BUSINESS: ALTIVEX FOUNDRY | SECTOR: DESIGN
Mushambi Mutuma is the Managing Director and Founder of Altivex Creative Foundry. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe Mushambi studied in the US at Pepperdine University as a Political Science and Studio Art double major. He worked in the public health sector for several years before coming back to his creative roots as he puts it. Altivex has been running since late 2010 and is clearly defined as a digital strategy agency. The business places focus on web design and development, social media marketing and management as well as mobile app development amongst other services. “I saw a gap in the market for our demographic and expertise. Good business is all about filling the gaps and servicing them well. Getting to work in the digital space means we have no limits, it’s exciting to push the boundaries on each project”-he says.
Altivex has been one of his most successful ventures. Altivex has a few products of its own that are going to be launched soon. Beyond that we are furthering our relationships and client base in the US and the rest of Africa”-he adds. Mushambi believes that part of the businesses success is not doing work that the company doesn’t believe in. He is convinced that saying no to some projects is not necessarily a bad thing as it keeps them proud of the work and value instilled in projects they endorse. Altivex’s mantra reads “No Days Off”. “Nothing comes for free or without hard work”.
“While I’ve succeeded in few avenues of life I don’t consider myself an “expert” by any means. However, my experiences have taught me invaluable lessons to help anyone else along their journey. A few points learned along the way:
– Be a nerd! Bury your nose in books and learn everything you can.
– I love teaching and sharing knowledge. Nothing like watching that “aha moment.” Whether it’s a student finally “getting it” or a client seeing why your strategy is worth it. Don’t stop learning or teaching.
– Sometimes hard work trumps bigger, stronger competition. Simply working longer and harder can yield spectacular results. When we faced a seemingly better team an old coach yelled out, “If you can’t beat them, out work them!”
– Timeliness is directly linked to professionalism and respect! To quote Coach Porter again: “To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is to be unforgivable.”
– Essentialism is key! Cutting out the noise in life and business is the only path to success and real happiness. (Greg McKeown’s Essentialism will change your life)”.
In addition to Altivex, Mushambi has founded Kairos. In ancient Greece, Kairos meant the “opportune moment” or the “supreme moment”. Kairos aims to foster support and encouragement for young entrepreneurs. “Put simply, we help entrepreneurs unlock the value in their small businesses that will enable them to be geared for growth”. For more information:
Twitter: @mjmutuma
mushambi@opportunetime.co
AUTHOR: KASIBIZ MAHALA
