We had the good fortune of connecting with Tuduetso Masire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tuduetso, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
In my experience there are various indicators in which I have followed to determine whether to give up or keep going. First being, getting in touch with my intuition, we always know whether something feels right or not therefore I have found it extremely important to take time to listen whenever I am required to make a business move. I do this through exercise, rest, time off and various forms of meditation. Another thing is talking to experts in the industry, potential customers, suppliers and all other stakeholders who could be relevant to my business as this gives an overall feel of what people actually think of the business model and gives insight on what to lookout for.
Lowering expectations and being patient is also a great indicator because not being patient can give you a false indication that your business is not working out.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
MatchAPro is a healthcare platform that matches international traveling surgeons with patients in public hospitals in Southern Africa. What sets us apart is that currently most medical missions are targeted at specific illnesses and are planned quite manually. MatchA Pro is a platform that aims to bring international physicians from all surgical backgrounds including Southern African local skilled surgeons looking to do outreach work within their own communities, so that platform can address a wide variety of healthcare challenges in the region.

I am most proud of the traction I have made through winning pitch competitions and building partnerships with highly qualified doctors and professors in the field. I am also proud of getting on the radar of a variety of public hospitals in Southern Africa that are eager to receive our services.

I got where I am now through networking and being bold enough to speak to strangers. One of the surgeons we acquired I just saw at a coffee shop wearing scrubs and I asked the cashier if she knows the lady and she told me that the lady is a regular customer and a surgeon and I just walked up to her and told her about MatchA Pro and we ended up exchanging contacts and agreeing to schedule a trip for her once her verification was processed on our platform.

It’s not easy and there are quite a lot of moving parts that tend to be tricky and unfortunately milestones don’t come together at the same times. So there are times you find 1 piece and not the other but those pieces rely on each other for progress to take place then you get stuck.

Lessons are simply that you need to manage your expectations because unfortunately there are many people who want to be part of the success story but not willing to put in the work which can be very disappointing if you over rely on people who say they want to help. Take it with a pinch of salt and if they do get involved as promised, make sure you treat them like Gold.

I want people to know that we are coming and we are coming strong. MatchAPro WILL significantly reduce surgical backlog in Southern Africa. It is a woman lead entity that is lead by a solo founder.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a big wine and diner, I love trying out good food and paring it with good wine and cocktails with a good view, therefore I would take them to Main Street Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Marina Del Rey, Malibu and Various strips in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

I love hiking, biking and water sport, some of my favourite spots for hiking are Malibu, Santa Monica, Calabasas, and the Burbank area. For biking I enjoy the Venice beach/Santa Monica promenade. and for water sport I like to go a little outward to New Port beach.

My favourite restaurants are:
Great White (Venice beach)
Belles Beach House (Venice Beach)
LAVO (West Hollywood)
Tao (Hollywood)
CatchLA (West Hollywood)
The Henry (West Hollywood)
Manuela (Arts District)
Uovo (Marina Del Rey)
208 Rodeo (Beverly Hills)
Laurel Hardware (West Hollywood)
Geoffreys (Malibu)
Heavy Handed (Burger Joint in Santa Monica)
Juneshine (Main Street Santa Monica)
Blue Ribbon (The Grove)

Salt & Straw (specialty ice cream)
Side Car (Low carb Donuts) AMAZE

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My traction has been would not have been possible if it wasn’t for USC, my past professors have been highly instrumental in the growth of my business and the moral support has been unwavering. I am also grateful for my parents and friends who have gone out of their way to put me in contact with people in the industry and potential customers

I love watching The Intern with Robert De Niro as it really captures how I would love to run my start-up in the very near future.

Website: https://matchapro.org/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuduetsomasire

Youtube: https://youtu.be/BgqlB0GGFbM

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