My First Mentor Taught Me Hiring Is Multiplication, Not Addition

I still remember the tandem Topgrading interview that got me into Netsurit. It wasn’t with Orrin Klopper directly—that was run by Grenville Salmon (who would become my second mentor, more on him in future pieces), Dewaldt du Plessis, and Brian Cooper. They followed the rigorous process Orrin had embedded company-wide: a clear Job Scorecard with measurable outcomes, hours of chronological deep-dive questioning (“What did you achieve? What will your former manager say?”), and the Threat of Reference Check where I arranged calls with my past bosses myself.

It was thorough and intense, but not about gatekeeping. It was about uncovering real evidence of capability—not vibes or charm. They saw potential in me that I hadn’t fully owned yet, because the methodology forced the facts into plain view. I cleared the bar, and within the first month, Orrin pulled me straight into the core strategy inner circle. No drawn-out probation, no slow onboarding. He bet on the evidence immediately.

That rapid trust defined everything that came next. He gave me real ownership fast—stretch projects, client impact, space to innovate. Months later, after I’d proven myself, he asked me to study the concept of “Multipliers” (drawing from Liz Wiseman’s book *Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter*). Then he tasked me with helping design and implement a process around it as part of Netsurit’s innovation and boutique strategy—which I led at the time.

Even more pivotal: I was positioned to become the second person to head the TVM process—Technology Value Mapping, Netsurit’s structured business analysis framework for mapping client tech environments to measurable value and ROI. Orrin handed me the blueprint, the templates, the entire thinking model. That handover became my lifelong operating system for running businesses: diagnose deeply, map value explicitly, align tech to outcomes, guarantee results where possible. It’s still the mental model behind everything at Diamond Stack—whether we’re building trust-first jewellery e-commerce platforms or advising on digital sovereignty and provenance.

But Orrin didn’t stop at delegation and blueprints. He multiplied capability on purpose. He regularly gifted me books and audiobooks—leadership, systems thinking, execution, personal growth. “Listen to this on your drive,” he’d say. Back then, I was living on the West Rand at the time and it was my first job after studying at UJ (University of Johannesburg(I was never in class and received many distinctions – more on that in future pieces)), and the commute to the Netsurit office in Sandton (14th Street, Marlboro, Sandton, 2063) was long—those drives turned into my real university. Each title compounded: one sharpened how I solved problems, the next amplified vision, the next refined execution. He embodied his Netsurit ethos—supporting the dreams of the doers. Thank you, Omie. Those weren’t casual gestures; they were deliberate acceleration.

Fast-forward to today, and I see the same multiplication mindset playing out in South African jewellery retail in 2026. The landscape is brutal: gold prices at record highs, rand volatility, the middle segment (R15k–R40k pieces) hollowing out fast, US tariffs hammering exports, consumers deep into online research before stepping foot in a showroom. A single transaction can range from R50,000 to R2 million. One mediocre salesperson doesn’t just miss a deal—they silently drain millions in lifetime client value through poor rapport, missed emotional cues, and zero repeat business.

Yet many jewellery businesses still hire on instinct: “They’re passionate about jewellery,” “great personality,” “good energy.” That’s addition—plugging headcount gaps. It’s why the “expensive silence” happens so often: a researched couple walks in ready to buy, gets a generic clarity-grade pitch, feels unseen, and buys from a competitor.

Jewellery retailers need to hire Orrin-style: multiplication through Topgrading.

Start with a precise Job Scorecard—personal revenue target (e.g., R2M+ in year one), 25%+ walk-in conversion, building a private client book of 50+ high-net-worth individuals with strong retention. It self-selects instantly: C-players fade away; A-players lean in.

Then the tandem chronological interview—no hypotheticals, pure career-long evidence. “What was your conversion rate? What will your last manager confirm?” Close with TORC reference calls (candidate arranges them).

When you bring in an A-Player this way, you multiply the showroom. They don’t just sell—they forge relationships, tell provenance stories that justify premiums, drive repeats and referrals. Revenue, margins, loyalty—all compound.

Just like Orrin multiplied me: evidence-based bet, immediate inner-circle access (month one), TVM blueprint as my business OS, and constant intellectual fuel (those audiobooks on the long commutes from the West Rand to Sandton still echo in how I design the Coetzee Convergence Framework for high-trust e-commerce).

To any jewellery owner reading this: stop gambling on gut feel. Hire for multiplication. The Devil of mediocrity will whisper that the process is “too much” for our industry. Ignore him. A quiet walk-out costs far more than any interview hour.

Thank you again, Omie—for the rapid trust, the strategy-circle pull, the TVM blueprint that still runs my world, and the books that kept compounding on those West Rand-Sandton drives. I’m repaying the debt one disciplined hire, one high-conversion digital build, one multiplied jeweller at a time.