Yes you heard right, you read right and you think right, the Angels are for sure in Lagos with bags of money for you – and by you, I mean you and your startup. Nubi started the gist by writing on The Angels are coming to Lagos, Nigeria with bags of Money and MrBankole also mentioned it in his tech report at Mobile Monday so, I had no choice but to go and meet the Angels for my own bag(s) of money.
To my surprise, these Angels weren’t in white gowns, dropping money to anyone that could stretch out a hand, they were some smart guys in suits with market analysis and all it takes to raise a startup to world standard from scratch. Basically, they invest money and mentorship into startups.
Well, I went for ‘Entrepreneurs and Developers’ so I will be glad to highlight some key points you need to address to attract the Angels’ attention.
Team Up/Collaborate
Before thinking of going to talk with the Angels, have you put your team together? And I must tell you, your team should cut across all the ranges of business – brains, developer and strategist – there is no problem if they emerge from other fields. For example, Deji, co-founder of Jobberman, was a lawyer in training when the company started but he walked up to developers who he knew were experts in the field and they came up with Jobberman. This attracted an Angel, without them going to meet one. The Angels believe in investing in team projects than in a ‘one man all-in-one’ business.
It also amazed me when Peter Lockhart of 2go and Emmanuel Oluwatosin from Mobile Monday Nigeria also pondered on the same thing at the APPGIG event when talking to developers on 27th of September.
Solve Real Problems.
The local investors are in a race to control this tech industry in which foreign investors have been competing with them (2go, Google, Eskimi and others), and they realize the way to have an edge is to work with local developers who have talent and access to day-to-day problems faced on the Nigerian streets and can provide solutions. They are ready to invest in with money and mentorship to compete with world standard solutions – they believe in businesses that are solving real problems.
Make mistakes but not the same old ones
One of the primary reasons that gave birth to Lagos Angel Network is the need to encourage you to make new mistakes. The network will give you a wide range of mentorship which is more important than the money they are to invest in your business. Every big company was once small; they grew by learning from mistakes they made over time. This goes to show that we need help to move forward.
The good news for you as a tech entrepreneur is that these Angels are not only here for technology – they are also here as a product that will cut across all stages of production.
