Workshop17  ·  Wednesdays
About Past speakers Reserve seat · 20 May
A Workshop17 speaker series

Workshop
Wednesdays.

A curated mid-week series for entrepreneurs, operators and the creatively stubborn. Practical insight, real conversations, and the occasional glass of wine — hosted across our Workshop17 locations.

Mid-week · 17:00–19:00 Hyde Park · Rosebank · Newlands Hosted by Craig Leppan

Wired to win.

Steve Whitford — founder of Th1nk, consultant at Scaleforce, and twenty years deep in the gap between strategy and execution — takes the Wednesday stage with The Hidden Wiring: why people don't work the way you think they do.

A working session on self-awareness and the unconscious patterns that shape how we lead, communicate, decide and perform under pressure. Three threads: the self-awareness gap, the patterns we share despite thinking we're unique, and how to read your own wiring — family, personality, circumstance — as a leadership tool rather than an excuse.

Wed 20 May 2026 · 17:00–19:00 · Workshop17 Hyde Park · Free. Seats are limited — book on Quicket.

Wired to win · Hyde Park
Steve Whitford on the wiring beneath the work.

The talk that closes the gap between how you think you show up and how the room actually reads you. Free entry, drinks on arrival, real conversations after.

Reserve seat on Quicket →

Our past speakers.

A growing roster of economists, founders, filmmakers, winemakers and workshoppers who've taken the Wednesday stage. In rough reverse order — because the most recent room is often the easiest to remember.

Apr 2026 Newlands

Rudger van Wyk

State of the Vine — behind the bottle with Doolhof

Doolhof's visionary winemaker on soil, craft, and the long game of making wine in the Western Cape. The session closed with a tasting — because some stories read better in the glass.

Craft Wine Storytelling
Mar 2026 The Bank, Rosebank

Craig Leppan

The AI-Powered Professional — workflows, not prompts

A practical working session on using NotebookLM, Google AI Studio and Gemini for Workspace as one integrated engine. Not theory — deployable workflow thinking for consultants, sales and advisory teams.

AI Workflows Workshop
Mar 2026 Hyde Park

Bruce Whitfield

How Well Do You Know the World? — The Impossible Pub Quiz

The broadcaster opened with an "impossible quiz" designed to crack our assumptions about the global economy. The argument: in an age of more information than ever, we may be less informed. Perception → Decision → Action.

Macro Business Interactive
Early 2026 Hyde Park

Tiffany Green
& Emergent

Psychological safety & feedback — our first member-led workshop

A hands-on session on how we work together, not just what we do. The four stages of psychological safety, the Situation–Behaviour–Impact feedback model, and a room willing to say out loud what it usually holds back.

Member-led Leadership Culture
Oct 2025 Workshop17

Petra Laranjo

Reframing stress. Reclaiming energy. Redefining performance.

Science-backed tools for regulating the nervous system and moving from problem-solving to possibility-thinking. A room that arrived wired and stretched left grounded, laughing, and open.

Wellbeing Performance Mindset
Sep 2025 Workshop17

Paul Keursten
& Mark Seftel

The Workshop17 story — design for people, scale with partners

The founders in conversation: from Maboneng experiments to the V&A Waterfront, through COVID and the asset-light pivot, to 13 sites across SA and Mauritius. Workspaces as community platforms, not square meters.

Founders Future of work Pan-African
Aug 2025 Hyde Park

Colwyn Thomas

Finding the story — lessons from Chasing the Sun

The co-director of Chasing the Sun on how you tell a story everyone already knows the ending to — and still make it unforgettable. Authenticity over polish, relationships over rugby.

Filmmaking Narrative Creative process
9 Jul 2025 Hyde Park

Tiffany Markman

AI Prompting 101 — we're not becoming redundant

The renowned copywriter on how entrepreneurs, communicators and sales pros can get AI to work with them — delivering sharper, smarter, more human-sounding output without losing their voice.

AI Copywriting Communication
Jun 2025 Hyde Park

Jasper Eales

Think Outside the Box. Leave No Trace.

The Sealand founder on building one of SA's most authentic purpose-driven brands — from the "upcycled human" story to the Leave No Trace ethos threaded through every decision.

Sustainability Founders Brand
May 2025 Workshop17

Dr Adrian Saville

Escaping Economic Gravity — our first Workshop Wednesday

The economist, GIBS professor and Genera Capital investment specialist on how South African businesses can overcome growth barriers — navigating energy, policy and investment climate with resilience.

Economics Strategy Founding session

How an evening unfolds.

Workshop Wednesdays sit somewhere between a talk, a working session, and an after-work drink. 90–150 minutes, informal but intentional — designed to send you home with a new idea and at least one new conversation.

01 · Arrive
Drinks & the room

A soft landing. Name tags optional, good conversation guaranteed.

02 · The talk
30–60 minutes, no filler

Story-driven, practical, never academic. The speaker does the real work.

03 · The room
Q&A or interaction

Sometimes a structured workshop, sometimes open questions — always real.

04 · Linger
Networking, properly

The part most events rush. We don't. This is why people come back.