Education/ 01
ZeroBudget School
The school for African founders who refuse to wait for capital. Leadership, AI, systems thinking, sales, faith & execution.
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Creative Developer Portfolio
Brian Sibanda
Creative Developer
01 //Discipline
I build high-end
digital experiences.
Crafting bespoke interactions and high-performance immersive WebGL and Canvas animations that bring brands to life.
Philosophy// 02
Bridging design
and engineering.
Combining visual sensitivity with robust, modular, and optimized front-end systems to create digital art.
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03 // Trusted Organisations
Organisations I've Worked With
Over the years I've had the privilege of contributing to organisations across FMCG, retail, telecommunications, finance, media, technology and innovation.
Every logo represents a project, partnership, campaign, contract, or contribution that has shaped my experience.
Trusted by organisations across Southern Africa.
Every logo represents a relationship, challenge solved, campaign delivered, or innovation contributed to.
01 — Who is Brian?
A founder who treats businesses like patients.
Brian Sibanda is a research and development founder building businesses, leaders and systems that outlive him. He is the founder of the ZeroBudget Research & Development Studio — an ecosystem spanning Business Hospital, the ZeroBudget School, PulaStock, Bigfoot, and a Web3 Research Lab.
Operating between Botswana, Zimbabwe and the wider African continent, Brian works at the intersection of strategy, innovation, AI and human systems. He partners with founders, governments and institutions to diagnose hard problems, design durable systems, and ship ventures that compound over decades.
ResearchStrategySystemsPartnershipsAIWeb3
Read the full file02 — The Philosophy
The ZeroBudget philosophy: less talk, more action. Diagnose, then build what should outlive you.
Research
First principles. Real data. Honest diagnostics.
Build
Ship the smallest version that proves the thesis.
Scale
Install operating systems that survive the founder.
03 — The ecosystem
Featured Ventures
Diagnostics/ 02
Business Hospital
A diagnostic studio for struggling businesses. We treat the cause, not the symptom — and discharge healthier ventures.
FinTech/ 03
PulaStock
Markets, capital and ownership — translated for the next generation of Southern African investors.
Brand & Story/ 04
Bigfoot
A creative engine for founders who refuse to be invisible. Brand, story, distribution.
Experimental/ 05
Web3 Research Lab
Bitcoin, decentralization, AI agents. The lab where future infrastructure is stress-tested before it goes mainstream.
Media/ 06
The Diagnosis Podcast
Long conversations with founders, operators and outliers. We diagnose business problems on air.
04 — Diagnosed Problems
Case files from the Business Hospital.
Every venture begins with a diagnosis. Below: three anonymised case files from the studio.
Case File · 001
Problem
A 12-year-old retailer was profitable on paper but bleeding cash every month.
Solution
Re-architected the cash conversion cycle. Renegotiated supplier terms. Installed weekly diagnostics.
Outcome
47-day cash gap eliminated in 90 days. Owner took a holiday for the first time in 9 years.
Case File · 002
Problem
A government agency could not get SMEs to actually use its funding programme.
Solution
Diagnosed the trust and paperwork friction. Built a new intake flow. Trained 14 field officers.
Outcome
Application completion rate moved from 18% to 71% in a single quarter.
Case File · 003
Problem
A founder had 3 ventures, 0 systems, and a team that ran on his phone calls.
Solution
Rebuilt org chart around operating systems, not the founder. Installed weekly council meetings.
Outcome
Founder reclaimed 22 hours a week. Revenue grew 38% the following 6 months.
Selected Work
Case Studies
CASE FILE · 001
Why You Should Probably Wear Underwear
The Uncomfortable Truth About Ignoring AI in Your Business.
06 — Podcast
The Diagnosis
Long conversations with founders, operators and outliers. Live diagnoses on air — recorded out of Gaborone, distributed to the continent.
SpotifyAppleYouTubeRSS
07 — Speaking
Keynotes, panels, closed-door rooms.
Brian speaks on R&D leadership, African founder economics, AI and the people side of building durable institutions.
Botswana Innovation Summit
African Founders Forum
Government Strategy Lab
Private CEO Round Tables
08 — School of ZeroBudget
A school for founders who refuse to wait for capital.
Two sections. Section A is the founder track — leadership, AI, sales, systems. Section B is the operator track — execution, finance, ops. Both built on the ZeroBudget philosophy.
/ 01
Leadership
/ 02
AI for Founders
/ 03
Business Systems
/ 04
Systems Thinking
/ 05
Research & Strategy
/ 06
Sales
/ 07
Innovation
/ 08
Botswana in Focus
/ 09
Faith & Purpose
/ 10
Idea Generation
/ 11
Execution
09 — Regional Footprint
Built in Botswana. Tested in Zimbabwe. Scaling across the continent.
Botswana
60%Home base. Government work, SMEs, Business Hospital HQ.
Zimbabwe
25%Founder mentorship, diaspora-led ventures, education partners.
Rest of Africa
15%Partners, speaking rooms, ZeroBudget School cohorts.
10 — The Journey
Not a resume. A trajectory.
2009
First client
2011
First agency
2013
First failure
2015
Started again
2018
Business Hospital
2020
Bigfoot
2022
PulaStock
2024
Radio & Media
2025
Government work
2026
The Studio
11 — Mentorship & Community
The people side of ZeroBudget.
Mentorship cohorts. Founder councils. Closed-door rooms where operators ask the questions they can't ask in public.
400+
Founders mentored
12
Cohorts shipped
03
Countries served
“Brian doesn't give you motivation. He gives you a diagnosis, a system, and a deadline. That's rarer than capital.”
12 — Web3 Research Lab
A separate room. Same founder. Future infrastructure stress-tested before it goes mainstream.
Bitcoin. Decentralization. AI agents. Token mechanics. The Lab is where experiments live — clearly labelled, never confused with the institutional work.
Coming Soon
Diagnosis OS
A diagnostic engine for SMEs.
Coming Soon
ZeroBudget App
School + community in your pocket.
Coming Soon
PulaStock Terminal
Markets for the next generation.
Coming Soon
Founder Vault
Private archive of ventures, papers & ideas.
13 — The Waiting Room
Book a Diagnosis.
Tell us your business symptoms. We'll respond within 72 hours with next steps — or a referral to the right room in the ecosystem.
Step 01
Diagnose
A 90-min strategic intake with Brian.
Step 02
Schedule
We slot you into the next cycle.
Step 03
Treat
Strategy, build, or hand-off to a venture.
Book a DiagnosisNow booking diagnoses for Q3 2026
14 — Dr. Brian AI · Preview
“Tell me your business symptoms.”
$Coming Soon