How I persuaded a billionaire to invest in a startup was something I could’ve done with my eyes closed. Why? Because he wanted me to do it.
I’m a student of David Ogilvy and If there is one golden lesson I learnt about the subtle art of persuasion is that you can never bore people into buying your idea!
I have a mantra that says ‘Pro-elegance meets anti-cliché’ which means I keep it simple and stay unpredictable when crafting masterpieces. Whenever I go fishing with my pen, it is often a fish galore when I’m done.
This is a story of how I persuaded billionaire, Joseph Kusaga to invest ten million shillings in a tech startup.
Now, Joseph Kusaga is a Tanzanian media magnate, CEO, and Founder of Clouds Media Group which owns Clouds FM, one of the country’s leading radio stations.
He is a hard man to please but yeah, it was just another calm day in the ocean for me.
So, ten million! Why? How? Who? When? and Where? I will give you all the tea in a bit.
Why it happened
Joseph Kusaga was turning 55 in July 2021, so he wanted to give back to the community by funding 55 youth-led businesses with 10,000,000 each.
The ten million was a growth investment that would solely pay for advertising costs at Clouds FM and TV.
How it happened
It was announced on radio and TV for over two weeks. Businesses were encouraged to apply for the deal which was dubbed ‘Mchongo wa Big Joe’ meaning Big Joe’s Deal.
The mode of application was simple, send an email to Joseph Kusaga telling him the following things:
- About your company
- Why is your company worthy of the deal?
- How will your company benefit from the deal?
- Why should your company benefit from the deal?
Since he asked in Swahili, I responded in the same language but of course, with a little bit of code-mixing here and there, after all, that’s what Clouds FM does ON AIR.
Who secured the bag?
TenTen Explore, a client that I had been working with for the past six months. They told me they were interested in grabbing the deal and I told them ‘say no more.’
TenTen Explore is Tanzania’s first travel marketplace that allows local tourists to book vacations by paying in instalments on a mobile app.
Here is a summary of the responses in English.
Why is TenTen Explore worth the deal?
TenTen solves information and payment problems for domestic tourists and people should know that a solution exists.
How will TenTen benefit from the deal?
The deal will boost product awareness for the solution TenTen offers.
Why should TenTen benefit from the deal?
When TenTen benefits, Tanzania benefits as well. The platform simplifies business by connecting tourists with service providers.
I also explained how different stakeholders in the tourism value chain could benefit from the success of the mobile app.
When and where
TenTen emerged as one of 55 winners above more than 2000 companies that applied for the deal.
Winners were invited to Joseph Kusaga’s star-studded birthday party at Clouds Media HQ in, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The event was themed ‘Night of Deals’.
We were handed a 550 million cheque worth of advertising investment in presence of the then Minister for Industry and Trade, Prof. Kitila Mkumbo and the current Minister for Information, Communications and Information Technology.
Questions!
- Did TenTen Explore deserve it? Absolutely.
- Do I think TenTen were lucky? Maybe.
- Did TenTen grow after the investment? I believe so.
I hope you learnt a thing or two from how I persuaded a billionaire to invest millions in a startup. Till next time. Bless