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Creating employment through entrepreneurship

In a country like South Africa, which faces significant developmental challenges such as persistent poverty, high unemployment, and inequality, the dynamic role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play cannot be overstated. SMEs represent a primary source of employment generation and GDP output.

A healthy SME sector contributes significantly to the economy through creating employment opportunities, generating higher production volumes, increasing exports, and introducing innovation and entrepreneurial skills.

In this context, we meet Eduardo Takacs, an entrepreneur and founder of Activ-Eye Technologies in Cape Town.

He entered the security industry at a young age and was fortunate to work alongside John Sleep, an industry stalwart whom he cites as an invaluable business mentor at the time.

In early 2013, that company was sold to a multinational, and Takacs recognised that the time had come to venture out on his own. Activ-Eye Technologies was established in November of that year. Takacs quickly found himself providing security technology services to well-known firms and carved out a specialist niche providing services to premier residential estates.

Then, in 2017, he was approached by a system integrator seeking an entrepreneurially minded individual to head and grow its Cape Town branch. He accepted the challenge, bringing his Activ-Eye clients into this new fold. Takacs happily scaled that business over the next three years until the entrepreneurial bug bit again. So, in early January 2020, Takacs went on his own again, re-opening Activ-Eye Technologies.

Just a few weeks later, the world went into lockdown.

Eduardo Takacs

Carrying on regardless

Despite the difficulties, Takacs was undeterred. “The impact of the pandemic was extremely taxing on me and my family. We had recently purchased a home, and I had just re-opened for business. It was a shock. However, my wife and I ensured our new team was consistently paid their salaries. In South Africa’s depressed circumstances, you must take care of the people in your boat. We just had to hang in there until the situation changed.”

We ask him what made him decide to persevere. “Giving up is never an option,” he shrugs.

Takacs has always had audacious business goals that match his tenacity. “When I first opened Activ-Eye, I was focused on building a security firm that would provide excellent customer service. I saw a need for this in the market and believed I could pull it off. Soon, excellent customer service became the norm for us, and I set my sights higher, on innovating within the industry, but without losing touch with our customer service core. I wanted to approach security differently.”

By late 2023, Activ-Eye was set to scale significantly. Takacs realised that carefully navigating this new phase would be critical. “That is when I enlisted the help of a business advisor from Marathon Consulting. I was competent enough, but since enlisting that help, my thought process has completely changed. We have seen significant positive change in every area of the business, and turnover has since doubled in half the time.

“In this country, many security companies, when they start to scale, find themselves unable to deliver. Service begins to slip. Customers begin to feel like commodities. The result is that the client suffers. I wanted to take care not to end up in that position.”

Therefore, one of the most challenging decisions he has faced is turning down some opportunities. “All entrepreneurs, I think, get to the stage where you have become used to saying yes to whatever work comes your way. But then, when the business is about to scale, you must be careful to know your core and grow from that place. One cannot scale randomly. That means saying yes to the right things and no to opportunities that might lead you down a path that does not align with your strategy. I found it difficult to let go of some opportunities, but ultimately, we have reaped the benefits of those decisions.”

Takacs also believes that financial discipline is critical for any entrepreneur. “This is about not spending what you do not have and ensuring that the firm’s financial reporting meets the meticulous standards that a potential investor would want to see.” Takacs acknowledges that financial analysis disciplines can be tricky for an entrepreneur starting out who may still need to develop a fully developed skillset.

“Also, there is not a lot of support from traditional financial institutions for entrepreneurs starting out either. In theory, there is, but the red tape can be a constraint.”

Takacs keeps a close eye on his financial statements, and Activ-Eye takes great care to eliminate waste within the operation without compromising quality. A secret weapon is the firm’s electronic job card system. With a wry chuckle, Takacs notes that he searched worldwide for an effective one. For him, a great job card system ties back to excellent customer service and impeccable business ethics, which are fundamental values.

