Looking for Grants? Here's a Startup Story

[Femi TAIWO]

Valuable lessons from this Nigerian Startup Story (still in progress)  of TiketMobile - http://goo.gl/H26gL

Regards,

Femi TAIWO

http://gplus.to/dft

[Truston Ailende]

Just read the post.

This is what I mean by having skin in the game. Celestine is not giving an opinion, he is giving advice.

If you read one article today, make it this one.

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Faith begins when statistics ends.

[Adewale Yusuf]

It'd be nice if you can read the replies to the post on Silicon Africa ( Facebook group),  not to have a single side of the story.

[Okemini Otum]

a very interesting and touching story: some things i learnt from it is that, who have to seek for funding from more than one place (if possible) and also get ready for copy cats or other people who will be inspired by your product and will build some thing similar or better than yours.

[Okemini Otum]

a very interesting and touching story: some things i learnt from it is that, who have to seek for funding from more than one place (if possible) and also get ready for copy cats or other people who will be inspired by your product and will build some thing similar or better than yours.

On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 9:11 AM, Femi TAIWO <dft...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Truston Ailende]

I have learned that sometimes IT can get down to not just what you know, but how much you believe in what you are doing. I understand the funding issues clearly.

In Ghana, it is rare to see a startup that is not funded whereas in Nigeria, that is the order of the day. That said, you have to find a way to make it happen.

This is what I believe and continue to search for.

If I knew how, I would have done it by now.

Not all who wonder are lost.

[Vykthur]

Hi All,

It appears this story has been given an interesting extra perspective and even more lessons to be learned.
Above the usual bullish writing style, I found Jason Njoku's perspective to be quite insightful. More of us developers should learn to be more capitalist at heart or revel in the unfortunate but rather common relegation accustomed to Nigerian developers.

http://www.jason.com.ng/post/56421739701/turning-25-000-down?


Very happy to hear your opinions.

Victor.

[don onwunumah]

Excellent read, Thanks for sharing. 

Unfortunately one needs to get "burnt" before you learn, whilst in general we can always pick ourselves up, Nigeria is an environment that doesn't really forgive, so developers are forced to "do or die".

In my opinion, Mindset is determined by experience not by what others say or do, so until it happens to us or our close friends we tend to ignore lessons learnt by our Bros/sis in other countries.

As long as we keep sharing our stories, airing our distaste and jubilating in victories we will never grow. We still have a long way to go in terms of maturity and blood will be shed on the way, but I am glad people are sharing their stories so we may all learn.

My 2 kobos worth.

—
Don
"Still Hacking"

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[Truston Ailende]

Hello Everyone,

This will be a long article so please settle down to read it!

I have read both posts and it all comes down to a choice. It is this choice that made me leave Nigeria. When Maliyo games launched last year, I saw the future.

It is said that when one white man arrives others will follow. I was right Kuluya by Jason Njoku would later arrive on the gaming scene. We the incumbent developers were not business men and were wiped off the board.

Me I say nothing spoil. I agree that I am the underdog in the gaming space. When my startup launches next year, I will be fighting an uphill fight and so here is the choice:

"The end of your world has come. You can stay with it through its destruction or you can step out of that world and live in another."

I stepped out of that world and now I live in another. When Maliyo Games launched, in one day 2 years of work was wiped out. I had lost my soul. I needed a place to go and lick my wounds and ask myself the ultimate question: Give up or go on.

It has been a year now with Maliyo Games and Kuluya Games slugging it out. I am happy that I walked away. They made my journey easier.

Do I have the technical skills to take them on? Yes. Do I have the resources? No.

So why bother? For me it is because I am tired of being pushed around since 1995 I have been pushed around by rich kids. Deep within my heart I am angry so from now on I will stand and fight.

Will I win? We have a whole decade to find out. I am more of a business man than a game developer now.

This decade will be the most exciting in the technology space. Those of us who are in it must ask ourselves why we do it.

Is it to eat or is it to make a difference. If its to eat then the choice is easy: GET A JOB. But if we decide to make a difference, then the only choice we have is to stand our ground till the bitter end.

Today is no longer about how much you know it has come down to how much you believe in what you are doing. THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND.

It took me my whole life to find out. But now that I know I will never forget it. The second reason is the most personal of all. Someone I care about is in danger. I have a child to think about now. She is 2 years old. I left Nigeria when she was 1 year old. What I do or do not do will determine what kind of world she will live in.

Personally, I cannot respect a man who runs away when an innocent child's life is at stake. THAT IS WHY I WILL BUILD A GAME STUDIO EVEN IF IT IS THE LAST THING I WILL DO.

That's my take on the posts. I apologize for the length of this but I wrote from my heart and everything I say here is the truth.

I remain loyal!

Regards,

Truston Ailende

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Download the Slides, Codes and Resources: http://bit.ly/gdaysslides
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[don onwunumah]

Truston,

You put into words something I have been feeling and thinking for a long time. 

Thank you so much for sharing.

—
Don
"Still Hacking"

[Truston Ailende]

@Don you are welcome!

[cc.em...@gmail.com]

Truston, I wish to give you my honest hug

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

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From: Truston Ailende <truston...@gmail.com>

Sender: lagos...@googlegroups.com

Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 19:51:17 +0100

To: <lagos...@googlegroups.com>

ReplyTo: lagos...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: {GDG Lagos} Re: Looking for Grants? Here's a Startup Story

[Truston Ailende]

LOL!

THANK YOU ALL FOR UNDERSTANDING.

I have kept most of my feelings bottled up over the past year.

But I realize now that by not speaking out, I was not helping those coming behind me.

