What Should a Tech Startup Consider at the Launch of Business?

Well, first of all, I would like to remind you that I’ve been in this space professionally for more than 15 years now. And to the best of my knowledge, I’ve seen businesses grow from zero to 10, and I’ve also seen businesses that struggle to scale — even with brilliant product ideas. Something always makes the difference, and from my background study of such businesses, it’s rarely luck.

What Should a Tech Startup Consider at the Launch of Business? Tips to Grow Within the First 12 Months of Launching

I once talked about CDcare software here some time ago — raising awareness that this product had existed for at least 5–6 years before it recently came into the limelight.

Back then, they were running like most businesses: finish the product, deploy it to the server, and then rely on faith and Google to start recommending their apps to people searching for related solutions. At best, they would pay SEO experts to start optimizing the product for search keywords and other techniques like link building (which I’ll talk about another time as someone who once worked full-time as an SEO engineer and content writer — before ChatGPT disrupted the game and I found my way back to my first love: programming).

Also, I’ve always watched companies like Konga and Jumia launch and immediately gain market attention. Not because there weren’t other e-commerce platforms that launched in Nigeria — there were. But I noticed key things these companies did right. If you, as a business owner, also do them consistently, you’ll never miss your share of the market — even if your idea isn’t entirely new or if the space already looks saturated.

So, before building and assembling your team, do the following:

1. Consult an Expert on Media Advertisement

As simple as this may sound, it can be the rise or fall of whatever idea you have. I remember back when I was still a student and needed a generator badly to power my devices (AAUA days — no hope for electricity at all). While thinking of a way out, I didn’t have the money to buy one outright. That’s how I started looking for buy-now-pay-later options for people like me, and CDcare came up in my Google search.

I checked them out, but at that time, I couldn’t afford it — even the instalment payments were a stretch. Once I saw I couldn’t meet the payment targets, I left the app alone.

Fast forward to 2025, I began seeing influencers online campaigning and rooting for CDcare. The product started gaining fast popularity because of that awareness — though I can’t confirm if it’s converting (we’ll discuss conversion another day).

Not to bore you with my rhetorics and story — EasyBuy came after CDcare. But EasyBuy gained dominance and popularity because of two key things:

1. Picking the Right Product

EasyBuy did their homework. They identified items users usually need urgently but might not have the money for — like phones. They partnered with phone brands and entrepreneurs, narrowing their focus to “buy-now-pay-later” for mobile phones.

Now, they’ve grown into full-blown fintech, giving out loans (I’m still owing them too — winks). I first used them to buy a phone. After paying off the phone, I moved on to their loan service, which I’m still using till today.

2. Massive Awareness and Advertisement

Go to Computer Village or any major gadget market in Nigeria — you’ll see EasyBuy’s banners and signages everywhere. They printed their brand into people’s subconscious.

So they didn’t just start the business with software; they planned for the business by ensuring there was money allocated for aggressive advertisement.

And don’t forget, CDcare offers a wider range of products for instalment purchase — yet EasyBuy took the shine because of how they launched and pushed their product.

2. If You Intend Investing $1M in Your Business

Only plan to spend $200K on the business and software development. Ensure the remaining $800K is budgeted for promotion and branding.

What’s the point of having robust, well-built software that’s ready to launch — but you have no money to promote it?

Focus more on the business side than on your retrospective meetings.

Jumia was doing fine until Konga came into the scene with heavy ads. Konga ran ads on nearly every dish and show. They sponsored events. Their branding was everywhere — even people who weren’t buying from them yet knew them.

One thing I’ve learned over time:

 For every kobo you spend showcasing your brand, even if it doesn’t convert immediately, it is an investment in visibility.

Think about it — how many people know Konga, Jumia, or AliExpress, yet have never used them?

How many people know CDcare and EasyBuy but have never used either?

That awareness can still help someone refer them to others who do need it — and that’s the power of consistent publicity.

Final Thoughts

If you own a business, your big break and big money are in the funds you push into ads and publicity — whether or not they’re converting immediately.

If you’ve got a tech business idea and you’re looking for a software engineer who not only codes but also understands the business angle, feel free to reach out to me. You’ll pay a token for consultation, and we’ll work things out for your business success.

Till next we meet —

I’m Adebo Adegboye David,

CEO of Adewebs Technologies,

Current Chairman of Codethrottleltd.