Yanky Woolf Ross Silbert, 23, has created a games company focused on building educational simulations, empowering users to learn by doing. The simulations enhance the users’ understanding and retention of key concepts and skills. “Our simulations aren’t about spoon-feeding information to students, but designed to immerse them in real-world scenarios from the beginning,” says Silbert, chief executive of Literally3D. Growing up, Silbert realised that he wasn’t retaining the work he studied regardless of whether he used mind maps, flash cards, or other methods. “It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the real method to learning: by doing,” he says. So he applied this realisation to his business. “At Literally3D, we create interactive experiences where students actively participate and make decisions. What sets our offering apart is that when you put the simulation down, you’ll have acquired the skills to perform them in real life.” For the young entrepreneur, the desire to go it alone was fuelled by some hard lessons. “Since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be a game developer,” he says. Yet Silbert was influenced by his friends, rarely trusting his gut, therefore giving up on several early projects and living with a sense of being incompetent. That was until he immersed himself in studying games, series, movies, and more and got a job. He says his Absa Jewish Achiever Award nomination is an acknowledgement of the power of developing self-confidence. “I now know that after spending much of my life failing because I’ve taken the orders of others, my success is because of the belief and trust I’ve had in myself. “In the company I previously worked for, I was hired as a developer but ended up developing, designing, and conceiving everything myself, which took a heavy mental and physical toll on me,” he says. “The week I started, my mother took me to a general practitioner who told me, ‘If you keep up with this, you’re going to die.’” Yet he didn’t take the doctor’s advice, and his health deteriorated rapidly, with bouts of insomnia and a diagnosis of clinical depression. “I felt like a spider trapped in a glass, unable to escape,” Silbert says. “The moment I hit my lowest point, I decided that I needed to move out and start over. So, after six months, I eventually decided to quit.” “Using the knowledge and experience that I had acquired, both good and bad, I decided to develop my own company, believing with every fibre that I could do it and that mediocrity wasn’t an option. I know my worth, and I refuse to be exploited again.” Running a one-man show, Silbert has an interesting approach to fool-proofing his business. “In Judaism, there’s a concept of a ‘shmita year’, where you work for six, do nothing on the seventh, and profit on the eighth,” he says. “I believe in this and I’ve taken an all-or-nothing approach, using the capital I’ve acquired to build a strong foundational structure that allows my business to flourish in the next year.” Ilan Wiesenbacher Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Ilan Wiesenbacher has built a dynamic career that reflects his entrepreneurial spirit, love of his birthplace, and passion for the hospitality and retail industries. From managing nightclubs in Cape Town to becoming a prominent entrepreneur in Zimbabwe’s food and beverage industry, Wiesenbacher has overseen multiple business interests throughout his career. His portfolio today includes distinctive food brands, liquor retail stores and distribution centres, as well as a theatre production company. He employs more than 600 dedicated employees across his Zimbabwebased businesses. Among his many successful brands are The Three Monkeys Restaurant in Victoria Falls and Harare, The Smokehouse in Bulawayo, Star Liquors, and the Victoria Falls Theatre Company. The Three Monkeys restaurant in Victoria Falls, established in 2016, changed the way others in the industry operated, says Wiesenbacher. “Before we started, the restaurants in Victoria Falls were tourist traps. We came in and changed the landscape and culture. It’s all about giving value. We also turned a dilapidated train carriage on a deserted piece of land into something truly unique.” Ultimately, what sets all his business interests apart, he says, is a focus on customer satisfaction. “Whether it’s through our large portions or comfortable chairs – a nonnegotiable in all the sit-down restaurants – it’s always about customer first. I always say that I run my businesses from front to back. I can sleep at night if the customer is happy, but the administration is in a mess. Not the other way round.” Wiesenbacher says working in Zimbabwe has taught him and his team to be resilient in the face of challenges. “It’s all about learning from experiences. I honestly don’t get disappointed. I just see it as a lesson learnt. Even money that people owe me, if you hold on to it, it just wears you down. I see it as a donation. That person needed the money for their family. Our lack of law and order in Zimbabwe has also forced us to think that way.” Building a strong management team has been pivotal to Wiesenbacher’s business success. “It’s about identifying the diamonds, looking after them, and not letting them out of your sight,” he says. “They are out there, and when you find them, you do everything it takes to look after them. If management is strong, business is strong.” To create jobs and develop skills, Wiesenbacher and his team are working on creating a restaurant school in Victoria Falls. “This will help our business in the long term, but of course – and more importantly – be a big benefit to the community,” he says. Wiesenbacher splits his time between Johannesburg and multiple locations in Zimbabwe. “Although I’m away from my family a lot due to frequent travel, when I’m home, I try to give them as much of my time as possible. Family comes first. I always aim to be home on the weekends, which is family time. I have had to sacrifice a lot of my passions, mainly fishing, for time with family, but it’s certainly no hardship.” Ross Silbert Those who frequent hospitality guru Yanky Woolf’s restaurants know him best for his unique personality. “There are so many successful restaurants in Joburg, but they lack the personal touch that ours are known for,” he says. “I know most of my customers by name. I’m active and involved. My staff are brilliant people who can think for themselves and who are constantly learning the psychology of customer service.” Running The Wild Side and The Frog, both Joburg restaurants with a twist, Woolf and his partners pride themselves on providing beautiful spaces for people to feel at home, build relationships, make memories, and connect. Both restaurants are ultimately about creating experiences. “The Wild Side is a beautiful outdoor venue that’s safe but not in a shopping centre or near a parking lot,” says Woolf. “We offer an easy transition from a meal to a party, without guests having to leave. I opened The Wild Side during the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone said there was no way it would survive. Yet it thrived, and we managed to quadruple turnover. However, we still close at midnight because my Jewish mother has always said nothing good happens after midnight.” In opening The Frog, a “boot bar” in Illovo this year, Woolf and his business partners used a retail model that combines two different revenue streams within one cost centre. Waiters serve food and drinks and are also trained to sell boots from Jim Green Footwear, a successful Pietermaritzburgbased, family-owned boot-making business. “We aim to open seven more branches over the next two years,” says Woolf. “We’re turning the retail shoe industry on its ... foot.” In terms of buffering his businesses to withstand challenges, Woolf says he doesn’t believe foolproofing a business is possible. “We simply have to be brave enough to roll with the punches and do the best we can with the resources we have at the time. One golden rule, though, is having a team that’s been trained and empowered to think for itself. I’m also not scared to incentivise people to bring the best versions of themselves to work every day.” Having written a training manual in 1998 called Knives, Forks & Maniacs, he’s ideally placed to upskill people in the industry. “The book teaches waiters how to make more tips using the psychology of customer service,” says Woolf. “Twenty-six years later, I still use that philosophy to train my managers.” In opening more restaurants over the coming years, Woolf will be able to extend employment opportunities and empower new managers. “The hospitality industry is critical to our country’s economy because it teaches people to deal with people – it goes way beyond serving food and carrying trays.” Woolf, whose real name is Yaakov Aaron Woolf, says that though most people don’t even know he’s Jewish, he was in fact born in Mea She’arim in Jerusalem. “We left Israel in 1979. My mom kidnapped my sister and me from my father, who was mentally unstable and who lives in Selwyn Segal to this day, and fled back to South Africa.” 41 The Eric Ellerine Entrepreneur Award nominees
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