About

Simon Dingle is an entrepreneur, broadcaster, and writer based in Cape Town. He is the author of In Math We Trust, co-author of Beyond Bitcoin, and founder of Inves Capital, where he is currently focused on ZARP Stablecoin, which he co-founded in 2019. His career in financial technology includes product leadership at 22seven, Luno, and Curve. He also used to host the Tech 5 radio show on 5FM.

The long version

Simon grew up in Pretoria and spent some years in Johannesburg before moving to Cape Town in 2012, where he is still based. He has been a professional DJ, published author, journalist, product manager, communications consultant, and talk radio presenter.

His first company was formed while in high school to build personal computers under the brand Skratch Technology. After school he attended the University of Pretoria only so that he could work at the campus radio station, Tuks FM, while studying Psychology and Publishing. Simon served as station manager while hosting a number of shows including the breakfast drive, late nights, and eventually The Edge, which he co-hosted with DJ Bob of 206 fame.

After Tuks FM he worked at SL Magazine as Arts and Entertainment Editor. Part of the job included putting together the compilation CD that came with each issue. From SL he went on to work at Hypertext Communications as a consultant, with clients including Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and the Shuttleworth Foundation.

During this time Simon also worked with the iCommons organisation that coordinated collaboration between various open content initiatives including Creative Commons, open source software, and educational resources, with annual conferences in different cities around the world.

With his live radio career on hold, Simon became obsessed with podcasting in 2004. He hosted Seedcast, the ZA Tech Show, Take Back the Day, and Binary during the following ten years. He was also a regular guest on Daily Tech News Show with Tom Merritt, and This Week in Tech with Leo Laporte.

Meanwhile, as a print journalist, Simon went on to Finweek Magazine as Technology Editor, and was a columnist for a number of publications including Computing SA, Financial Mail, Unwired, and Brainstorm. During this time he also returned to live radio and hosted shows on Talk Radio 702 and CapeTalk.

Once Primedia had finally tested the limits of his patience, Simon transitioned to 5FM, where he hosted Tech 5 — a weekly technology show that ran for ten years.

In 2011 he joined the founding team of 22seven, later acquired by Old Mutual and since rebranded as Vault22, as product owner. Simon served on the Digital Advisory Board of Old Mutual before leaving to become chief product officer at cryptocurrency exchange BitX, which later became Luno. During this time he was also featured in the Mail & Guardian's 200 Young South Africans list.

After Luno, Simon joined forces with CEO Shachar Bialick on the Curve team, developing a smart payment card that puts all your cards into one. Curve has since been acquired by Lloyds Banking Group.

His first book, In Math We Trust, hit shelves in 2018 and was soon followed by Beyond Bitcoin, co-authored with Steven Boykey Sidley and now available in six languages from Icon Books.

Using what he had learned at three successful fintech startups, Simon then founded Phantom Design, which consults to a handful of select clients. He also started Inves Capital, which develops and invests in a range of fintech projects including ZARP Stablecoin, which is Simon's current focus.

Currently

Previously

Books

Cover of In Math We Trust

In Math We Trust

2018

Money is the most important human invention after language — and the story of how we stopped needing middlemen to keep score.

Cover of Beyond Bitcoin

Beyond Bitcoin

2022

With Steven Boykey Sidley. What comes next, and which respectable industries quietly disappear when it does.

Get in touch

Speaking, interviews and everything else: hello@simon.co.za.