Moni Baruwa: I spend less time focusing on competition and more on differentiating my brand
What do you do when you have the travel bug and just can’t get it out of your system? Well, you start a business of course! Moni Baruwa has visited more than 25 countries, lived on 3 continents and connected with people from all across the globe. Her travels and the path of self-discovery and development led her to start her very first business venture in CountlessMiles. CountlessMiles is a travel startup that aims to transform the African’s perception of travel by curating unique, cultural and fun destination experiences within and outside the African continent. Moni shared with us some of her thoughts on the black travel movement, filling in the gaps in her startup toolkit and her jollof of choice. Why don’t you believe young Africans currently see intra Africa travel as an attractive option? Traveling within Africa requires deeper introspection. Generally, the average young African’s idea of a travel destination has been focused on places where they can shop or conduct business, or show on social media and positively impact their social status. These historically have included locations in the UK, US, and Dubai. If a destination does not fit into this, then it is not seen as appealing. So our goal is not only to make intra Africa (and global) travel more attractive, but also to change the perception of travel as a whole to a means of learning and self-development. I’ll use myself as an example. When I started solo traveling, and not just to shop or take pictures, the experiences forced me out of my comfort zone, and I developed the boldness to take risks and think bravely in ways that even a college degree didn’t offer. I believe if more of our young people have similar cultural experiences exploring other regions, cultures and ways of life, and brought home the knowledge, we would see significant impact from the community levels to the economic level. Additionally, and equally important, Africa travel is quite expensive and costs the same or sometimes more than the more “attractive” travel options like Europe, US and the Middle East, so young travelers often opt for this. It’s similar to the dilemma US travelers face when trying to choose to travel to the West Coast from the East Coast, as compared to spending less on a round-trip flight to Europe. Black Travel has become quite a popular topic in the media recently with companies like Travel Noire and Tastemakers Africa getting a lot of media attention for providing young black travelers with other options for travel and showcasing another side of the travel industry? What is CountlessMiles bringing to the conversation and adding value to the industry? This is a question I get asked a lot. It is quite amazing the work that businesses like Travel Noire and Tastemakers Africa are doing. For instance, Travel Noire has totally transformed the travel industry for black people. I remember when I traveled, I didn’t see a lot of people like me – black and more so African, so this is good progress. We have similar goals and missions in that we are changing the conversation with regards to blacks and travel. However, the approaches are quite different. Our goal at CountlessMiles is two-fold: we aim to not only change the average African’s perception of travel but also consciously add Africans to the “black traveler” community. This group of travelers is typically different from the black traveler community because they have unique barriers to travelling including issues such as obtaining visas with a non blue/maroon passport, finding travel health insurance to name a few. When I traveled around Eastern Europe and I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, the guy at the immigration border gave me a dirty look because of my Nigerian passport. He almost gave me a hard time getting in, but because of my experience with similar issues, I was fortunately able to convince him otherwise. Similarly, in Vancouver, the receptionist at the place I stayed said he had never seen a Nigerian passport before, so they made a souvenir of my passport. I was pleasantly surprised at that but it made sense, in part because of their own lack of curiosity, but largely because Africans haven’t fully embodied the essence of traveling the way the Europeans or Australians do, and have yet to reach that far. This I believe makes CountlessMiles unique in its approach and impact – consciously encouraging Africans to travel the world in a unique way, while subconsciously opening up better tourism relationships with other countries and hopefully less visa hassles for Africans, especially West Africa. At CountlessMiles, we say “Your vacation starts with You”, because we focus on curating authentic personalized experiences for any African looking to travel, based on their budget and travel preferences. The primary service we provide, which is crafting a destination experience, is very customer-centric, while most of the competition seems to be focused on creating group trips that people can sign up for. The travel industry across West Africa is very fragmented and has many small-scale operators. How will you identify the best operators that are able to deliver the experience your customers are expecting? The great thing about experiential travel is being able to connect with the locals, the culture, and the new environment. This is the approach we take at CountlessMiles – visit the countries ourselves, get immersed in the culture, meet the locals and get information about the best offerings in the region, and build informal long-lasting relationships with potential partners. This way we are able to curate the best and most authentic experiences for clients based on first-hand knowledge and experienced recommendations. Another useful resource that has worked particularly in West Africa is leveraging on our network across the region. Luckily through my travels and life path, I have been blessed to meet people who are key influencers in various West African countries. I am working with them to develop a list of the best operators that we
Alima Bello: My fashion company was becoming an expensive hobby
