An Interview with the Paul Whitehead, founder of Major John

I had the privilege of facilitating the tenth year of the YouthStart CT competition. We meet with lots of amazing young people that constantly reflect resilience and innovation. This is a brief article on the overall winner in the existing business category.

I’m Paul Whitehead. I grew up in Bloemfontein and studied architecture at the University of the Free State, where I completed my Master’s degree.

I moved to Cape Town about five years ago and now live in Woodstock. I’m the founder of Major John, a lighting and furniture business that I’ve actually been running since I was studying.

I’ve always liked making things. My dad introduced me to woodworking when I was young, and I think that is really where a lot of this started.

Major John started in 2014 when I was studying architecture. I actually started by making wooden bow ties in my university residence. From there I moved into leather products, and over time I started designing more lighting and furniture. That side of the business just kept growing, and today it’s really the main direction I want to take Major John in.

My architecture background definitely influences the way I design. I like simple forms, honest materials and showing how things are put together. The easiest way I explain Major John is that we create statement pieces that transform spaces.

YouthStartCT is a competition run by the City of Cape Town for young entrepreneurs.There were more than 700 entries at the start, and then throughout the competition it gets narrowed down until you reach the final pitching stage.

What I really liked about it is that it wasn’t just a case of arriving and pitching your business. We went through weeks of training and you really had to look at your business properly. You work on everything from your finances and marketing to how you actually explain your business to someone. Then at the end you pitch to the judges.

It was intense. I won’t lie. I’ve been running Major John for more than ten years, so you think you know your business quite well. But then someone asks you to explain your entire business in ten minutes and suddenly it’s actually quite difficult.

The training forced me to look at parts of the business that I sometimes don’t give enough attention to. And the pitching was stressful. I think I practised that pitch hundreds of times.

But it was also really valuable because it forced me to understand what makes Major John different and where I actually want to take the business. Then obviously winning was completely surreal. I really didn’t expect it.

Definitely my family and friends. My dad obviously played a massive role because he introduced me to woodworking when I was young. But over the last few years I’ve also realised how important programmes and mentors are.

I’m currently part of Orange Corners, and the support I’ve received through them has been incredible. Sometimes you just need someone outside your business to look at what you’re doing and say, “Have you thought about doing it this way?”

Then there are my suppliers, the people I manufacture with and obviously my clients. You might start a business by yourself, but you definitely don’t grow it by yourself.

The first one is probably to know your numbers. I’m a designer, so naturally I’d rather design a lamp than sit and look at a spreadsheet. But I’ve realised that you really need to understand the numbers if you want to grow a business.

The second is to ask for help. I think as a business owner you sometimes feel like you need to know everything, and you really don’t. There are people who know much more than you about certain things, so ask them.And the third is to adapt. Major John started with wooden bow ties. Then I moved into leather, and now the main focus is lighting and furniture.

If I had decided in 2014 that Major John was a wooden bow tie business and refused to change, I definitely wouldn’t be sitting here today.

I think my biggest advice is just to start. I started Major John in my university residence making wooden bow ties. I didn’t have a big workshop or a huge amount of money. I definitely didn’t have a ten-year business plan.

I just started making something and trying to sell it. And then you learn. You make mistakes. You change things. I think people sometimes wait for everything to be perfect before they start, and the truth is it’s probably never going to be perfect.

I think just keep going, but also be willing to change. Running a business is difficult. There have definitely been times when I’ve thought, “What am I actually doing?” And I think social media makes it very easy to look at someone else’s business and think everything is going perfectly for them.

You don’t see the twelve years before that.Major John started with me making wooden bow ties in a university residence, and now I’m designing lighting and furniture and trying to build a South African design brand.

So I would say keep going, keep adapting and give yourself time.