Raise Your Business From the Dead
Online Course—Turn your abandoned business into income by revising your strategy and redesigning your business model
Hi—I'm Vusi Sindane, the founder of skybookings.com, a business I abandoned in 2020 and brought back to R352k in revenue in the past 8 months.
[Open letter to founders with dead businesses]
Fellow Founder,
You know the feeling of seeing a thriving new business and thinking—I had that idea? And maybe it wasn’t just an idea, you spent months building it, but it is dead and burried now.
I’m the founder of skybookings.com, a once dead events ticketing platform that I built in 2016 and abandoned in 2020 during Covid.
Two years after forgetting about it, finding a full time job and becoming a new dad, I saw R1,000 come into my bank account. It was an old client who kept using the platform without my knowledge and support.
The penny dropped. Maybe there was still a business there…
But I had to re-think the business model & strategy. I tried a subscription model—failed. I added new features—failed. I tried advertising on social media—failed.
So, I dumped the business again. In fact, I built another business, which also ended up in the what-if-museum.
Months later, through friends, I met a seasoned entrepreneur who became my mentor. We spoke about skybookings and he introduced me to a new way of thinking about strategy. There was nothing wrong with the business, the problem was with me.
I spent another 12 months re-modelling skybookings and re-building the software with my mentor by my side. Relaunched it 8 months ago.
…and the result?
R357,725 in gross revenue with no vampire investors. No debt. No employees. Just pure customer revenue and profit.
Since, skybookings needs growth funding to get to the next level, and I still don’t want debt, investors or partners, I created a course to help founders ressurrect their businesses just like my mentor helped me.
So, if you also have dead business, maybe it is not dead; it just needs a new approach and I can help you find it or your money back.
What is this?
This is a strategy course for founders to bring dead businesses back to life.
Lifetime money back guarantee
First we look at the difference between a long term plan and a strategy. The confusion between the two is a deadly mistake and the reason grave yards are full of dead businesses. And sorry, Chat GPT will not help you here.
Case study: In this section we look at three case studies to understand strategy and how it differs from planning.
Templates: I will introduce a formula and templates you can follow to get started developing your new strategy.
If you told me this 5 years ago, I would have disagreed. But brainstorming can make matters worse.
Those who brainstorm with Chat GPT will know—ideas are cheap and easy to come up with and expensive to implement. We need to focus more on value-creation instead of creative brain storming.
Value-Creation Framework: In this section, I will introduce a value-creation framework. A predictable way of reviewing ideas and finding problems with economic value.
Getting things done is the ultimate equaliser. But un-coordinated effort can undo a good strategy.
Return on Effort: In this section I will introduce a new metric called Return on Effort, and how to use it to only do the work that matters.
It is an open secret that entrepreneurs make more money from selling their business than running it. So, the goal should not be runing a business, but preparing it for sale.
Building a sellable business: In this section we look at important features of a sellable business and how to prepare yours for the ultimate exit. Your don't have to kill your business, you can sell it and make a killing.
It's the progress that counts
As you can see, we went from R0 to barely make R10k in the first month. By October, we made R128k and then dropped back down. Either way, it's better than having no income.
Your business is not dead—it’s waiting for a new approach
Frequently asked questions
This course is for founders with an abandoned or failed business. I will walk you through a new approach to strategy and business modelling.
I took skybookings.com from dead to over R352k in 8 months—all from changing approach and strategy, but with a mentor by my side. I will share what my mentor shared with me, hoping it will work for you too.
This is not a general business course. There is only one focus: bringing a dead business back to life. This is a unique case because you already have assets and experience that other courses may not take into account.
Also, my experience of ressurecting skybookings.com from the dead while broke and black-listed is what makes this program unique. I have walked the journey, and I continue walking it.
So, baked into this course is only the stuff that worked for me, the principles learned, and the mistakes I wish I could have avoided. Everything in this course is actionable and usable immediately.
I am 40 years old, married 12 years and been with my wife for 19 years.
I started selling things in primary school and became a software developer in high school. My career has been a mix of building and launching my own software and consulting for large companies.
In 2016, I transitioned from software development to a management and leadership role where I took a full time employment role for the first time. I became the Group COO of 16 companies by 2019, leading operations of R150m a year and contributing to projects worth R2bn.
In 2022, I quit the corporate world — because I hated the scheming and politics — and took a sabbatical, cycling 3,257km across South Africa to raise funds for 10,000 school shoes.
With savings fast running out, I rebuilt skybookings.com from a dead project on my computer to a growing startup making 350k in 8 months and growing.
My CV is available here—I've done it, I'm doing it, and you can trust me to help you do it as well.
I guarantee that the course will work for you. However, I have a specific goal of helping you bring your dead business back to life—of helping you make a great come back.
The knowledge you will learn from this course is universal and applicable in other areas of professional life. So, there is great potential for value and seeing the world differently from this course.
After signing you will go to the course page where you can watch the videos, download additional content. You will also get my details so I can answer any questions.
There is endless content on YouTube, but most of it is not focused on ressurecting a dead business. Your probably have assets, knowledge and experience that new founders do not have, and in this course we will leverage these for the new dawn.
I am also not a content creator—I'm a founder and entrepreneur. Therefore, I have no interest in creating flashy content to get views. I care only about building businesses and helping whereever I can.
The lessons I share are directly from experience, mentors and trial and error.
After signing up, you will be re-directed to the course page where you can watch videos, download additional course material. Everything will be available as soon as you complete the enrolment process.
In short, you can ask for your money back anytime: whether after watching the first video or 10 years from now. Frankly, I do not want to work with sleezy people who just want a refund for unethical reasons. Secondly, if I did not deliver the value, I do not deserve to keep your hard-earned money. So, for me it's simple: anyone who wants a refund me get it—no questions asked.
