On Building the Future Podcast http://www.thestarta.com/articles/category/podcast/ this week, we have Akin Alabi, founder of Nairabet.

When Akin and I got talking, it was obvious that this wouldn’t be a run-of-the-mill interview. Akin has a lot to teach about how to build a successful high-growth tech startup in Nigeria without raising a dime from external investors. He grew his business to 1000 employee/agents and multi-million dollar revenue by experimenting and running with an idea.

I’ve always known that not all startups are meant to be original ideas. There are valid startups that replicate an existing business model from one region and adapt, adopt and implement it in another. Nairabet is one of those. And Akin Alabi is an executor. He mastered the game. He had the killer instinct.

I asked him questions about pricing. This is for my own learning. It’s something I’ve always struggled with in the Nigeria market. I tend to price my products and services too low. So I attract the wrong audience. What do I do? Without missing a beat, Akin told me to raise the price. And then stack up value.

We talked about politics. He is a politician. And a High Chief. He had a lot going on. He is an author, host conference, and still produce training workshops and materials on various topics from cooking to email marketing.

This episode is a masterclass on how to validate your business idea quickly, how to build and monetise your audience, how to grow to profitability, how to kill an idea that is not working…and many more.

You can listen to the episode here [url] http://pxlme.me/1vfh3iCt[/url]