Before You Start Your Startup A Primer For Aspiring Entrepreneurs In Kenya Moses Kemibaro 26 th September 2013
Oct 17, 2014
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: [email protected] b: www.moseskemibaro.com t: @moseskemibaro