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When the money man asks you for Jumia-type ambitions, ask for Jumia-sized cheques! Raised <$450k (@ N200:1) in capital for SureGifts in 5 years, a third of which is in Notes. It's tight on the streets, but it's possible with a lot of grit and creativity. I'll share a few lessons:
1. Don't launch. Stay in fucking beta for 3 years if you have to until you have a thousand billion real or fake users. Your novelty clock starts ticking when you launch, and if you're African African, you don't get the chance to experiment post-launch. You grow or you're dead.
2. Unless the blood of YC is on your forehead, pedigree matters. BSc. Computer Science from Unilag and freelance developer for two years is not raising $2m, period.
3. Local VC (in the true sense of the word) does not exist. The fund sizes and the risk appetite required to play that game is simply not available in Nigeria. You can find seed capital, but recognize exactly what you're getting.
4. If the $100k for 25% you're looking for will get you to break-even, go and ask your uncle for that money. It's a family business.
5. The next financing round is more important than the current. Have direct line-of-sight into how you're going to get the next one, or else don't waste your time doing this one and simply close shop while your CV is still fresh.
6. Don't believe the hype. If you're in the space long enough, you'll see through the smoke. We're all lending to the same person. You're processing my payments and I'm processing for him and he's processing for her. It's an "if you know you know" thing. Be realistic.
7. We're *very* poor in Nigeria. Avoid B2C and sell to businesses, or become Shittu's friend and become a tenderpreneur. You can count the number of companies selling (not processing) N1billion in goods per year online in Nigeria on your fingers.
8. Don't live in your fantasies. 80% of the time, the only reason we remained in business is cos our fantasies got warped into our consciousness. You're hungry & in debt, but you can't feel it because you're imagining yourself having lunch in Dubai celebrating your IPO. Wake up.
9. Get a co-founder or two, and not the ones you give 10% because it's your idea. If you're in Nigeria, it's almost always best to split it down the middle (or close) if you still want to be hanging in 3 years.
10. "Employee Stock Options": LOL
There's a specific investor mating dance. Very specific, but that requires another thread. I'm still on the stage and I'm still failing auditions, so I've obviously not mastered the dance well enough. I'm working on it (as you can see if you're the discerning type). The End.
