IMPACT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Turning Insights into opportunity

MiDO Cyber Academy

Together with Dale Simons, I am a co-founder of the MiDO Cyber Academy, a South African initiative creating pathways into cybersecurity for underserved youth, combining technical training with professional development, mentorship, and industry exposure.

MIDO's VISION:

Creating pathways out of poverty by empowering underserved South African youth with cybersecurity and professional skills and access to work opportunities; while addressing the cybersecurity skills shortage.

Entrepreneurship

The idea of making security more accessible to non-IT people by using cartoon stories existed for quite a few years in my head before Popcorn Training was born. In 2011 - while on honeymoon in Tanzania- I drew the first storyboards and characters of what was later launched as "Something Phishy". It took another 2 years or so for it to become a fully-fledged business. In 2018 Popcorn was acquired by US giant KnowBe4.

In 2023 I opened an immersive Yoga & creative studio in Cape Town., where we curate immersive experiences that calm the nervous system and help guests reconnect with their body and the present moment.

We do this with the help of 180-degree projected nature visuals, soundscapes, scents, and guided movement (Yoga asanas).

Here I'll share tips on what I've learnt around starting a business, selling a business, losing friendships over the business and hopefully some useful productivity hacks.

What Happens to the Mind When Everything Finally Slows Down

For many of us, real rest is only possible when the whole world decides to do so. There’s something so powerful about December and early January, especially in South Africa. The collective rhythm changes. Finally email inboxes go dormant. Meetings stop or are rescheduled to next year. Expectations to be available soften. Our nervous system senses this before we can even explain it: it’s safe to slow down now . I went into the holidays carrying more than I realised. My 2025 wa