Renier Kriel, co-founder of The Open Letter, has been an active figure in South Africa’s startup and tech community for nearly two decades. He grew up in Pretoria and later moved to Stellenbosch to study, laying the foundation for a life driven by innovation and entrepreneurship. Even in his school days, Kriel says he always did something entrepreneurial without really thinking of himself as an entrepreneur, taking on creative side ventures like selling sweets and printing sports photos for school events.
From the outset, Kriel embraced a hands-on approach to business, “Straight after university, I started a company that built mobile apps for corporates and startups,” he recalls. He led the company through several years of growth before selling it in 2017. After a period of consulting, he turned his full attention to The Open Letter.
The Genesis of The Open Letter
Kriel’s long involvement in the startup ecosystem revealed a clear opportunity. He notes that there has never been media dedicated towards telling the stories of new businesses, therefore, there was a natural gap to fill. Along with his co-founders, Elvorne Palmer and Jason Mill, they set out to create a platform that would shine a light on entrepreneurs and innovators. A key part of this vision was a novel approach to audience engagement.
“The opportunity was to use emails as the primary medium to engage people, which was a strategy that had proven effective in the United States but was largely unused in South Africa. By focusing on a daily email newsletter, we aimed to build a dedicated community around the stories of local startups and innovators,” says Kriel.
Since its inception, The Open Letter has seen impressive growth and diversification. In its first year, the team sent out a single weekly email to a few hundred subscribers. Today, in the third year, The Open Letter has over 30 000 SA subscribers on its daily email newsletter.
The Open Letter now works with multiple sponsors, produces a podcast, and hosts events, serving as a hub for founders and industry professionals. Kriel describes the venture not just as a media company but as “a startup founder community,” reflecting its role in connecting people across South Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
Overcoming Challenges
Just like every entrepreneur, building a new media venture without heavy funding presented challenges for the media company.
Kriel observes that “It does not always make sense to raise capital for certain types of businesses early on, certainly not for a media company”. Instead of seeking venture capital, he and his co-founders chose to fund The Open Letter organically, by side hustling with consultations to fund the growth of the company. This approach allowed them to grow steadily while remaining independent and focused on their mission.
Focus on What You Control
Kriel’s journey has been guided by practical optimism and a focus on control. He advises other entrepreneurs never to dwell on obstacles beyond their influence. “There is no point dwelling on the unfairness of life. rather focus on something you can control and keep going,” he says. This resilient mindset reflects the values behind The Open Letter, which are persistence, adaptability, and a commitment to telling positive, real-world stories of business innovation.
Community Events and Engagement
The Open Letter continues to engage the entrepreneurial community through events and networking. Highlighting their first gathering of the year in Stellenbosch on the 5th of March 2025, Kriel encourages founders, operators, investors and anyone passionate about innovation to attend, promising an opportunity to “meet industry peers, founders, operators, investors and people passionate about building great innovative businesses in SA.
Click here to see more on The Open Letter and their work.
