#57, Bootstrapping, testing assumptions and building for growth. Frederik Obasi, Co-Founder at Hypebuzz

Building The Future Podcast

Frederik Obasi is the co-founder of Hypebuzz, a platform that connects top-tier influencers with businesses looking to build their brand and expand their reach. Frederik is also the co-founder and MD of Colour Me Digital, an African sports and entertainment marketing agency that has worked with notable Nigerian football players including Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Ademola Lookman; and brands including LG Electronics and DStv. A serial entrepreneur, he also ran a business called UniSmart, a university aggregator and application platform, that enables African students to discover and apply to universities in the UK. Frederik attributes some of his experience to his his time at Rocket Internet. He takes us through the pivot of Unismart to Study Search, the lessons he learnt from raising money, and why he decided to bootstrap his business. In this episode you’ll learn: The similarities and differences between the Nigerian and UK tech ecosystems About his experience at Rocket internet What are the assumptions he made before coming to Nigeria? Did they prove true or false? What is the difference between the way technology is used in Africa and how its used in the UK? The first business he ran when he returned to Nigeria shut down. Find out why What was initial business model they had in mind when they were validating and testing their business idea? “Seed rounds are usually a gamble”. Find out why Frederik think so Importance of content marketing and social media to businesses Why they stopped running the study search businesses before pivoting to their current business How to launch an MVP (minimum viable product) without a tech platform The logic behind building tech platforms to raise money from investors The flexibility of running a business without the pressure that venture capital bring And more Selected Links from this episode Savannah Fund Accelerator DealDey Paystack Andela Rocket Internet Selected Book from this episode