Building high-value businesses together
Join The Open Letter Pro to get access to an engaged South African startup community, insights, events and hands on help to get your startup growing!
Level up as a founder with a supportive community around you.
Learn MoreLET'S BUILD TOGETHER
One of our consistent observations working with 100+ founders over the last few years was the problem of not knowing what you don't know. This poses massive risk not only for founder's, but any person working in business!
We believe this can be solved through two primary means:
- Exposure to more startups, their strategies and how they work
- A community of like-minded people that build and learn together.
Our combination of exclusive content (for The Open Letter Pro subscribers only) together with office hours, events and a community chat is everything you need to start uncovering those unknowns and getting better at building your business, your side-hustle or at your work.
what's included
Deep Dives and Tools
Your Open Letter just got a whole lot better. Each newsletter now has a Pro members only section featuring deep dives and more :
• Unit economics and growth tactics of the featured industry and startup in every newsletter.
• Why specific startups work (or didn’t)
Plus: Opportunities in the industries and how to work with the featured startup.
Community Chat
Need a key referral/introduction? Stuck with a particular issue? Wanna bounce an idea? Get an early customer? Chances are someone (or a few) in our communityknows exactly what you need, has done it before and can help get you where you need to be, fast.
Our community of founders are on a mission to help each other win – it’s like being in an accelerator 24/7. And you can join, right here, right now.
Building Together
Congratulations! Your startup team just levelled up. With Office Hours, you now have some bonus team members:
• A startup positioning strategist
• An outbound and enterprise sales exec
• A ghostwriter & copywriter
• A founder coach
• A product manager
• Content & SEO strategist
• Marketing strategist
• Plus: 50-odd co-founders!
Masterclass AMAs
Once a month you get to learn directly from the best in the business in our Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions.
We bring in absolute monster specialists in crucial fields – fundraising, finance, growth, market fit, scaling and diversification – and as the name suggests, you get to ask them questions directly.
Events
Digital’s great, but nothing beats IRL meetups for forging career-making bonds and authentic relationships.
That’s why we’re hosting awesome quarterly get-togethers in Cape Town and Joburg with members, founders, experts, investors etc.
And we’re organising our first big founder’s breakaway trip real soon.
Come build with us
Some of the members of our thriving startup community!
And of course, The Open Letter team...
renier kriel
Strategy, Growth and Scale
elvorne palmer
Go-to-market, Content and SEO
jason mill
Founder Coach and Writer
bobby sequiera
Product Specialist
in summary
.svg)
Deeper Insights
We unpack the economics behind South African startups and why they did (or did not) work in our deep dive sections in our newsletter.
.svg)
Community
Get & share advice from peers in our real-time community chat.
Building Together
Join our weekly office hours where you can ask questions, get help and build faster together.
.svg)
Masterclass AMA's
Monthly online AMAs (ask me anything) with leading experts in all things South African startup.
.svg)
Events
Free access to any of our in-person events planned for Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Joburg .
.svg)
More Soon
Product Discounts +
Discount on all course +
Invites to exclusive excursions and more...
SA STARTUPS NEED SA BACKING
Don’t rely on advice from the valley... building an SA startup has unique challenges and opportunities. We’ve seen every startup mistake in the book and made a bunch of them myself.
Let’s get hands on with your startup to work through the complexities and nuance of building a startup at the southern tip of Africa.
Monthly Plan
R 250 per month
Deep Dives on SA startup Unit economics in every Newsletter.
More than 3 startups opportunities highlighted per newsletter.
Access to WhatsApp Community.
Weekly office hours to ask questions & engage.
Masterclass AMAs with experts.
Tools and templates to help you build better.
Free access to all Open Letter Events.
Strategy session with The Open Letter Team.
Annual Plan - 7 day free trial then...
R 2'500 per year
.svg)
Deep Dives on SA startup Unit economics in every Newsletter.
More than 3 startups opportunities highlighted per newsletter.
Access to WhatsApp Community.
Weekly office hours to ask questions & engage.
Masterclass AMAs with experts.
Tools and templates to help you build better.
Free access to all Open Letter Events.
strategy session with The Open Letter Team.
.webp)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Open Letter Pro?
The Open Letter Pro is a premium edition of our twice a week email newsletter called The Open Letter PLUS a community of startup founders and builders that gather around weekly work slots, events and more.
Who can join The Open Letter Pro?
Any entrepreneur or startup founder looking for support, resources, and community in South Africa can join The Open Letter Pro.
How do I become a member of The Open Letter Pro?
You can become a member by signing up on our website and selecting a membership plan that suits your needs.
What benefits do I get as a member of The Open Letter Pro
Members get access to community chats, deep insights on SA startup strategy, highlighted opportunities and quarterly in-person events in Johannesburg and Cape Town.e
What resources are available to help me build my startup?
Our platform offers community chats for networking and advice, weekly office hours, monthly AMA sessions with experts, and exclusive content in The Open Letter newsletter.
What happens if I no longer want to be part of the community?
You can cancel your monthly or annual subscription at any time and your access will expire once your subscription ends.
How do the 1-on-1 sessions work?
Once you sign up for annual membership, you will have access to a link to book your coaching session with Renier, Elvorne, Jason or Bobby.
What kind of events will I be able to attend?
We are hosting expert AMAs (asking me anything) around different topics online every month. In addition, be on the lookout for upcoming quarterly in-person events in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Johburg. For more, please visit our events section.
What is "office hours" and how will it help me?
Office hours are a set time every week on specific days, where The Open Letter team and other startup-building experts will be around and available for you to ask questions, get advice or get hands-on help with stuff you are working on.
