Few people’s journeys to success are as interesting as tech entrepreneur and guest speaker Kirsty Bisset. Originally from Johannesburg, Kirsty matriculated from Beaulieu College in 2015. She is a Wits Business School graduate, having a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PDM) to her name after completing her BBA at UNISA. During her studies, Kirsty worked as a model and actress, appearing regularly in TV commercials and magazines and being selected as part of FHM’s Hot 100 - the 100 most beautiful women in South Africa as selected by their readers.
 

Upon completion of her PDM, Kirsty was hired by Aurik Business Incubator where she worked under Pavlo Phitidis. Through her exposure to the incubation process as well as developing ED strategies for the likes of Rich’s, Coca-Cola and SAB, she found a passion for entrepreneurship and began exploring opportunities. At the age of 24, Kirsty decided to leave Aurik and pursue a career in the digital space, but couldn’t find work at any of the major agencies.

 

Frustrated, Kirsty decided that to take the leap of faith that the agencies wouldn’t and back herself. In August 2012 she opened STIR, a digital marketing agency. From there, STIR has grown year-on-year into a formidable digital marketing agency, working with the likes of Edcon, SA Natural Products, Ultra Liquors, Serta, Accenture, Lodestone, Toys R Us and more. In July 2016, STIR launched their first US-based client into the digital space and in 2018, expanded to the UAE. With STIR thriving, Kirsty was looking for further opportunities when she was approached by a pair of Gauteng businessmen who own a large meat distribution business. The pair felt there may be an opportunity to sell meat online and a few months later Braai Free was born. Braai Free delivered AAA-grade quality meat, frozen meals, condiments and desserts across Gauteng to your door at very competitive prices.
 

Ever ambitious, Kirsty then launched Steam Punk’d - an online store focusing on locally manufactured and unique home decor and accessories. With the advent of tech companies globally, she launched SwiftX in 2018 to provide marketing, growth hacking strategies and funding opportunities to the technology sector. At 33, Kirsty has launched 5 businesses – of which 2 she still runs, 2 have been sold and 1 has failed.

Aside from her tech and digital ventures, Kirsty is also a prolific writer, writing on entrepreneurship, digital innovation and women’s issues for a wide variety of websites and blogs. She is also regularly called on to speak at conferences and events, specifically driving thought leadership in the digital industry.

 

She is an avid snowboarder and fitness fanatic, and has a love for reading. Kirsty is also very passionate and outspoken when it comes to gender inequality, and is committed to growing awareness of this imbalance to drive change.

In 2016, Kirsty was named by Fast Company as one of the top 20 South Africans under 30. She was also recognized by Destiny Magazine in their Power of 40 report. In 2018, she was nominated as one of the finalists in the Santam FAIRLADY Women of the Future Awards.

Few people’s journeys to success are as interesting as tech entrepreneur and guest speaker Kirsty Bisset. Originally from Johannesburg, Kirsty matriculated from Beaulieu College in 2015. She is a Wits Business School graduate, having a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PDM) to her name after completing her BBA at UNISA. During her studies, Kirsty worked as a model and actress, appearing regularly in TV commercials and magazines and being selected as part of FHM’s Hot 100 -