Opportunity Issue 103

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Steyn has been a member of the Durban Chapter for more than
six years and this perfectly aligns with his belief that business is an
ecosystem of people and relationships. Creating an environment
for good people to grow, perform and engage with other likeminded
people is one of the key elements to success, he believes.
One team and a rented room
Steyn started his business, IntelliSEC, which installs and services
CCTV, access control and fire detection systems, 14 years ago from
a room that he rented from a friend who had a scuba-diving shop
in Kloof. The fledgling company had three clients and one technical
team and contracted in when needed.
It wasn’t an easy journey. “I sold my vehicle to fund the business
and rented a vehicle from the technician we had contracted in. By
the grace of God and through hard work, the business was sustained
and grew to six branches in South Africa and two across the border
servicing over 650 clients, primarily blue-chip companies, with
either national rollouts or large turnkey projects. We employ some
of the most talented people in our industry,” he says.
His three key pieces of advice for his fellow entrepreneurs are:
• Surround yourself with smart and experienced people who want
the best for you and are willing and brave enough to tell you to
stop when they see you heading into impending danger.
• Build people, systems and cash to support the business you plan
to be in the future.
• Serve your employees, customers and suppliers well. They are
all working to make your business vision a reality – and don’t be
scared to distance yourself from those who are not.
These closely echo the values of EO.
“As an organisation and as forums within EO, we are all feeding
off each other. We may go into meetings with our heads down
but we come up with world-class plans to bring about change, to
improve efficiencies and to be smarter and leaner. We help create
a positive outlook in what can possibly be seen as a fairly gloomy
business environment,” says Steyn.
Referring to a book by Steven Johnson called Attacking Anxiety,
Steyn talks about two different forms of anxiety, debilitating anxiety
and functional anxiety.
“What we’ve seen in EO is definitely functional anxiety. This is
driving EO members to be that much sharper to look at the small
The author’s business started in a room rented from a friend with three clients.
It now has a national footprint, over 650 clients and a large staff of employees.
things that they possibly just left before and work out how to be
leaner and roll with the punches. As Durban entrepreneurs, we are
world class. We’ve had to be as we’ve had so much thrown at us.
That’s why we want to assist members to realise the benefits from that
functional anxiety that we all have naturally,” he says.
He believes that you have to be part of something like EO to fully
understand the value that it provides.
As Mark Stockli, the head of EO, says: “We are an organisation that
leverages trust and we all want the best for each other. It’s not one
person standing on the sidelines looking at an entrepreneur doing
exceptionally well and hoping he is going to fail. We all want each
other to succeed and we will go out of our way to make sure that
everybody is supported.”
About Entrepreneurs’ Organization
Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 14 000 influential business owners with 199 chapters in 61 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst
that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.
Denzil Steyn is the Managing Director of IntelliSEC, a systems integrator of intelligent site-management business that is based in Pinetown with branches in Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay and Nelspruit.
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