Blogs & Insights From Mama Gold
The Legacy of a Shameless Life
What Dolly Parton Taught Me About Shame, Dignity and the Courage to Be Seen
This past Friday night, I poured myself a steaming hot Epsom salts bath after an intense week and suffused myself in the haunting ballads of Dolly Parton in the week of her momentous passing.
You see, growing up, I had identified so strongly with the haunting sounds and lyrics of Jolene. It had become part of my life script in some ways.
Women’s Day 2026
This Women's Day was incredibly poignant for me. I got to celebrate, along with my sisters, Keeya Mofokeng and Jean Zandile Mahlangu, the courage of a young writer living in Alex, who finally got the chance to tell her story - a story that was brave and true, and a story that is often hidden under the polite constraints of society across all spectrums.
A conversation that is often hidden, particularly in environments where therapy is regarded as strange and confusing.
For Lorreine Noko Lebeko to tell her story, a story that is often steeped in secrecy, was brave.
She finally got the opportunity, after six long years, to tell the story in a global book on Resilience, writing about how she battled severe anxiety and depression following the birth of her children, and having to seek out therapy, a therapy that saved her in so many ways. And in doing so, it birthed her courage to tell her story.
I was honoured to speak and I spoke about courage. The courage of 20,000 women to march 70 years ago against traumatic and incomprehensible pass laws.
To stand in silence for 30 minutes.
FROM STARTUP TO SUCCESSION
Startups require STAMINA
S stands for SIGNIFICANCE
Significance means a higher calling. A bigger mission. Many entrepreneurs focus on success. Significance is far deeper.
The Compounding Advantage
I never thought my story mattered, but now I do.
I used to compare myself as a founder to other companies, far larger, friends who employed 2000 people. Why would people want to listen to my story?
But then I realized it was not the size of the company we built, but the significance of the lessons we learned.
Last week I was interviewed by Leanne Manas as an entrepreneur at the book launch of "Compounding Advantage", a remarkable book that is both a mirror and a roadmap for businesses in South Africa.
“Success” vs Significance
For those who have been following my journey, I want to introduce myself properly. That means being honest. Raw. Unfiltered.
My name is Ali. Some know me as Alleycat. Some as Mama Gold, a name given to me during a Gold TV series that stayed with me. My close friends know me as Jessica, my middle name. Jessica is lighter, freer, more playful. Alison can be serious. Ali is warm, open, and less guarded.
For a long time, I didn’t believe my story mattered. I didn’t believe my voice mattered.
In 2025, I received harsh criticism from family about my visibility. It broke me more than I expected. I retreated for months into silence, into safety, into healing. I had to look myself in the mirror and ask myself whether being visible was worth the cost.
Butterfly Dreams
Five years ago, a shy young woman entered my life. I never realized how much our journey together could change the very nature of the work I do now and my why.
Five years ago, when I met Jean at a church in the inner city, I could see her remarkable talent as a graphic designer. And how much her creativity was not being given the wings it deserves, the wings it was meant for, the wings that were meant to fly.
