The hardest thing to get right
Building a technology company across Africa takes more than the right infrastructure. Réan van Niekerk learned early that the hardest thing to get right wasn't the product. It was the people.
That lesson didn't come easily.
During Metacom's early years of fast growth, the business fell into a trap that catches many fast-growing companies: hiring on relationships. The references felt safe. The rigour wasn't there. He learned that the hard way.
When the culture came close to breaking under the weight of rapid expansion, Réan had to confront what had gone wrong.
The mistake wasn't the people. It was the process. Hiring without asking whether someone's values, attitude, and way of working actually aligned with how Metacom operates.
Protecting the culture as you grow
Metacom has a certain way of doing things. A respect for each other. A can-do attitude. A belief that the customer always comes first.
It sounds simple. Maintaining it through periods of rapid growth is anything but.
Culture, Réan says, came close to breaking more than once. Each time, it meant stepping back in, assessing what had happened, speaking to people, and rebuilding bigger, better, stronger than before.
What matters beyond the CV
What he looks for now goes well beyond a CV.
Integrity. Unbounded passion. Positivity. Confidence without ego. The willingness to learn, to take input, to understand where you fit.
And above all, the one thing he says cannot be taught: the inherent desire to take personal ownership. Not to blame. Not to deflect. To feel genuinely responsible for what you do.
Skills can be trained. Character cannot.
There is a story that illustrates this better than any philosophy could.
A candidate applied for a senior engineering role he wasn't ideally suited for on paper. Most hiring processes would have ended there. Réan saw something different: exceptional skill, exceptional motivation.
He changed the role to fit the person.
That engineer has been one of Metacom's stars for over 15 years.
Creating a place people want to stay
It's the kind of decision that defines a company culture more than any policy document.
And it points to something Réan is deliberate about: retention isn't just about keeping good people. It's about creating an environment where they want to stay. Where there is a career path, opportunities for growth, and the sense that what they do every day is recognised, not only financially, but in every sense.
Many of Metacom's people have been with the business for 15 years or more. In an industry where the average tenure is just over two years, that continuity is rare.
And it matters.
Metacom carries significant intellectual property. The people who built it are part of what makes it work.
The right people build the business
In Episode 2 of A Founder's Lens, Réan goes deeper on all of this: the hiring mistakes, the culture fractures, what he looks for in senior appointments, and why the most important question he asks a candidate has nothing to do with their CV.