She Leads Africa connected with Alima Bello, a fashion entrepreneur from Accra, Ghana to learn more about how she’s turned her passion into a full-fledged business. This is part of our series, From Startup To Grownup, which shares how young women entrepreneurs have moved beyond the startup phase and transitioned their businesses into sustainable enterprises. How did you start Bello|Edu and what did you know about business before getting started? This might sound cliché, but Bello|Edu started off as a personal need. It was hard looking for clothing or fashion pieces of my own aesthetic so I started designing my own stuff to have them made for me. This developed into designing for family friends and then later on I took a pattern drafting course to further develop my passion. I majored in business administration both in secondary and undergrad so I had theoretical knowledge in business. I was also fortunate enough to work in a family-owned company so I had a bit of experience in business management before I ventured into Bello|Edu. How long did it take for you to view your company as a serious business and start to professionalize it? Did something happen to get you to that point? I always viewed my passion as a business. But I guess what you’re trying to ask is at what stage I started treating it as business. There came a point where I had to be firm with myself and admit that it was becoming an expensive hobby and I needed to put certain things in place in order to realise my dreams. I tell myself that until I am able to lock down 300 – 500 orders per collection or season, this will remain a hobby. What bad business habits did you need to give up in order to help your business grow? Just because I like it doesn’t mean it has to make the cut. That’s a grown-up decision. This is where the business side of me has to override my creative side. I know most creatives go through this process where we tend to create or design something that speaks to us or reflects our mood at any point in time. In business however, that design piece might not be feasible and so you have to do the bold thing and drop it. And oh, I have this impulse to buy any fabric that speaks to me. Now, that’s not a smart business choice. What business investment was hard for you to make that you are now so grateful for? With my theoretical and practical knowledge I don’t think any decision was hard to make. It was just a matter of prioritising and timing. What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs interested in building a sustainable fashion business? There’s never the right time to start a business. The time is always now. Data is also very vital for your business. Keeping the number trends will let you know which smart and not so smart business choices to keep or to drop.
What you can learn about leaps of faith and other career lessons from Isis Nyong’o Madison
Isis Nyong’o Madison is a tech entrepreneur, investor and influencer in the African entrepreneurship scene. Aside from being named as one of the youngest power women in Africa, she is a principal at strategic advisory and investment firm Asphalt and Ink and previously served as the Vice President and Managing Director at InMobi and Google’s Business Development Manager in Africa. With numerous nods, including several acknowledgements from Kenya’s Business Daily’s Top 40 under 40 Women, Isis Nyong’o Madison is someone all young African women need to look up to. We went through some of her interviews and learnt a few career lessons. 1. Take a leap of faith Kenya in recent years has been touted as the hottest tech hub of Africa but in 2002, this was not the case. Isis chose to come back to Kenya against the advice of a career officer at Harvard in order to pursue tech opportunities in the market. Even if the steps you want to take in your career do not look like the correct ones to others, you need to be able to critically review advice from others and draw your own conclusions. Coming back to Kenya was a leap of faith for Isis and it has paid off. 2. Take a chance on you While she was still a student, Isis flew out to London on her own dime, to meet with MTV Africa head Alex Okosi. This is because she felt that she was the right person for the job. Taking a chance on yourself means not giving up on an opportunity you think suits you no matter the obstacles. 3. Make a decision and stick to it To achieve anything in life, clear decisions need to be made. Once you have decided what direction your career should take, it is important to stick to it. Isis has said in numerous interviews that there are no quick wins. Success takes time; you need to give yourself time. Isis has declined higher paying jobs in her career that did not meet her own personal goals of challenging work, responsibility, and growth. 4. Build/create/do something worthwhile It is not enough to just focus on moving up the ranks, you need something to show for it. It is just as important to build a track record or building something on your own or within a company no matter what role you are in. This is definitely something that can be said of every role Isis has held. 5. Be confident No one is going to hand it to you. You need to go after the career or promotion you want. Once you have taken the time to build something worthwhile, do not be afraid to show it. Use it as a portfolio to show just what you have accomplished and make it hard for anyone to pass you up for or question your promotion. Isis has been asked several times by people with more seniority than her whether she can do the job and her response as always been yes. You’ve shown you can do it, now prove it. 6. Be open to learning You can never learn anything enough and Isis knows this. Take every opportunity you can to learn something new. As Isis puts it, “learn about new ideas, build a new skill or deepen your understanding about a subject you are already familiar with.” 7. Be committed After it’s all said and done, Isis truly does commit to her work. In an interview with Forbes Africa magazine, Isis said about her former firm, “As we are a global organization (InMobi), there are often conference calls in the middle of the night and early hours of the morning. InMobi never sleeps.” To grow your career, you should be willing to give that level of commitment to your career.
