Working at Purple Group – not just another financial services company

Working? No wait, is it really working? Or is there a better word to describe it? I suspect there is, although I’m not sure what it is. All I know is that “working” doesn’t accurately describe what I do at Purple Group.

A good mate of mine, Kurt Solomon, recently wrote about his experience at Purple Group and the energy that he feels inside the company. Living in a Purple world is a phenomenal piece of writing and well worth the read. Aside from this though, for someone else to express this energy was awesome and there was plenty that I could identify with.

Of course, the fact that I work at Purple Group might lead you to believe that I have an alternative agenda – like getting into the CEO’s good books or angling for a raise. If those are your thoughts, then you couldn’t be more wrong.

For some time now, I have been wanting to try and put down in the words the energy that I feel at the group. In my time since I arrived at Purple in May 2015, I have heard Mark Barnes (executive chairman) and Charles Savage (CEO) speak in a number of public forums and team talks. When they talk about the culture, the potential and where Purple Group has come from, I get goose bumps. It doesn’t matter how many times I have heard the story before.

The energy and drive it spikes in me is something that I can’t quite put my finger on. I am not sure how many people can say this about their place of work. There that word is again—work—walking into Purple on a daily basis doesn’t feel like going to work. Sure there is graft done, but the group has a power culture, a diverse bunch of people and drives us all to think and innovate.

Combining all of these and plenty other unique aspects, Purple has developed a special place in my heart for a number people and I am grateful for this opportunity. It is not just another JSE-listed financial services company. It’s a company that takes “what we do seriously, but not ourselves”, it empowers its team mates far beyond paying a salary – we are all shareholders in the company, which speaks for itself. Furthermore, through the EasyEquities platform, it has the potential to empower the rest of my fellow South Africans in exactly the same way.

Josh Nuttall, as you’ve probably guessed, works (very proudly) for Purple Group. He and his fellow Purplistas are all prolific evangelists for the group’s philosophies, goals and platforms. All South Africans – from the most serious, high-net worth investor (on GT Private Broking) or DIY day-trader (on GT247.com), to the managed portfolio investor (on Emperor Asset Management) or the DIY long-term investor (on EasyEquities) – can invest in shares and other instruments on the JSE – and beyond. It’s all about democratisation of the stock exchange, and it’s open to anyone. The photo at the top of this blog shows Josh (second from right) delivering Valentine’s treats to his team mates with (from left) Kurt Solomon, Bradley Kaplan and TC van der Walt.