"I Wanna See It": Johannesburg Entrepreneur Lost R6.3 Million and 21 Jobs, but Refuses to Give Up

• A Johannesburg entrepreneur shared a raw, unfiltered video about losing his R6.3 million business and all 21 of his employees in just 12 months
• The TikToker filmed the confession from his bedroom in pyjamas, showing actual bank statements to prove how far things had fallen
• His honest take on entrepreneurship struck a nerve, with viewers rallying behind his commitment to keep going

A Johannesburg entrepreneur sat in his darkened bedroom in pyjamas and hit record. What followed was one of the most brutally honest business confessions to come out of South Africa in a while.

The man behind the TikTok account @22ours_ posted the video on 24 July 2026, filming himself directly to camera while cutting to close-up screenshots of his banking app and financial documents to back up every word he said.

From millionaire to struggling in 12 months

A year before filming, the entrepreneur was sitting on approximately R6.3 million in cash and a business with a net asset value of around R5 million. He had a team of 21 employees and offices in Hyde Park, Johannesburg. Then his biggest client walked away.

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Rather than closing up immediately, he spent the following months trying to keep everyone employed and on payroll for as long as possible, hoping the business would recover. It did not. By the time he filmed the video, his personal account, credit card and business account all told a very different story to those 2023 and 2024 figures.

"I was a millionaire last year at this time and now I don't know how I'm gonna pay rent," he said plainly. "My only job is to keep showing up"

What made the video land differently was not the loss itself, but what he chose to do with it. Rather than retreat quietly, he spoke directly to young men aged 16 and up, urging them to ignore get-rich-quick promises tied to forex schemes and gambling apps.

His business was turning five years old the week of the video. He said he had committed 30 years to the journey and still had 25 left to go. He admitted he had no clear prospects and no certainty about how things would turn around, but said the only thing that mattered was continuing to show up every single day.

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"I love a comeback story, and I can't believe that I'm gonna be part of one right now," he said.

Mzansi Rallies Behind the Entrepreneur

Viewers in the comments section on the TikTok page were moved by his transparency and showed up in force:

@Papi said:

"You've done it before, you'll definitely do it again, even better this time around."

@Dr Steve wrote:

"May it all work out for the best, Sir. Love how you are not keeping face 🫡"

@ziintle added:

"It will come together, your mindset is encouraging."

@user3964513135625 shared:

"I just followed you because I wanna see it turn... 🥺"

Watch the full confession below:

More on SA entrepreneurship

• Briefly News recently reported on 24-year-old innovator Elihle Stali exploring an international deal for his AI-powered smart glasses designed for visually impaired people.
• A Zimbabwean man who returned home with just one embroidery machine built it into a business worth R500,000.
• A South African scrapyard owner shut down his business mid-inspection during a heated confrontation with labour officials, dividing South Africans online.

Source: Briefly News