Smoothie Express: Bringing healthy food to the people
SLA quickly caught up with Tracy and Omowunmi the founders of fast growing fresh food startup Smoothie Express. They shared with us how they developed the idea for the company, how they get around volatile currencies and the best piece of feedback they’ve ever received from a customer. Where did the idea of Smoothie Express come from and how did you get it started? I was trying to do a smoothie detox and my biggest challenge was finding the right time to blend my smoothies as I was still working a 9-5 then. That’s where the idea came up, I had seen a problem that was not peculiar to me alone and I wanted to solve it. So I contacted Omowunmi and we both developed a solution for the problem hence, Smoothie Express. We first of all picked a name, Smoothie Express because we wanted to make fresh smoothies available to customers with minutes. Then we registered the company. We used our savings in starting up the company. We had to prioritize our capital expenditure because funds were limited. Why is healthy food so important to you? As adults, we have the tendency to go by our lives eating any piece of unhealthy food just to keep body and soul going. With lots of diseases coming up and ill health associated with being overweight, the best and easiest way to keep your health in check is to eat healthy. Healthy food plays an important role in our health and it’s important for me to indulge as much as possible. What is the most challenging element of running a food startup? I would say quality control for a food start up. Customers expect nothing less than perfect food/beverage not withstanding anything, all the time. So as a food company, you have to make sure there is quality control checks all day everyday. How has currency fluctuation affected your business and what are you doing to creatively manage it and keep your products affordable? We have always been a company that believes in patronizing Nigerian products. It’s been a struggle everywhere, but we have been able to manage the currency situation because of that. Although, we are struggling with increased prices for a few items. It’s such a shame how dollar still controls our economy this much. What is the best thing and the worst thing about having a business partner? The best thing about having a business partner is that, there is always someone to cover your weaknesses and loops. The worst thing about having a business partner is that you guys get to disagree a lot of times but the ability to push past it makes it worthwhile. What is the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received from a customer? Oh well. A couple of customers say we make the best smoothies in the world. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
8 things we learn from the acquisition of Kenyan beauty brand, SuzieBeauty
In 2011, Suzie Wokabi, founder of Kenyan cosmetics brand, Suzie Beauty, said the following about her vision for her brand: “My dream is to turn SuzieBeauty Limited into a household name for everything beauty on the continent, and internationally. I want to become the MAC of Africa!”. Six years before that, she had returned to Kenya as a trained makeup artist looking to stock up on goods. She faced a number of challenges such as not being able to find the high quality brands she was used to. Where she was able to find them, they were often unavailable, overpriced, or counterfeit. So in 2009, Wokabi launched her own local brand. Seven years later, she is in reach of the vision she set out for her company. On January 25th, 2016, SuzieBeauty announced that it has been acquired by regional manufacturing company, Flame Tree Group, pending approval of the competition authority. Suzie said the following about the sale of her company: “For me this is the biggest milestone so far.” Wokabi explained, “with the resources at Flame Tree Group, SuzieBeauty will likely expand its range to include skincare products such as cleansers, moisturisers and eye creams. There will also be investments into better distribution and marketing. In the long-term, production could be moved from China to Kenya”. This wife, mother, daughter, and entrepreneur is trailblazing the way for other Motherland Moguls. There is so much to learn from the successful sale of Wokabi’s company. We’ve narrowed it down to just 8. 1. Do your research In choosing to start a beauty brand, Wokabi did extensive research on the Kenyan beauty market. In an interview with How We Made It In Africa, Wokabi said the following: “My research shows that the development of products to fill our specific market needs has the potential of becoming a big and profitable business.” She also did extensive testing of her products in the market before launching her business. She developed her product line and spent a year of testing on the market before launching in 2011 and beginning retail operations in 2012. 2. Choose to work in your passion Wokabi once said, “If I did not completely love everything about SB and the beauty industry, I would have given up a very long time ago. I now understand why most startups fail. When you don’t have the passion and everything is an uphill battle, it becomes so easy to quit.” 3. Dream BIG From the start, it is clear that Wokabi had a strong vision for her company and brand. From her early interviews before the launch of her product line to more recent ones, the vision has always been, as she said, to “distribute Africa-wide. The sky is the limit”. 