In the highly competitive entrepreneurial landscape, establishing yourself as a force to be reckoned with can feel close to impossible. From Johannesburg, South Africa, comes Tony De Gouveia, a highly successful entrepreneur and influential figure in the disruptive entrepreneurship and servant leadership worlds. Today, De Gouveia stands as a seasoned industry professional, and his journey through network marketing proves he defies the odds. De Gouveia sat down to share how he made his goals a new normal in his life.
B: Thanks for joining us today, Tony. Could you share a little bit of your backstory on how you got on the entrepreneurial path?
A: I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a Portuguese family in a modest home. My family wasn’t wealthy, and I had to learn young to balance work and education, spending my after-school evenings working in my father’s cafe. My father’s persuasion led me toward schooling to become a chartered accountant, but that wasn’t my dream. So, at 22, I quit school and returned home to help my father.
Shortly after, I took my first step into retail, successfully co-founding a buying group with other Portuguese entrepreneurs called RightValue. It was later acquired by Pick n Pay, one of South Africa’s largest retailers. This motivated me to continue a career in retail, but after more than a decade, the retail sector shifted too much. So, I went on a year-long sabbatical to reset and found myself redirected toward network marketing.
B: That’s pretty brave to make a switch in careers after years in one industry. How was the transition from retail to network marketing? Were there any challenges?
A: The transition was hard, and I definitely had my fair share of challenges. When I started my network marketing career in 2010, I struggled for five years to find my way to a new normal, but I took my mistakes and learned from them. In retail, I was so used to being the boss and having people work for me, but in network marketing, nobody worked for me, and I had to learn to adapt. I loved the freedom that came with being an entrepreneur, but I ended up overworking myself. I would get bogged down trying to be the superstar on stage. I learned pretty fast that it doesn’t work for me.
B: How did you become a force in disruptive marketing if you weren’t the star player?
A: Success is not about being the star out in front or the guy hiding in the back. For me, successful leadership is about being the guy in the middle. The guy who keeps in touch with everyone on the team, gently leading and inspiring your teammates without creating conflict. This is why I believe myself to be a servant leader. Building up a team to work with me, not for me, became about supporting and inspiring other leaders in the industry on their own journeys.
Now, I feel most authentic, not only as a disruptive entrepreneur but also as a servant leader. When building marketing teams, I am dedicated to helping them become stronger and more successful and teaching others how to be what I, myself, endeavor to be: a passionate leader who genuinely cares about his business partners and team.
With over a decade of experience and proving nothing is impossible, De Gouveia is taking his skills to the next level by launching his brand, The Ultimate Business (TUB). His brand is a movement that exemplifies the power of disruptive entrepreneurship and pushing boundaries while also empowering others to realize their full potential.