The industry in general

We ask Takacs for his take on the status of the security industry. He feels the industry is characterised by many service providers vying for the same opportunities. Not many service providers are venturing into unchartered territory, establishing new markets through creative thinking and originality. He is also keenly aware that artificial intelligence (AI) now features prominently in his world, but is concerned about how AI is often lauded within the security industry.

“In our world, AI is narrow (otherwise known as ‘weak’ AI). We should not be selling it as a silver bullet. What sets a service provider apart in this industry is not AI. It is the ability to craft a custom solution for a client that truly works for that specific client. That means spending much time with the client upfront and being careful not to assume anything about the client’s property. While we all sell the same equipment, our application of it in certain environments makes a huge difference at the end of the day.”

Personal strengths and the will to win

We challenge Takacs to tell us what he feels are his strengths as an entrepreneur and business leader. “I have worked hard on my leadership skills, mostly through much self-reflection. I am a very different leader now than when I first started. I will not compromise on the high standards I expect us to deliver to our clients, but my staff tells me that I am far more flexible these days,” he says with a smile.

Takacs’s self-evaluation appears accurate when we chat with Chad Jansen, one of his senior technicians. “I have worked for several security technology companies, but this is the first time in my career that I have grown so much in my job. I have developed multiple skills with Activ-Eye, and the company has grown my confidence and professionalism. The company encourages and trusts us to interact directly with clients and to make critical decisions. We are not micro-managed; we are encouraged to develop our own leadership abilities. The company also takes our personal needs very seriously. We feel like family. It is a very different kind of company to work for in this industry.”

Takacs is touched to hear this feedback. For him, one of the most rewarding things about business ownership has been developing a specific young assistant straight out of matric, growing him into a senior technician with one of Activ-Eye’s teams. “Seeing his personal growth and being involved in that trajectory ties in with Activ-Eye’s stated purpose: to create employment and leave a legacy not just for my own family, but also for the families of those who are part of my team.”

Takacs feels it is difficult to find great talent within the industry. Fortunately, Activ-Eye has a high staff retention rate. However, as the firm has grown, the team needed to be increased. Takacs is frustrated that technical and sales staff are generally not treated well in the industry. “The security industry is difficult as it is. This is where quality people are most needed in this country. Yet, quality people are treated poorly, so they tend to move from one firm to the next, or right out of the industry.”

The best recommendations come from customers

Staff members aside, Activ-Eye’s clients seem equally enthused about the firm. Riaan Matthee, Estate Manager at Croydon Olive Estate in the Cape Winelands tells us that Takacs and his team have done a fantastic job, and that the estate has relied on both the expertise and the excellent customer service that has been provided to it. Matthee feels that his security solution has evolved into a solution that really delivers, thanks to Activ-Eye’s product knowledge, application, and dedication.

We ask Takacs to share his advice for entrepreneurs in the security industry, and he cites financial discipline, surrounding oneself with the right support and advice, making the necessary personal sacrifices, and celebrating every small win with a great team. “The role can be very lonely, and it can become really tough,” he says. “One needs to hang in there.”

Regarding personal sacrifices, we wonder how Takacs balances work with home life. “I do not have much downtime,” he notes, “but my incredible wife, Ilse, keeps me, the business, and our two girls in line. She is literally our anchor. She also heads up our social responsibility initiatives, where we actively support local schools.”

Eduardo Takacs’s journey is a testament to bona fide entrepreneurial resilience. His ability to navigate the challenges of the security industry, especially during unprecedented times, speaks volumes about both his business leadership and his entrepreneurial spirit. He stands out in a country desperate for resilient businesses in the small and medium enterprise space that can create employment opportunities.

For more information:

• Activ-Eye Technologies operates throughout southern Africa. Eduardo Takacs can be reached on +27 74 522 9004, [email protected], www.activeyetechnologies.co.za

• Business advisor Lesley-Anne Kleyn can be reached on +27 64 410 8563, [email protected] www.marathongroup.co.za

• Riaan Matthee can be reached at Croydon Olive Estate on +27 21 843 3250, www.croydonolive.com

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