Have you heard of Circulate It?
I spoke to Frank Ogagba, Co-Founder at Circulate It, after they reached out to us and we listed #bicyclecouriers right here on their innovative new platform — have a look. They kicked off the platform highly focused on digital, accounting and marketing businesses, but we are ready to diversify and happy to have Bicycle Couriers on as a first!
Swop services with Circulate It — I asked Frank more about their idea, and this is what he said. You heard it here first 🙂
Who started Circulate It and who is involved?
I had the initial idea and recruited a close friend, Tshepo Moema, and colleague, Kabelo Baloyi, as co-founders to work with me in building the idea into a functioning business. We are currently a three-person team working part-time on the business.
What do you want to achieve with Circulate It?
Our very ambitious ten-year goal is to create the largest international community of small to medium businesses that assist each other in achieving their goals. In the short-term, our goal is to enable thousands of small to medium businesses in South Africa to circumvent financial challenges by bartering with each other.
How did you come up with the idea for Circulate It?
- In 2019, I was tasked with developing an upskilling program at work. I had an epiphany to match people who had a skill with people who needed it – a form of skills bartering. I think this was when the idea took root in my mind.
- In 2020, I decided to take on a new personal challenge to build a tech business. My goal was to identify an unaddressed problem for a broad market with an untapped, unique corresponding solution.
- We launched in July 2022. At this point, I was already fascinated by the untapped potential of bartering, especially to circumvent financial challenges. So, I landed on the idea to use bartering to enable people to get what they need at no financial cost. Since then, we have pivoted to focusing on businesses instead of everyday consumers.
How did you create the Circulate It platform?
Kabelo Baloyi, my fellow co-founder, is an engineer with extensive experience and a great person to work with. I brought him onboard for this reason. I could not have built the platform without him. I am a product and service designer by trade, so I designed the website — Our website is www.circulateit.co.za
Meet the Circulate It team!
We use various online marketing tactics, ranging from finding and contacting businesses directly to using LinkedIn and Facebook Ads. We are looking into partnering with business incubators, accelerators, and co-working spaces to offer our service as part of their programs and benefits.
All the best, gents!
