Let’s say I am a developer or a team working on something really cool and we are confident that if we pitch it our chances of getting investor(s) is high. What’s the best challenge/process to follow for a technical founder?
My apologies if the post isn’t so organized. I just hope you guys get my message. Thanks!
Rule of thumb: Don’t build a product for investors. Build a product for customers! The best place to get money for your startup is from you customers not investors. If you product is hot and loved by people, you won’t have issues attracting investors.
That’s my strategy in Pukena and its working for us.
Thank you for your suggestion!
By the way, I just checked Pukena nice stuff especially for people with skills and little or no patronage.
… about your website, the logo at the top looks a bit pixelated on mobile. You consider using and image of slightly better resolution.
How about if you can’t go further without investment from external source
Maybe its a bit capital intensive
Thanks for the observation and feedback. Will fix it asap.
Choose your business model wisely. I have always being of the opinion of starting a business with a ready market and a quick break even point. I understand certain businesses require huge capital outlays even before you start. Well, am not an expert of that business model. I go for service-oriented businesses that can be profitable from the word go. By so doing, I start from scratch, build the basic framework myself, have a team of close friends, incorporate and launch- make money from first day and keep going…
I believe that traction attracts investors. The more money your business can make without investor money, the more chances you get to attracting investors.
Look around the ecosystem, the ones that keep getting rounds are already making money, while some are busy attending pitch competitions!
Thanks man
Lol. This part
But then I kind of think the tech ecosystem here needs a bit of the two…service-oriented & capital/multi-skill intensive startups which still boils down to capital to make it a reality
Yes. it all boils down to you strategy. I can’t speak for others. They may have Dangote as uncles who are ready to bankroll their capital intensive startups. But I carefully choose to fight a battle I can win, albeit with little help.
All my businesses were started from scratch and scaled to profitability, making money as they grow. Maybe, I might consider a different approach since I have a means of bankrolling it from previous businesses.
Starting a business and waiting for investor’s money before you can sell is a no no for me, seriously.
Maybe you can check out 1 product a friend of mine built! And if you won’t mind giving him some free advice at this initial stage he will be grateful.
This:
…is bold! But you’ll learn otherwise with experience. Often, it has little to do with the product but more about the market and team.
I mentioned this before:
To answer your question directly:
Use a mutual connection, this is your best (and likely your only) chance. The opposite (for the second option below) is that you might have to build a relationship first before you get the investment and this will usually take a longer time. But the common denominator is that investors give money to or through people they know. It’s not just about what you’re building, it’s also about your character. Some people have used investments to furnish their lifestyle or even run away with the money.
This is why attending events are important. You can forget about whatever they’re teaching, but always make sure you get to network with the right people.
Cold email them. Here, make sure you only get in touch with those who invest in your country, in your sector, and at the stage of your company. You’ll be wasting time trying to attract a Series A investor when you’re just at pre-seed or seed level. Or you’re in eCommerce trying to pitch to an investor who’s interested only in Fintech.
This link for Afritech investors has been made available for the public. Use it as requested.
Kind regards.
Thank you for so much!
In terms of funding in general, I think an African startup should consider funding in the following order:
The investor route is not viable in Africa because we don’t have friendly public markets or acquisitive “big boys” like Google and Facebook to give investors the returns they need. In fact I think outside of betting and fintech, no tech company will give their investors a good return on investment
Banks give startups loan?
Yes, but once you have some revenues. It’s best for growth.