Imagine starting out your day by lecturing a group of MBA students, followed by a visit to one of your portfolio companies where you play a game of dominos with some of the factory workers before meeting with the CEO. The next day, you could meet up with a wealthy investors, while receiving a call from a celebrity asking for advice and in the evening you and your wife (former Miss South Africa and Miss World, Rolene Strauss) attend a gala dinner, sharing a table with well-known personalities from the business world or entertainment industry.
This is the busy, but entertaining life of Daniel Strauss. A man who is his own boss – and a highly successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist who invests in small- and medium-sized enterprises with the aim of growing them into larger business at a rapid speed. He is the Strauss in the investment holding company Stocks & Strauss and author of the new mindset book, THE BILLIONAIRE MINDSET, which is taking South Africa by storm!
But this has not always been the case. Growing up with his parents and sister, Dr. Ledivia Strauss, in a small South African town called Keimoes (on the Orange River about 40km from Upington and nearly 800km from Cape Town), Daniel was convinced that the rich must be smarter, or have special skills or insights that others do not have access to.
A chance meeting with a billionaire entrepreneur led him to realise that the wealthy are ‘normal people’ just like him – the difference is that they know how to “Think Above the Line”. They have the mindset of a billionaire.
“Many things have changed over the past couple of centuries. You don’t have to be born wealthy to be successful. And you can amass unimaginable wealth in a single lifetime. Most people just don’t know how…” says Daniel.
You are very likely already an entrepreneur. Or, if not yet, you long to be one. You want to start your own business – a business where you are the boss. In THE BILLIONAIRE MINDSET, which is both entertaining and informative, Daniel explains what this means and how to adopt this life-changing mindset yourself. He shares his secrets of success, including how to access capital, where to find the right people to help you reach your goals, and how to free your mind from self-imposed limitations, so that you can also think like – and eventually become – a billionaire.
“Your ultimate aim should be to develop your own ability to Think Above The Line. Above The Line everything is possible”, Daniel continues, but then, with a seriousness in his voice he adds: “The methods, mindsets and concepts we will discuss in this book work like a scalpel in the hands of a surgeon. They can do immense good, but they can also do damage. Use these powerful tools with care and to make the world a better place.”
With this mindset orientated book, one of Daniel’s biggest aims is to change the mindset of enough people to enable a revival in the business world.
About the author
Daniel Strauss (38) is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is both a macro-optimist and micro-realist. Passionate about wealth creation, he finds great joy in unlocking the full potential of people from different walks of life, especially those building businesses.
He holds a B.Eng. (Industrial Engineering) and MBA from the University of Stellenbosch and as an MBA graduate, Daniel enjoys guest lecturing to MBAs and other University students. Over the years, he has also attended various courses in places like China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, which he describes as invaluable. It is also no secret that he considers mentorship an extremely important part of each aspect of a person’s life.
Daniel matriculated at High School Keimoes and was a keen rugby player and athlete at university. He excelled at 110m hurdles in school and attended the South African championships. He was also the Dux scholar of his school.
He currently lives in the Cape Winelands with his wife, Rolene, and their two sons.