I spent years learning how to turn what I know into a business. Now I help you do it, without the long route.
I'm Thato Rampedi, the founder of House of Rampedi and Rampedi Media. I help professionals and business owners take what they already know, package it into a digital product, and sell it.
It started with a phone and borrowed equipment.
I started creating content in 2017, while I was studying Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Pretoria.
I've always loved documenting things, taking pictures and capturing moments. During a university holiday, my sister showed me some YouTube creators. Within about a week, I'd decided to start making my own content.
I didn't have expensive equipment, a studio or a business plan. I had my phone, and I borrowed equipment from the people around me.
For almost two years, I barely made any money. Looking back, I understand why.
I was obsessed with making good content. Better cameras, better editing, better production. I thought that if my videos were good enough, the money would follow.
Knowing how to create content isn't the same as knowing how to build a business from it.
Slowly, I learnt the business side. How to position myself. How to market. How to build trust. How to pitch, sell, and turn attention into actual income.
One early lesson stuck with me. I recommended a small restaurant in Hatfield in one of my videos, and people started going there because I said so. That's when I understood that trust has real commercial value.
In 2021, I graduated with my engineering degree. Instead of going into engineering, I committed to building a future in content and business.
What we've built, step by step.
Started creating
Content on my phone, while studying engineering at the University of Pretoria.
Went all in
Graduated, and chose content and business over an engineering career. Selected for the YouTube Black Voices Fund, one of 132 creators worldwide.
Built Rampedi Media
Our own production studio, shows like As Majita and Seated With Lebo & Thato, and 70+ campaigns for South African brands.
Selling what I know
I packaged what I'd learnt into digital products. People bought them, more than 1,000 times. Now I teach others to do the same.
My most valuable asset wasn't my audience.
It wasn't my cameras or my content either. It was the knowledge and experience I'd built up over the years.
When I started packaging that knowledge into digital products, teaching things I'd spent years learning the hard way, people bought them. That changed how I think about business.
You don't need to be famous, have hundreds of thousands of followers or become a full-time content creator to make money from what you know.
There are people who've spent 10 or 20 years getting excellent at something, and solving the same problems for others again and again. Most of them have never thought that someone might pay to learn what they already know.
Who knows how to get people ready for job interviews.
Who knows how to lead a team through the hard parts.
Who's learnt how to manage cash flow the hard way.
Who's built a practical system for running a busy household.
Each of them is sitting on a solution to a problem other people would pay to fix.
I don't teach people to become influencers. I help them build something of their own.
Something that sits next to your job or your business. Something that doesn't need you on camera every day, or a massive following. I teach the practical business skills it took me years to figure out:
Find the problem
The one people already come to you for.
Create the offer
What you'll sell, who it's for and what it costs.
Package the solution
A guide, workbook, template or short course.
Market it
Reach the people who need it, even without a following.
Sell it
From your own shop, delivered automatically.
Don't just read my story. Hear it from me.
43:56
From YouTuber to business leader: faith, failure and building something real
I sat down with Michelle Expert to talk about the long road from making videos to running a business, the failures along the way, and the role my faith plays in how I work.
43 minutes · 9,400+ views. Tap to watch here.
“My faith is an important part of how I approach my life and business. I believe in using what God has given me, working with integrity and helping other people recognise the opportunities in front of them.”
Thato RampediFounder-led. Backed by a real team.
The mentorship is taught and led by me. Behind it is the team that runs our studio, our shows and our brand campaigns every day. They're the reason there's a real business behind everything I teach.
Thato Rampedi
Founder and CEO. Leads and teaches the mentorship.
Lebo Rampedi
Business partner, HR and data. Co-host of Seated With Lebo & Thato.
Mbali Gama
Head of Operations and Creative Director.
Thabang Legodi
Head of Production.
Kenny Chaka
Senior Editor.
Ruby Malatji
Social Media Manager.
Based in Midrand, Johannesburg. See our content studio.
What you can expect.
I teach what I've actually built and sold, not theory.
You already have a career, responsibilities and real experience. We build around that.
You won't be left alone with videos. We review what you make before you launch.
Real numbers, honest advice, and no promises of overnight money.
You already know something worth paying for. Let me show you how to package it.
Start with the mentorship, or send me a message and ask me anything first.
New to this? What's a digital product?