Before You Start Your Startup in Kenya - Moses Kemibaro

Post on 17-Oct-2014

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This is a presentation I made to budding entrepreneurs at the Growth Hub In Nairobi, Kenya, on the evening of the 26th September 2013. Its basically a startup primer with pointers on what to expect and other ideas from my own experiences.

transcript

Before  You  Start  Your  Startup  

 A  Primer  For  Aspiring  Entrepreneurs  In  

Kenya      

Moses  Kemibaro  26th  September  2013  

A  li7le  bit  about  me…  •  Award  winning  TechBlogger  @  MosesKemibaro.com  

•  Founder  &  Strategic  Advisor  at  Dotsavvy,  an  Award-­‐winning  Digital  Agency  established  in  Kenya  10  years  ago  

•  Producer  of  PIVOT  East  2013  –  East  Africa’s  Premiere  Mobile  Startups  CompeSSon  

•  Sales  Director  for  Africa  at  InMobi,  a  leading  global  mobile  ad  network  in  2012  

•  Founding  Regional  Manager  at  Dealfish  East  Africa  (Now  OLX  Kenya)  for  online  classifieds  in  2010  &  2011  

Ideas  are  nothing  without  execuSon  

Everyone  has  good  ideas,  the  difference  is  those  who  get  them  

done  and  those  who  don’t.  

Learn  to  earn  

Then,  make  the  leap  

There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  mature  market  

Just  ask  Safaricom  to  share  some  ideas  on  how  this  works  –  everything  is  up  for  

disrupSon,  EVERYTHING,  even  Safaricom  themselves!  

Your  idea(s)  are  NOT  unique  

Do  your  homework.  Scope  out  the  compeSSon  in  Kenya  and  beyond.  There  is  almost  always  nothing  new  

under  the  stars!  

Don’t  burn  your  bridges  

You  could  need  them  later  on  

Don’t  fall  in  love  with  your  first  business  idea    

The  more  business  ideas  you  have  the  be7er  they  get  

Nothing  succeeds  like  the  look  of  success  

Fake  it  Sll  you  make  it(?)  

Field  test  before  placing  the  big  bet(s)  

Its  low  cost  and  low  risk  

Fish  where  the  fish  are  

Use  market  segmentaSon  and  the  80/20  rule,  always!  

Seek  co-­‐founders  who  complement  you  

Spread  the  skill  base  as  your  startup  needs  it  

Leaders  are  not  born,  they  are  made  

Acquire  skills  beyond  your  comfort  zone(s)  

If  you  fail  to  plan,  you  plan  to  fail  

Think  business  plans  and  the  lean  canvas    

Investors  in  Kenya  tend  to  invest  at  the  NSE  and  buy  real  estate    

Therefore,  think  it  through,  why  your  startup  instead?    

Investors  invest  in  businesses  and  NOT  business  concepts  

Build  a  working  business  that  needs  investment  to  grow  and  not  just  to  

start,  ideally  

Don’t.  Get.  Screwed.  By.  Investors!  

They  are  “in  it  to  win  it”,  just  like  you,  remember  that  –  nothing  personal,  

just  business  as  usual  

Is  your  startup  idea  globally  scalable?    

Think  Global,  Start  Local    (HINT:  Its  worth  it!)  

Winning  a  startup  compeSSon  does  NOT  mean  your  startup  is  viable  as  a  

business  This  is  the  biggest  wake  up  call  for  you.  CompeSSons  do  NOT  make  a  business,  Bub!  Real  paying  customers  do!  J  

Barriers  to  entry  are  incredibly  low.  Really  low.  Just  do  it!  Never  in  the  history  of  Kenya  has  it  

been  easier  to  start  a  startup.  Everything  you  could  need  is  available.  

Seriously!  

The  world  is  your  talent  pool  

Outsource  globally  if  you  can’t  get  things  done  locally  to  world-­‐class  

standards  –  its  like  being  in  the  global  champions  league,  mate!  

The  very  best  talent  tends  to  be  very  shy  

It  could  be  right  under  your  nose  so  look  really  hard  as  it  could  mean  success  or  failure  for  your  startup  

Prepare  to  work  really  really  hard!  

Its  a  lot  harder  to  execute  than  you  think!  FOCUS  is  key…  

Thinking  out  of  the  box  is  very  cliché  

More  importantly,  BE  unconvenSonal  and  ACT  out  of  the  box!  

Tenacity  is  the  fuel  to  make  your  startup  succeed  

Startups  are  NOT  for  everyone.  Be  prepared  to  fail  even  when  you  did  all  you  could  to  make  it  succeed    

Blog  what  you  love,  love  what  you  blog  

Blogging  is  one  of  the  most  inexpensive  ways  of  building  brand  visibility  for  your  

startup.  Just  ask  37Signals.    

Build  A  Brain  Trust  

Experienced  and  Inexperienced  Entrepreneurs  will  help  you  know  what  to  do  when  you  need  it  most  

Murphys  Law  Happens  

What  can  go  wrong  will  go  wrong  –  trust  me  on  this  one!  

Miracles  do  happen  in  startups  –  honest  to  God  

When  they  do  happen,  be  very  very  thankful!  

Delegate  or  go  mad  

Running  a  2  startup  oupit  not  same  as  running  a  20  person  business  

Business  is  Personal  

Friends  and  Family  will  give  you  liq-­‐off.  Referrals  will  keep  the  business  

coming  in  

Ya  go7a  hustle  some…  

Sell  like  your  life  depends  on  it.  True  story!  

The  fishing  is  best  where  few  dare  to  go  

Learn  to  be  daring  –  you  may  actually  win.  Nothing  ventured,  nothing  

gained.    

Your  Health  and  Wellbeing  is  more  important  than  your  startup  

Your  family,  your  life,  etc  is  EVERYTHING!  

Talk  to  me…  

Moses  Kemibaro  e:  moses@moseskemibaro.com  b:  www.moseskemibaro.com    t:  @moseskemibaro