Playing the long sport: 6 lessons from Founders Connect Live

Founders Connect, a YouTube present showcasing the journeys of founders and operators in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, hosted its first in-person occasion, Founders Connect Live, on Saturday, July 8, 2023. The occasion introduced founders, operators and trade professions and introduced founders, operators and trade professionals to share data, inspiration and insights. to share data, inspiration and insights. 

Be pushed by a objective

During interviews and keynote addresses, the audio system shared their experiences as founders and operators at startups. Following the format of her YouTube present, Peace interviewed Funke Okpeke, the founder and CEO of MainOne. MainOne is the supplier of the first privately owned, open-access 7,000-kilometer undersea high-capacity cable submarine connection in West Africa. Okpeke shared that she is pushed by a want to create a greater digital consequence for Nigeria.  She believes that  “increased access to high-quality digital technology will empower young people.”

The Greiner Curve framework

Mitchell Elegbe, the founding father of fintech firm Interswitch, supplied insightful recommendation to fellow founders on the significance of anticipating and getting ready for setbacks and failures. Drawing from his personal experiences, he shared how the Greiner Curve framework can present a beneficial perspective on the challenges organizations encounter throughout their development journey. According to Elegbe, “Around three years into our venture at Interswitch, we found ourselves dedicating more time to discussing the problems we faced rather than implementing solutions. It was at this point that I recognized we had entered Stage 5 of the Greiner Curve.”

Elegbe additionally careworn the important function of constructing enterprise resilience and worker satisfaction via applicable compensation for workers members. These elements, he suggested, are important for sustainable development and long-term success in the enterprise panorama.

You don’t need to be a founder

In a spirited dialogue, General Manager at M-KOPA, Babajide Duroshola, and the Group CEO of Wakanow, Bayo Adedeji make clear the typically underappreciated worth of non-founders inside startups., Bayo amusingly remarked, “Salary is not what they pay you to forget your dreams. Sometimes a salary can be worth more than your dreams.” He humorously alluded to the 2021 wage of Peter Kern, the CEO of Expedia, an American on-line journey firm just like Wakanow, which amounted to $296 million. During their session, each Babajide and Bayo underscored the demand for and worth of operators who’re pushed by outcomes and deeply dedicated to fulfilling the imaginative and prescient of the founders who make use of them. Babajide additional suggested the viewers to take a step again, assess the actuality of their scenario, and give attention to creating worth.

Grow your community

Highlighting the significance of constructing a strong skilled community, Maya Horgan-Famodu, the founding father of Ingressive Capital, engaged in a short dialog with Joyce Imiegha, a co-producer of Founder’s Connect. Maya candidly shared her private journey, rising up in an underprivileged household and the way she relentlessly pursued networking alternatives, reaching out door-to-door and sending chilly direct messages to develop Ingressive Capital. However, Maya emphasised that the key to constructing an important skilled community lies in connecting with like-minded people and persistently offering them with worth. “Don’t approach a relationship with an ask; instead, focus on giving. Create valuable content that they will find useful and consistently share it with them,” she concluded.

Following Maya Horgan-Famodu’s speak, a networking session adopted, offering the viewers with a chance to place into apply the lessons they’d discovered and join with different attendees

Tell your story and discover a neighborhood 

In addition to conventional networking, there are different methods to develop your skilled circle and even your companies. Victor Fantami, the founding father of FullgapCo, spoke about how telling tales about oneself or different folks might help one type significant connections with friends and prospects. Fola Olatunji David, a senior enterprise growth supervisor of AWS in Africa, gave a keynote speech on the significance of discovering the proper communities and the way they’ll speed up development.

The highway is long 

Peace had one other interview with Tayo Oviosu, the founding father of Paga. Their dialog titled “Playing the Long Term Game” delved into lessons Tayo has discovered in his entrepreneurial journey, He inspired professionals and founders to hunt mentors, align selections with long-term objectives, and discover success of their work.

As the studying classes drew to a detailed, Odun Eweniyi, the founding father of Piggy Bank, fielded questions from attendees about her fintech platform PiggyVest, her female-focused VC FirstCheck, and her experiences as a girl in the tech ecosystem. When requested about the finest startup recommendation she had obtained, she responded merely, “Mind your business.”

To conclude the occasion, the attendees loved a raffle draw, reside musical performances, participating video games, and alternatives to work together with their friends and the sponsors of Founders Connect.