This is a presentation that I created that encapsulates a concise list of 60 important things I have learned about creating, running and managing technology startups in Kenya and beyond over the past 15 years or so

1. 60 Things Every Startup Needs To Know – Moses Kemibaro1
60THINGS EVERY STARTUP NEEDS TO KNOW

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MOSES KEMIBARO BIOGRAPHY
• Founder @ Dotsavvy since 2002
• Manager@ Perform Group since 2014
• TechBlogger @ MosesKemibaro.com
• Africa Sales Director @ InMobi in 2012
• Founder @ Dealfish (OLX KE) 2010/11
• Chairman @ ASC since 2015

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YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS ARE ARENOT UNIQUE
The majority of businessideas out there are a remix of something that’s already been done

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DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR BUSINESS IDEAS
Business ideas are a commodity so the more you have the better they get

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BUSINESS IDEAS ARE USELESS WITHOUT EXECUTION
Everyone has great ideas - the difference is those who get them done and those who don’t

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CUSTOMERS ARE KING, &QUEEN, ETC
Focus on acquiring customersfrom day one – that’s what matters

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A POSITIVE CASHFLOW SOLVES ALL PROBLEMS
A startup that has a positive cash flow can survive the tough times

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PUSH YOUR BUSINESS BEYOND ITSBOUNDARIES
Preconceived notions about what you can or cannot do as a business is all in your mind

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INNOVATION MEANS NO MATURE MARKETS
Nothing is said and done. Just ask Uber, Safaricom, AirBNB & Tesla. Everything is up for
disruption

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EXPONENTIAL SCALING CHANGES EVERYTHING
In today’s global business environment, growing big fast (scaling) as a businesscan mean the
difference between success and failure even with an inferior product. There is a good reason
why Uber is worth US$ 62B!

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SEEK NON-LINEAR BUSINESS MODELS
In addition to scaling fast, seek businessmodels that follow an exponential growth curve

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DON’T BURN YOUR BRIDGES
Building a business requires all the help you can get and therefore it is essential to keep your
doors open, even for a competitor or former employer to help

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NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE THELOOK OF SUCCESS
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it most probably is a duck! Make
sure you are the best all round in the industry. The best proposals. The best sales pitch. The
best everything! Look the part of a millionshillings!

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VALIDATE YOUR BUSINESS BEFORE GOING ALL IN
The reality is that many businessesfail because they were built on assumptions instead of
accurate market insights. Therefore, do your homeworkand get actual paying customers
before placing the big bets

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THE FISHING IS BEST WHERE FEW DARE TOGO
When it comes to customer acquisition, the ones that you fear approaching are the very ones
you need to go after. Fortune favors the brave!

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NOTHING BEATS OLD SCHOOL TOWIN CUSTOMERS
Forget using email, skype, whatsapp, etc only. In an increasingly digital world, personal visits,
hand-written cards, phone calls, gifts, etc make brands stand out

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FOUNDERS FIGHT SO FIGURE ITOUT EARLY
Any business venture with co-founders can unravel if the they are not of the same heart and
mind – if you can figure this out early it can save you years of wasted time and emotions

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LEADERS ARE NOT BORN THEY AREMADE
Leaders are always a work in progress. Younever know it all. Considerthat your decisions
affect the lives of ALL your stakeholders. It’s a massive responsibility! Get help from those
who have gone before you – reach up, not downwards or sideways. Get skills. Make. It. Work!

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IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN YOU PLAN TOFAIL
What is worse than having a bad plan is having no planat all. Even if you fall short it means
you aimed for a target rather than none. If you don’t know where you are going, how the heck
will you know when you have arrived?

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BUILD A BUSINESS MODEL THAT CAN GO GLOBAL
Yes. I know. This sounds cliché? It may not count or matter if your focus is just Kenya or East
Africa based on your current business but the payoff of building a global business far exceeds
the prospect of a small local business.

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HUSTLING TRUMPS WINNING COMPETITIONS
Seriously. Acquiring customers and retaining them is all that counts. If you winning startup
competitions and have no working business model to speak of your just screwing around.Go
out there and sell like your life depends on it whilst making the best product or service
possible.

