Upstart: Founder of Digsconnect, SA's startup sensation

by Alexandria Procter

At 25, Alexandria Procter became SA's youngest startup tech wunderkind. During her annual break from UCT in 2018, she came up with the idea for DigsConnect. Deeply affected by the violent student protests which swept university campuses in 2016, Alexandria created a website that would address the tumultuous student housing crisis. DigsConnect has subsequently transformed from being a local student startup, to catapulting into the global fourth industrial revolution. A deeply inspiring story.

286 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2024

About the author

I’m a South African startup founder, venture capital investor, government board director, broadcaster and published author based at the University of Oxford.

I love sailing, skiing, trail running, art galleries, theatre, books, climbing mountains, cycling, flying Cessnas, space exploration, brunch, archeology, museums, the ocean, gardens, travelling (by rail especially!), large trees, film photography, eccentricity, authenticity, strangeness, interior design, architecture, poetry, Wikipedia, sunflowers, frontier technology, film, secondhand bookshops, great coffee, exploration, kindness, wisdom, grace, wellness, peace, joy and most of all: laughing.

My website is a central point of all my projects, news and links to all my social media platforms and other various things I'm involved in.
alexandriaprocter.com

Reviews

[Karen Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upstart
Melinda Ferguson Books
Alexandria Procter
Review: Karen Watkins
Alexandria Procter is among South Africa's youngest self-made millionaires. This riveting memoir provides invaluable business insights into her meteoric rise as CEO and co-founder of DigsConnect, an online tool connecting students and young adults to landlords. From a “precocious kid with too much energy” the 32 year-old has become a global player in the fourth industrial revolution.
With one in three university graduates between the ages of 15 and 34 being unemployed, according to Statistics SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, it’s not surprising that many youngsters are turning to “startup” their own business.
Procter was born in the Eastern Cape into a privileged life with a medical doctor father and advocate mother. It’s evident from page one that she is not someone who toes the line. Instead, it’s clear that she’s driven by a relentless passion to challenge norms and create positive change. Her journey is marked by defiance, rebellion and an unwavering determination to defy the status quo.
The origin of DigsConnect stems from Procter's observation of the tumultuous student housing crisis plaguing South African campuses in early 2016 and the #Feesmustfall student housing crises. Inspired by her experiences and fuelled by a desire to make a difference, she conceptualises a solution that would ultimately disrupt the local tech scene.
With endless energy and a lack of inhibition for her “crazy ideas”, she sets out to revolutionise the way students find accommodation - similar to Airbnb concept - results in a website dedicated to connecting students in need of accommodation to landlords.
Procter draws on her triumphs, setbacks and lessons learned along the way. With candid honesty she reflects on failure, resilience and the importance of standing out in a crowded market, offering invaluable insights for budding entrepreneurs navigating the unpredictable terrain of startup culture.
Upstart will inspire tech enthusiasts by encouraging them that with hard work and drive anything is possible.
This review was published by the Cape Community Newspapers. Thanks to NB Publishers for a review copy.

[Janine Roussouw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so privileged to meet and chat with DigsConnect co-founder and author Alexandria Procter, this past weekend at Exclusive Books. So thrilled to discover that she was born and bred in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa :) She has this positive, energy-driven adventurous spirit that is so infectious! DigsConnect has created a space where landlords and students can connect on an app for student accommodation. This is the biggest housing app on the African continent. Alexandria and her team started out by asking for seed funding of R2million and they pitched so well that investors gave them R12million. So at age 25, Alexandria became one of the youngest self-made female millionaires on the African continent.

The chapters of the book have such laugh-out-loud, catch-phrase titles such as "Don't drink the Kool-Aid" and "You can't eat the Freedom Charter", that I can't wait to dive into the next chapter. The book is not only about the rise and success of DigsConnect, but it's also a personal memoir of Alexandria's childhood, her personal struggles and growth into adulthood. She is fearless, seeks out the next adventure from backpacking in India, climbing Kilimanjaro, tea with Helen Zille and setting up DigsConnect to go global. She creates hope for the youth and she works really hard at creating a better future for humanity. This book is so inspiring, encourages each person to follow their passion and to go out and shine your light. Get this book today! It's just so good.

[NovelShongololo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An inspiring story that is written almost as a conversation with the reader. Easy to follow and will have you routing for Alexandria from the opening chapter. I appreciated that Alexandria wrote candidly about her struggles, not shying away from expressing failure (or near failure). At times, I found the narrative quite descriptive rather than reflective and was left wondering what she took away from the experience, what was the depth of thought that produced this new insight and sometimes - what was the lesson she learnt and then applied. Would have been great to have these questions included for a more universal memoir read. However, I enjoyed the book overall and would recommend to people wanting autonomy over their life.

( If Alexandria does see this, (from the book it strikes me that scanning reviews is a great method of easy user feedback collection to improve the writing product for the next cycle), I think laying your life story bare on some chewed up tree remnants for strangers to read and critique is incredibly brave and you should be proud of everything you have accomplished. Being the unconforming kid with unconventional ideas is a lonely place to be. Really glad to read that you found your place. Looking forward to emailing you the things that your book inspired me to do :))

[Kieran Donnelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Procter is a wizard with the pen. She weaves a wonderful story with philosophical lessons and personal challenges I've no doubt more than just she struggles with.

Also full of startup lessons: it will take you years; you learn through failures, don't run out of money, product-market fit before anything else; etc.

What I have enjoyed in other business-building and startup books, however, are more explicit details. We paid this person $x, it took 14 EC2 instances to do y, and so on. In UPSTART, we experience more than just the story of DigsConnect; we also hear the author's back story, and it feels like specific details may have been left out for brevity (and probably in some cases for NDAs and other agreements to that effect).

[Eduard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. The boring accountant in me loved the chaos! I want to meet her!

[Matthew Milne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read... inspiring story, incredible person achieving remarkable success.