SA entrepreneurs move mountains to list on NYSE

Many entrepreneurs dream of ringing the bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), but not everyone makes it there. Yet this vision became a reality for a group of South African Jewish entrepreneurs and their company, Super Group, which was approved for listing on the NYSE under the symbol SGHC. The company began trading on 28 January 2022. Super Group is the parent company of global online sports betting and gaming platform Betway and multibrand online casino Spin.

Speaking to the SA Jewish Report from London a few days later, Super Group Chief Executive Neal Menashe says he grew up in Johannesburg and studied accountancy at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It was there that he met Supergroup’s now chief operating officer, Richard Hasson, (now also living in London) who grew up in Cape Town and attended United Herzlia Schools. Hasson also studied accountancy, and it was at UCT that the two formed a friendship they would carry into the business world.

Asked how they felt about reaching this moment, Menashe says, “It’s surreal. It took decades to get here. And now we have to pause and realise it’s actually happening. We literally built this business one step at a time, brick by brick.” At the same time, they don’t have a single brick-and-mortar asset as the entire company was built online on the wave of the fourth industrial revolution – the internet.

“We started with no revenue,” says Menashe. “To get to where we are now, you literally have to eat, sleep, and breathe the business. It’s about dedication from every person in the company across the globe, all pulling in one direction. It’s about staying power.”

“We’ve had our ups and downs over the years,” says Hasson. “This is a culmination of 20 tough years, but in many ways, it’s just the start. We have a long way to go.”

Looking back, Menashe says what drew them to the business was that it was all online and it was scalable. “Being open 24/7 was a mad concept. Now it’s the norm. At first we operated in unregulated markets because the concept was so new. Now it’s a fully regulated market. So it’s been a massive journey. It sounds obvious, but it’s about hard work and looking at every detail every day. When you’re working online, one change can have a radical impact on people across the world. So it’s crucial to keep customers your number one priority.”

They say deeply ingrained South African Jewish values of family, commitment, friendship, warmth, and openness have been driving factors in their lives and work. “We are like a family, so while we may disagree, once we make a decision, we all move forward together. There can’t be any Jewish regret!” quips Menashe. “There have been a lot of decisions, which means a lot of debate, but at the end of the day, we are a family.”

He points out that South Africa is often a cocooned environment, saying, “The world can be scary, but you don’t have to be scared of the unknown.” They arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) in their 20s, and said “making the leap” was easier with the support of family, connections, and community. Their families, shuls, and friends have kept them grounded and balanced.

In the UK and United States, the university you went to is everything, but Menashe says he’s always proud to say they went to varsity “on the foothills of Table Mountain … and if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, we went to the beach!” He says it’s important not to take yourself too seriously. “We had a lot of fun along the way. You have to enjoy what you do, and we have enjoyed this from day one.”

Hasson says being able to work with people is key in business, and it’s their “4 000 staff members’ blood, sweat, and tears” that helped them get to where they are today. “The whole is only as great as the sum of its parts,” he says.

Menashe says commitment is a value that the younger generation doesn’t always prioritise, but he advises that people settle in for the long haul. “I worry that by the time people are in their 40s, they’ve had 20 jobs. Rather stay and become an expert at something. We could have done a lot of other things, but we stuck with what we know.”

“We always say the impossible is possible,” says Hasson. He notes that the world is an entrepreneur’s playground and starting in South Africa has many positive factors. At the same time, competing on a global scale means accepting nothing less than the best in everything you do, and the people you choose to join you on your journey.

“One thing we always say is ‘Don’t panic’,” he adds. Although the pandemic took sport off the table worldwide, it was ultimately positive for the company as many more people turned to online entertainment.

Both Menashe and Hasson say social responsibility is key to their business, and preventing gambling addiction is integrated into every aspect of their offerings. Thanks to artificial intelligence, they can even predict problem gamblers before the person realises they have a problem. “At the end of the day, we’re selling hope,” says Menashe. “This is why it’s crucial that we keep monitoring our ecosystems.

“You don’t build huge businesses without being able to work with people from all religions, backgrounds, and ideologies,” Menashe says. “It’s not a one-person show, and you have to be willing to be part of a team. Caring for others and giving back is crucial to what we do. A cheque is easy to write, but giving your time and energy to your people, family, and community is the most important thing of all.”