How I Turn Market Crashes & Industry Shifts Into Growth Opportunities - Nick Durrant, Bluegrass

Season 5 Episode 10

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Durrant, founder and CEO of Bluegrass Digital—a Cape Town-based software development firm that started in London 23 years ago.

With two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Nick has navigated market shifts, economic crises, and industry disruptions while growing and scaling his businesses.

We dive into:
- How his side project became one of South Africa’s top 5 publications
- Adapting to major economic crises like 2008, COVID, and now AI
- Evolving sales models and forging strategic channel partnerships
- Lessons from decades of resilience, reinvention, and growth

If you want to learn how to adapt, pivot, and scale in an ever-changing world, this episode is a must-listen.

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Too Long; Didn't Listen? Here's what to look for:

00:00 Introduction
03:14 What is Bluegrass Digital?
10:36 The Scale of Bluegrass Digital
15:41 Nick’s Other Businesses
18:03 Navigating a Declining Market
35:16 How Did The Business Model Change When Moving to Digital?
41:40 From A Dying Market to Top 5 Publications in South Africa
44:30 The Founding Story of Bluegrass Digital
54:02 Pros and Cons of A Partner Channel Model
01:01:37 Omni-channel Approach To Generating New Leads
01:09:16 How Nick Successfully Navigated The Credit Crisis of 2008
01:20:19 How The World Has Become So Disruptive From A Macro Perspective
01:22:45 The Impact Covid Had on The Business and How Nick Adapted to That?
01:25:20 The Impact of AI Business
01:29:31 The Future of Bluegrass Digital
01:31:50 Advice to Other Entrepreneurs