Oodles of design talent

BUSINESS: THERE'S VALUE IN GRIT, EXPERIENCE, SOLVING PROBLEMS

- Hein Kaiser

He's been drawing his own path through life ever since he could hold a pencil. Graphic artist Jordan Sutherland's got a way about him that's unassuming and quiet, imminently chilled.

Yet there's a larger than life personality that reveals itself slowly, because he doesn't need to be loud to be noticed. This man's got talent and he knows how to use it.

Sutherland is in his early 30s now and he's still never held a formal job. He was an entrepreneur from the get-go and despite setbacks, he's curated a personal growth curve that has only headed north, albeit at times with a bit of a plateau.

But every time that happened, he restarted the incline, got up, dusted himself off and just did it.

Sutherland was educated at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein. There, he failed his first entrance exam.

"I didn't get in the first time," he said. "They made you draw a self-portrait, a chair, do a painting and then sit for a three-hour creativity exam. I wasn't ready."

He did it again after some practice and was admitted.

His scholastic career was also where he met his future business partner and, when he swapped his uniform for real-world civvies, it was all business.