Interswitch GMD, Mitchell Elegbe has advised entrepreneurs to have a clear business model before seeking startup capital.
The Interswitch boss made this remark during a two-hour Webinar Startup Insight series themed ‘Why startup capital is necessary, but not sufficient’. The online session was attended by different entrepreneurs.
Elegbe stated that when looking for capital for business, entrepreneurs should bear in mind the problem they intend to solve. He said it is important to know the appropriate business model required.
He advised entrepreneurs to critically think about their business models, stating: “The bigger the problem you want to solve, the more coherent your business model should be.”
Narrating his experience prior to the emergence of Interswitch, Mitchell said he recognized Nigeria had payment problems but he had very little knowledge of the banking industry having cut his teeth career-wise in the telecommunications and oil & gas sectors.
However, because he understood the problem he was trying to solve, he went for different pitches and scaled through.
Elegbe also spoke about the concept of Greiner growth curve in business which posits that businesses will go through six stages of evolving growth and five revolutions of crisis stages.
He explained that the ability to move from one stage to the other is what will make a business. He advised entrepreneurs to consider partnerships later in business, noting that at that time a name would have been made for the brand.
He concluded by encouraging business owners to recognize their times and seasons. According to him, if a business is run successfully for two years, then the most dangerous part has been overcome. The next challenge will be how to scale the business.
“Business owners should not do the same thing for a long time. They should be dynamic in their line of thought. Business owners should see difficult times as a golden opportunity to make their brands better. May you see your golden opportunity”, he added.
