Lekker! Veldskoens going global thanks to Ashton Kutcher, Mark Cuban

JOHANNESBURG — When Nick Dreyer and two of his mates from school decided to start an online business selling veldskoens about two-and-a-half years ago, they were mainly looking for a clever way to enter the burgeoning e-commerce retail market. They launched their business, aptly named 'Veldskoen', as an e-commerce store first and focused on jazzing up the traditional South African attire with brightly coloured shoelaces and soles together with an appealing story. Since then, the business has taken on a life of its own, surging in success and grabbing the attention of top local and global investors. Apart from the likes of Brian Joffe's Long4Life having invested in Veldskoen, the business this year received an investment from actor Ashton Kutcher and celebrity investor Mark Cuban. The famous pair now effectively have a 50% stake in Veldskoen. In this interview, co-founder Nick Dreyer gives us the backstory to the success and future plans of Veldskoen. - Gareth van Zyl