Yeah, but where’s GTA 6 {{ FIRSTNAME }}? While promoting his new book, the co-founder of Rockstar Games (GTA, Red Dead) likened the training-usage loop of AI to mad cow disease. 🔫

In This Open Letter

A new way to dress up your wine and spirit drinks…

'Tis the season to be jolly…

We’re already in full-blown Ke Dezemba vibes here in SA.

Year-end office functions, braais with friends and family catch-ups, and Christmas celebrations across the country. A flurry of showing up with something thoughtful in hand. 

That hearty Robertson red, a small batch gin from that artisanal distiller only we know about, a bottle of olive oil from a farm we love, or a homemade chutney made with a recipe passed down from generation to generation. 

Yet all of that goodness arrives hidden in a box or wrapped up in patterned paper. Lekker gifts that stay invisible until the moment they are opened. 

And for a country with a world-recognised wine and spirits sector, we still rely on single-use packaging that gets discarded within minutes.

Santa’s lil packaging helper…

NetZak is a South African maker of reusable, handcrafted bottle carriers built from either 100% recyclable foam film or premium leather. 

NetZak is a transparent, durable carrier that protects the bottle, travels well and removes the waste built into traditional gifting. 

And it’s so simple to use. Place the bottle on the base of the NetZak, lift the net, clasp it, and the gift is “wrapped”, instantly visible, with a handy carry handle to boot.

The idea started at a braai where a table full of gifts looked identical until unwrapped, and made the team ask why packaging should hide the very thing you are proud to give someone as a gift. 

Their leather range is produced through partners that carry ISO 9001:2008 certification, with materials selected for longevity and feel, while the foam film version is lightweight, collapsible and designed for reuse. It looks so cool though, you might take it back after you’ve given someone their gift…

Fa-la-la-la-la, we’re watching this space…

The Isle of Man’s longstanding ties with South Africa date back to the late 1800s, when the first mayor of Johannesburg was from the island. They proudly carried a piece of history to South Africa, a special flag…

Building tomorrow

Today, more than 35 South African companies have a presence in the Isle of Man, and South Africans comprise the island’s largest foreign-born population. 

Building on these shared roots, Finance Isle of Man has been deepening partnerships with South African businesses — focusing on technological advancements, future-fit skills and sustainable global growth. 🇮🇲🇿🇦

That’s why they partner with The Open Letter, and why they brought 90+ guests to Cape Town to celebrate 2025 in style this November.

📃 The Dr’s In. Vula Medical has won App of the Year at the 2025 FNB App of the Year Awards. The app connects primary healthcare workers with specialists to make it easier to manage patient referrals and get specialist advice. Nice one.

📊 Excelling in His Field. SA’s very own Pieter Pienaar has won the Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge at the 2025 Microsoft Excel World Championship. That’s right, it’s 2025 and there’s still such a thing as Excel champs.

💰 Warn a Brother. Netflix is dropping $83 billion to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV and film studios and its streaming division. That gives it DC Comics (Batman, Superman), every MGM movie before the 80s, New Line Cinema, HBO, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and thousands more — excluding only CNN and linear television channels. Wow.

🍿 Back To The Movies. Nu Metro’s launching its new cinema at Cavendish Square next week after taking over the cinema complex from Ster-Kinekor. It remains to be seen if it’ll get the same flagship treatment as its Gateway site with 4DX, Scene Xtreme, Kidz Cinema, and VIP Premiere theatre options. We just wanna know how much they’re charging for a popcorn and Coke…

✅ The Stack. Founders need reliable tools, so our Founder’s Stack gives you real-time AI insights from Sidekick Lab, zero-monthly-fee bank accounts and business loans from Lula and more.

Every time you share The Open Letter with friends, we give you cool stuff.

Most people only look at their regular monthly expenses, for example, rent, groceries, utilities, transport and eating out.

But that leaves out all the once-a-year costs that still affect your cash flow: holidays, car services, home maintenance, school fees, insurance renewals, etc.

Add all of those annual expenses up, divide by 12, and then add that number to your regular monthly costs.

That’s the true amount you need each month to maintain your lifestyle.

In The Founder Collab, 120+ South African founders support each other to succeed. Here’s a taste of how creative we got this week…

We learnt that trusted referrals show up fast: one ask for a fractional finance pro turned into vetted names, links, and real experience.

We learnt that new tools spread instantly: Google Workspace Studio dropped and the Collab jumped in to test, compare and explore, learning that roll-out is phased, so we waiting to compare it to Notion.

We learnt that Padel at Avontuur is probs the best way to end off the year…

You should defs come join us next time.

Find your founder community. Join The Founder Collab, it’s where 120+ real SA founders help each other to build better, faster every day.

Last Friday, we showed you how Four Minute Medicine is helping boost Africa’s medical efficiency, asking how you’d survive a 24-hour hospital shift. Most want a coffee drip…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ☕ Coffee IV drip, please (52%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🍔 Snacks in every pocket (15%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📱 Whispering answers from a medical app (6%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😭 Cry in the supply room, return stronger (27%)

Season of AI: Durban — Dec 13, 08:00: Unwrap the future of AI at this full-day community event with MVPs, deep dives, lightning talks and festive cheer. Book here.

Pretoria Business Breakfast — Dec 10, 08:30: Grow your network, gain practical tools and connect with the Pretoria business community over breakfast. Book here.

Financing Your Business — Dec 8, 17:30: Pitch to real investors and learn how to raise funding in tough times at this live Johannesburg VC networking event. Book here.

AWS CPT Meetup — Dec 11, 17:00: Cloud insights, networking, and AWS tech talks from top local speakers at this year-end Cape Town meetup. Book here.

Hosting a demo day, panel, founder meetup or tech event? Let us know, and we’ll feature it for FREE.

💡 Tool to Try: Nume is an AI CFO for startups/SMEs; onboard and running in 5 minutes.

🎸 That’s Interesting: David Bowie turned down knighthood twice, saying, “It’s not what I spent my life working for.”

🎼 Next Level: This Ukrainian accordionist performing Vivaldi is unexpectedly incredible.

🌍 Hack: A visual Indo-European language tree shows how the world’s major languages connect.

💾 Wow Site: Web Design Museum is a nostalgia hit: the chaotic, glitter-GIF era of the early internet preserved forever. From old sites to old apps and games, it’s all preserved right here.

Vote in the poll, leave a quick comment, or hit reply — we read every single one.