The Unseen Side of Innovation

I was given a difficult task: to increase the tipping culture in Kenya by building a digital tipping platform. I took up the challenge in July 2021. The journey had its ups and downs, but it was deeply rewarding. Watching the growth of both the business and myself felt like a breath of fresh air. It was exactly what I had wanted to do.

In my final year of university, I knew I wanted to be an innovator and entrepreneur. I had already built a few projects and led my team to win a national competition. But all of that wasn’t enough. I still felt I lacked the core skills required to build a successful and innovative business. One glaring example of this was the fact that we had won a competition with a product that had no customers. Worse still—we hadn’t even spoken to any. We simply built something that sounded great on paper but would have collapsed if we had taken it to market.

When I graduated in January 2021, I knew I had much to learn. I actively searched for a place where I could study the craft of building startups. That’s when I stumbled upon Impact Africa Network. I never looked back.

In the time that followed, I experienced what it truly takes to build a company from 0 to 1. On the surface, it was thrilling—but the devil was always in the details. There were late nights and early mornings, waves of excitement and long hours of frustration, moments of strong conviction followed by periods of crippling doubt, flashes of triumph followed by a deep sense of dread.

I wore many hats. I was a backend software developer. I conducted market research. I won and lost sales. I took customer support calls, built pitch decks, pitched to investors, closed some, and lost others. I hired great people, let go of some, and received resignations I didn’t expect. It sounds like a lot—and it was—but in truth, that was only the tip of the iceberg. I had only done three years of this work. There was far more ahead than behind.

By the time I left, we were just beginning to see the signs of product-market fit and feel the teething pains of hockey-stick growth. We had customers who loved the product and used it every day. Strategic partnerships were forming and growing stronger by the week.

Amid all the chaos that came with building a startup in Africa, one truth stood firm: there is opportunity. But as Thomas Edison once said, “Most people miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.”

Make no mistake—it takes time and relentless effort to build something new. Most days aren’t glamorous. They’re a grind. A continuous plowing through of the mundane and the difficult. In a sense, you have to glorify the grind—carry it like a badge of honor. It’s the only way to stay sane when things get tough. You look at the mountain of work and whisper to yourself, “It’s going to be worth it.”

Whether it's 5 or 10 years down the line, it will be worth it.

It takes a kind of optimism—sometimes even delusion—to watch the world fall apart around you and still believe in what it could be. Sometimes, you just need to be a mule—stubbornly holding on to a vision you believe is right, even when nothing seems to be working in your favor.

Eventhough things happened the way they did, I believe that those who strive for good will eventually be vindicated. History has shown this time and time again: truth always prevails. Good always takes the day. No matter how long it takes, those who keep moving forward—no matter how slowly—can move mountains, sway nations, enlighten generations, and change the course of history.

And when they do, their essence lives on—etched into the minds and hearts of the people, the manuscripts and stories of our time, and the cultures and values of generations to come.