Prenny’s entrepreneurial journey began in South Africa where he founded a beverage company. His company was the first brand to launch coconut water into the southern Africa market. This made him no stranger to product and brand development. His experience in supply, marketing and distribution of beverage products in southern Africa markets granted him valuable insights on business development: insights often unknown to many early-stage startup entrepreneurs.

 

However, when Prenny migrated back to Melbourne, he needed to uncover new opportunities worth exploring in Australia. This led him to the Getting Down to Business (GD2B) Accelerator. Prenny’s goal for joining GD2B was to connect to a business network which could help him understand more about the startup and business landscape in Australia.

​

The GD2B Program exposed Prenny to tools, resources and business concepts (such as lean startup, business model canvas and more) which shaped his previous perspectives of doing business. These went on to inform how he operated his startups and those of other entrepreneurs he supported.

 

The networking component of the Accelerator connected Prenny to other participants for future collaborations in pursuing opportunities. He was also introduced to various business people and entrepreneurs who were generous enough to share their experiences and advices. Some of them would go on to become mentors that Prenny still catches up with regularly.

​

Prenny and his co-founder George, created Grizz Beard Co, a subscription service for men's beard products. In 2019, he and George launched HQ Workspace, a co-working space located in St Andrew's Place in Melbourne. 

​

In 2018 Prenny was acknowledged by Enterprising Partnerships for his app and web design and development skills and invited to be one of the Support Crew for Cultov8, providing his expertise and skills to migrant entrepreneurs in that program. 

​

The learnings from GD2B and his work with Cultov8 have proven to be a valuable asset not only to himself but to the people he mentors and collaborates with. Prenny plans to leverage the learnings and networks established through GD2B to explore new business opportunities.

​

“GD2B was one of the most vital stepping stones in my entrepreneurial journey in Australia and is a gift that continues to give, 4 years on”.

​