Build For Customers Not Investors – Adewale Yusuf [Startup Advice]

Ola Oluwakuse – The interesting thing is what would look good for investors is most always not look good for customers in the beginning. In same climes, the investors are always more interested in the customers touching the product than about hype. The Investor in Lagos prefers you to build what will look very flashy and become news worthy. But really, the entrepreneur too wants a good life, so takes the easier road. hoping that when he had raised the money, he will go back to the masterplan, unfortunately , it is not so. He is stuck! Once money exchanges hands, he dynamics has changed. He will have to pick calls at 2am. He is no more free spirited.

Bunmi Adedipe – Your customers are your best investors.

Muyiwa Matuluko – I’ve come to appreciate the fact that most (say 99.99%) of investors do not care about sustainability of businesses they invest in. They are looking for quick exits, that’s why they always give terrible advice / make outrageous demands.

Udeme Samuel – Its is a two sided coin, customers first product is a more long term approach and cost demanding in most cases than the investors first product which is good for hardware startups and life sciences but for sass/internet products that most of us are doing, customers first is the right approach, but the cost of getting the product to its product market fit in Nigeria is hell especially when the product is not generating a revenue, but as YCombinator will say “build what people want” where people = customers.

Building what a few customers really love will get you to product-market fit faster than if you were trying to please a lot of customers or worse, investors.

Evans Ibok – When you get product-market fit, your customers become your investors. Your revenue will become your sustainable equity and investors will follow your master plan.