by Jermaine Henry
I have started this blog because I feel compelled to share the lessons I learnt while I was working on my first startup (Agrocentral). My journey with AgroCentral was full of twists, turns and distractions however the experience was invaluable and taught me a lot about providing value and what it takes to create a business.
Now, the first lesson I want to share is this: “Until you have provided value to someone then you deserve NOTHING”. In my 3 years in the startup world I have seen countless entrepreneurs and founders put the carriage before the horse. I have seen them focus on raising capital, entering competitions, applying for grants and attending every bootcamp and conference known to man without having a single happy customer/user. They provided no value to anyone yet they spend time f@*^ing around with all these activities.
Now what they don’t understand is that competitions, bootcamps and all those things provide instant gratification and if you’re not focused you begin to lose sight of what really matters. BUILDING YOUR BUSINESS. We need to, as entrepreneurs, truly understand the needs of our customers in order to build. We can continue to f@*k around but we have to understand that “If you give people what they want, you will truly win”. So before you get a team/cofounder, before you apply for that grant, before you accept that free plane ticket think about how many persons you have given what they truly want.
I fell victim to the lure of many of these distractions while working on AgroCentral and I saw the consequences in my lack of customers and revenue. I am in the process of working with a new startup (www.finatric.com) and I am just trying to learn how I can solve problems, provide value to our chosen customers and make sales (yes actual money) before I start doing anything else.
Final Quote: “If you feel stuck the answer may be in your results.”
Jermaine Henry is a Jamaican tech Entrepreneur on this journey and now on to this second startup.
eCommerce12 months ago