Jason Njoku, the CEO of iROKOtv has shared some hard truth about starting a business as he reminisced on his life in a Twitter thread. The start-up investor, who will turn 39 this week, revealed that he started this decade working so hard, and alone, that he hardly ever left his small office. In spite of the effort, he barely made enough profit per month.
He went on to share with his followers that when starting something new, “no one cares about your idea” and that you should go ahead all the same.
Sharing a photo of himself taken in 2010 in his old office, he wrote:
“12/02/2010 – for 13mths I sat in this room alone. No team no nothing. I left the apartment maybe once a week.
My earnings were ~$100/month building the first Iroko product – NollywoodLove. My friends were scared about my unhealthy obsession with ‘making it’. Was it worth it?”
Yup. It was. The blunt force trauma changed me. I can embrace pain consistently. No one invited me to any tables.
No one mentored me about what it took to take hold of entertainment in Africa. I simply walked up and fucking grabbed a chair.
Its my 39th birthday this week. I’m taking some serious trips down memory lane. People will tell me to be humble and not enjoy life. Nah. I walked through walls.
Fully optimised for happiness. It that offends you. So be it.
“No one cares about your idea. Your mum supports you because she is your mum. But she doesn’t really care about your startup.
If you are the lucky minority to have a partner whilst starting, then s/he doesn’t really care too. I wrote this almost 7 years ago.”
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12/02/2010 – for 13mths I sat in this room alone. No team no nothing. I left the apartment maybe once a week. My earnings were ~$100/month building the first Iroko product – NollywoodLove. My friends were scared about my unhealthy obsession with 'making it'. Was it worth it? pic.twitter.com/2RlHK3TKdL
