My driver’s license has this issue that mixed up my name. I didn’t think it was an issue until one time when I booked into a hotel with my name before arriving and was to use my Driver’s license as my ID. They kept me at the front desk explaining passionately, why my name was different on both ends. Thankfully it wasn’t a flight, eh?
Knowing your identity saves you a lot of stress in life. It helps determine your purpose, where you’re going, what you’re doing, how you’ll do it, etc. It is the first step to unlocking a lot. So, my first question today (and trust me, there are going to be a lot of them) is, who/what are you? (‘what’ because it has come to my knowledge that there are some people who aren’t human beings).
What is a Startup?
A couple of weeks ago, I read that Adam Neumann’s (Co-Founder and Ex-CEO of We-work) new company named Flow, geared towards providing apartments to people (so…real-estate?) had raised $350 million at a valuation of $1bn. Making it a Unicorn before operations even began.
This move of course garnered a lot of negative reactions seeing as his last Startup WeWork burned so much money under his leadership and had to a valuation cut long before valuation cuts were a thing. It was like petting a lion with your left hand a few years after it ripped out your right.
There were also some people that welcomed the news, the explanation was that Mr. Neumann had learned from his last startup and that as a second-time founder, he would do better. The second thing was that Mr. Neumann had already bought the spaces, so the valuation was correct because the land appreciates. Added to an idea, it could be worth a whole lot.
My takeaway from the whole story was confusion as to what a startup is. Why is/was WeWork regarded as a startup? Why is Flow a startup too?
A little background: WeWork is a company that provides shared working spaces to people across the world. It basically builds offices in various cities that people can go to school in. Flow’s story is still a bit vague, but it plans to provide housing for people. So basically, a real estate company. So why are they called startups? That is why WeWork was given a high valuation because people thought that they were only going to stop when they reached the sky.
An even more pressing question is ‘what is a startup?’ According to the NSB (an incoming act for startups in Nigeria), a startup is meant to be a tech-enabled company with a product that can scale. Going by that logic, is my aunt’s ‘fashion design business that uses WhatsApp and google sheets to take orders and make schedules a startup? Can the man with three houses for rent in the US and two in Lagos be considered a startup? Was Tesla a startup? Is the Boring company a startup?
I am really confused by this, so I’ll appreciate it if you can help me out in the comments. I guess what I’m trying to say is, that maybe not every business idea is a startup. Maybe it’s a business, hopefully, that would help us to get more perspective when evaluating our businesses based on where we think it can go.
Three Men Walked into a Bar (One Wore an Oversized Suit) …
This sounds like the beginning of a joke but was actually a very serious event. Last month, Peter Obi, Kashim Shettima, and Atiku Abubakar attended the 2022 NBA annual conference. Each of them had something to share with all the lawyers gathered. I’m speaking about it because their speeches spoke to their (or their principal’s) campaign strategy.
Peter Obi leaned on his Messianic figure while spelling out to us why he feels our country is on the brink of damnation.
Kashim Shettima spoke about Bola Tinubu’s work in Lagos, and how the Lagos plan can be replicated all over Nigeria.
Atiku Abubakar used points in his policy paper to speak about how he will champion democracy and drive economic growth in a private sector-led scheme.
I don’t like to talk about politics because it brings out a lot of emotions, but I just really needed to use this title. The punchline is “The bar scattered” literally.
What have I been up to?
I started listening to all of Jay Z’s songs this month, and it has been an awesome ride so far. Kingdom Come, Vol 1, 2, and 3 have been the best experience! You should watch it too. That man is a genius.
I have also been rolling with more tech bros so far. The crème de la crème? Chiprent, the latest prop-tech company in town, offers affordable rent that can be spread on a monthly basis, and the option of getting a roommate to spread the cost. Check the company out on Instagram here.
I look forward to writing to you all soon!