SIX THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW AS TECH STARTUP FOUNDER IN AFRICA!!!
Here are the important don’ts.
1. Don’t build a startup without savings
Except it’s blogging, bulk SMS or web/graphics design/hosting which ones bring fast cash with smaller effort, don’t build a tech startup if you can’t feed yourself for at least 3-6 months. Or at least your family/friends can feed you. Especially in the beginning. You are most likely going to pour all your savings into the startup. My partner and I literally spent more than N700K of all the money we had in the world on Prepclass without 100 paying customers o, all we had was the sexy product, that was very very dumb.
2. Don’t build an elaborate product if you have not done any form of micro-testing
Do not read Techcrunch and come up with some fancy business plan or “feasibility study”. Actual testing with real life customers is way smarter. Use google docs, a wordpress landing page/plugin, anything that is extremely simple that lets you test your idea.
We built our first product (test prep) in 6 months without adequate testing only to realize that market (not the users) were not particularly thrilled about our features. We built our tutor market product (our newest and most successful) in one day. We used just Google docs and focused all our energy on users.
Of course now we have built a product with proprietary algorithm that matches tutor requests according to user preferences, but my point is your code means nothing if it’s not gaining traction. Often times (especially in CcHub), we spend too much time coding thinking we’re badass, whereas growth hacking is king.
Instead of building a sexy UI and layout think of the cheapest way to get the largest amount of traction as quickly as possible. Funny enough, the guys making liquid cash in the tech space don’t even have the sexiest UI. Check LindaIkeji, Naij, Information Nigeria, SMSlive247, 50kobo, Betazoo. In fact just check out the website of any VAS company…you don’t want to know how much they make.
3. Build a team
Do not invest your time with a shitty cofounder. It’s either you’re a Bonny and Clyde, or Batman and Robin. If you are working on your startup fulltime, and you have a “friend” or “friends” that are part time (especially software developers, that still earn good money doing other jobs), they better be contributing more money than you, otherwise the relationship won’t last. Please have an agreement signed somewhere, it is too important.
Form a team of people who have the same kinds of ambitions as you. They may think different, have extremely different backgrounds, but they should have the same kind of hunger that drives you. They should also be people you can chill with and share the joys and pains of being a startup with.
As a team, the journey has been extremely exciting for us at Prepclass, first we won the Techcabal battlefield in February, were named top 10 most innovative companies in Africa, were the overall Africa winners in the Indiafrica competition, MTN budding Entrepreneur and the Anshiza prize in entrepreneurship. Far beyond winning competitions in the past 4 months we have increased our average monthly revenue by over 5 times what it used to be in the months before.
It’s been a very emotional journey and one that we are looking to share with exciting and vibrant people. We are forming Voltron right now as we look towards the battles of 2015 and we are inviting as many smart young people who are looking to be part of one of the most interesting young companies in Nigeria.
4. Don’t rely on investors
Especially the ones here in Nigeria. The financial capital market is very poor. The richest guys are the politicians, and they only understand traditional business models. The VCs/accelerators try tomitigate risk as much as possible. They won’t invest (meaningfully) in your code if you don’t have any real traction.
My advice: apply for startup competitions and give it your all. Battlefield literally changed our lives. Aside the funds, the ripple effect of the exposure we got from the experience is still ongoing. There a lot of competitions out there. Indiafrica, Etisalat, Echoing Green, WISE, CcHUB Call For Ideas, MTN budding Entrepreneur, Youwin, Anshiza price in entrepreneurship. In 2014 we applied for more than twenty (it is a lot of work) and we won four. This puts us in a good position to create real value for our customers remain focused and not desperate. Trust me we are also extremely accountable for every penny.
6. Don’t focus on building just a startup, build a solid network
In Nigeria, things happens fast if you know someone. I never taught I would be able to get visa to a country barely 10 minutes after arriving at the embassy for the first time without any prior application. Have “godfathers” in industries that are specific to you. Be their friends and “boy” if you will. Ask for advice, help and possible strategic partnership. One phone call can literally change your user base from hundreds to thousands over night. But please make sure you know exactly why you are following your “godfather” though, because that can be a problem too.
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