Do you want to start a startup? The answer should be YES! The key is to focus on solving a problem with your startup which is designed for fast GROWTH. Think long term, Think Big and don't forget to build a strong team you can trust. Nigeria have a lot of problems that can be solved or at least a better way to engage our citizens online. The likes of Nairaland, cheki, IrokoTv, Tolet.com.ng, spinlet,Vconnect, kuluya.com, jumia, konga, jobberman, voguepay.com, bus.com.ng, oya.com.ng, hotels.com.ng carmudi, jovago etal are doing well and picking up. You must pick a niche develop a concept that truly offer some kind of VALUE to your audience then find ways to monetize your site because you have to pay bills.

If you want to start one it's important to understand that. Startups are so hard that you can't be pointed off to the side and hope to succeed. You have to know that growth is what you're after. The good news is, if you get growth, everything else tends to fall into place. Which means you can use growth like a compass to make almost every decision you face.

Nigeria tech savvy experts should focus on delivering more value and learning how to market your startup will go a long way to ensure you survive. Don't be intimidated about big advertising budget. Just start with what you can afford and look for ways to get finance to push it if you believe in your business 100%. A bad product well marketed and positioned can fetch you a fortune but a good product know one knows about will die off shamelessly. So as you brand your you startup you must know how to make noise so your target audience know you exist.

HERE ARE 10 THINGS STARTUP FOUNDERS MUST DO TO ENSURE THEIR PROJECT IS SUCCESSFUL

1. Make the commitment.

Entrepreneurship can be learned. But you have to be committed to the process of building your own thing and the act of creating something, rather than just coming up with an idea. It will likely take several ideas, with the learning process of failing on a couple, before you can call yourself a successful entrepreneur.

2. Find a problem, then solve it.

Rather than finding a new idea first, try finding a problem first. Problem solvers make successful entrepreneurs. Idea people are dreamers, who often don’t enjoy the hard work of a solution in a specific timeframe to make money.

3. Think big. Think new. Think again.

In other words, make sure your solution will scale up. Professional investors will tell you they look for business plans that can credibly project revenues of at least $20M within five years, or they won’t justify an investment.

4. You can’t do it alone.

Have a support team of people you know and trust. An idea person and a problem solver make a great team. Successful entrepreneurs have to work well with people, whether they are partners, investors, employees, suppliers or customers.

5. You must do it alone.

But the dichotomy is that there are things that you have to do alone. “The buck stops here.” You have to be decisive, accept responsibility and provide the vision. Vision is not a group-think activity. Sometimes decisions have to be made quickly and with very little hard data, so you need to have the confidence in your gut.

6. Manage risk.

Without risk, there can be no innovation. Not every idea can, or will, be a winner. Fear of failure will kill innovation, but reckless disregard for risk will kill a business. The successful entrepreneur is able to find the balance between these two extremes.

7. Learn to lead.

In a startup, the entrepreneur leader has to do 2 things: first, drive the business creation process, and secondly, inspire all the others. The others include the rest of the team, investors and customers. That means hands-on leadership and effective communication.

8. Learn to sell.

Don’t believe the old myth that “if we build it, they will come.” Selling is a learned skill and takes effort, just like building a product. Everyone in your startup, especially the entrepreneur, needs to understand sales and needs to be a salesperson.

9. Persist, persevere, prevail.

Experts say the prime cause of failure in business is quitting too soon. The successful entrepreneur never gives up and uses creativity to overcome all obstacles, including personal, financial and technical ones.

10. Time, not money, is the key resource.

Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, not a job. Be prepared to play the game for life. There are no quick fixes or quick, get-rich solutions. Learn to manage and balance your time; it’s the one thing that belongs to you alone. Great entrepreneurs have a life outside of work and find time to give back.

Until then I hope we have learn't enough from these article. I look forward to seeing more successful startups in Nigeria come 2014.

To your success.

Never take no for an answer. Starting a startup isn’t easy and there will always be people who tell you that something is impossible. Planning and modeling out your business is always a good idea, but don’t get stuck planning too long, build something and push it out to your users as fast as you possibly can. If your product is getting good reviews and people are willing to pay for it, you’ve got something.” Nigeria have a population of 160 million. Having 1 million people buy your product annually isn't a greedy idea neither is it impossible.

At the end of the day- It's you that will be smiling to the Bank if you have the guts to the step.

Cheers.

Noted

The Idea Phase of Every Business

usiness, but they don't know the first steps to take. In this chapter, you're going to find out how to get an idea for a business--how you figure out exactly what it is you want to do and then how to take action on it.

But before we get started, let's clear up one point: People always wonder if this is a good time to start their business idea. The fact is, there's really never a bad time to launch a business. It's obvious why it's smart to launch in strong economic times. People have money and are looking for ways to spend it. But launching in tough or uncertain economic times can be just as smart. If you do your homework, presumably there's a need for the business you're starting. Because many people are reluctant to launch in tough times, your new business has a better chance of getting noticed. And, depending on your idea, in a down economy there is often equipment (or even entire businesses!) for sale at bargain prices.

How do you start the idea process? First, take out a sheet of paper and across the top write "Things About Me." List five to seven things about yourself--things you like to do or that you're really good at, personal things (we'll get to your work life in a minute). Your list might include: "I'm really good with people, I love kids, I love to read, I love computers, I love numbers, I'm good at coming up with marketing concepts, I'm a problem solver." Just write down whatever comes to your mind; it doesn't need to make sense. Once you have your list, number the items down one side of the paper.

