It's better to build a 'jumia' ripoff than any original idea -Yet -...and why Mpesa wouldnt make it without Safaricom.
I came across a post talking about seeing so many copycats in the Kenyan tech scene and why there really are not as many new-ish ideas
Dev's try and build a startup on the side,the grind is hard and they always go and build a ride hailing app,a Jumia clone,a delivery app,a house help app etc....and I really wanted to push across my thoughts
It really is a matter of 2 facts ;
it is always (statistically) better to be a second mover,learn from the wins and failures of the first mover advantage and make a radically better product,or a competing product at the least,see Uber vs Lyft vs bolt....see kilimall vs Jumia in Kenya
2.Funding,esp in Africa and Kenya as well,is difficult.Look at nearly all funded startups in Kenya and most fit the second mover profile because our VCs and Angels will only fund something they've seen work...Our VCs and Angels aren't really 'risk takers per se - esp if you are a first time founder,better bring the numbers (seed levels of traction at preseed) and then be in a market that's established.
Bootstrapping is very difficult... Mpesa without Safaricom would have struggled to get off the ground if they were trying the VC route,Too new an idea,no one has done it,must mean it's stupid..and why would I give an agent my money,what if tomorrow they've moved shop?Our VCs do a good job,but their risk profile matches a pension fund managers...
So what can we build?I think it's better to build an adjacent product to what exists (Symbiotic products for an apps customers...for example,a househelp/admin app gig worker would probably need a hardware app for plumbing,electrical toolings etc..its not a good example but you get the gist) , or a localised 'ripoff' of a working product,we are not yet there, Interms of funding , to try and build unique unicorns,or even camels..
what do you think anyway ? and are you building a 'ripoff' or an adjacent market?...The Dev job market is tough ,let's build clever .
