@pr0_journal Scalping because failures are fast, data collection fast, failing forward and then rewards are also fast. For lesser capital the reward for swinging relative to time is worthless.
Wealthy African men like total control because it has always worked for them, and nothing you will tell them will make them think otherwise. They learn to become dominant after swimming with sharks and learning that the first rule of Nigeria's corporate streets is eat or be eaten.
My uncle learned this the hard way several times in banking. 3 times to be precise. The last and painful one was with another relative. So, he became a shark too. The last time I brought an acquisition opportunity, they wanted 51% or nothing. 45% didn't cut it. We let it go. That same opportunity is what Opay and the others are doing today.
I was also on the receiving end of this with a JV we did for a multimillion-dollar tech project in the early 2000s. A project I initiated and where I did all the groundwork. I was asked to take 5% or nothing. I protested, was locked out of the office, and got the option of nothing. After that incident, @nelsonchudi gave me the best advice ever: "Always do business with your peers."
The wealthy Nigerian doesn't see you as a peer and thinks you should be grateful for any association. This is why they typically own almost everything in their businesses, and when they do IPOs, you are left with the crumbs.
This is a pattern, not an indictment of anyone, and they have their own valid reasons for it, as we saw with ECONET Nigeria and others. Nigerian Big men don't collaborate well. This is one of the very sad reasons behind our backwardness, as we are now seeing it being reflected in our politics. To the winner, the spoils.
People see me flexing and say they want to be like me until they hear what happens behind the scenes. Every year I lock in and torture myself for 4-6 months. No shortcuts. No comfort. Just pure discipline. That’s the real price of getting to the level everyone admires. You want the top 1%? Then do what 99% won’t.
Stand tall. Dont crack. Endure. You can die tomorrow. Today you do the only thing you can do. You fight. You rage on. You do what you came to do. You finish what you started. No matter how much it costs. How long it takes. Or how much it hurts. Because you said you would.