4. Know your magic While strong on quality products, Wokabi has said time and time again that the affordability of her products is what makes her competitive in the local and international market. When she was asked if SB stand out in the midst of international beauty brands that had recently entered the Kenyan market? She responded, “None of them will ever beat me in price. The whole point of SB is the affordability of quality beauty products.” 5. Get help in your weak areas Wokabi says she knew nothing about business prior to her endeavor. She has especially struggled with financials, an area her husband has supportive in. 6. Learn from your mistakes While successful, Wokabi has never shied away from the mistakes and mishaps in her journey. After some false starts with partners, Wokabi made sure to engage differently with future partners. She explained: “We have had so many bad partnerships. We have had both equity partners and debt investors. There were just too many mistakes made. We were very particular about this one. This time we didn’t make any mistakes – and it feels right, completely.” 7. Engage with investors and finance partners who understand your company and your vision While in talks with Flame Tree Group, Wokabi was in talks with other potential investors. She had this to say about Flame Tree Group: “The chemistry has always been right from the beginning. So any challenges we ever came across, we would fix together.” Flame Tree Group CEO, Heril Bangera, also had this to say, “We want to increase the brand’s presence in the market. We have seen the brand is successful, so there is an opportunity now to use that as a base to grow it within Kenya and beyond.” 8. Knowing that someone did it helps Wokabi often mentions her role models, Bobbi Brown, in interviews. Bobbi Brown was an American professional make-up artist who founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Estée Lauder, the America beauty products giant, bought the brand in 1995, with Brown retaining creative control. Wokabi will similarly retain creative control of SuzieBeauty. We wish Wokabi, SuzieBeauty, and Flame Tree Group much success in their new venture. What other insights have you learned from this acquisition? Share them below.
Xiomara Rosa-Tedla: There are benefits to starting a business with family
Many people ask how and why my father and I started our business. And to be honest, it was by accident. About two years ago, my father returned home from a trip visiting family in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After picking him up from the airport and unloading luggage, he handed me a gift— a custom, handmade leather messenger bag. Immediately, I fell in love with my new gift and sported it everywhere. From work to dinner to weekend trips, I toted my new bag all around the world. And soon after, friends, family members, and strangers started asking, “Where did you get your bag? I love it! Can your dad get me one as well?” For months the questions and requests kept coming. Even my father told me he had been getting the same questions, and suggested, “Hey, I think we have a business here. Let’s start a leather bag business!” Shortly after, the birth of UnoEth began. Starting a business from scratch is a fun creative process, where brainstorming sessions let your mind run free with ideas and opportunities for your business to grow exponentially. But as with any business, the road to success is never a straight line up. There are dips, curves and encounters with the unknown. In addition, it can be a lot of work. On the bright side, there are benefits to running a business with family. A family member as a business partner can be extremely beneficial— especially my dad. Having an equal partner with a long history (my whole life) and blood ties helps solidify communication, trust, and dedication to succeed. Neither partner wants to let the other down. From day one of creating our new business, I felt unbelievably confident in our new venture because my dad and I shared the same vision and passion for our budding brand. In addition to trust, communication, and dedication, working with family also means splitting responsibilities. As we both grow our business around our full-time jobs, we wish there was more time in the day to juggle responsibilities. We split outstanding tasks, which alleviates the stress and workload on both of us. Communication is key to maintaining strong relationships with each other, our vendors, shipping counterparts, business partnerships and most importantly, our customers. In the development of UnoEth, we’ve learned to communicate promptly to avoid creating a bottleneck in our business. Thanks to apps like Viber, we’re able to communicate easily internationally via wifi and all stay on the same page— just in different time zones.It’s incredibly important to maintain a positive, can-do attitude with a goal always in sight. As mentioned before, the road to success is never a straight line. Every business experiences road blocks and obstacles, which can deter most individuals from starting a business in the first place. But with an optimistic, focused, and goal-oriented outlook, one can overcome the temporary downfalls, cross the finish line and push on to the next stage. At the end of day, one must ask, “How bad do I really want to be successful?” And then simply just go for it! What are your thoughts on starting a business with a family member? Enjoyed Xiomara’s story ? Share the UnoEth story with your network.
