#MEA2014 Live Blog :VC Cheat Sheet for Startups According to Bongo Live

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innovationVC’s want to invest in product-based startups but as young entrepreneurs startup Bongo Live CEO Tawa Jiwaji says business may not be as easy as it looks on day one.

Jiwaji says a lot of young graduates leaving school and want to build big tech companies but says there is lack of angel funding and most investors want sure returns, lack of affordable talent especially when the big corporates are aslo fighting for the same talent. He added the youths also lack of customer base and have no track record.

Jiwaji also added that validation takes time, product market fit takes time so young innovators ought to know it also takes a lot of time to build any product to be ready for shipping, few early adopters, need to educate customers and failure is still a stigma but the youths should go out and build products anyway.

Bongo Live CEO says the youth should bootsrapp their startups by doing consulting work or services, productize service business, be focused, be selective and maximize or balance team resources.

The startups also need to gain client confidence, get insight into the industry, validate and build domain espertise, build traction and revenues for stronger cash flow and stronger negotiation position with VC’s.

 

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Sam Wakoba
Based out of Nairobi, Kenya, Sam is a pan-African technology journalist, author, entrepreneur, technology business mentor, judge, educationalist, speaker and panelist. He is also the convenor of the popular monthly #TechNight evening event and #StartupEast Awards for startup founders, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, content creators and techies in Africa. Sam takes his time to investigate stories and has covered some of the continent's best and nastiest policies, programs, investors, co-founders, startups and corporations. For over two decades, Sam takes them on, both small and big without fear, favour but with fairness to help build Africa's nascent technology ecosystem. Sam works with various businesses, SMEs and startups that want to enter the East African market or scale across Africa. In his free time he volunteers as a consulting editor and fintech analyst at Business Tech Kenya, a business, technology and data firm publishing reports on business and technology trends, reviews and insights in Kenya. Follow him on X @SamWakoba