Building The Team

"How can I grow my team without capital?" This question was asked in VC4Africa's Q&A Forum and it is definitely a challenge that several startups face on their journey to establishment. Gosabi has been dealing with this issue since Day 1.

We decided on developing the core of our platform as a duo and then move on to hiring a third resource for assistance in marketing & business development when the time ripened. The time is now ripe.

With a new interface, simple array of marketing tools and workable search algorithm, our platform is ready for promotion and we're looking for a talented intern to help us get things to the next level. We're looking forward to a fresh perspective from somebody who believes in Gosabi's potential and is up for the challenge of bridging the gap between traditional sales in Africa and online/digital media.

If this sounds like anybody you know write to jobs@gosabi.com. Because right now we happen to be fishing ;)

The August Conquest

If the problem has a solution, worrying is pointless, in the end the problem will be solved. If the problem has no solution, there is no reason to worry, because it can't be solved.

The challenges mounted in August and so we mounted the challenges. Early on in the month, by the hand of darkness itself, a midnight visit by gunmen slowed down our tempo when they neutralized our core developer and proceeded to rid him of his laptop and external HD backup. This was half of our new code work on Gosabi; a major setback. So just in case you haven't noticed what kind of spirit we are possessed with: we don't quit. We turned this trial into triumph by taking the opportunity to build a new design structure that we had planned for much later.

The limitations of scaling ops on a shoestring budget were becoming overbearing and investors that we were in dialogue with kept trying to frame our business model on the exact one we were trying to avoid. Premium and relevant content only; this is how simple our plan was. But the shortcut to easy monetization seemed a lot more appealing -- to everyone but us. We decided to strip down our operations, stay lean and focus on areas that we didn't require much budget to cover.

There's nothing like strategy sessions at a great incubator to gear you up for the tasks of hardcore techpreneurship. As a business unit we've learned that in competition, the first opponent to conquer is oneself. Once you can operate coherently as a business unit, external threats become powerless in the face of internal drive and creativity.

We're releasing Gosabi 3.0 today: a new design, better marketing tools for local businesses and over 1,500 business listed throughout Buea, Limbe, Kribi & Douala. With dozens of activities set up for September, we can humbly say that, with your support, we are growing into the largest search directory in Cameroon.

Sometimes loss is the missing piece in the puzzle to conquest.

The July Progression

ActivSpaces, perched on "Silicon Mountain" itself, had a front-row view to the season of mist and rainfall. We spent a lot more quiet time indoors, thinking up strategies on how we would approach the market. Ideas flew in from left and right but we were determined to cater to our consumers by keeping it simple and truly valuable.

Our ear to social media had checked our progress indicators; consumers found Gosabi to be simple to use and they clamored for information from more regions. Testifying to the utility of the platform, analyses showed that 70% of our growing traffic was return-visitors. We decided to build on this by making the site even simpler with a new design and better search algorithm while taking steps towards getting more content. By July 22nd, we had gathered a considerable amount of data from Douala (the commercial capital), Yaounde (the administrative capital), and from the grasslands, Bamenda.

We were not ready to throw this information out into the fray to get feedback we already had. Besides, events had drawn our attention to the fact that we had bogies hot on our trail. So our next phase was going to involve a practical way of connecting visitors with listed organizations. In this light, we decided to keep the Accounts section closed for another month while we built a new functionality into the system. Retreating was against our traditional principles, but we had to adapt to circumstances. We were also positive that within one month, we would be making one of the coolest announcements in Cameroon's history of online marketing.

It was a slow, steady and silent progression.

Here Lies Our [Predefined] Revenue Model

In Africa, ceremonies of death are much more of a celebration than a period of mourning. We celebrate because it is a blessing to have one of ours pass into the spirit realm where they are closer to the universal source of vitality.

If you are in the process of developing “webware” and you have or are trying to develop a revenue model, here’s the best advice: kill it and bury it. You will forever celebrate that decision.

During the development of Gosabi we posted up our project onto the best venture capital platform we could find: VC4Africa.biz. A few investors have taken interest, and during meet-ups or discussions we inevitably reach that question that makes us chuckle: “How are you going to make money from this?”

Before we tell you our answer…

Three reasons why you should/need not predefine a revenue model...

1. Unpredictability: Webware is all too unpredictable. Your project starts off as your brainchild, but its success depends on how well you can turn it into the brainchild of your target audience, i.e. how well you respond to feedback and forge it into a product suitable for your user-base. This is the organic nature of the web. You will find that the idea you started with often morphs into something quite different, possibly rendering your revenue model obsolete.
2. Time-consuming: Coming up with a predefined revenue model is time-consuming. This is related to the fact that your webware still has a very unpredictable future. You will find yourself trying to figure out cash-in and cash-out flowcharts, imagining how they will change when you’re a big hit, and building that whole fantasy into your system. Once on-field realities sink in and changes have to be made to your webware, you’ll have a lot more infrastructure to deal with as well. Oops.
3. Distortion: Focusing on a revenue model may distort the true vision behind your project. What is the solution you are trying to deliver? Focus on that. We don’t have to point you to websites that offer plenty of advertising space but are deficient in core content and purpose. That's a failure recipe if ever you saw one. So don’t quest for revenue, quest for resourcefulness. Revenue follows resourcefulness by default – even in the dictionary.

