Hi there,

Dreaming of space exploration? Well, it’s looking a lot more promising now that NASA’s Perseverance rover has proven it can produce oxygen on the surface of Mars. It’s all thanks to a new toaster-sized device called MOXIE.

In this Open Letter:

• Safety net: SA’s R640bn security industry.
• Invasive Apple, AI rugby & the SABC crash.
• Get gilded: R2’500s worth of solid gold up for grabs.
• Active users: 4 Steps to track and boost word of mouth.
• The results: Who will win the RWC.

TRENDING NOW

The 640bn Big Ones Keeping SA Safe

It’s no secret that SA has a crime problem. About 1.1 million families were burgled last year (that’s over 5% of us), and 1% of SA were robbed while they were still at home, according to recently released crime stats. And there’s been – gulp – 68 murders per day, every day just between April and June this year, which is absolutely shocking.

No wonder SA spends a lot to protect ourselves

Recently at the “On the Record Summit”, SA’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed that South Africans spend 10% of GDP (around R640 billion) per year to be safe amidst rampant crime and social unrest. What’s more, violence cost our society R3.3 billion in damages in 2022. Yikes!

‍

Wait a minute, that’s Big Money

Yes, you read that right – R640 billion per year. Why, that’s bigger than:

• The Healthcare sector – both private and public – at R 500 billion.
• And SA’s bustling township economies at R425 billion per year.
• Even our taxi industry at an estimated R90 billion in 2021.

Indeed, SA has well over 11’000 private security companies registered with PSiRA (Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority). And, in 2022, there were nearly 2.7 million registered security guards in SA – only 580’000+ employed in the industry, though.

But hold on to your hats. There were only 140’000-odd SAPS members at the same time – that means there’s only 1 police officer for every 4 private security guards in SA. Sheez!

It’s not just us…

And don’t think it’s just us ordinary South Africans that have to spend on private security, either. Government (including national departments and other organs of State) are locked into hundreds of long-term private security contracts to the tune of R16.9 billion.

And if you add provincial and local government contracts with private security, it could be as much as R100 billion – all for services that should be provided by SAPS, mind you.

We’re not here for the politics, though.

We’re here to tell you that, if a R640bn market exists, you can be a part of it.

Plays in the security space

Now the industry is big and the problem even bigger. But not everyone has it in their veins to manage a fleet of gun-carrying Corsa Bakkie drivers. Here are some local players capitalising in the tech space:

• Olarm is a Cape Town-based IoT company building mobile apps and systems for home security and monitoring. Their app allows users to control their existing home alarm systems from their smartphones. What’s smart about their approach is they partner with security companies. So instead of trying to sell to end users, they use the existing sales force of the security companies that sign up their existing customers at ±R50 a month. So a low CAC, subscription-based billing and easy to maintain.
  
• Namola is an on-demand emergency response app – a crucial service when you have fragmented emergency services and unclear addresses in remote areas. It ensures responses to a user's last-known location, even when they can't answer their phone. Basically a panic button that connects with a close by emergency response team.
• Interestingly, MultiChoice bought Namola end of last year and DStv subscribers can now add Namola debit orders to their existing DStv bill. MultiChoice buying a security company is interesting, perhaps they saw the size of the market and pounced, and maybe there are other big players following.

It’s a huge market, and with tech or a smart service, you can come in and add value without having to take the obvious route. We are watching this space.

Refer one friend to sign up to The Open Letter and view our top opportunity pick for this trend (and all future trends we cover).

Get your sharing link here.

OVER TO YOU

When there’s something strange, in your neighbourhood, who do you call?

Vote to see what everyone said...

• 👻 Ghostbusters
• 🍩 SAPS
• 🦹🏾‍♂️ Neighbourhood Watch
• 👮 Private security firm
• 👓 A friend
• 🥋 Recall my karate training
• 💪 Hugo
• 📱 Message the community Facebook/WhatsApp group

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

IN SHORT

💥 Crash tackle. With more drama than an episode of 7de Laan, the SABC Rugby World Cup broadcasting left them with egg on their face even before the Boks kicked off against Scotland on Sunday with many users reporting the SABC’s app and streaming services crashing. That’s not all. Details have emerged from the sub-licensing deal including the 3 companies that foot the R58 million deal to show 16 RWC matches – that’s right a whole R20 millie more than the initial deal on the table.

