The Whippet didn't survive
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The Whippet didn't survive
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Narrated by:
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Divan Botha spent seven years as head of marketing at FNB before walking away from his corporate career to open a coffee shop in Linden. That coffee shop became The Whippet - one of Johannesburg's most loved neighbourhood destinations. Then COVID hit, and the business came within five days of liquidation.
In this episode, Divan talks to Jennis and JC about the full arc: the decision to quit banking, building The Whippet from scratch with zero hospitality experience, the Melville branch that didn't survive, the community fundraiser that saved 12 jobs, and launching Smoke in Pretoria. He also opens up about presenting Winslyn on kykNET for nine years - including the nights he was on TV talking about business while crying in his dressing room over the Melville collapse.
And in the second half, a conversation nobody expected: Divan came out publicly at 38. What that looked like, why he waited, what it says about the world his kids are growing up in and why living authentically became more important than living quietly.
Own the fame.
Learn from the f*ck ups.
Keep fixing it.