Like Iron Man before me I seek to build a suit of Armour to take on the invading force. If we developers stand together like the Avengers, we will win. If we don't then the past will become the future.

I have seen that future. It is one where all that is good and green in our world is gone!

[Sadiq]

My apologies in advance...

We developers should learn not to be greedy, if you expect investors to give you money, then you should be ready to part with a significant share of your company. 51% OF SOMETHING IS BETTER THAN 100% OF NOTHING! When an investor has a significant share in the company, then they will have no choice but to fight for the company.

Some Nigerian entrepreneurs(developers) will tell you that they will never trade 40% of their company for 5 million Naira, because they believe it will be worth a lot of money in the future! How will it be worth a lot of money in the future when you don't even have the resources / experience needed for it to grow??? An investor is taking a risk by investing in your company, is it not fair for them to ask for a significant return for the risk.

If you look at most of the successful tech start ups in Nigeria, Jobberman, Iroko, tolet.com.ng(still in the making), they all parted with a significant amount of their companies and they have been rewarded for it.

Bottom line, when you are approached by an investor, seek advice from knowledgeable professionals(not from fellow developers that have zero business experience) and do your research to make sure the investor has a good understanding of your business model. Also make sure the investor has the resources to help you grow.

[olaoye abayomi]

@truston All green and gone, dats nt gud o. Xo wat do u sugest.

On 7/25/13, Truston Ailende <truston...@gmail.com> wrote:
> LOL!
>
> THANK YOU ALL FOR UNDERSTANDING.
>
> I have kept most of my feelings bottled up over the past year.
>
> But I realize now that by not speaking out, I was not helping those coming
> behind me.
>
> Like Iron Man before me I seek to build a suit of Armour to take on the
> invading force. If we developers stand together like the Avengers, we will
> win. If we don't then the past will become the future.
>
> I have seen that future. It is one where all that is good and green in our
> world is gone!
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 7:55 PM, <cc.em...@gmail.com> wrote:
>

>> **

>> Truston, I wish to give you my honest hug
>> Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

>> ------------------------------
>> *From: * Truston Ailende <truston...@gmail.com>
>> *Sender: * lagos...@googlegroups.com
>> *Date: *Thu, 25 Jul 2013 19:51:17 +0100
>> *To: *<lagos...@googlegroups.com>
>> *ReplyTo: * lagos...@googlegroups.com
>> *Subject: *Re: {GDG Lagos} Re: Looking for Grants? Here's a Startup Story

>>>>> perspective<http://www.jason.com.ng/post/56421739701/turning-25-000-down?>to

>>>>> be quite insightful. More of us developers should learn to be more
>>>>> capitalist at heart or revel in the unfortunate but rather common
>>>>> relegation accustomed to Nigerian developers.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.jason.com.ng/post/56421739701/turning-25-000-down?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Very happy to hear your opinions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Victor.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wednesday, 24 July 2013 16:11:57 UTC+8, Femi TAIWO wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Valuable lessons from this Nigerian Startup Story (still in progress)
>>>>>> of TiketMobile - http://goo.gl/H26gL
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>>

>>>>>> *Femi TAIWO*

[Okemini Otum]

wow, i read the story (Jason side), a very interesting and inspiring read indeed...i have to agree with jason on this,he had some serious points he made clear.

[ADENIYI TEMIDAYO]

this is a great lesson to learn from indeed

ADENIYI Temidayo

GSA
Federal College of Education (Technical),

Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.

[Truston Ailende]

@Olaoye,

I must state the obvious: NOBODY ON THIS THREAD HAS RAISED A MILLION DOLLARS. With that out of the way, I can then confidently reply all the posts so far.

First off please download and watch "The Triumph of the Nerds" for the weekend, it is a 20 year history of the PC industry. It will help inform your decision making.

Beyond that we must learn from ourselves about how to make a difference with the skills we toiled to acquire.

There is nothing wrong with saying no when the money is on the table. I believe that the business I build must have a spiritual ideal otherwise why don't I just become a yahoo boy.

I spent 5 years in Bariga and got to meet many yahoo boys. Trust me on this: THEY DON'T DO ANY PROGRAMMING! So for me the choice was made a long time ago!

Concerning how to deal with the big guns please this article -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aqaba it is the basis of my strategy against the big guns. It basically means that you have to go to the flanks rather that lead a small team of men against the greatest navy in the world. The strategy still applies.

It is important to understand your business type. We have Customer Relationship, Product Innovation and Infrastructure business types. Fortunately for me I am in the Product Innovation business and technical weaponry is what counts.

Celestine on the other hand is in the Customer Relationship business. So funding plays a role in choosing a business strategy and trust me on this: YOU NEED TO BE STRATEGIC.

Will I win with all this knowledge? Well I a whole decade to find out. But I am betting on me. Here's why: I passed WAEC in a secondary school with a 95% failure rate. From there I entered a university with a 90% application rate and graduated from that same university despite being told by all my lecturers that without Further Maths I shouldn't even try to apply.

Was it easy? No! I got an extra year at the University of Lagos because most of the concepts where bouncing over my head. In 2009 I would graduate from the University of Lagos after a grueling 16 weeks strike.

But I learned one thing about myself in 2009: I COULD TAKE A BEATING AS LONG AS I GOT WHAT I WANTED! The intensity and duration of that beating mattered little to me.

Being a founder of a startup at the end of the day comes down to knowing you self. The worst thing that can happen to any startup is to be led by a delusional leader.

So whatever Celestine decides to do we still love him and wish him all the best. Fight or flee but remember it was never suicide to begin with.

Regards,

Truston Ailende