In the startup world, we look for indicators which could be catalytic for the success of any idea. Besides the team, execution capability, and the playbook, if those indicators are not there, the startup will fail. As a result of that, most strategists think that timing the market is where you separate the boys/girls from the men/women.

And that timing means understanding that without smartphones in Nigeria, we would not have the fintech era as we do. It is having the awareness that without logistics in Okigwe that an ecommerce business will struggle there. So, the timing is essentially making sure that you are launching that business at a specific period when other factors are available to cushion its success.  Yes, VR/AR may be a great idea today in Nigeria but the timing is way off right now!

In this Tekedia piece, Samuel Ajiboyede posits: “A study conducted about reasons startups fail showed that timing accounts for 42 percent of team successes or failures in any business, higher than any other factor. The timing was seen to be more important than execution, funding, team, and even the idea. More than every other factor, timing is most critical to the success or failure of any startup.”

Pay attention to all the factors around that business.

Startup Success: Timing May Be More Important Than The Idea

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment 1: How can Timing be more important than the very Idea it’s complementing? Isn’t that a fallacious thing to say? It’s like saying that a means is more important than its end. What good is a Cause that has no Effect or a Means to no End? These things work hand in hand. The means is equally as important as the end.

Likewise, the role Timing plays, as means to an end, in the success of an Idea or a Mission cannot be overemphasised. We live in a 4 dimensional universe in which Time is the 4th Dimension. It maybe abstract and seemingly unreal, but its impact can be Felt and Measured in every actionable event and that makes it very real.

It’s real in mathematics and every branch of science. It’s real for the meals cooking in the kitchen and the elements doing the cooking, it’s real for every musical note on any music sheet, it’s real for the atoms and molecules of our bodies that are constantly in motion, it’s real for our every programs, meetings, events and church schedules, it’s real for everyone and everything that happens in our day to affairs, so why wouldn’t it be real for Ideation and Innovation? You ignore Time at your own peril.

Response by a user:

The innovators, builders and makers continue to choose Tekedia Startup Masterclass where we co-learn with founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders, on how to begin and scale businesses. I have recorded an 8-week course specifically designed for those who are starting something, either in an existing company or a startup/SME. Besides the courseware, we  have one-on-one Zoom sessions to answer your questions.

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Tekedia Startup Masterclass: from Start-Up to Unicorn is designed to help founders, entrepreneurs, and those generally working in the startup ecosystems, to master the mechanics of building category-king startups. The program runs for 8 weeks and it includes an hour-long one-on-one Zoom session every week, per participant, with Tekedia Institute’s Lead Faculty, Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe.

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Message from YouthUp: “If you are a female undergraduate student in any African country studying accounting, business admin, banking, finance and related areas, send a statement of purpose explaining why you should be considered for this scholarship, including details of the program of study and university or college to  info@youthupglobal.com. We will do the selection. Then, we will send the list to Tekedia Institute for enrollment.”

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“The strategy behind these fintech players is largely to onboard users who are already banked (to some extent) and offer them financial services that their banks do not see them as profitable (or safe) enough to offer to,” Maro Elias posits in a piece in Tekedia.

What do you think is the grand playbook of fintech companies in Nigeria and Africa? Being marginal to banks or actually going to eat the cake which banks have been eating? But guess what: the profit levels of banks have not dropped since the effervescence we have seen in the fintech world.

And what could that mean? This could be symbiotic in the short-term for banks and fintechs. Do not ask me what happens in the long-term!

Who Solves the Small Scale Payment Problems in Nigeria (MTN, eNaira, etc)?

A study conducted about reasons startups fail showed that timing accounts for 42 percent of team successes or failures in any business, higher than any other factor. The timing was seen to be more important than execution, funding, team, and even the idea. More than every other factor, timing is most critical to the success or failure of any startup.

Let us discuss it.

The timing simply answers the question of whether the market is ready for what you are offering. Is the idea too early, too late, or just in time.

Picture this. If 100 years ago, someone brought a business producing electric blenders or mixers, to introduce to a community with no access to electricity, what do you think would be the fate of that business?

Is the idea valid? Yes.

Does it solve a real problem? Yes, people need to save time in cooking their foods.

Is the market ready for it? No. No one would spend money to build an electric food blender when he has no access to electricity. Simply put, that idea or innovation would be described as being way ahead of the times.

For a better perspective, there was an online streaming platform that started out in the 1990s but folded up after three years. In the 2000s, another online streaming platform came up and has survived till now – Netflix. What accounted for the failure of the first and the success of the second? Timing.

In the 1990s, internet broadband penetration was still low even in the United States of America, and even people who had access had to deal with low-quality connections. By contrast, the 2000s already had high internet broadband penetration in place and several other technological facilities. This singular difference alone accounted for the success of Netflix.

The ubiquity of the internet made for the success of a lot of digital or internet-based business ideas. It will remain on for a while, but we are gradually going to move into an age powered by Artificial intelligence and we will see a change in the nature of startups and their business ideas. In-vehicle manufacturing, we can already see a shift from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles.

If you have a business that failed, I urge you to go back and take a second look. Ask yourself if that business idea stands a better chance in the next 10 years. Find out if there is a specific technological advancement that may help your business penetrate the market better, and probe to see if there are plans underway to bring that technology into the market.

My point is that the same idea that failed 20 years ago, could become a success today, and the business that fails today may have a better fate in the next couple of years. Your customers have to be ready to accept what you want to give them or you will not have a business for long. Every idea is valid but Timing can be everything about the success or otherwise of the business.