On the other side of the paper, list things that you don't think you're good at or you don't like to do. Maybe you're really good at marketing concepts, but you don't like to meet people or you're really not that fond of kids or you don't like to do public speaking or you don't want to travel. Don't overthink it; just write down your thoughts. When you're finished, ask yourself: "If there were three to five products or services that would make my personal life better, what would they be?" This is your personal life as a man, woman, father, husband, mother, wife, parent, grandparent--whatever your situation may be. Determine what products or services would make your life easier or happier, make you more productive or efficient, or simply give you more time.

Next, ask yourself the same question about your business life. Examine what you like and dislike about your work life as well as what traits people like and dislike about you. Finally, ask yourself why you're seeking to start a business in the first place. Then, when you're done, look for a pattern to emerge (i.e., whether there's a need for a business doing one of the things you like or are good at).

Just Do It!
Hopefully by now, the process of determining what business is right for you has at least been somewhat demystified. Understand that business startup isn't rocket science. No, it isn't easy to begin a business, but it's not as complicated or as scary as many people think, either. It's a step-by-step, common-sense procedure. So take it a step at a time. First step: Figure out what you want to do. Once you have the idea, talk to people to find out what they think. Ask "Would you buy and/or use this, and how much would you pay?"

Understand that many people around you won't encourage you (some will even discourage you) to pursue your entrepreneurial journey. Some will tell you they have your best interests at heart; they just want you to see the reality of the situation. Some will envy your courage; others will resent you for having the guts to actually do something. You can't allow these naysayers to dissuade you, to stop your journey before it even begins.

To your success

Interesting, @ OP Weldon ,...........following*

This is one of the best articles I have read. OP keep it up....

Good one. More of this pls!

I have been following consistently the online activities of most Nigerian tech startups and other online businesses. I must say that the tide is changing tremendously but for the future of the web. There is money on the internet…I mean real money not blood money. But only those who use their brain to identify problems, opportunities and avenues can tap into that wealth. Mostly when I read on the pages of newspaper that a yahoo yahoo boy has been arrested or they ran OUT of money as a result of reckless lifestyle I chuckled and laugh in my heart because I know that if a lot of our Nigerian boys invest much time and resources like they do with this so called 419 business we could have more Bill Gates and Zuckerberg's. Moreover many can’t sustain the money they have because it’s stolen wealth. (Easy come, Easy go). We could have more internet entrepreneurs in Nigeria like we have all over the world. Its Possible!

Here are some real internet entrepreneurs I want you guys to check out their profiles:
Larry Page CEO- www.goggle.com
Jeff Bezos CEO www.amazon.com
Mack Zuckerberg CEO- www.facebook.com
Janus Friis CEO- www.skype.com
David Wilkinson CEO- www.affilatedefined.com
Matt Wegrzyn CEO- www.bodis.com
Andrew Galasetti CEO- www.lyved.com
Catherine Cook- CEO- www.myyearbook.com
Ashley Qualls- CEO- www.whateverlife.com

In Nigeria, there are few guys hitting the honey pot already and reaping the goldmine in internet business. As a startup owner while you consistently create value and build a robust business you must strive to build your online community. A proper look at most internet business will show you that most guys in Nigeria making it big have this as their secret.

Christmas is around the corner and it’s a season of love and blessing. Last week popular Nigerian blogger Linda Ikeji gave out N1.5 Million to her readers… by the way what does she do? She spends her time investigating and posting gossips for fans and readers. She found a niche and she knows how to keep juices flowing. Anyone could say its easy but then a lot of work goes into it. But not as much as our 419 guys labour and indulge in filthy acts just to dupe oyibo maga.

Secondly, last week Akin Alabi the CEO of Nairabet gave out N1 Million to his readers. And this happened just by asking simple questions on his blog. In fact the type of traffic that single act generated for two this blogs and businesses were tremendous.
They will keep smiling to the bank for their generosity. More cashflow!

What do you think they have achieved? They have succeeded in rewarding their readers for being loyal throughout the year on the same note they are building strong relationship with their target audience.
Success is a lot about Influence my people. We need to understand.

This brings us to the point I want to make on keeping your online community happy. Building a community around your startup can be one of the cheapest ways to create momentum for your product. A community is much more than a one-time marketing campaign, and can help you throughout your company’s life cycle if you take the time to grow it right.

If you’re starting a company, you probably already know how important community is for your business success. This is especially true during your early stages; by forming a community of early adopters, you can forge meaningful connections and recruit dedicated users and readers while creating opportunities to harness feedback for product improvements.

When planning on a startup …you need to focus.

1. Focus on creating VALUE
2. Focus on building your TEAM
3. Focus on building a HAPPY Community
4. Focus on the customer/audience not yourself or product
5. Focus on generating REVENUE
6. Focus on customer feedback
7. Focus on giving back
8. Focus on growth. More online traffic = Growth. More traffic =More Income.

Happy Sunday folks and share your thoughts!

HOW TO GET A STARTUP IDEA IN NIGERIA

The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself. problems that people have everyday. Take a good look at Nairaland. Everyday people come here to post different problems. Find a way to solve the most important one and you're rich. All you need to do is "Think"

The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they're something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing. Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, and Facebook all began this way.

Problems

Why is it so important to work on a problem you have? Among other things, it ensures the problem really exists. It sounds obvious to say you should only work on problems that exist. And yet by far the most common mistake startups make is to solve problems no one has.

I hope someone in Nigeria is reading this and can grasp what I am saying and hit the jackpot with this advice.