Born in the Eastern Cape, raised in Western Cape currently lives in Gauteng, Siya Beyile founder of The Threaded Man might seem like your ordinary entrepreneur but his dreams and goals are global.
Beyile who comes from a family that many South Africans can relate to where many of its members were unable to get any form of education due to the apartheid system. His mother was the only graduate in his family and through her ambitious nature to “build a bigger life for herself, her kids and her family we ended up moving to Cape Town”.
This is where Beyile’s life changed, after a few years in Cape Town he received a scholarship to go study at one of the best schools in the cape and the country Wynberg Boys High school. “I got a scholarship to go Wynberg Boys high school. Which for me was a big culture shock coming from a background of not having much and moving into a suburb environment of a school which is like one of the wealthiest schools in the country.”
This change transformed Beyile’s life and served as the earliest challenges of his life as he found himself alone and not belonging wherever he went.
“Growing up for me was always this battle of, I’m in this rural space but at the same time I am in this white monopoly rich space in Cape Town, so growing up it was always a thing of when I used to go back home in the Eastern Cape they would say I’m a coconut and each time I was in the white schools I was not like the other black people. I think throughout my time as a young kid I was always conflicted and at the same time there was my parent's divorce which was happening, I think my high school years were high school years of not having stability.”
These difficult situations at home and at school strengthen him and made him a take things into his own hands. This passion for success combined with the love for culture led to him being inspired into creating a business that will communicate loudly who he is thus also allowing other to communicate the same thing but in their own unique ways.
“The threaded man began as using fashion as a vessel of making Africans proud of their cultures. Using fashions a way of expressing where they come from.” Because “for us, fashion is a strong sense of our identity and I felt that at the time our identity was disappearing a little bit so I felt like my calling from God is to help African realize that fashion should not dictate them they should dictate fashion because fashion runs in our blood its who we are, it is part of our identity, it's our music and its part of our artistry that was the vision for threaded man when I started”.
This business started as a mere hobby and later became a full active venture. Even though Beyile has experienced great success in the industry he has also seen major challenges. “Last year I tried to commit suicide because I felt so stress.” Stating that he has been through turmoil as a businessman where he had depression. “I used to have anxiety every single day when I was 21 thinking I was going to lose my business, I’m being sued and all these things. I wish at that time I could have had a mentor, someone who is going to say listen to things is the way you going to deal with anxiety around the business.”
He warns many young entrepreneurs about the stresses that come with entrepreneurship when you are young in the industry and experience success there are people who will come and surround you and because of the excitement of success you end up signing away the very same thing you worked hard to build. Beyile went to court fighting with his own company, the people he thought were going to help and assist him in the journey turning against him.
To avoid such things happening to other young entrepreneurs like himself Beyile with his new business partner Thato are embarking on a new venture combining their companies creating what is now called The 7/12 Group. One of the companies within the group is ‘Path Thrive’ which will focus “on the mental health or the mental stability that you need to build a business”. Beyile states that the South African entrepreneurial landscape has been focusing on the aspects of entrepreneurship so with Path Thrive they want to shift the focus to things that matter.
“In South Africa, we focus more on getting funding for businesses and business plans and all these things but no one focuses on the mental health or the mental stability that you need to build a business. Look at my business and the emotional rollercoasters, I’m being sued and all these things. I wish at that time I could have had a mentor, someone who is going to say listen to things is the way you going to deal with anxiety around the business. These are the kind of people that you should have around you as an entrepreneur because I started so young, I experienced success at such a young age and there were so many times I completely went off the rails.”
Vital Stats
Business name: The Threaded Man
Start-up : Bootstrapped
Year founded: 2013
Key Players: 2
Group Turn Over: R15 Million (712 Group)
Number of Employees : 5 core team & 30 production plant