Co-Founding MiBRAND
2016-2022
When we launched MiBRAND in 2016, our vision was clear: help South African shoppers easily discover the best local retail deals. Little did we anticipate how this simple idea would transform dramatically over the next six years, evolving from a local mall directory into a sophisticated, fully automated online shopping ecosystem.
Initially, MiBRAND was a humble mall directory serving centres like Bedford Centre, Eastgate, and Park Meadows. At first, collecting data was manual—I vividly remember late evenings spent clipboard-in-hand, visiting stores face-to-face to sign them up. Early on, we even experienced the occasional harsh rejection, highlighting the fragmented nature of retail information and the inefficiency of manually updating store deals. As MiBRAND grew, the fundamental challenge became evident: how could we sustainably scale our platform as the world rapidly moved towards digital shopping?
As the sole designer and co-founder, I was responsible for strategy, UI/UX, and overall product evolution. Using a Design Thinking approach, every iteration of MiBRAND was driven by real-world insights gained from direct user feedback, behavioral analytics, and strategic foresight. In 2017, we introduced crucial improvements such as the store management tool and significantly enhanced UI usability. By 2019, our user base had expanded regionally, prompting another major redesign to incorporate structured information architecture and standardized workflows. It was during this time we also launched MiBRAND Web, broadening our audience beyond mobile app users.
The real turning point came in 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19. Our business model—originally built to drive physical mall foot traffic—suddenly became obsolete. Recognizing the urgent need for adaptation, we pivoted strategically, reacquiring complete ownership from our investors and establishing Kysal Technologies. This transition required a complete overhaul: redesigning our user flows, building advanced adaptive search and filtering features, and fully automating content aggregation. As the sole designer, I meticulously redesigned every aspect of the platform across mobile apps, desktop web, and mobile web applications, creating a unified, intuitive, and highly scalable experience for online shoppers.
This pivot led to our most advanced version yet—MiBRAND Version 4—transforming the platform into South Africa’s premier ecosystem of online shopping deals. The new system included a revolutionary Content Engine, automating previously manual curation processes and dramatically improving operational efficiency. User engagement soared thanks to the more intuitive browsing experience, improved search functionality, and dynamic content modules like side-scrolling category browsing. Our work received extensive industry recognition, including being a finalist for the MTN App of the Year Awards, winning the People’s Choice Award, and earning the title of Hackernoon’s Johannesburg Startup of the Year in 2021. MiBRAND’s journey was also widely covered by media including News24, Ventureburn, ITWeb, and ELLE Magazine.
Despite these successes, we ultimately decided to shut down MiBRAND due to funding constraints, coinciding with enticing career opportunities for myself and my co-founder. Ending the project was one of the toughest decisions we had to make, but the experience shaped me profoundly. The six-year journey, filled with challenges, pivots, and continuous innovation, established an invaluable foundation for my career. It taught me firsthand how resilience, adaptability, and thoughtful design can create meaningful digital experiences that resonate deeply with users, shaping my ongoing approach to design and strategy in today's dynamic digital landscape.