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LOW BARRIERS TO ENTRY MEAN YOU CAN WIN
Never in the history of business in Kenya have the barriersto entry been so low for startups.
Now is the time to step up and make your business ‘blow up’. Everything you need is there –
just hustle and make it happen!

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TALENT CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR BUSINESS
The battle for the best talent is on. Talent defines what you can or cannot do as a business.
Be prepared to pay top shilling for the best you can afford.

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TALENT IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE USUAL SUSPECTS
I have found that the best talent for your start up is sometimes the people you least expect to
thrive in a role. Sometimes, the best talent is right under your nose

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BAD LEADERSHIP HAPPENS TOGREAT STARTUPS
Bad leadership candestroy what is essentially an ironclad startup. Therefore, work youryour
leadership skills and team everyday to get better

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BAD EMPLOYEES HAPPEN TOGREAT STARTUPS TOO
Its NOT just about solid credentialsand skills. Employees who are toxic, even if they are
brilliant, can destroy yourbusinessby spreading like a cancer. If you don’t cut them out early
your screwed!

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TENACITY IS A GIVEN TOMOVE THINGS FORWARD
The entrepreneur journey requires that you go all in to make things happens. Thismeans
always being relentlessin pursuing new business, solving customer problems, creating great
services. There is no substitute for the determined effort needed to succeed.

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CONTENT MARKETING GETS YOUR BRAND SEEN
Create a blog and post weekly about your industry and business. Create infographics. Get a
newspaper column. Get speaker engagements at events. Get on radio. Give free training.
Share decks. Get your brand out there. Own the space!

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CONTACTS + HUSTLE = MONEY INTHE BANK
You need to grow your base of contacts to drive more sales – always! Therefore, you are
really not short of money since that comes in when you have an massive sales pipeline. Start
with friends and family and expand from there. Do things that make you scared!

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DO DELEGATE DO NOT MICROMANAGE
This is hard. Really hard! Thisis why having the best talent possible and businessprocesses is
required. Failure to do so means you have to do everything yourself. Madnesshappens!

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BUSINESS IS PERSONAL
Every startup needs help to lift off and the most accessible help is friends and family

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BUILD A BRAND THAT HAS APURPOSE
A logo is not a brand. Neither is a website or mobile app. A brand is the core of what you are
doing. The raison d'etre or ‘the reason for being’. This is what will attract and retain your‘tribe’
of customers

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MARKETING COLLATERAL SUPPORTS SALES EFFORTS
Business cards. Website. Language. Office. Presentations. In person engagement. All these
things and more are essential in closing the sale.

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STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Seek strategic partnerships with people and organizations that can help you grow your
business. Look for resellersand commission agents for instance. Lookfor board members who
can make introductions to the right places. It can change everything!

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HAVE A BRAND STORY
Human beings have told stories for millenia. Thisis how we communicate most effectively.
Therefore, make sure you can create a brand story that compels customers to consider your
brand over others. Some of the best brand stories include Apple, KFC & Under Armour.

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LIVE THE ETHOS OF THE BRAND
Part of branding is actually living the thing that you are selling or doing as a business. Nothing
creates brand authenticity or credibility like demonstrating that you are one and the same with
what you are selling as a business

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THE 80/20 RULE FOR CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT
In my experience, Pareto’s Principle or the 80/20 rule matters in customer acquisition or
retention. This means that NOT all customers are equal as some are more valuable than
others. Figure this out early so that you can prioritize resource allocation

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GREAT CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT =GREAT WORK
Contrary to the popular notion that great work creates a great customer, this works in the
opposite. A customer partnershipwhere there is a harmony of goals and efforts leads to great
work every time

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DELIVER THE PROMISE WHATEVER IT TAKES
As a brand, your business must do everything possible to deliver on the promise. If this does
NOT happen prepare for the possibility of business failure.

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FORGET THE HYPE FOCUS ON GETTING IT DONE!
Hype can be seductive and delusional. Put your head down and get the work done. That’s
what counts for your customersand your business.

