Building Doc Bankman and, before it, boomering: real numbers, real decisions, mistakes included.
In Warren Buffet’s first letter to his shareholders he wrote that a good investor should realize “the importance of being in businesses where tailwinds prevail rather than headwinds.” The context here was the textile mills he owned which were excellently…
This is one of the toughest challenges that organizations face as they grow from the startup phase. In my experience, and from what I’ve read, it’s difficult to implement, stressful for employees and usually value diminishing in the short term.…
Our company has been experimenting with an educational session for our internal staff as a form of onboarding. Leaders and specialists from the different parts of the business present to new starters on what their teams do. It’s been a…
Since I’ve worked in Africa I’ve had the opportunity to lead strategic partnerships teams. I led the first integration of a bank into JUMO’s savings and loans platform, effectively kicking off our pivot into a marketplace. After that, I led…
I hear this a lot from product manager blogs and people who read them. I think it’s a bit contrived, honestly. Delight means great pleasure, or something incredibly pleasing, and I’m cynical enough that I think we should seek delight…
This story is actually one of mine. Before I moved to JUMO I was Head of Product for a company I cofounded in Tanzania. We ended up building a great prototype which we dog fooded around the streets of Dar…
I’m often immersed in the African fintech scene. There’s so much going on here. It’s the home of M-Pesa. Fintech companies are literally improving people’s lives. The products are exciting. I love it. But I think I often miss what…
My career has been business facing for the last 10 years. I’ve been GM of a tech startup, and now I’m a relationship/negotiation person for another startup. I want to be a product manager, and I’m taking steps now to…
I saw a quote by Naval once that said if you can build and sell you’ll be unstoppable. I think that’s true. The most successful entrepreneurs in our world right now could do both. The best CEOs in the world…
One of the harder parts about working in tech in Africa is nailing down your distribution channel. The market is not at the level yet where having a good website and a social media presence will drive enough traffic to…
After I graduated college I moved out to Kenya. That was 9 years ago. My work had taken me to four East African countries in that time, the majority in Tanzania. Most of that time was spent in mobile tech;…
Taxify, the Estonian competitor to Uber, is making a big push in Africa. While Uber was here first, and aggressively pushed into multiple countries in Africa, their first mover advantage is being eroded quickly by Taxify. This is partly due…