🏖️ Life’s a Beach (Resort). A brand spanking new Club Med beach resort is coming to the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. The R1.6 billion resort will be co-owned by local companies Royal Shaka Property Group, GFS Holdings and Collins Residential.

🤖 AI RWC Winner. AI is great for a lot of things, but determining the winner of the Rugby World Cup, might not be one of them. The Rugby Vision algorithm seems to disagree with readers of The Open Letter – we know it’s coming home.

🧠 Nevermind. For a long time, proponents of privacy in tech have said that the only privacy you’ll have is in your head. Well, that’s all about to change with Apple’s latest update and the introduction of its mood tracker: “State of Mind”. The feature will ask users to rate how they feel and provide questionnaires that can act as preliminary screening for depression and anxiety.

💰 Gloves Off. Armchair experts had a field day in the comments when veteran Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Reuters journalist, James Picerno, told Investing.com that it’s easier to understand the markets if you think of gold as a form of cash – liquid, free of government influence and with a longer track record than BTC. Which is exactly why we’re giving away R2’500 worth of Troygold below…

JUST FOR YOU

Got Gold?

Share The Open Letter and you can win! We’re giving away R2’500 worth of gold, plus this cool merch from Troygold.

‍

And all you gotta do to stand a chance of winning it all is 1, 2, 3, 4…

STEP 1: Click on this shiny button 👇

(The button opens a LinkedIn tab.)

STEP 2: Click “Share in a post” right under the Open Letter logo in that new tab.

STEP 3: Type a few words on what you think about The Open Letter, as a post to your followers.

STEP 4: Tag us: @TheOpenLetter and hit “post”.

Done, now you’re entered to get gilded.

­

BUILDER’S CORNER

Track & Measure Your Word of Mouth

"Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room." – Jeff Bezos

Ah, word of mouth, the most powerful, gold standard and often most elusive “tool” in product marketing. And we say “tool” in quotes because it often feels like something you don't really have control over…

Enter your Net Promoter Score (NPS), a method to start discovering your customer loyalty, satisfaction and how likely they are to tell others about you.

Not the only one, mind you, but definitely the simplest for a small business or startup to quickly implement right now…

How to get your Net Promoter Score

1. Include an NPS question in your survey

Simply ask: "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our product/service to others?" and let people indicate on the scale. If possible, give them the chance to say why they entered that score.

2. Calculate your NPS

In NPS, you only look at 2 segments: Detractors (those who voted 0-6) and Promoters (those who voted 9-10). Subtract your percentage of Detractors from Promoters.

E.g. let’s say you had these results:

Promoters (rating 9-10): 50%
Passives (rating 7-8): 30%
Detractors (rating 0-6): 20%

NPS = Promoters – Detractors
NPS = 50% – 20%
NPS = 30%

So your NPS is 30%.

3. See how you measure up

Compare your NPS to some industry standards – basically see if you can find some online or ask ChatGPT about your niche.

Some NPS standards are:

• SaaS: 30%–50%
• Social Media & Communities: 20%–40%
• Gaming: 20%–50%
• E-commerce: 20%–40%
• Cloud & hosting: 30%–50%

Obviously, the higher, the better.

4. Make it long-term

The magic of this simple and continuous measurement is that you can use it to inspire changes and updates – just read WHY people give their scores and action those things. But you can also use it to test how your updates/changes impact NPS over time – if, after a major update, your NPS suddenly goes up and everyone says that’s why, that’s obviously a great update, do more of those.

And, as a general rule, you’re trying to do stuff that will make more people want to be Promoters.

THE RESULTS

But of course: Last week we asked who you think will win the rugby world cup, and well, you know…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🇿🇦 South Africa (82%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇫🇷 France (8%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇳🇿 New Zealand (3%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇮🇪 Ireland (0)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇦🇺 Australia (0)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇬🇧 England (2%)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇦🇷 Argentina (0)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😕 What is “rugby”? (5%)

Find more awesome business ideas from South Africa's favourite startup and tech newsletter.