Written on :
This week I got to attend a start-up meet-up.
And it was a really engaging experience.
Apart from the fact that it was a breath of fresh air to sit in an open garden space and meet new people
I also got to listen to some amazing people speak; Mrs. Omobola Johnson (the former Minister of Communication Techonolgy, Nigeria) , Jason Njoku (Spark & Iroko TV) , Ngozi Dozie (Co-founder, Cafe Neo & Kaizen venture partners)
The event was organised by MEST incubator and themed '
Investing in tech start-ups'
Founded in 2008, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) is an established incubator that has trained and invested $20 million in over 400 individual entrepreneurs and 25+ tech companies through the Meltwater Foundation.
Quite impressive, yeah?
The meet-up was an informal affair. The entire event was pretty much a Q&A session with aspiring entrepreneurs asking the panel numerous questions on the best ways to grow a business and attract investment.
Most of the answers were not too far from what I'd shared in this previous post on
how to spice up a bland business idea
However, there were a few more lessons I thought i'd share.
These two lessons might sound cliche, but going by how many times some questions keep getting asked, I still thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to share.
Here's the first one...
Just build a business that works. Simple
Nobody cares about your idea. Nobody cares about your potential cash flow projections in 5-10 years.
Nobody really cares about your 150 page business plan.
Nobody cares about your Ivy league college degree either.
Just build a business that solves a problem and meets a need for as many people as possible. Build it in a way that that customers are willing to pay for and investors will come chasing you with money.
Jason Njoku has a reputation for being controversial, however I find his story quite fascinating.
He told us the story of how he was busy building his company in Festac town when Tiger global Management, a New York based private equity and edge fund, called him up and invited themselves to his office.
They saw what he was doing, liked it and gave him a cheque for $8m.
He never wrote a business plan. He wasn't even fund raising at that point.
Not saying there's anything wrong with business plans, but don't spend too much time writing a business plan, focus, instead, on getting customers that really like and will pay for your product.
and everything else will follow like clock work.
The second lesson...
Investors don't like individual entrepreneurs. With good reason too.
Individual entrepreneurs are too risky. They can get up, throw in the towel and apply for a job once they hit a difficult cycle in business.
Investors like teams.
They like teams with clear value-add from each member of the team. Where every member of the team contributes immensely to the growth of a business.
Also, a team of focused and passionate entrepreneurs are more likely to stay committed once they can work well together.
I understand it may seem easier to embark on the start-up pilgrimage on your own. Where you don't have to answer to anybody else but yourself.
You probably left your 9-5 job just because of that, no?
When I started an investment club with four friends three years ago, I definitely underestimated how difficult it would be to build a company with peers.
However, I've learnt once you are committed to the same vision, It's easier to get through personal and work differences. Somehow, we learnt to work with each other without pulling each other's hair out. (well, maybe because i'm the only female *wink)
I hope these two lessons are a reminder to build or nurture your business dream the right way.
Try to spend more time and resources doing the right thing.
History shows it all adds up in the end.
What other lessons have you learnt building your business idea/start-up?
Feel free to share. It just might help someone else
Have a good weekend!