Q: “How are you going to make money from this?”

A: We haven’t put a great deal of thought into that yet.

Give people something that is of value to them and they’ll compensate you for it. We’re not building castles in the sky no matter how popular clouds are becoming ;) We want to be sure that the people have a search tool that is relevant and useful to them. Once we succeed in terms of resourcefulness there will probably be several ways we can succeed in terms of revenue. But there will certainly be no revenue if there is no resourcefulness.

We killed and buried our [predefined] revenue model when we realized it was bringing us more problems than solutions. As sure as the cycle of life continues, the revenue model will be reincarnated when it's time is due.

Share Media

We’ve recently added social connectivity to Gosabi. You can now click on the social network buttons to share listings that you find on Gosabi with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Use these tools to introduce others to the service and to get a second opinion on products, services and organizations that you find there.

You will also notice the “Comments” icon near the share buttons. Click on that button to view and/or share Facebook-synchronized reviews and conversations about particular listings.

Keep letting us know what you think as the structure of the site evolves. Give feedback@gosabi.com anytime.

Happy Fishing ;)

The June Rubicon

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the River Rubicon (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only one legion and ignited civil war. “Let the dice be cast,” he said.

We’ve learned from several strategists that sometimes the best course of action to take is one you are unprepared for. Robert Greene, author of the 33 Strategies of War, instructs that we should place ourselves on “Death Ground” – in a situation that is apparently hopeless. According to Greene, when there are no other options, we fight harder. So we should take the one-and-only-chance approach. No plan Bs. Win or perish.

We maintained this philosophy in development of the Gosabi Project. This kind of thinking drives creativity and creates a sense of urgency. With an extreme limitation in manpower and resources, Gosabi was conceived within 1 ½ months of being imagined. We have content from Buea, Limbe & Kribi (key areas in the South West Region of Cameroon) and are currently developing data for Douala and Yaoundé (the commercial and administrative capitals respectively).

We brought in a few dozen beta testers who gave positive feedback on the interface and usability. They were also the heaven-sent pest control who helped us swat bugs here and there. They were equally given access to a section of the site not currently accessible by the public – the Accounts section that we look forward to opening up in July. We are currently refining our tactics and functionality in this section based on their invaluable input.

June was our Rubicon; we committed ourselves to getting Gosabi online in the best possible form that we could accomplish in the small timeframe and budget we were working with. We know you have thousands of ideas on ways to increase the utility of Gosabi.com and we’d love to hear them. We have quite a number of our own ;)

Consider the search directory available now at www.Gosabi.com as a simple foundation for what will be an awesome tool to help you find your way around local markets, wherever you may be.

Now that we’ve crossed the Rubicon, let’s start conquering territory.

Life Is An Algorithm And Then You Marry One

Every day of our lives, we have to figure out the logical process by which we are going to sort out and handle the immediate problems facing us. We are subconsciously thinking up algorithms all the time.

In war, like in business, the smartest strategists are simply those with the most sophisticated algorithms. They think several steps ahead and develop preemptive measures that are activated under a variety of conditions. To add to their genius, they adapt around unforeseen and new circumstances.

In the field of search marketing, this reality is much more of a headache. The newbie develops a search algorithm that imaginably will serve for a while to come. But with each new change in infrastructure and each update to the database, it becomes clear that in order to keep results efficient and relevant, the algorithm has to change too.

When we started developing Gosabi, a member of our incubator [ActivSpaces], far surpassing us in software development knowledge, told us that he had never taken up the challenge of building a search tool after learning of the hardships that giants like Google had braved.

Bear with Gosabi on the search. It is far from the most efficient, but we’ve understood that there is going to be a long courtship before we subdue that algorithm. She’s playing hard-to-get and that’s how she should play; the final result will be worth it ;)

For now we suggest that you try and use the simplest mainstream words for whatever you are looking for. We really appreciate all the beta testers who’ve given us invaluable feedback. And if you can’t find what you are looking for on Gosabi, contact us and tell us what it is.

Happy Fishing!

The May Prototype

One and a half months into development of the Gosabi Project and we had made a few significant advances.

Firstly, we were incubated in Cameroon’s only collaboration suite, ActivSpaces. Our office was perched on the slopes of Mt. Cameroon; local media had actually dubbed the place “Silicon Mountain”. It was the perfect place for lofty ideas and grand ambition. There was a vibrant and supportive energy there that kept us working round the clock. This was a privilege that would be remembered for a lifetime.

Secondly, we had developed a prototype. A large part of this month had gone into testing and tweaks. As the rookies that we were, we had used the most basic development tools. However, we had used them to satisfaction. The prototype was almost ready for launching.

We set our sights on June, when we would let the dice be cast -- and cross the Rubicon.

The April Genesis

Development of the Gosabi Project commenced in mid-April, 2011 after a lot of naysaying and criticism. "There are giants in the search market", "Africans don't even have content online", "Make sure your code works before you start dreaming" and "I'm going to leave you alone now" were the comments that met most talk about an African premium-content search engine.

Simply put, we just wanted a search utility where you could be looking for something in an area near you and actually find it without having to filter through a whole lot of cybernetic dross. This was something that almost no search engine could provide for you. More importantly, it seemed that the things we were looking for perhaps weren't even online... yet. So we set to work with the unique objective of building this solution.

This is our story.