Move fast and break things
July 16th, 2013
At 88mph, we urge our startups to go to market fast with a minimal viable product – that means releasing web and mobile apps that they may not have all the bells and whistles, but have a solid basis for getting picked up in the market and providing value to consumers.
It’d be hypocritical of us not to practice what we preach. Which is why we took notice of a presentation given by Y Combinator’s Paul Graham at 500 Startups’ PreMoney Conference.
Talking about how early stage investors can differentiate themselves, here’s what he said: move fast, and don’t over-invest in startups just to get a certain percentage of equity.
“One of the biggest things investors do not get about the fund raising process is what an immense cost talking to them imposes on the startups that are raising money, especially when a startup consists just of the founders. Everything completely grinds to a halt during fundraising,” Graham said at the conference.
That’s why at 88mph, we invest little amounts of money in LOTS of companies. Since 2011, we’ve gone through 3 accelerator programs and have made 23 investments in portfolio companies. To date, we’ve spent over $1.5 million dollars investing and supporting startups in Africa. Emphasis is always placed on great teams with scalable products and speed to market.
In the wise words of the legendary one-hit-wonder Matthew Wilder, ain’t nothing gonna break our stride, we’ve got to keep on mooo—ooo—-vinggg.
We’re now accepting applications for the next batch of startups in Nairobi. Apply now – August 1 deadline!