Failing fast and failing forward, with Donna Rachelson
Donna Rachelson epitomises the saying Fail Fast and Fail Forward, having started and being involved with a number of businesses, and being an investor as well. Describing herself as an uber risk-taker, she shares how she uses calculated risks as experiments to learn, and the value in being comfortable with failure. Donna unpacks some of the mindsets we have as South Africans around failing that don’t help us to tolerate failure, or see it a growth opportunity. Especially important is how we internalise failure and so it becomes limiting beliefs. We learn as well about the landscape of entrepreneurship for South Africans, and for women and the youth in particular.
Podcast
About Donna Rachelson
Donna Rachelson is an award-winning businesswoman, driven entrepreneur and investor. She is driven to propel Africa to greatness and has made it her mission to empower future African leading lights to show up powerfully, prominently and purposefully.
Through her business ventures, Donna has helped 5000+ individuals’ package and market their personal brands; completed 100+ branding & marketing interventions for business owners; coached more than 50 corporate teams to build their team brands; impacted over 3000 women in corporates across Africa and supported hundreds of entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Donna’s illustrious corporate career includes holding pivotal marketing director roles in renowned organizations like Nando’s, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, and DNA Supply Chains as well as marketing management positions at Standard Bank and AECI. Her claim to fame is she can market anything from chicken to explosives to chartered accountants.
Beyond her corporate tenure, Donna’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to found and co-found three businesses while being an active director and shareholder in four others. A prolific author with four books under her belt, including two bestsellers, Donna is a sought-after speaker, gracing local and international stages for over three decades.
She holds an MBA, is a regular guest lecturer at the Gordon Institute for Business Science and has lectured at Yale University (Connecticut, USA) on its Young African Leaders Initiative programme. She has been named CEO Magazine’s Businesswomen of the Year, won CEO Today Africa Award and was identified by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of South Africa’s Top 50 businesswomen to watch.
Donna enjoys nothing more than spending time with her husband and two children. An ardent Formula 1 and tennis enthusiast, she loves escaping to the bush whenever she can and will take any opportunity to indulge in her confessed addiction to chocolate.
Contact Details
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnarachelson/
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