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The Journal of an African Tech Startup Founder: Part 4- Bringing my A game

The Journal of an African Tech Startup Founder: Part 4- Bringing my A game


In previous articles, I shared my backstory, my biggest risk and the motivation behind everything I'm doing. In this article I'll talk more about my personal plan and roadmap towards the vision.


First and foremost, I make apps- Android apps to be specific. My flagship app is called the Business Builder- Small Business Management Suite and I've made a more advanced version of it called Asaqè Business Pro. Which is the one I'm currently pushing and hoping will bring us the big bucks. Both apps are available on the Google Playstore and they are intended to help people especially in lower income economies to start and grow sustainable businesses.

Phone with Asaqè Business Pro app homescreen
When most people think about apps, or software in general, they consider the technical functions... what does it do? What technology does it use and so on. I've since come to realize that there is more to it. To quote George Berkowski:

It's not just an app, it's a business.

Creating the software is the easy part. I'm pretty sure any decent programmer can piece something together. However what they don't tell us in all these tech fairytales is that, the software is just a small part of it. What really makes a billion dollar business is everything else that you will build around that software. This means that I have to think more like an entrepreneur than a programmer. I need to find people, set up processes and position the business for profitability (Word to Strive). That's something I've had to find out the hard way, but it's still a lesson I appreciate.

With that said- being a solo-founder therefore requires me to have an appreciation of the technical aspects of creating software, and even more importantly the business side of it. It also requires me to work much harder than those founders who have the luxury of being part of a team. I'm aware of the strain I'll have to bear, but that's nothing new and I'm prepared for it. 

Just in case you're wondering- I'm a solo founder by default and not necessarily by choice. I simply started creating software as a pastime and the idea evolved into what it is. Unlike how it's done in Silicon Valley, I never set out to build a tech company. I was just curious about creating apps, oblivious of the whole startup ecosystem and how it works. I inadvertently stumbled on the realization that there was some money potential. So initially, I never thought about bringing anyone else onboard. It never even crossed my mind.

There also aren't many people around me who seem interested in this kind of stuff. The few that do, are probably thinking of building their own billion dollar startups. However it would have been ideal to have, say a group of college buddies to build this with. It would have been so much easier, but now most of my buddies are family men and women with steady careers. This whole tech thing ain't for the faint-hearted and neither would I want to compromise their lifestyles yet.

Which brings us to where we are now. At this point, I've built a product, it has users- so the concept works- and my focus is now building it into a sustainable business. While some may argue that I need a co-founder, I would argue that the vision is clear and everything has been set in motion, so I need more of a technical team- and these can be employed as we go. The key difference is that this would be more transactional or outcome driven, and the relationship would be built in the process

Remember, a co-founder is much different from an employee. They get an ownership stake in the business... and more importantly, they are in it for the long haul. That means they have to be someone you can vibe with. There has to be some chemistry and even more importantly there needs to be mutual trust. All of these take time to discover and build. So finding and bringing in a co-founder at this point would require quite a great deal of energy and it would also demand a lot of my time. I also feel I'm now at an advanced stage of the startup process and bringing in someone at founder level would simply sidetrack and delay me. A lot of time would go into orientation, legal stuff and a lot of hand holding, just to get them up to speed.

Plus I don't think a co-founder at this point would add any significant value( unless the person was some Elon Musk or someone with a far much superior skill set, who's actually walked the path and has the record to prove it). So I've decided to go it alone- for now. That does not however, mean I'm against working with people. I'm open to that. In fact, I've been scanning my own personal network just to find potential c-suite execs and I even have lots of great roles and fancy titles in mind for those people that will come on board... but that will happen as we go.

Another thing I noted was that without any mentors, I lack a great deal of exposure. While I may be a beast when it comes to helping small businesses, I've found myself wanting when it comes to 'playing with the big boys'. There is so much I don't know about the world of startups especially on a global scale. So I've taken to reading to bridge that gap. I've been reading extensively about anything related to my field. YouTube has also been a great source of knowledge. I've beefed up my programming skills. My learning is mainly practical not academic. However, I'm not really memorizing concepts, but using that knowledge to achieve specific outcomes (e.g. to build a new product feature) So I wouldn't call myself a pro yet, but I'm getting there. Strive Masiyiwa through his weekly posts on Facebook has become the closest I could get to finding a mentor, despite him not even knowing I exist. I've also taken myself through Startup School and that was one of the most eye-opening experiences. My father and Niles have also been very helpful, in providing guidance and support.

Fun fact: the average age of the 5 people I talk to the most is 56.

Another thing I noted was that to build a billion dollar business, I would need to be billion dollar worthy and even my products would need to have sprinkles of that billionaire dust. I would need to think, talk, walk and even act like the CEO of a unicorn. So on a personal level, this means leveling up. Learning the language that's spoken on that stage, understanding the thought processes that drive billion dollar ideas and actually getting into that billionaire mindset. It means being able to clearly communicate and share the vision. It means getting comfortable with thinking at that scale.

While it's easy to post memes about it, it's much harder to emulate the work ethic, the integrity, the mental fortitude and the drive required to persevere when all odds are stacked against you. These qualities can't really be taught. One has to develop them through hard work and discipline. However I'm also aware that for any of this to work I need to be alive and in the right state of mind to see it. That means realizing my limitations as a human being. Resting both my mind and body when necessary, as well as going easy on myself when it matters. All of this can be summed up in one word: Balance.

Lastly, I've also learnt that excellence starts with the little things. Those little things compounded over time will become an unbelievable feat of human achievement and excellence... but it all starts with the little things. I won't lie, at times it feels futile and in vain, if not plain ridiculous- but I have to constantly remind myself to always give this my all.

This means being real in every post and posting regularly even if only one person will read it. It means avoiding cutting corners and working on that little feature in the app even though the user might never see it. It means taking the privacy and security of every user seriously, even if no one will ever point fingers at us. It means being honest with myself as well as all my stakeholders in my reporting. It means keeping my eye open for the best in talent even though I'm barely struggling myself. It means treating this 'little' company like a multi-billion dollar corporation even though it barely has a hundred users. More importantly, it means to continuously work on improving myself to eventually become the CEO of an African unicorn.

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