In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Zolani Matebese, founder of EZ Pty (EasyPGY). Zolani shares a formative personal story about pursuing a Microsoft certification at age 17, emphasizing perseverance, self‑trust, and hard work after failing twice before succeeding. He highlights the massive, under‑served opportunity in developing markets, noting that billions of people there have a strong appetite for technology and that competitors often overlook this space. His core business advice centers on daring to act, persevering, and “pulling the trigger” to get real‑world feedback, a principle he attributes to Noah Kagan. When asked what he would tell his younger self, Zolani stresses trusting oneself and finishing what one starts. He identifies love as the key to happiness, arguing that loving what you do and being loved by others provides meaning and drives success. Zolani recommends Tim Ferriss’s The 4‑Hour Workweek for its perspective‑shifting insights, and cites two favorite quotes—Walt Disney’s call to quit talking and start doing, and Wayne Gretzky’s reminder to take a shot—as mantras for action. Finally, he directs listeners to find him and EZ Pty across social media platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo) and via a simple Google search.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Zelani Methabese. He is the founder at EasyPGY, so welcome to the show.
Thanks for having me, Tyler. Um, can I just say I'm a big fan of yours and I'm super stoked to be on the Business Blast.
Thank you, man, I appreciate that. We are stoked to have you here. We'll dive into the first one, man. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
So when I was just starting out, I was about 17 and I wanted to get a Microsoft industry certification so I could break into the tech industry. And man, I really wanted this so, so bad. I thought it was the Holy Grail, the answer to all my problems. I used to walk 8 or 9 miles to class, you know, because that was the only way to get there. And so after doing this for a couple of months, I went through to do the exams and I put everything into that and I failed twice. It was bad, man. There was a lot of self-doubt, but I didn't give up, you know, I did the work, I put in all the hours I needed to, and I went on to crush that certification later. So, you know, the main lesson I learned was trust yourself, don't give up and do the work because it pays off in the end.
And what's the most valuable piece of information that we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So right now a lot of people are talking about AI and blockchain and all that good stuff. Um, but I'm really stoked on developing markets, you know, because that's a really, really undervalued kind of area where people aren't really looking and your competitors generally aren't looking there. But it's a huge, huge market. There's billions of people in developing countries. So for me, that is one really, really undervalued area where people can really compete. And, you know, there's a huge appetite for technology in these markets. It's really about trying to make solutions that people can use to make their lives better.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.
Yeah, look, I think it's really dare and persevere, you know. I'll go with something I read from Noah Kagan, the AppSumo guy. And I'm going to paraphrase here, but basically he says, you know, it's easy to obsess about your product and, you know, there's always one new thing or one tweak or one feature that you can add and you usually just end up not pulling the trigger, but you need to pull the trigger. You need to actually go out there and get real-world feedback, you know, and to keep persevering and to, to make sure that, you know, you keep on and you do it because at the end of the day, that's, that's really how you get to value. That's how you get to create something that's worthwhile.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Trust yourself. Um, you're smart and stubborn enough to succeed if you just finish what you start. And, and I think that happens to a lot of us in the tech industry. We start a whole bunch of new things, and it always feels great and awesome to start something new, uh, but we a lot of times don't see it through, you know. And, um, if I could have internalized that well, about 20 years ago, I'd have been so much further down the road. But it really is because, you know, it's finishing what you start because it's how you finish that matters.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Love. For me, that's my secret weapon, man. If you, if you love what you do, you don't really have a choice but to succeed, you know? And if you have people who love and value you, you wake up every day and you know your life has meaning. You know, no matter how much you're struggling or how much of a screw-up you might be at that point, love what you do, be with people you love, and that's success.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
So I love reading. I've got a huge library and Kindle is my best friend, and it may be a little bit controversial over the last couple of years, but Tim Ferriss's book The 4-Hour Workweek. I mean, I still remember I was in a bookshop and I saw the COVID and this is a long time ago. He still had that kind of balloony cover, you know, I thought, really, balloons, business section? But I checked it out and I must say, you know, it taught me to think a little bit differently about certain things in life, you know, and that was a huge bit of wisdom for me, thinking about things in a different light than most other people see them. And that's where you see opportunities.
Definitely. And I will also say that book changed my life dramatically. So I highly recommend that. And what is your favorite quote and why?
So my quotes tend to change from kind of day to day and month to month, depending on what's happening in my life. But right now I'm really focusing on two. You know, the first is by Walt Disney, and it's really that You know, you basically— the way to start is to quit talking and start doing. You know, as I said earlier, pull the trigger, just do. You know, the second one's from Wayne Gretzky: take a shot. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so you might as well just give it a go and see how it works. You know, every time you act, reality changes. So it's really about acting, about daring, and daring to do.
Yes, I love it, man. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Thanks, Tyler. So I'm on LinkedIn, obviously, and my current news, EZPTY, it's on all the social channels. So literally social channels slash EZPTY, that's Facebook slash EZPTY, Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, pretty much all of them. So just slash EZPTY on your social media channel of choice. Or you can Google me, Solani Matubese. And yeah, I think I'm the first result, the first few results.
Sounds good, man. Thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it.
Cheers, Tyler. Thank you very much.
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