Sheila Afari: Mistakes and hardships were my best teachers
Sheila Afari is a young pan-African entrepreneur who launched Sheila Afari Public Relations at the age of 26 after recognizing the opportunity to promote African brands across the globe. Sheila wants to create one of Africa’s leading boutique agencies, and with clients in Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, she is well on her way to pan-African domination. In this piece, she shares with SLA her entrepreneurial journey and some advice on how startups can develop a public relations strategy that turns heads. You resigned from a marketing manager position to start your own business. How were you able to make the transition from a steady job with a guaranteed paycheck to the uncertain world of entrepreneurship? Having been an entrepreneur before taking on the marketing manager position, I was aware that I was able to create something from nothing. The plan was to work to get more business skills and leave. Fortunately for me, I had no debt or people dependents, so I was fearless and able to make the transition being comfortable with my odds in the risk vs rewards scenario. I also had a degree to fall back on as well as invaluable skills to offer if things have not worked out for me. And since I had no large monthly overheads/expenditures, I was able to offer my services for free and do jobs at low paying rates to build a portfolio and show my worth. What are the branding and marketing tools that you have used to grow your company and differentiate it in the marketplace? From day one, I decided that I wanted my PR agency to take on a bespoke approach to the clients we service. With that in mind, growth came from referrals as clients were happy with the services they were receiving. Word of mouth is known to be one of the most powerful marketing tools, so I go out of my way to ensure that every client is happy. I’ve spent the past 3 and a half years very hands on in shaping the business and overseeing the work done for each client. I believe my agency stands out in the marketplace because of the below reasons: We have a continental focus and reach outside of South Africa We work with traditional and non-traditional media platforms We incorporate a social media drive to all campaigns and projects We have a bespoke approach to each client We have a strong brand development focus We operate under unconventional business hours We believe in ethical business practices; integrity, honesty, exceptional service and team work As a lot of our clients are entrepreneurs and don’t operate with an “8-5” mindset, there’s a need for an agency that can keep up with them and service their needs in “real time”, which is what we do. We are available 7 days a week and after hours for our clients. From a branding perspective, I’ve stayed behind the scenes and that has positioned the business as somewhat exclusive. People won’t often see me unless it’s business related and they’ve done their homework. The work we do is better known than me or the company’s name, so if clients haven’t come via referral then they have done their homework and sought us out. My 2016 approach to branding and marketing will change somewhat as the company has grown. I’m tackling different industries, and there will definitely be a concerted effort with B2B marketing and advertising/visibility in key industry platforms. What advice would you give to startups that are looking to develop a PR strategy but don’t necessarily have the funds to hire an agency to work with them? 1) Draft a PR Plan. Even if it is just a one pager, you should be able to answer the below: Who am I/Are We? What am I trying to achieve in the market place? Where do I want to be in the next couple of months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? What do I want to be known for? Who are my competitors? Who do I strive to be like? What is my unique selling point? i.e. What do I bring that is different from my competitors as well as different from who I strive to be like? How can I get my message/service/talent across authentically? Then take a blank piece of paper and understand that your PR plan is a blank canvas that you can do anything with. Don’t try copy your competitors or the people your strive to be like. Pave your own way. Come up with fresh creative ideas and map out a way to get there. 2) Get online! Make sure that you have a strong online presence. With the digital age, and Google being one of the first platforms people go to search, you need to make sure you have a presence online and can tell your story the way you want it to be told. To start off with, get on the below platforms (may vary slightly for different industries): Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Soundcloud LinkedIn 3) Identify 5 people or platforms you deem important/relevant to giving your brand publicity and start making your way through the list. 4) Understand that contacts aren’t necessarily secret and content is king. Pick up a magazine, call the telephone number there and ask for the contact details people relevant to your field that you need to get in touch with. Also understand that media platforms need content, so “pitch” your story with an understanding of who their target audience is and how your story will be of interest to them. 5) Don’t give up. You will need multiple interactions in order to build your brand. Every attempt you make at building your brand’s presence all adds up and you will surely see results even if they may appear barely visibly. What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when Sheila Afari PR launched? I wish I knew that mistakes and hardships would be my best teachers. I spent so much time “playing it safe” out of fear of not being perfect or not keeping clients happy, that it took me quite a while to learn a lot of the things that have helped my business grow exponentially. Had I allowed
Quick Read: Your 1 minute guide to startup financing
You already know that it takes more than a stellar business plan and an ace team for your startup to thrive. You also need financing to get your ideas off the ground. COLD. HARD. CASH. But what type of financing is available for me, you ask? Well, you have 3 options: 1. DEBT FINANCING Your company receives a loan and gives its promise to repay the loan. It includes both secured and unsecured loans, and can be long-term or short-term. Pros: You aren’t giving away any part of your business. Cons: Defaulting on the loan = signing your life away. 2. EQUITY FINANCING Your company obtains finances from potential investors, family and friends, business angels or by issuing an Initial Public Offer (IPO). Pros: You are not obligated to pay a dividend Cons: Equity finance generates capital from external investors in return for a share of the business. 3. MEZZANINE FINANCING This is a combination of both debt and equity financing. It begins as debt capital that gives the lender the rights to convert to an ownership or equity interest in the company if the loan is not paid back in time and in full. This type of financing allows the owner both debt and equity options. Pros: Allows you to get the money you need without giving up a huge chunk of your company’s ownerships…as long as you pay your debt on time. Cons: Interest rates are much higher than traditional debt financing. Want to learn more about financing and savings options for your business? Visit PAL Pensions to learn more about their unique products for young entrepreneurs.
