Greg Cooke, on a mission to help independent talent across Africa earn more through collaboration.
When starting a business, there's no "right way" to get from A to B. There are thousands of paths you could take, and countless opinions around what path to take and how to walk that path. One of the biggest lessons for me over the past year has been the importance of blocking out "the noise".
As founders, we're constantly consuming information, or being sent information, at times unsolicitedly by friend, family, or distant acquaintances, on our relevant industries, business practises, new strategies, etc. At times, it’s important to listen, but at the end of the day, the success of your business is going to depend on your ability to block out the noise, back yourself and your beliefs, and keep chipping away, one day at a time. Persistence beats resistance, and persistence really is the name of the game.
There’s a high chance that whatever you set out to do at the start of your journey is going to change multiple times along the way. Serendipity is a magic thing, so stay curious. Don’t be afraid to explore, and try not stay too attached to an idea. You’ll juggle this with the need to stay extremely focussed. No one said it’d be easy, and it doesn’t get much easier along the way, so build the right co founding team around you, and don’t be afraid to ask for help - you’ll be amazed how helpful people can actually be.
One of the biggest challenges we face is mindset. Mindset of customers, prospects, and at times, even talent. We’re trying to change the way people approach their careers, and change the way business teams are structured. For the most part, people dislike change, and have a hard time changing their mindset. Slowly but surely, one business at a time, we’re changing mindsets and refining our direction, product and service.
My advice to other companies at a similar, early-stage journey to Rafiki, would be to focus on 1 or 2 key customers. Go deep, deliver the highest quality service you can for them, and build parts of your product around their pain points. There’s a high chance your next few customers will be referred from these key customers.
Moments of inspiration? The feedback we’ve had from those key clients for Rafiki, and freelancers we’ve engaged with across Africa, has been exceptionally positive. We’re now in a position where talent we’ve worked with is referring their own customers into our network. As a founder, this is incredibly exciting, and has been one of the more rewarding moments over the past 12 months.
