Article provided by Truzo
Truzo is a 2019 NSBC South African Small Business Award winner and we got together with Terence Naidu to learn more about what makes Truzo a success.
What is Truzo?
Truzo is a digital escrow platform which is designed to create trust between strangers when buying or selling goods or services online or offline. Since 2017, they have helped buyers get what they paid for and sellers or service providers get paid on delivery. They help to grow the economy across the African continent with safe and secure transactions while limiting scams and corruption. They believe that by providing a safe, secure, simple and cost-effective platform to buy and sell goods and services on, they can ensure nobody gets scammed. Their goal is to encourage people to do more business which helps grow the economy which in turn helps to reduce the unemployment rate.
Tell us about a challenge you had to overcome
Truzo faced some challenges when it started as ‘escrow’ was a relatively new concept in South Africa and we needed to educate the market on what our product did and then gain the trust so business would use Truzo as their preferred escrow service provider. We overcame these credibility challenges by being registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and Payment Association of South Africa. Furthermore we have won numerous accolades in 2019. We were voted Top 7 SA Tech Innovation in SA by the UK Government, Top 5 FinTech App in Africa by Apps Africa, and the NSBC’s Top 20 Small Business Awards.
How do you market Truzo?
We believe strongly in collaboration, specifically collaboration with individuals and corporates that share our purpose and values. To date our biggest marketing tool has been word of mouth. We do plan to launch digital marketing campaigns late in Q2 2020 though. Having concluded a number of integrations with other online platforms, our partner’s endorsement of our service has resulted in a significant spike in clients using our platform.
What advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur?
Do what you are passionate about or solve something which you hate doing. If you have a strong purpose in your business, it won’t feel like work. Know the industry you want to operate in back to front and do extensive research and when you feel you are done, continue to do research there is always something new you can learn. Find out if there is a need for your product or if there is a market where your product will fit. Listen to your customers. Distribution is key. You can have an excellent product but if no one knows about it and uses it, then what is the point? If you have done all the above and truly believe in your business, don’t give up.