Letting Go Was Yuppiechef Founder’s Toughest Test

Andrew Smith and Shane Dryden built Yuppiechef from a lounge-floor startup into one of South Africa’s most recognisable online brands – then had to confront the hardest truth in founder psychology: the skills that build a business are rarely the ones that scale it. A self-confessed people-pleaser who struggled to delegate control, Smith’s real leadership test wasn’t the funding rounds or the growth – it was learning to get out of his own way. This is a conversation about the gap between building something and running something, and why the exit cheque is sometimes the most honest feedback a founder ever gets. This series is sponsored by Discovery Bank. Editions drop on Tuesdays at 07:00.