The Savage Take is where CEO Charles shares what he’s seeing and thinking each week. This time, it begins with something more personal, and a question he’s been putting off for decades.
From Charles:
Excuses or results, and the idea that never really left
I had this idea back at varsity, and if I am honest, it never really left me.
It was simple. Bring together a small group of people with different skills and perspectives, all working on the same problem. It was never meant to be a traditional company. It felt closer to a club. Something real, where everyone had skin in the game.
Then life moved forward.
Surfing, travel, family, building GT247, EasyEquities, and everything that came after. One thing led to another. Thirty years passed, filled with reasons that felt completely valid at the time.
But they were still excuses.
I have said this to my team for years. You can choose excuses or you can choose results. You do not get both. At some point it became uncomfortable to realise I had not applied that to something that actually mattered to me.
So three weeks ago, I stopped thinking about it and started.
I put out a quiet call. Thirty minutes a day, Monday to Saturday, for 365 days. Learn how to build with AI. No experience required. Just discipline, curiosity, and the willingness to show up.
The response was better than I expected. People between 16 and 52 said yes. A data specialist. A psychology and education expert. A future financial advisor. Students across finance, logistics, and marketing. A product and UX builder. A partnership specialist. A coder who creates content. Someone negotiating property deals for a living.
Different backgrounds, different stages of life, but all of them already investors who understand the long game.
We called it Claude Club.
Instead of spending time debating ideas, we pointed the group at something real straight away. Tipsta, a tipping platform for car guards. Today it moves money through QR codes and NFC tap. That solves part of the problem. The more interesting part is what happens when intelligence is layered on top.
The direction is straightforward. A car guard can interact through WhatsApp, check a balance, receive money, and build habits without needing an app or any level of data literacy. One simple input and something useful happens.
That shift matters.
Once the club filled up, I made a decision that changes everything. I am registering my Tipsta shareholding under Claude Club. Every active member owns it equally. That is 23 percent of Tipsta. The only requirement is to stay active and contribute.
The equity was not used to attract people. It came after. That is how it should work.
There is also a clear ambition behind this. Let us go build a R100 million company.
The club is closed.
Why this matters beyond the club
If you zoom out, this becomes less about the club and more about the problem.
South Africa has hundreds of thousands of car guards. Many are unbanked or underbanked. Many support entire families. As cashless payments have grown, they have felt the downside directly. Fewer tips, less certainty, and more pressure.
Most platforms in this space are solving for payments. That is necessary, but it does not go far enough.
The real opportunity is to build intelligence around those payments. A car guard who can receive money, understand what they have, build a savings habit, and eventually participate in ownership is operating in a completely different system.
At that point, it becomes the first step into the financial system for someone who has not had access before.
That feels worth the commitment. Thirty minutes a day for 365 days.
The sailors and the weather forecasters
There is a pattern that shows up whenever new technology starts to matter.In March 2023, Elon Musk co-signed an open letter calling for a pause on advanced AI systems. It spoke about real risks and the possibility that society was moving too quickly. It attracted around thirty thousand signatures and global attention.
Four months later, he launched xAI.
His explanation was simple. If there is no pause, you stay in the game.
That captures something important. You can understand the risks and still decide to move forward because standing still is not a real option.
Some people describe the conditions. Others act within them.
Right now, the noise around AI is loud. Productivity data has not yet fully reflected the impact. Boardrooms are questioning returns. A survey of six thousand executives across four countries shows that most are not seeing measurable results in their operations.
At the same time, global corporate AI spending is projected to exceed 500 billion dollars in 2026. Infrastructure is accelerating. Chips, data centres, and energy are all expanding. The companies building that layer are up 33 percent this year, while software has pulled back 20 percent.
That contrast tells its own story.
Locally, the same pattern is visible. Ivy Asset Management listed the Ivy EasyETFs AI Innovation AMETF under the ticker IVYAI on the JSE. It is an actively managed fund focused on companies using AI to reshape industries. Before that, EasyETFs listed EASYAI in October 2024.
When you step back, there is a clear gap between commentary and action.
For investors, that raises a practical question. If the direction of travel feels clear, even if the timing does not, how do you position yourself?
IVYAI and EASYAI are two ways to answer that. Both are listed. Both are accessible. Both can be accessed from your phone.
Global markets, oil shocks and why April 6 now matters most
Markets are under pressure, and it is being driven by one thing.
The Dow has slipped into correction, down 793 points. The S&P 500 is at a seven-month low, and the Nasdaq is close to 13 percent below its October peak. That is five straight weeks of losses, the longest run in almost four years, with stagflation back in the conversation.
The driver is the Strait of Hormuz, closed for a month. Brent crude is above 110 dollars, the 10 year yield has moved to 4.44 percent, and rate expectations have shifted quickly. Futures now price a 52 percent chance of a hike by year end. A month ago, that number was zero.
Under the surface, the rotation is clear. Energy is up 33 percent year to date, while software is down 20 percent. Tech valuations relative to the broader market are now at a seven year low.
Locally, the picture is similar. The JSE Top 40 sits around 103,000, about 15 percent off its high. The rand has recovered to just below R17.00. The SARB held rates at 6.75 percent, but petrol is expected to rise by roughly R5 per litre in April.
All of this now points to a single date. April 6.
The United States has given Iran until 8pm ET that Monday to reopen the Strait. So far, there has been no movement.
At the same time, the situation is getting more complex. The Houthis have entered the conflict and control the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint. If both routes remain constrained, the supply shock would be significant.
There are early signs of pressure building. Pakistan has brokered a deal for 20 ships to move through Hormuz, two per day. It is a small shift, but it matters.
Diplomatic efforts are picking up, with Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia pushing for de-escalation, while the Pentagon prepares for limited ground operations.
Markets close early on April 3, with payroll data on the same day.
But everything is now orbiting around April 6.
The Savage Take
A few threads worth connecting this week.
The forecasters remind us every week that storms are ever present. Oil above $110. Five weeks of losses. Stagflation whispers getting louder. They are not wrong. The storm is real.
The sailors read the same data... and left the harbour anyway. Global AI spend at $500 billion. Infrastructure accelerating. IVYAI listing on the JSE. Tech valuations at a seven-year low relative to the S&P. The picks and shovels outperforming everything. Capital does not wait for consensus.
Elon Musk proved that the most important signal is never the public commentary. It is where the rockets actually land.
And Claude Club proved, at least to me, that the idea you always had a reason not to start is not dead. You just kept choosing the excuse over the action.
Excuses or results.
You cannot have both.
The noise will always be loud. The signal is quieter, but it is there if you are paying attention
Stay curious. Stay invested. Stay in the game.
Stay Savage.
Any opinions, news, research, reports, analyses, prices, or other information contained within this research is provided by an employee of EasyEquities an authorised FSP (FSP no 22588) as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice for the purposes of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002. First World Trader (Pty) Ltd t/a EasyEquities (“EasyEquities”) does not warrant the correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or completeness of any information (i) contained within this research and (ii) received from third party data providers. You must rely solely upon your own judgment in all aspects of your investment and/or trading decisions and all investments and/or trades are made at your own risk. EasyEquities (including any of their employees) will not accept any liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage, including without limitation, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on the market commentary. The content contained within is subject to change at any time without notice.
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