Recently, I joined the marketing team of a startup, and what I found was both fascinating and painfully familiar.
The founder had been building his dream product for nearly two years. A shiny, complex website. A full-blown Amazon alternative for Africa. The vision? Noble. The execution? Ambitious.
He was inspired by his experience with Amazon, buying goods, publishing books, and seeing how seamless it all was. Then, one day, the lightbulb moment:
“Africa needs its own Amazon.”
And he didn’t just stop at dreaming, he got to work. That’s the kind of bold thinking we need more of on this continent.
🚨 But Here’s Where It Gets Tricky…
The founder didn’t stop at the dream. He went full throttle.
The website? Still not live after 2 years.
The team? 15+ people, complete with departments.
HR? Yes. complete with weekly staff meetings and 15-minute motivational speeches.
Employment letters? Issued.
Pensions? Discussed.
Promotions and equity promises? “Everyone gets 5%.”
Tech validation? AWS credits from an accelerator.
Job boards? Filled with new vacancy ads weekly.
It had everything. Everything… except customers.
So I asked the one question no one else seemed to be asking:
“Have you spoken directly to any potential customers?” People who might actually use or pay for this platform?
His answer?
“No. That’s what I hired marketers for.”
Not even one person?
No, he said
🤯 The Startup Illusion: Building Without Buyers
Unfortunately, this is not a one-off story. In many parts of the world, especially within emerging startup ecosystems, we’ve seen this pattern too many times:
✅ Big vision ✅ Full team ✅ Fancy titles ✅ Legal documents ✅ Stealth-mode website
But zero customer conversations. No one is asking: “Is anyone in my environment ready to pay for this?”
So here’s the real question every business owner should ask:
Between employees and customers, who comes first?
💡 My Practical Take: Start With the Customer
Always. Not with a 15-person team you can’t pay. Not with equity promises you can’t fulfill. Not with advisors who hype your vision but never challenge it.
Your first 15 hires should be customers, not staff.
🧠 Ask Yourself:
Who will actually pay for this product?
Have I spoken to real people with this problem?
Is anyone in my environment actively looking for this solution or can I convince them to pay for it?
Yes, your idea might be valid, maybe even brilliant. But how long can you pay salaries and run “launch meetings” before someone buys in?
📉 Without Customers, You’re Rehearsing
You may be building something beautiful… But it could be a luxury bus with no passengers. A product with no demand. A solution no one is paying for.
🚀 Build With People, Not Just Products
✅ Talk to potential users early. ✅ Test your assumptions before sending out employment letters. ✅ Have advisors who challenge you, not sugarcoat your roadmap. ✅ Accept that while your solution might be good, your environment might not be ready to buy it yet.
👣 So, Before You Hire the Next batch of Volunteer Interns
✅ Talk to your customers. ✅ Build traction first. ✅ Prove the need. ✅ Then build your team.
And that starts with one thing: Talking to the people you’re trying to help.
