“Few startups try to know their customers,” Okolloh said. “I read my customers feedback obsessively. The best person to help you is your customer. The first ten people who download your app are the ones who will help refine your product. Your first 100 customers teach you a lot.” She called upon the participants to listen to their customers feedback as it was the people and not technology that mattered and challenged them to reach out to customers in the counties and villages instead of staying in tech hubs where there are no customers. Okolloh said that the mistake most entrepreneurs make is thinking they are too cool to reach out even when no one is buying their products. Instead she urged them to engage the private sector and move out to solve problems than staying in their comfort zones. Reminiscing her time at Ushahidi, Okolloh said they struggled to raise money, didn’t even have a business model nor budget for marketing and PR until she learnt the art of story telling as the Executive Director. She asked the participants to learn the art of story telling and let their clients tell their stories for them instead. “Clients are your best sales people. Let your clients spread the word for you,” she added. Unlike in Nigeria where founders of firms such as Konga and Paga are doing seed rounds into young startups, Kenya still needs to encourage more local investors to make it sustainable. However, she urged the entrepreneurs to believe in their work enough, see the bigger picture and have confidence instead of buying into the Mzungu co-founder ideology. The week-long accelerator gave participants hands-on skills and insights on how to scale their companies from ideas to profitable businesses. The startups drawn from creative media and emerging technologies included:
