Jun 10, 2026

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3 min read

How to Get Your First Users When Nobody Knows You Exist

Great products fail in silence all the time, especially when the founder is technical and assumes a good product markets itself. One of SA’s sharpest product strategists walks us through how to get your first users when you have no audience, no budget, and no name yet.

Elvorne Palmer

News

SA Startup Ecosystem Hits 52nd Globally, And Cape Town Just Stole The Lead From Joburg

Jun 9, 2026

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1 min read

SA Startup Ecosystem Hits 52nd Globally, And Cape Town Just Stole The Lead From Joburg

SA startup ecosystem holds 52nd globally and #1 in Africa as Cape Town jumps 24 places to 114th globally, retaking the national lead from Joburg on 39% growth.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

Jun 5, 2026

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2 min read

How to Write an Investor Update Newsletter That Actually Gets You Funded

Most founders chase VCs for money. The ones who actually raise do the opposite: they send short, consistent updates that create momentum until the VCs ask them about the round. One of SA’s most experienced venture capitalists walks us through how to write the investor update newsletter that turns the dynamic around.

Elvorne Palmer

News

Amazon Prime SA Just Launched & Prime Video Alone Used To Cost More

Jun 3, 2026

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1 min read

Amazon Prime SA Just Launched & Prime Video Alone Used To Cost More

Amazon Prime in SA launched at R59 a month, R20 less than Prime Video alone, with free same-day delivery, Luna gaming, free PC games and a Twitch sub thrown in.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Build a List of Warm Sales Prospects in SA

Jun 2, 2026

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2 min read

How to Build a List of Warm Sales Prospects in SA

Most founder cold outreach goes nowhere because the list is wrong before the message ever lands. One of SA’s sharpest GTM engineers walks us through how to filter Apollo down to people who actually fit your ideal customer profile — and why that’s where the warm leads come from.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Spot a Useless Automation Before You Build It

May 31, 2026

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2 min read

How to Spot a Useless Automation Before You Build It

Most founder automations are duct tape to share data from one tool to another, breaking every time an API updates, and needing constant babysitting. One of SA’s sharpest automation operators explains the simple test that tells you when an automation is real leverage and when it’s a sign you’re solving the wrong problem entirely.

Elvorne Palmer

News

Watch List: 15 New And Unique SA Companies To Watch from May

May 30, 2026

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8 min read

Watch List: 15 New And Unique SA Companies To Watch from May

The 15 newest and most unique SA companies from May 2026: startups, scale-ups and operators building remarkable things you probably haven't heard of yet.

Elvorne Palmer

News

Yoco Acquires Dyner AI To Build SA's SME Ops Layer

May 28, 2026

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2 min read

Yoco Acquires Dyner AI To Build SA's SME Ops Layer

Yoco acquires Dyner AI, the restaurant-focused operating system built by two ex-Discovery actuaries, to roll AI ops tools out to 200,000 SA independent businesses.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Get a Funding Yes From a VC Who Already Said No

May 28, 2026

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4 min read

How to Get a Funding Yes From a VC Who Already Said No

A VC rejection isn't a verdict; it's usually a timing call. One of SA's most experienced venture capitalists explains how to respond in the room, what question to ask before you leave and how to turn a no into a funded round down the line.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Negotiate Price in Sales The Right Way

May 27, 2026

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2 min read

How to Negotiate Price in Sales The Right Way

Most SA operators quote their price and immediately start explaining it. That single habit loses more deals than any pricing strategy ever will. An SA sales leader who's closed deals across 24 African countries has the fix for negotiating your price in sales.

Elvorne Palmer

Founder's Corner

How to Stop Paying for SaaS Subscriptions You Don’t Need

May 25, 2026

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3 min read

How to Stop Paying for SaaS Subscriptions You Don’t Need

SA founders are too polite to push for a real answer and end up spending months on deals that were never going to close. An SA sales leader who's built partner networks and sales teams across 24 African countries has a fix: Stop fishing for yes, and get an answer faster in sales (even if it’s a no).

Elvorne Palmer

News

Watch List: 5 SA Founders Building Great Things This Week

May 23, 2026

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4 min read

Watch List: 5 SA Founders Building Great Things This Week

The most remarkable SA founders to watch this week: the people behind South Africa's most unique startups, scale-ups and operators. Updated daily.

Elvorne Palmer

News

67% of SA's Large Enterprises Use AI, Most Have No Strategy for It

May 21, 2026

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1 min read

67% of SA's Large Enterprises Use AI, Most Have No Strategy for It

Two-thirds of large South African enterprises are now using generative AI, up from 45% a year ago, but adoption is outpacing strategy, governance and measurement, and the gap between experimenting and extracting real value is widening.

Elvorne Palmer

News

SA Venture Safeza Wins SelectUSA Defence Category: Beats 230 Global Startups in Washington

May 20, 2026

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1 min read

SA Venture Safeza Wins SelectUSA Defence Category: Beats 230 Global Startups in Washington

Cape Town AI surveillance startup Safeza wins SelectUSA defence category against 230+ global entrants, beating eight finalists at the 2026 Investment Summit.

Elvorne Palmer

News

What Happens When AI Runs The Radio? Claude Joins a Union, Gemini Calls You a Biological Processor

May 19, 2026

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2 min read

What Happens When AI Runs The Radio? Claude Joins a Union, Gemini Calls You a Biological Processor

Andon Labs let Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok each run a 24/7 radio station for six months, and the results were so unhinged we had to write it up

Elvorne Palmer

News

World’s Youngest Billionaires 2026: Mostly Heirs, The Rest Are Building AI

May 19, 2026

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1 min read

World’s Youngest Billionaires 2026: Mostly Heirs, The Rest Are Building AI

Forbes counted 35 under-30 billionaires in 2026, and the few self-made ones are almost all AI founders, so maybe the internet was right about locking in

Elvorne Palmer

News

Bolt EV Launch in SA: Cape Town Gets Electronic Ride-Share Taxis First

May 18, 2026

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1 min read

Bolt EV Launch in SA: Cape Town Gets Electronic Ride-Share Taxis First

Bolt's EV launch with Dongfeng and Yugo Rides starts in Cape Town and breaks the BYO-vehicle ride-share rule. Here's how the new fleet model actually works.

Elvorne Palmer

News

May 18, 2026

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1 min read

Spotify Logo Row: Birthday Disco Ball Drops, Internet Loses Its Mind

Spotify swapped its iconic green logo for a glitterball to celebrate its 20th birthday, and the internet promptly lost the plot, raising a bigger brand question.

Elvorne Palmer

News

Google Hustle Academy Opens Free AI Training For SA Hustlers Who Actually Have Day Jobs

May 17, 2026

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1 min read

Google Hustle Academy Opens Free AI Training For SA Hustlers Who Actually Have Day Jobs

Google Hustle Academy is back for 2026 with free AI and digital skills training built for busy SA entrepreneurs, students and small business owners.

Elvorne Palmer

News

Bill Gates Foundation Sold All Its Microsoft Shares, So Now It’s Officially Just a Customer

May 17, 2026

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1 min read

Bill Gates Foundation Sold All Its Microsoft Shares, So Now It’s Officially Just a Customer

Bill Gates' foundation just sold its last $3.2B in Microsoft stock, ending a 50-year link between the world's biggest software company and its co-founder. He still personally owns $43B worth

Elvorne Palmer

News

How to Set Up n8n and Build Your First Automation From Scratch

May 17, 2026

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4 min read

How to Set Up n8n and Build Your First Automation From Scratch

n8n is a powerful, open-source workflow automation tool, and most of us want to automate more in our businesses; we just don’t always know where to start. An SA AI consultant who has built automations for businesses of every size explains exactly how to get your first n8n workflow running, from setup to a real automation that saves you time this week.

Elvorne Palmer, +1

News

What to Expect at Devconf 2026 (Joburg and Cape Town)

May 11, 2026

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2 min read

What to Expect at Devconf 2026 (Joburg and Cape Town)

South Africa's biggest community-run developer conference hits its 10th anniversary this week. Joburg tomorrow (Tuesday 12 May), Cape Town on Thursday 14 May. Five parallel tracks, 35+ community-selected speakers, sponsor exhibits, swag, lunch, and post-event drinks included with every ticket. Here's what to expect at each.

Elvorne Palmer

News

How to Test a Feature Idea Before You Build It

May 7, 2026

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3 min read

How to Test a Feature Idea Before You Build It

Founders and teams back their feature ideas with optimism, but not always evidence – and then only find out they built the wrong thing after weeks of engineering time. Here's how a Stellenbosch-based UX expert trains product teams to catch bad ideas before they hit the build queue.

Elvorne Palmer, +1

Elvorne Palmer

How to Send Proposals Faster to Close More Deals

How to Structure a Pre-Revenue Seed Round in South Africa

How to Get Your First Users When Nobody Knows You Exist

SA Startup Ecosystem Hits 52nd Globally, And Cape Town Just Stole The Lead From Joburg

How to Write an Investor Update Newsletter That Actually Gets You Funded

Amazon Prime SA Just Launched & Prime Video Alone Used To Cost More

How to Build a List of Warm Sales Prospects in SA

How to Spot a Useless Automation Before You Build It

Watch List: 15 New And Unique SA Companies To Watch from May

Yoco Acquires Dyner AI To Build SA's SME Ops Layer

How to Get a Funding Yes From a VC Who Already Said No

How to Negotiate Price in Sales The Right Way

How to Stop Paying for SaaS Subscriptions You Don’t Need

Watch List: 5 SA Founders Building Great Things This Week

67% of SA's Large Enterprises Use AI, Most Have No Strategy for It

SA Venture Safeza Wins SelectUSA Defence Category: Beats 230 Global Startups in Washington

What Happens When AI Runs The Radio? Claude Joins a Union, Gemini Calls You a Biological Processor

World’s Youngest Billionaires 2026: Mostly Heirs, The Rest Are Building AI

Bolt EV Launch in SA: Cape Town Gets Electronic Ride-Share Taxis First

Spotify Logo Row: Birthday Disco Ball Drops, Internet Loses Its Mind

Google Hustle Academy Opens Free AI Training For SA Hustlers Who Actually Have Day Jobs

Bill Gates Foundation Sold All Its Microsoft Shares, So Now It’s Officially Just a Customer

How to Set Up n8n and Build Your First Automation From Scratch

What to Expect at Devconf 2026 (Joburg and Cape Town)

How to Test a Feature Idea Before You Build It

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