1. Screan was born from your own frustrating experience buying a used car. Was it simply a case of necessity being the mother of invention, or was the idea influenced by something you had seen elsewhere?

The idea for Screan actually came years before I started it. I bought a second hand car for my wife that happened to be up in Pietermaritzburg, so on the long drive down I started to think that there must be an easier way of doing this. After that it became all about timing and the experience I had trying to buy a new bakkie up in Joburg was the final catalyst some years later.

2. Take us through the early entrepreneurial journey. Screan depends on an ecosystem of partners and suppliers. What was it like bringing them on board when the business was still relatively unknown?

This was a whole new experience for me, in an industry I knew little about or connected to other than there was a gap in the automotive market. My plan was to create a gig economy business not dissimilar to Uber whereby inspections are allocated to professional inspectors(now called Screaners) that are closest to the job. The first thing I did was put a blueprint together on what I wanted the business to look like, then I brought in somebody, my old friend Mark Prevost, who could help me build the tech stack that would enable the business to move forward. Mark and I pieced the business together bit by bit utilising off the shelf technology and social media and grew it from there.

3. How difficult was it to convince those first customers that Screan could work, and how important were your own sales skills in getting the business off the ground?

Those first sales and getting a bit of traction was incredibly difficult because I was an outsider to the industry and the network I had built over the years was totally foreign. A new business is about getting in front of your family, friends and network and mine were like, what the hell Mike, your background is construction, bag manufacturing and retail, where did this come from…I had some funny conversations in the early days but ya, we managed to pull it off.

4. What has been significantly harder to build than you expected, and what has been surprisingly easier?

Building a network of experienced and professional inspectors around the country was surprisingly easier than expected and this I attribute to the socio economic conditions and unemployment rate in the country. Also, there are alot of people that love cars and are very knowledgeable. The hard part was keeping the good Screaners engaged and onboard as it was slim pickings in the beginning.