Starting a new business venture is one of the most exciting events in any entrepreneur’s life. Few things can compare to the thrill of seeing your business idea come to life and the unbridled optimism of what your business may achieve. However, there are a few important steps you need to check off before you can officially get your new business venture off the ground, including registering your company and ensuring that all the paperwork is in order to be compliant. Unfortunately, this is often characterised by mundane and tedious legal paperwork that could easily diminish anyone’s positivity.
In 2018 two South African techies, Bo Bissict, a Software Designer, and Neil Henegan, a Software Programmer, decided to join forces and create a solution to help local entrepreneurs streamline new business registrations.
“In 2018 both Bo and myself came together to start a new company after recently exiting previous companies we founded in the early 2000s. To our surprise, the process of starting a new business, some 15 years later, was just as cumbersome as our early experience. We abandoned our original idea and began working on reducing all the complexity around starting a business. So Govchain was born,” said Neil.
“Our vision is to make starting an official business as simple as clicking a button. Time should be spent working on your product and customers, not overcoming regulations and administration,” continued Neil.
Starting a new business shouldn’t be complicated
Govchain provides an essential online service for South Africans to get their company registered quickly and easily within three minutes. All that’s required is your ID, a once-off payment and an internet connection. Once you submit an online application on the Govchain website and make the payment via PayFast using a credit card or Instant EFT, or even a cash deposit at any ATM, you’ll be promoted to upload a copy of your ID. Once your new company is registered, official certificates will be sent to your email within one week. It’s that simple.
Govchain’s new Company Registration Package includes a reserved company name, company registration certificate (COR14.3), income tax registration number, CIPC filing fees, FREE B-BBEE affidavit, share certificates for all shareholders and an optional business banking account. Henceforth, company information will be automatically filed and kept up to date with CIPC.
“Our goal is to make it so easy that anyone with an idea can quickly boot up a business. Serial entrepreneurs love the idea of managing all their companies from a single app. Industries with complex compliance requirements such as construction, really appreciate the ability to get all the permits from a single app,” said Neil.
“An example of a recent client of ours is someone who specialises in 3D printing affordable prosthetics. They had a sudden increase in international demand and were looking to formalise their business and get an export permit,” continued Neil.
Growing Govchain into what it is today
When Bo and Neil started Govchain they had a few hurdles to overcome, however with support from their friends they were able to succeed in what they sought out to do.
“Everything is a risk when starting a new business. We had many unknowns and no idea how to overcome them. Establishing a solid vision helped us push through uncertainties and stay driven by the importance of what we were doing,” said Neil.
“We persuaded three friends to use our product in the first month. By the third month we had 15 customers. Two years later we had over 25,000 customers using our platform,” continued Neil.
Partnering with PayFast for secure online payments
Right from the start Bo and Neil chose to partner with PayFast as their online payment solution to process payments made through their website.
“Handing money over to a company for a product or service requires a lot of trust. It’s critical that customers can pay without hassle and feel safe doing so. PayFast is a trusted name that customers are familiar with. We knew that customers would feel safe making a payment through PayFast and we could rely on getting paid on time,” concluded Neil.
PayFast has helped tens of thousands of businesses like Govchain succeed in the online realm. If you would like to find out more about how PayFast can help your business receive online payments, visit payfast.io.
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