The Foundation: Concrete, Trucks, and Discipline
Nathi Van Zuydam’s entrepreneurial DNA was formed long before he stepped into a boardroom. As a four-year-old spending school holidays at his grandparents’ home, where his grandfather ran a precast concrete business that manufactured blocks, pillars, and retaining structures, he received a masterclass in discipline. “By 6:00 a.m. every day, my grandfather was already on site,” Nathi recalls. “He was close to 70 years of age at the time, but he never missed a day.” Beyond the rigour of daily operations, his grandfather exposed him to the full spectrum of business, from site visits to interactions with workers and suppliers from diverse backgrounds and religions. This early exposure instilled discipline, a sense of responsibility, and an intuitive understanding of leadership, long before he considered his own entrepreneurial path. Without realizing it, Van Zuydam was absorbing lessons in people management, accountability, and respect. One Saturday, after putting on his boots and getting ready to go to the site, young Nathi was told, “No, today is Saturday.” He was genuinely disappointed, a young boy learning the value of consistency and presence before he even knew what those words meant.
His parents, themselves career-oriented, reinforced this focus. They instilled a sense of purpose, showing him that discipline and attention to detail were not just virtues but prerequisites for success. “It has always been about work. I know nothing else but work, not that I’m complaining. It shaped me into who I am.” This upbringing nurtured a blend of curiosity, confidence, and focus that would underpin his later ventures. While the passion for business was innate, the strategy was learned. He pursued an associate degree in Business Management at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, followed by a postgraduate qualification in Project Management from Regent Business School. “Project management gives you the skills to pool resources, manage teams, and deliver on complex projects, which is essentially what business is at scale,” he explains.
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