Carel Nolte: investing in people for success

CN&CO founder Carel Nolte has joined the board of insurance brokerage Crawford Dougall (where CN&CO partner Josie Dougall’s husband, Simon, is the CEO) as a non-executive director effective 1 March 2023.

Carel has always adopted an entrepreneurial approach to life and is an avid champion of the financial services industry as a platform for protection and financial independence.  

“Crawford Dougall is a well-established business that has been in operation since 1989,” says Carel. “They have a fantastic team, a strong book and a great outlook on life and business. Getting involved as a non-executive director was a no-brainer for me. I love investing my time – and other resources – in good people and watching them succeed.”

One of the most successful ventures Carel is involved in is CN&CO, which he founded in 2014.

“The idea was to build up a loose collection of amazing people who would be given the freedom to build their own businesses and brands,” he says. “This has largely happened. The team of just 11 people punches way above its weight in a number of industries, including financial services, property development, ICT and talent management.

“We have also expanded our offering beyond ‘traditional’ marketing and PR to include publishing, eventing and specialist recruitment, with more to look out for in the near future.”

Carel retains a position as non-executive majority shareholder in the business, serving as a mentor and a guide to the team without holding on too tightly.

He also plays a role as a non-exec at Ami Underwriting Managers, which he co-founded with veteran insurance legend Christelle Colman, and helped set up to start writing business earlier this year.

“The Ami team, which has started growing since we started trading, is passionate about insurance and 100% focused on adding major value to clients via brokers,” says Carel.

CN&CO partner, Kurt Solomon, joined the Ami team in 2022 as executive of broker distribution and brand. He was also elected to the 2023 council of the Insurance Institute of Gauteng.

“It’s been a privilege to mentor Kurt and watch him grow since Etana days in the late 2000s,” says Carel.

Carel’s day job is chief engagement officer at Purple Group which, among other things, is the mother company of EasyEquities.

“EasyEquities was founded in 2014 and has grown into one of the most important share investment platforms in South Africa and beyond,” he says. “Today we have close to 1.8 million registered users, of whom about a million are active investors.”

Carel has been involved in a number of developments at Purple Group, including the onboarding of partners such as Satrix, Capitec, Discovery, RISE, Cloud Atlas and several others.

He has also been very involved in the development of managed products and retirement solutions, which he says can and should be done differently.

“We need a lot more flexibility in these areas to create options for our future selves,” he says.

Working at EasyEquities, he says, is both challenging and hugely rewarding.

“It’s a ‘teenaged’ fintech, so there’s always something happening,” he says. “The regulations around financial services are varied and we have to find ways to serve clients efficiently and effectively within those boundaries. EasyEquities is all about helping individuals creating and protecting wealth, sustainably”.

Looking forward, Carel says he plans to continue mentoring and supporting entrepreneurs.

“I am involved in a number of businesses, including the Sparkys burger joint – soon to be a chain of burger joints I hope – in Johannesburg. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch the people I am lucky enough to partner with, learning new things and being successful.

“Investing in people is my purpose and I plan to continue doing it for the foreseeable future, especially now in a world that is often scared and angry and then misses out on opportunities.

“Oh, and I also love having loads of fun while trying not to f**k up too badly.”