For Broodryk, however, making money is just as important as empowering others with the knowledge and resources to create their own successful enterprises.
That’s why Broodryk, the affluent CEO of The Beancounter - an accounting firm that is making waves by disrupting the accounting industry in South Africa - has agreed to give away big money in M-Net’s brand new prime-time Sunday night reality show Shark Tank South Africa (for which entries close on Sunday, 31 July). Broodryk will be one of the five esteemed financial moguls who will dip deep into their own pockets on television to make aspiring entrepreneurs’ dreams come true.
Based on the two-time Emmy award-winning US series produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor US, Celebrity Apprentice), Shark Tank South Africa invites go-getters with potentially lucrative products or business ideas to pitch their plans for their sharks’ consideration. If the sharks like what they see, they then offer the entrepreneur a deal and if more than one of them is interested, a bidding war can ensue.
“If you’re focused, driven, do you homework and know your numbers, Marnus might just be the shark who takes your business to the next level,” says M-Net’s head of Publicity, Lani Lombard. “He passionately believes that entrepreneurship in our country will blossom and our economy will grow if successful business owners support newbies, and he is willing to put his money where his mouth is.”
Broodryk, who is also known as the host of a financial insert on the kykNET show Winslyn, is keen to invest in business to business services or products, ideally with subscription models, business models with a focus on SMEs, technology companies, ecommerce, and companies with a social impact.
“I am willing to support anyone who stands out - even if I don’t necessarily relate to the product or service,” he says. “But you will have to show me a proven business or adequate traction. I have a strong financial background and have worked with hundreds of small businesses in South Africa and abroad. I do understand what makes and breaks a business – and that’s often not what you’re taught in university text books. You don’t have to know everything yet, but you need to show your desire to succeed with a strong pitch that will capture my imagination.”
If you want to get Broodryk’s backing and go from business rags to riches, you have until Sunday, 31 July to enter Shark Tank South Africa.
Shark Tank SA is sponsored in full by Telkom SA and will be broadcast on M-Net, channel 101 on DStv from Sunday, 2 October at 18:00.