Today I’d like to take you on a trip to discover the beauty of the wilderness and the vibrancy of the culture of South Africa. My conversation in this episode is with Daniela who has joined us from Capetown, on the Southwest Coast of South Africa. Daniela is the Founder of Walk The Talk Africa, a creative studio that designs and makes beautifully handcrafted slippers using fabric remnants and off-cuts. I first found out about Walk The Talk Africa because I was looking for slippers on Instagram and I was so caught up by the aesthetic and the story behind these unique slippers that I decided to contact Daniela to share her journey on Better Business Founder Podcast. Even though Daniela is from a family of shoemakers that migrated from Italy to South Africa in 1954, she will explain how she somehow “stumbled upon” shoes when after over 20 years in the same company she decided to make a dramatic change so she can explore her creativity and values in her own business. Yes, Walk The Talk Africa is a business based on values. Daniela will share with us how her childhood in wild spaces surrounded by stunningly beautiful nature shaped her worldview, her simple lifestyle and her profound love for Africa. As you might have guessed, environmental sustainability is one of the building blocks of Walk The Talk Africa. The other one is social sustainability as her business was built on the strong belief that creativity can drive employment in South Africa and Daniela will tell us all about it in this episode. Once again I really enjoyed this conversation and I also learned a lot and I hope that you will too. So grab a nice cup of tea and enjoy my conversation with Daniela.
ON Capetown and Daniela's father moving to South Africa (3:13)
ON how Daniela "stumbled" upon slippers and how she perfected shoemaking skills during the pandemic (6:03)
ON Daniela's childhood in the wilderness of South Africa and how it shaped her quest for a simple lifestyle and sustainable living (12:07)
ON finding the name of the brand WALK THE TALK AFRICA (17:25)
ON creativity in South Africa (20:14)
ON getting the shoes made in South Africa (22:47)
ON Daniela's previous career and why she decided to launch WALK THE TALK AFRICA (26:33)
ON selling and finding resellers for WALK THE TALK AFRICA (31:53)
ON life slowing down during lockdown and how Daniela used this time for her business (36:12)
ON measure of success for WALK THE TALK AFRICA 1) job creation and Daniela plan to take part of the business online (39:37)
ON measure of success for WALK THE TALK AFRICA 2) daring to dream, stepping out of your comfort zone (44:14)
ON measure of success for WALK THE TALK AFRICA 3) money in the bank and Daniela's "business plan" (45:47)
ON how to connect with Daniela's and WALK THE TALK AFRICA (47:31)
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CONNECT WITH Daniela / Walk The Talk Africa
IG @walkthetalkafrica
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MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION:
“(Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.) The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again. (It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.)” (Steve Jobs)
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Host: Leekei Tang
Contact: hello (at) betterbusinessfounder.com
Music credits: Ukulele Fun by Liosound Music / Wooden Xylophone by Floraphonic