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PROCESSES RUN BUSINESS PEOPLE RUNPROCESSES
Clearly defined business processes canmake all the difference. You canhave the best talent
but a lack of business processes will fail to realize the full potential of your brand

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A BRAND CANNOT BEEVERYTHING TOEVERYONE
It is so important to define what your brand is about and who its targeting. A brand cannot be
everything to everyone. Consider how Apple appealsto certain market segments and not
others. Find your brand ‘tribe’ and focus on a niche

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MARKET RESEARCH MEANS HITTING THE GROUND
Forget online research only. Going out and meeting people to demonstrate your product or
service in person is one of the best ways of better understanding what they think of it and
how to iterate to the next version.

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COLD CALLING STILL WORKS
Cold calling, which literally meansknocking on doorsunannounced to get business still works.
This works well especially when you have qualified a sales target who can truly benefit from
what you have to offer.

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UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS AREYOUR TRUENORTH
When all is said and done, the customers who are the most difficult and have issues with your
business can truly help you make your business better with their candid feedback. As
Microsoft’s Bill Gates once said, ‘Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of
learning’.

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PROACTIVELY SOLICIT CUSTOMER REFERRALS
Don’t wait for customer referrals to happen serendipitously. Make them them happen on
purpose. This means reaching out to existing customers who shouldideally be happy with
your services to recommend several names of other people or businesses

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SOCIAL MEDIA ISOVERRATED
Social media is overrated. Everyone is doing social media but forgetting the basics of
marketing and customerservice. Go out there, meet people, get business, in person.

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EMAIL MARKETING OUTPERFORMS SOCIAL MEDIA
Its true. Google the research. Email marketing leads to more conversions than social media
does. Email marketing done right will sell more. The best part is that its one-on-one and highly
measurable

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THE GOAL OFALL MARKETING ISSALES
Yes. Its true. Ultimately, all marketing should lead to sales, in addition to brand awareness and
other ‘softer’ objectives. Sales conversions matter. End of story.

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GREAT PUBLIC RELATIONS WORKS WONDERS
In the digital age its still impressive to see how effective public relations still is.This means
engaging regularly with media to get your message out there on digital and traditional media
with a great story about your brand

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MAKE YOUR BRAND OMNIPRESENT
Be everywhere all the time. Make your brand visible on all channels always.This takes work
but avoids the classic startup problem of obscurity.

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COMPANY CULTURE DRIVES EVERYTHING
A company with a great culture is able to become a business that exceed all odds.A company
culture is everything. Customer service in particularcan be largely seen as a result of a good
company culture – how much does your brand care about the customer?

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CREATE SERENDIPITY
Create moments of serendipity by getting out there to meet people all the time. Serendipity
leads to new opportunities.

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DON’T GET DISTRACTED BY THECOMPETITION
If your business is really solid andyou have something of value for your customers then
competition should not be your focus – your customers should be. Clients only leave when
they have a better option, not when you are delivering exceptional value for money

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SALES ARE EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN
Customers buy with their hearts, not their minds.Therefore, a solid brand knows which
emotional triggers workfor their offerings. Why do people buy Apple products?

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PIVOT YOUR BUSINESS EVERYDAY
Nothing stays constant in the world so make sure your ‘pivoting’ your business everyday to
keep up with the changes happening around you.

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BE OBSESSIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING
Everything matters. EVERYTHING. Being obsessive counts as itcan make a good product
become great and a lost customer become an enthusiastic brand advocate.

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YOUR BRAND IS A MEDIA COMPANY
True story. Every brand today is a media company that uses social mediaand digital marketing
channels to produce and distribute its brand content. RedBull is the best example out there
today.

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MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS STILL MATTER
Digital marketing is NOT the end game. Digital is ultimately a mix of channels but the
marketing strategy ultimately drives the message on the channels. Remember this!

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ABOVE ALL ELSE FAMILY FIRST
Startups can be all consuming. They can burneverything in your life. This happens. All. The.
Time! Just remember when all is said and done, all you have is your family so never lose sight
of that. They are what matters the most.

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BEND REALITY
To your will. Nothing is writ. Nothing is truly lost or won. Just make it happen.

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THANK YOU!
Moses Kemibaro
moses@moseskemibaro.com
@moseskemibaro
moseskemibaro.com