Mike Quinn Shares Lessons from 10 Years Leading an African Startup
In this interview, entrepreneur Mike Quinn provides an inside look at the challenges of building and scaling his fintech startup Zoona in Africa. He reflects on persevering through funding struggles, economic headwinds, and the emotional rollercoaster of startup life.
After 10 intense years growing the business across Africa, Mike stepped down as CEO and wrote a book titled "Failing to Win" about his experience. He then launched his second startup Boost, applying the lessons learned from Zoona.
Mike explains his key takeaways around designing startups for scale, capital efficiency, remote team building, and embracing failure as part of the iterative process of business building. His story offers inspiration and wisdom for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:30 Mike's background and journey to Africa
5:30 Starting Zoona in Zambia
10:00 Scaling then resetting Zoona
18:00 Writing the book "Failing to Win"
20:00 Launching second startup Boost
24:00 Designing Boost for scale
31:00 Mike's experience fundraising
45:00 Parting advice
entrepreneurship, startups, Africa, fintech, fundraising, scaling, failure, perseverance, leadership, venture capital, impact investing
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