G-Lab / Our approach
Our approachReal value for real customers — built the start-up way.
A G-Lab programme can start at any time of year. The approach stays the same: listen first, build in short sprints, put the product in real hands, and answer to shareholders for the value created.
Four things a classroom can't give you.
Coaching
Hands-on guidance from an experienced, dedicated working professional who keeps the team focused on outcomes — and each entrepreneur focused on growth.
- A full team day every two weeks
- 30-minute one-to-ones every two weeks
- A skills workshop on every team day
- Personal learning goals, re-rated along the way
Incubation
A real venture with a real sponsor, run with the rhythm and discipline of a start-up.
- Two-week agile sprints with a rotating Scrum Master
- Monthly live demos to the CEO
- Monthly shareholder updates
- A live product link early on
Experience sharing
Lessons from people who have built, launched and sold — shared openly so the team avoids the obvious mistakes.
- Guest masterclasses from industry practitioners
- Sessions on AI, product strategy and marketing
- Honest feedback at every sprint review
- Pitch rehearsals with outside guests
Networking
The people you meet shape the opportunities you get. G-Lab puts entrepreneurs in the room.
- Direct access to a CEO and sponsor
- Customer and community field work, every sprint
- Business leaders, mentors and potential employers
- Team socials — hikes, braais, tech meetups
Seven phases, one venture.
Two threads run side by side in every phase: building the product, and creating value for the people it serves.
Discover
What the team does
Go out and listen. Spend time with real customers and community members to find problems worth solving.
Value for customers & community
Conversations with the people who live the problem every day.
Validate
What the team does
Test the most promising opportunities with the people who have them — then commit to one venture with the sponsor.
Value for customers & community
Evidence that people care enough to change what they do today.
Design
What the team does
Personas, segments, user journeys and clickable prototypes — tested with real users before a line of production code.
Value for customers & community
Real users shape the product from the first sketch.
Build
What the team does
Website, app and data foundations, shipped in two-week sprints with a live link from the start.
Value for customers & community
Early users get something useful — and tell us what's missing.
Beta
What the team does
Test, fix and harden. Settle the positioning, brand and a pricing or sustainability model.
Value for customers & community
Feedback turns into improvements people can see.
Launch
What the team does
Take it to market: a launch campaign, content and experiments to win and keep customers.
Value for customers & community
Real value delivered to real customers or the community.
Pitch
What the team does
Present the return on investment to shareholders: value created, traction, skills gained and impact.
Value for customers & community
A clear proposal for what happens next with the venture.
A two-week rhythm that runs itself.
Each full team day is the hinge between two sprints. In between, the team manages itself — just like a real company.
Full team day
Sprint review, retro, skills workshop and planning.
Async stand-up
Yesterday, today, blockers — posted every morning.
One-to-ones
30 minutes with the coach on growth and feedback.
Check-in
A short online session to unblock and adjust scope.
Build + customers
Ship features and test them with real people.
The cycle repeats every two weeks. Every second team day adds a live CEO demo.
A typical full team day
- Sprint review — working product and customer evidence
- Retrospective, run by the outgoing Scrum Master
- Skills workshop
- Lunch together
- Backlog refinement and sprint planning
- Pairing and build time with the coach
- Check-out
Touchpoints
Evidence first. Ideas second.
Teams don't start with an idea — they start with people. The venture comes from real problems, heard first-hand, that the team can solve and that create lasting value.
How opportunities are scored
- Real pain×3Do people already spend time or money working around this?
- Access×2Can the team reach the people who have it — quickly?
- Buildability×2Can a small team ship a useful first version within the programme?
- Impact×2Does it create value for the community — jobs, small businesses, young people?
- Sustainability×1Is there a credible way to earn money or keep it going?
- Team energy×1Will the whole team still care about it months from now?
Real value, on the record.
Every entrepreneur
leaves with
- A live product
- A professional portfolio
- Customer research experience
- A marketing campaign
- An updated CV & LinkedIn
- Pitch experience in front of shareholders
How we play the game.
Value over promises
Interviews, sign-ups, active users and feedback. Every demo opens with the one number that matters this month.
Everyone does everything
Everyone builds, tests and talks to customers. Roles rotate so each entrepreneur leads more than one function.
Build it properly
Peer-reviewed work, tested on mobile and desktop. AI prototyping tools for speed; real craft for the core.
The team runs itself
A blocker older than 24 hours goes to the Scrum Master; after 48 hours, to the coach. Accountability belongs to the team.
Lean by design
Free tools first, scoped to fit — the same discipline every early-stage start-up needs.
Trust and privacy
Customer data is protected under POPIA, interview notes are anonymised, and confidential work stays inside G-Lab.
Open a door for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
An hour of your time — an interview, a masterclass, a tough question at a pitch rehearsal — can change a young entrepreneur's trajectory. We'd love to hear from you.