Time to play {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? We almost fell over when we saw Grey College announce their Fortnite first team on Instagram. Man, if only they had e-sports when we were in school… Legends. 🏆

In This Open Letter

The project-based economy will be a $20 trillion behemoth by 2027, but poor financial management capability threatens to derail it – enter this local venture…

The way companies work is changing: Just a few years ago, most corporates and SMEs built on standardised, repetitive and ongoing ops. Now? We’ve switched to project-based work – cross-functional, unique and limited projects pegged on driving innovation.

Globally, project-based work (with non-permanent staff) is now strategically critical for 97% of companies, with 40% of the workforce being freelancers, contractors or temporary staff. It’s created the $20 trillion project economy (R300 trillion).

SA’s talent-on-demand market is also exploding as corporates aggressively hire for "change management" skills, causing a 53% surge in independent talent registrations in 2025.

But it comes at a price

Managing freelance payments is operationally very different from salaried employees: They invoice at different times, with different rates, for different milestones. Surveys show 78% of companies still use spreadsheets to manage freelancers – perhaps why 50% of B2B invoices are paid late.

Look, it’s fine if you have one freelance graphic designer, but the more you add, the crazier it gets, and legacy ERP systems like SAP and Oracle are not going to help.

And, while building Rafiki, a platform that helps users source and coordinate freelancers or contractors, local founders Greg Cooke and Nick Boswell saw firsthand that payments are the biggest pain for corporates and SMEs alike in managing contractors.

So the pivot was clear: change the focus to payments and the coordination around it for contractors.

Introducing Petl Pay

Petl Pay is a financial orchestration tool for project-based teams. It’s the conductor that takes all the frantic instruments, time sheeting, invoicing, client payments and contributor payouts and blends them into one harmonious, project-based workflow. 

The project isn't just the work; it's the financial glue. And they’re starting where there is not only a big market, but lots of pain… the building and construction industry. Greg tells us they are simultaneously validating a second core vertical: agencies and professional services, due to how similar the industries’ financial flows are (think complex, milestone-based projects with high-volume contributor payouts.)

On the payments side, they are offering users access to stablecoin wallets for quick, low-fee international payments.

Petl Pay recently got accepted to join the Visa Fintech accelerator, and with the rise of contractors and pain felt using them, they might just be onto something big. 

We are watching this space.

A safer way to try AI agents. We’re testing Claude Cowork as an alternative to Openclaw because it just released on PC (no longer Mac-only), it’s on-device, and it can use your files and browser without complex integrations. See how it handles background research tasks.

Smarter engineering check-ins. Vereda automates Slack micro check-ins, tracks sentiment and blockers, and builds data-backed performance insights so leaders can run clearer 1:1s and spot burnout early. It’s like a continuous pulse on team health without extra meetings. See it here.

Content that never stops. Infinite Creator learns your website and brand voice, then generates months of social content across platforms — hands-off, consistent, and ready to schedule. Ideal if content creation keeps slipping down the priority list. Try it.

Most companies spend years building a strong brand.

But if your leaders aren’t visible, trusted or heard online, your growth eventually hits a wall. Personal posts perform 5x what company posts do.

That’s why FDC helps you build what matters:

✅ We turn founders and executives into industry voices.
✅ We manage the full strategy, content and engagement.
✅ You focus on the business while your influence (and pipeline) grows.

From PaySpace to Taylor Brunswick Group, over 300 leaders in 22 countries have used FDC to transform LinkedIn into a channel for real business growth.

If you’re ready to turn your profile into a growth engine, see if you’re the right fit.

🦞 OpenClaw Guy to OpenAI. The creator of the (now) viral AI personal assistant OpenClaw/Clawdbot/Moltbot/MoltClaw, Peter Steinberger, has joined OpenAI to “drive the next generation of personal agents”. That’s one way to ramp up your offering…

🛠️ Michanic Goes Fleet. Local mobile car mechanic platform Michanic has just launched its dedicated fleet service to help businesses manage their fleet vehicles with the same convenience Michanic has offered its individual clients. Keep on trucking.

🐌 SA Kelp Forest Secret Uncovered. Scientists from a UCT collaboration have discovered an entirely new genus of parasitic sea snail. It was first spotted more than 10 years ago between Cape Town and Namibia, but required extensive collaboration to uncover exactly what it is. Jinne.

🔫 Arms Race Revival? SA’s largest state-owned weapons manufacturer, Denel, has just gotten a newly appointed board of directors as part of the process to stabilise the company and accelerate its turnaround and recovery. Sun’s out, guns out indeed.

⚙️ Scale Built Fast. LeaseSurance had a validated PropTech idea, but the platform to scale it nationally would take months/years to build. So Octoco rebuilt the core system with automation, risk profiling and claims processing to make it market-ready in just 5 months (not years).*

* From our partners. Find all the best service providers for your business in our Founder Stack.

Yesterday, we showed you how the NSRI’s SafeTrx maritime tracking keeps us all safe, asking what scares you most about the ocean. Jaws, it’s jaws…

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🌊 Big waves outta nowhere (19%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🔋 Phone dying at the worst time (5%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧭 Getting lost offshore (19%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🦈 The “something brushed my leg” moment (57%)

Your 2 cents…

Ha ha, ja Melanie, sure a lot of peeps are in the same boat as you. 🦈

On 17 February 1959, NASA launched Earth’s first-ever weather satellite, Vanguard 2, to measure cloud-cover distribution around the planet.

And it’s still orbiting and functional today. In fact, it’s expected to keep on transmitting data for the next 300 years.

🚀 Tool to Try: Timkame is an AI receptionist that answers calls & makes follow-ups.

🎓 That’s Interesting: During South Korea’s national college entrance exam, daily business literally pauses: flights are grounded, construction stops, markets open late and even military drills halt to reduce noise and disruption for students.

🦈 Next Level: Stingray flies over a hammerhead shark.

🔐 Hack: Visual guide with practical cybersecurity tips and trends for businesses.

🌐 Wow Site: Loot Drop is a startup graveyard with deep analysis, ideas and rebuild plans tracking thousands of failed ventures from the dotcom era to now.