I love @erik 's advice to do hard things. The problem and advantage of doing hard things is that hard things are hard to do. It’s obvious but important to remember. Hopefully lady luck smiles on you in the process and you don’t run out of cash before you crack the market.
One lesson i continue to learn is to listen and try hard to understand your customer. That may in some cases mean departing from your original plan.
Every entrepreneur must go read Peter Thiel’s Zero to One cover to cover before launching any product. I have been postponing doing an article about this “no competition” concept for a while.
I remember travelling from the east-Lagos and seeing 15-25 women lined up on the street selling THE SAME THING! Unfortunately many entrepreneurs are like that.
That is why I’m totally in love for Elon Musk. Paypal → Solar City → Telsa → SpaceX → (Hyperloop). He doesn’t do competitions!
Elon Musk is actually in heavily competitive industries.
Solarcity competes with all the utilities and now competes with other solar installers that provide similar financing services.
Tesla competes with all mass market luxury products from the likes of Daimler, BMW, Lexus, VW Group etc.
Space X now has strong new competitions like Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and the incumbents like Boeing, Lockheed etc
Even X.com had Paypal as a competition before they merged.
The point of fleeing the red ocean for the blue is still a myth. I have read 0 to1 cover to cover and I respect Thiel, but lets be careful in this market with what was clearly intended for the 1st world. China is forging ahead cloning away the 1st world. Thiel can deny it all he likes but China is matching.
The numbers that come out of that country is astonishing.
Check all the billionaires (apart from some in tech), they are all in heavily competitive markets.
Bro, avoiding competition does not necessarily guaranty success. Infact most of the world’s billionaires are in heavily competitive spaces. I understand Thiel’s point in his book but I think we as a people are not there yet. 1 take away though is about building really hard things as a competitive advantage but not fleeing the space entirely because there was competition when we got there.
Lets copy real solutions from the 1st world and work our way up. China will eventually control alot of technology in the world because the 1st world handed them the manufacturing license. Lets not get carried away by cool apps. “SW is eating the world” is not totally true. SW and other things are eating the world or better yet, the world is eating up all these SWs.
We need more people in the cement industry to drive down the cost or even come up with new material for building homes. We need new efficient transportation even if they are dumb technologies. We need to find a way to leapfrog the traditional Transmission and distribution lines and get everyone to have electric power.
These are real problems in need or solution. My need to chat with that other person half way around the world is no more the most pressing problem we must confront.
So Seyi, please help tell us all the time that when we read books intended for Silicon Valley, we must bring in context and the reality of our world, which is one that is suffering in the 21st century.
Really, what is a massive impact?
…Google also have competitions: Bing and Yahoo search.
When your offering is way (10x) better than the next, competition is not very relevant.
Do hard things like @erik said.
Because everyone wants to be CEO. That’s why.
My first insight, you will get conflicting advice from people. Its on u to figure out what works for u.
On product: Do it first, do it best or do it different. Picking any one is good but any 2 is best. All 3 is elusive mostly.
Its ok to fail and suck at stuff, don’t let it affect ur physce. Get over ur ineptness sooner rather than later.
There will always be innovation in whatever space you are in, in years to come and to infinity. How can you spur one of these?
You can compete with the market leader by creating products they can’t follow in, this is where new markets are born.
The biggest lesson I have learnt is, I’m not an Island of knowledge or ideas. I brought in a partner early this year and fiam, it turned out to be a game-changer. But don’t just bring in nay partner, make it someone you have observed from close or distance and sure of his ability.
Timing, timing,timing. You can have a great idea/product and money to back it up but you mostly need to get timing right
Whether you call me 100th E commerce, Na ya wahala be dat. I will be bigger than Jumia and Konga combined when the time comes.
Go Boring: http://www.arampell.org/2015/11/04/distribution-v-innovation/ h/t @McDapper (Twitter)
I have learnt never to give up but rather to keep on innovating. I am the CEO of www.henriksmsclub.com
It’s all about survival.
3 things In order of priority
I cant over-emphasize how lobbying triumphs all…That’s a skill I truly need to learn
Think like a pessimist. Act like an optimist.
You’ll be fine.
Focus on Revenue as soon as possible, not growth.
We’re in Africa not US. In Africa startups fight over investors not the other way round.
Revenue
Sell…Sell…Sell. Then go look for market that over 10m Nigerians still need…then repeat the steps.