At aXia Consulting we strongly believe in helping small to medium enterprises. Each month we will interview a business owner to find out more about his/her entrepreneurial journey, and the business as well as to get some advice from a fellow business owner. This month we are shining the spotlight on Tom Zeitoun from Avalanche Industries, one of the fastest-growing toy distributors in South Africa:
Tell us a little about your business and your background
Avalanche Industries was founded in 2020 by myself and my partner, Daniel Zada amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Daniel and I were students at Wits University at the time. I was completing the final year of my Honours degree in Actuarial Science and Daniel was completing his Bcom Degree, majoring in Finance and Economics. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all students were studying from home. Being at home gave Daniel and I the time and freedom to grow our business.
We started by purchasing goods from local suppliers and selling them online. Initially, it was just Daniel and I covering every aspect of the business. We handled purchasing, packing, and even delivered stock ourselves. At the time, our business operated out of Daniel’s parents’ garage.
Since then, Avalanche has grown into an established importer and distributor of children’s toys, supplying many major retail stores/chains in South Africa while maintaining a huge online presence! Some of our customers include Makro, Game, Pick n Pay, Toys R Us, Takealot.com and many more!
What/Who inspired you to start your own business, and how has that initial inspiration evolved over time?
Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to have my own business as opposed to working for someone – this was always a dream of mine.
Throughout my educational career (both school and university), I always intended to study to better my chances of success in the business world, not to better my chances of employment. People always ask me why I chose such a difficult degree if all I wanted to do was sell toys – and my answer is always that my degree was an integral part of my journey and that without that degree, I would not be where I am today.
Throughout university, I learned how to price life insurance policies and calculate the probability of ruin which you might think is completely irrelevant but it was still immensely valuable This taught me how to think, how to apply my mind, and how to solve problems better than most people in the toy industry.
At the end of the day, I always ask – “are there any other toy distributors who can price a life insurance policy accurately?” 😉
The above point is made to illustrate and emphasise the fact that education can give you an edge in any environment, even if you don’t realise it. Even if you are naturally entrepreneurial, you should not disregard the value of academic education. If anything, you should value it even higher than those who do not plan on becoming entrepreneurs.
What is a challenge that you are currently facing and what do you think will help you overcome this challenge?
Avalanche is growing very quickly and is facing the challenge of scalability. In a high-growth environment like ours, new opportunities arise every day. While we are immensely grateful for this growth, it does come with certain challenges. We have to ensure that the business can execute and deliver on these opportunities. Not just deliver, but deliver successfully. This is done by building an efficient, effective, and healthy operation that can sustain the growth ahead.
To overcome this, we often try to take advantage of the 80/20 principle (the 80/20 principle asserts that 80% of output/results comes from 20% of input/efforts). To exploit this, we do our best to focus on the 20% of work that is most likely to yield 80% of the results!
This allows us to minimise costs by employing fewer resources while still benefitting from 80% of the rewards!
Can you share a significant milestone or accomplishment that you are proud of achieving in your business?
Without a doubt, it was winning 1st, 2nd AND 3rd place in the 2023 Makro Top Rated by Kids event. This was the first time that we participated in the event, competing against the longest-standing toy suppliers in South Africa.
Check out the Gel Shot!
How do you stay motivated and inspired during challenging times in your industry or market?
I strongly believe that motivation is less important than discipline.
Motivation is the driving force that compels humans to take action whilst discipline is the consistent pattern of behaviour designed to achieve a desired outcome.
For example, in the fitness world, motivation would be the desire to run 5km in less than 25 minutes, whereas discipline, is the act of training consistently and following a program regardless of whether you feel like it or not.
Using motivation/inspiration as your driving force is not sustainable as motivation is temporary, motivation fades away whereas discipline can be embedded in our lifestyles by building systems for ourselves to ensure we do what needs to be done to reach the ultimate end goal we have set for ourselves.
I think during challenging times in our industry or ever-changing market, there is no blanket solution to staying relevant. The best that we can do is ensure we show up and perform each day, remain disciplined, and make sure to stay sharp and work harder than our competitors.
What is your approach to building a strong brand presence, and how do you differentiate yourself from competitors in your industry?
Our major differentiating factor is that we are a young business. We monitor global trends closely and bring the hottest toys to the South African market. We then prioritise marketing these toys in a way that speaks to the young South African consumer.
When launching brands in South Africa, we like to do things a little differently compared to our competitors. For example, where a competitor might opt to showcase their new product using a TV ad, we would opt for a viral Tik-Tok style video targeting young kids that are using social media. We believe this is a lot more effective than marketing to parents via a TV ad during a Carte Blanche ad break.
How do you prioritise and manage your time effectively as a small business owner wearing multiple hats?
This is a skill that I am always trying to develop further. As a CEO, your job is to micro-manage and that means managing multiple tasks at the same time and ensuring that there is consistent progress being made on all tasks at all times.
To master the skill of micro-managing, I think you first need to master the art of delegating tasks effectively. If you can delegate tasks effectively and manage many tasks at once, I think this is how you maximise productivity. This applies both on a personal as well as on a business level.
What words of advice would you have for someone wanting to start their own business?
Just start!
Many people spend too much time planning and not enough time doing. Sometimes we have an idea and instead of just starting, we spend too much time planning and ultimately overcomplicate the idea by thinking too far ahead in the future.
My opinion is that if you have an idea, just start. Think only about what’s right in front of you and how you will overcome that. The rest will fall into place!
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your business?
Avalanche’s goals are always changing as we grow and to learn more.
The ultimate long-term goal for Avalanche is to be the largest importer and distributor of toys in South Africa and to branch out into other countries, supplying customers in all parts of the world, turning Avalanche into a global name and brand!
Keen to get in touch with Tom? You can reach out via email.
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Click here to read about previous business owners in the aXia Spotlight.
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