In which you see one of those private interactions that almost never come out unless there is something huge to celebrate…or a giant Sony-esque scandal. This is of course good stuff, and a great throwback to add context to how far @mark and Hotels.ng have come.
Mark would’ve been successful regardless. From when we first connected I knew there was something potentially amazing happening.
The other thing about the post that I’ve noticed is that Jason has become a little bit more optimistic about the funding gap. More than a year has gone by since he first mentioned it, enough time for things to have changed. It’s certainly convenient when said change benefits your interests directly. Hopefully, we’ll see more ruthless executors like @mark who can benefit from Omidyar and EchoVC and others who are looking to do more at Africa’s intermediate stage. Forgive me for resorting to another Silicon Valley aphorism, but in a way, we’ve been experiencing our own series A crunch, and the likes of Mark and @adii seem to be the ones to be breaking that jinx.
I have heard mentioned how funding events should not be celebrated. I disagree. Everyone who has actually been through one understands the emotional energy expelled, just getting the deal closed. Even now after several years, Bastian and I still find the process challenging. In the West, most startups don’t get funded. In Africa that margin is slimmer. My belief (and hope) is that this changes. With Omidyar and EchoVC stepping in to fill the next stage ($500-2m), my hope is that others follow suit. Bastian has been meeting with prospective funders for years. But rarely do they pull the trigger. We welcome and thank Omidyar and EchoVC for taking a lead in the next generation of internet companies in Nigeria.
Jason’s full post is here: http://www.jason.com.ng/post/119927763800/hotels-ng-raises-1-2m
