Nice view {{ FIRSTNAME | there }}? One startup is looking to build a hotel on the moon, and you can reserve a room for just R4—R16 million a night (depending on the room type) for 2032. Oh, and be prepared for extra costs; a multi-day stay might total around R164 million. 🎑

In This Open Letter

Concession stands at SA stadiums can rake in R7—R11 million during a high-profile match, but the queues are so long — this startup’s got a plan to get your order delivered right to your seat…

Picture this: The Boks are five meters off the All Black’s try line. There’s a 3-point difference, a mere handful of minutes going into halftime. It’s vibes.

But even over the deafening crowd, all you can hear is your stomach grumbling.

Do you stay for the try of the decade, or sprint to the food vendors to beat the massive queue for a cold pie and a lukewarm beer?

This is the real "Half-Time Tax", and it's a painful experience not just for the fans. It’s money left on the table for vendors, considering that nearly 60% of fans polled in a US survey would spend more if their wait times were decreased.

(BTW, the same survey put the maximum acceptable queuing time at 10 minutes – wild.)

But it’s to be expected considering the inefficiency of it all. You’re pushing thousands of people towards specific spots in the stadium, manned by a handful of employees needing to deal with a myriad of issues at a specific time (half-time).

And the same issues are repeated (and complained about) with concerts and longer festivals…

This local startup brings food and drinks to your seat

Venu is the local logistics engine built to solve the "Last Meter" problem in stadiums. Their platform creates a three-sided marketplace that connects fans, local vendors, and a gig-economy layer of "Fetchmen."

By scanning a QR code at their seat or using the Venuapp, a fan can order and pay via their phone. A Fetchman (gig worker) collects your order, navigates the crowd and hands you your food and drink directly to your seat and row number.

Like Uber Eats for matchday.

For the merchant, Venu provides an instant digital storefront, allowing them to scale their sales without increasing their physical footprint.

With more than 20 partner venues already on board, and over 1’000 orders delivered, Venuapp is making sure fans get to enjoy every moment, from a match-winning try to a face-melting guitar solo, accompanied by their food and drink of choice, without even needing to leave their seats.

We’re watching this space…

Before Intelekt, crop advisors at InteliGro captured field data manually. Farmers typically waited days for recommendations, pricing and next steps — long after conditions had changed.

So Octoco rebuilt InteliGro’s field and advisory workflows into a single system that works online or offline. Advisors now assess fields, capture samples, generate recommendations and send quotes, all on the same visit.

The result:
Crucial business decisions that once took 2–5 days now happen in a few hours. That means less admin. Faster intervention. And farmers act while the data is still relevant.

Want to help your customers make critical decisions 10× faster, too?

🚁 Get To Da Chopper. A SANDF helicopter that’s been standing still for the last 2 years was called in on a rescue mission last week to save 18 people at a safari lodge near Phalaborwa in Limpopo after the region was hit by flooding. No DNA. Just RSA.

💃 Howzit Espana. SA is getting another direct flight to the EU with Air Europa launching a direct flight from OR Tambo Airport to Madrid three times a week from 24 June 2026. Lindo.

🤑 Wikipedia Cashing In. Last week, Wikipedia announced partnerships with major AI players to pay for training access to its content to help train their models. Their mods not declining every edit ever could also help bring down server costs.

🧀 Google (re)Moves Your Cheese. Google is rolling out the ability to change your Google account email on the down low. Looks like coolguydave83 might be able to update to a less cheesier Gmail addy. Nice.

📈 Brand Clarity Secured. Stellenbosch’s Sonic Fund and Sonic Trader needed to serve very different audiences without brand dilution. So DoubleShift built two distinct brand systems, giving both the clarity to scale globally with sharper investor and customer traction.*

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

Every time you share, the stars shine a little brighter (and we give you free stuff).

Institutions are buying again. Bitcoin ETFs saw their strongest inflows in months, signalling renewed institutional demand after a cautious end to 2025. These flows matter because they tend to shape longer-term liquidity and confidence in crypto in 2026.

Crypto rules just hit a speed bump. Momentum behind a major US crypto market structure bill slowed after last-minute changes, with key industry players pulling support. For us in South Africa, this matters because US regulatory clarity influences global capital flows, exchange listings and how quickly crypto adoption can scale everywhere.

Before you invest, know what you’re buying. With markets heating up again, Binance’s guide on what to know before buying crypto is a timely reminder that not all cryptocurrencies carry the same risks or work the same way. Understanding the asset matters more than reacting to price movement. Download your free crypto guide now.

Disclaimer: Digital asset prices can be volatile. The value of your investment may go down or up and you may not get back the amount invested. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions, and Binance is not liable for any losses you may incur. Not financial advice. For more information, see our Terms of Use and Risk Warning.

Last Friday, we showed why and how The Open Letter serves SA startup news, asking what you love about it. For most, it’s all about the unique startups…

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🚀 The SA startups you won’t see anywhere else (45%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧠 Sharp takes on tech, money & the future (8%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 😂 The humour makes it dangerously readable (8%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤝 It actually moves the ecosystem forward (14%)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🇿🇦 It feels built for South Africans, not around them (23%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🧐 I have a different take (tell us)... (2%)

Your 2 cents…

Nice, Alan, glad you like it. We’re defs planning to do more in Gauteng and other parts of SA this year! 🎆

Weekly Stand-Up – Tues 20 Jan, Online: Quick 30-min session focused on Sales & GTM this week. Share blockers, wins or join to listen to others’ stories. Join The Founder Collab to access.

Office Hours – Wed 21 Jan, Online: Drop into the chat, share what you're working on and connect with 150+ SA business builders. Join The Founder Collab to access.

Principal Dev Masterclass – 22–23 Jan, Online: Two-day leadership course for senior developers ready to lead high-performing teams. €999. Book now.

W3Node 2026 – 22–24 Jan, Cape Town: Web3 devs, founders & ecosystem leads meet for 2 days of talks + 3-day hackathon at Time Out Market. Get tickets.

Low-Cost MVP Testing – Fri 23 Jan, Online: Hubble’s Thijan Dippenaar shows how to validate prototypes fast, saving time and money. Join The Founder Collab to access.

Gamification in Fintech – 28 Jan, Online: Learn how top fintechs use gamification to drive retention, loyalty & literacy. Free 1-hr Zoom session. Register free.

Stellenbosch Speed Networking – 29 Jan, Workshack: Founders, investors & tech professionals connect over drinks in the heart of Techno Park. Reserve a seat.

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

💡 Tool to Try: Pindrop detects deepfake voice and video in real time.

🚗 That’s Interesting: Danny Trejo once helped rescue a special-needs child from an overturned vehicle at a crash scene in 2019.

🧴 Next Level: Check this bottle-flip tower that ends in a perfectly timed double flip.

🌊 Hack: A visual guide to the world’s fastest-sinking coastal cities — including one in Africa.

👗 Wow Site: Fitdrop lets you explore fashion styles from 1980 to 2025, just for fun.

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