Kasope Ladipo-Ajai: Building Omo Alata for the next generation
The desire to work on a business that would showcase her creativity led 2015 SLA-Entrepreneur Showcase winner Kasope Ladipo-Ajai to starting her food processing company Omo Alata. The Nigeria-based food service brand, launched in 2012, is focused on the production and sale of hygienically processed and packaged Nigerian soups, spices and peppers. It aims to promote healthy eating and to make cooking easier for busy people. Kasope, with a degree in Computer Science, resigned from a full-time job to pursue her entrepreneurial ambitions. She worked for 4 years at Virgin Nigeria in various roles including IT Service Engineer, Project Coordinator and Business Process Analyst. She also handled core IT project implementation for Taytom Group. I caught up with the food production entrepreneur to talk about her startup journey. Inspiration from travel Travel, particularly to advanced countries, exposed Kasope to the possibilities of quick and convenient meal preparation. While on her trips, she went to various African stores and realized that many of the ingredients for cooking Nigerian meals were not produced or packaged in Nigeria. This is largely due to packaging issues in the country which rules out the exporting of some its food products. Kasope: “We have all these products but why can’t we package it properly? If we package it properly then we can export it.” It was with this realization that the idea for a food service brand was birthed. Kasope decided to start by packaging pepper. “It is a produce that is basic to us in Nigeria.” Once she had the concept for Omo Alata in mind, she solidified her decision to venture into entrepreneurship by registering the business. Kasope then carried out research on the product she was trying to launch. She looked into sourcing fresh produce, and best practices for cleaning, processing and packaging it. She also solicited advice about brand development from knowledgeable people in her network. A lot of work was put into the graphic and package design aspect of it. Kasope knew that she had to come up with something that would both look right and catch people’s attention. The package itself, too, had to be functional. Personal income Kasope and her partner leveraged their personal income to get the business off the ground. “We had limited funds to play with. We asked ourselves, ‘What do we need to do?’ and ‘What’s the best way to do it?’” There were essentials for their company that they couldn’t avoid spending money on. These included securing a factory space as well as the necessary equipment for production. They had to get creative when it came to spending money on professional services that they really needed. “We leverage on our family and friends expertise for such,” Kasope said. “We told them our vision and asked them to work with us, and we pay them in kind or later.” The process The produce that is used in making the pepper mix —Omo Alata’s flagship product— is sourced from local markets. “We have relationships with suppliers who already know that we want the freshest products,” said Kasope. The company organizes delivery of the tomatoes, onions and peppers from the suppliers to the factory. Contract workers at the factory sort the produce and remove any unsuitable ones. The remaining products are then thoroughly cleaned and all the stalks taken out. The next step in the process is to blend the produce to the finest mix. This is then boiled to preserve the mix better and reduce customers’ cooking time. The company’s quality control specialist checks to make sure that the mix is being boiled at the right temperature and to the appropriate consistency. It is then left to cool and packaged using the company’s special sealing technology. Each resealable bag is then labelled and frozen until the product is shipped to retail store partners for sale. The pepper mix is purely organic. It doesn’t contain any food coloring or artificial preservatives. A testament to the startup’s commitment to providing its customers with the freshest products that have a natural taste. Throughout the process, Omo Alata adheres to a strict quality assurance policy and hygienic processing methods that have been certified by Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Growing pains Kasope has had to tackle several challenges that come with running a business in the food industry. For starters the raw materials that are used for making Omo Alata products are seasonal. “The produce gets expensive when it is out of season,” she said. “The suppliers will try to exploit you.” “You have to be on your toes checking to make sure suppliers are not taking advantage of the fact that you have a relationship with them,” she added. Farm produce does not have a fixed price. Kasope constantly checks the market to make sure that she is being charged the correct seasonal price. Local interruptions The company also has to deal with the lack of constant electricity supply. This affects the business from processing to product sale. “The only way to cool the mix fast is in a cold room which