In Joseph Heller's novel Catch 22, mess officer Milo Minderbinder justifies his vast business empire by saying “everybody has a share”. It becomes clear later in the book that the “share” everyone in Heller's fictitious bomber squadron enjoys is nothing but a worthless piece of paper, while Milo alone creams all the profits.

At IT distribution company Axiz, everybody has a share but it's a real one that costs real money when you join. If the company performs, it pays real monetary dividends. The company, founded by Anthony Fitzhenry in 1989, is performing surprisingly well for one that's involved in the typically low-margin business of IT product distribution. Revenue in 2005 was R1.75 billion and is projected to be 25 percent more than that in 2006.