requires electricity,” said Kasope. Once the mix cools, it is packed and frozen. Again, electricity is required for this. Having an unsteady supply of electricity significantly slows down the process. It creates a lag time between cooling and packing and freezing. The startup has invested in generators in order to overcome this. Some of the retail stores that they have partnered with don’t pay for the products until they have all been sold. “Others have policies like ‘We won’t pay until 60 days after delivery,’” she said. “This ties up our cash all the time.” As such, Kasope and her partner end up having to take money from their own pockets in order to keep the business going. Kasope pushes through all these, thanks to support from family, friends, fellow entrepreneurs and clients. She is also driven by her ultimate vision which is to grow Omo Alata into a brand that will
5 legal issues startups should think about within 6 months
Developing a new idea, creating a website and customers are all the exciting things about building a startup but dealing legal issues will never be on a founder’s top ten list. Unfortunately, a strong legal foundation is necessary in order to build a growth company and not taking care of these important issues can keep you from getting investment or expanding down the line. Here are five things all founders should pay attention to within the first six months of starting their business to ensure it’s off to the right start. Co-founders Key Takeaway: Be sure to draft a founders’ agreement early on and without emotion. Allocation of company ownership is important. It is also vital to address what happens if one founder departs. It is not uncommon for pre-incorporation founders to fall off the map before the startup becomes profitable. Deadbeat co-founders may also show up to claim profits if the startup takes off. You therefore need a clear strategy on how to handle this. Founders should also clarify what their duties are to current and former employers. If the idea for a startup was developed or worked on while an entrepreneur was employed by another business, there may be specific legal issues to consider. Lawyers Key Takeaway: Retain appropriate legal counsel as soon as possible or utilize open sourced legal documents for the early stages. Focusing on legal issues early is key, and is especially helpful for new entrepreneurs. However, do not give your lawyers equity and do not use your investors’ lawyers. Also, remember that violation of privacy, securities or tax laws can lead to criminal liability so it is imperative that startups have proper policies in place and carefully adhere to them. Don’t have the funds to hire a full time lawyer? Check out the Founder Institute’s open source agreements that can serve as a good start for standard legal agreements. Intellectual Property Key Takeaway: Founders should implement an intellectual property strategy to monitor the use and disclosure of their intellectual property. Protect your startup’s name. It could be one of the company’s most valuable assets. Many startups operate under the mistaken assumption that a corporate name reservation is the only thing they need to protect their business name. Remember that you also have to register the name globally as a trademark. One of the most common pitfalls that entrepreneurs fall into is the exposure of their intellectual property by communicating confidential information to various people without non-disclosure agreements and other safeguards, or the use of inadequate non-disclosure agreements. Non-disclosure agreements should be drafted with the particular circumstances of the disclosure in mind and ought not to be treated as a basic boiler-plate document. Consultants/Employees Key Takeaway: Draft formal agreements for all consultants and employees so the terms of service and confidentiality requirements are clear. It is vital to enter into a written consulting agreement with such contractors. Intellectual property developed by an independent contractor will typically belong to the independent contractor in the absence of a clause in a contract to the contrary. It is also important to familiarise yourself with the employee laws of the city, state or country in which you setup. The most common employment law violations are misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor and/or failing to pay an employee appropriately. Licensing and Incorporation Key Takeaway: Know what the important license conditions are for your city and country and ensure that they are are not being violated in the course of your business. Set up a corporation or LLC for everything but a short-term business whose existence will be numbered in months rather than in years. Only raise funds from “accredited investors” and do not pay commissions for fundraising unless it is to a registered broker-dealer. Additionally, in most countries, running any kind of business requires several licenses, some of which might be simple tax registrations or trade licenses. Failure to comply with licensing norms leads to fines, costly legal suits and even business shutdown.