How a young Nigerian made $2 Billion In Sales
Why Most People Quit and How the Smart Ones Win: 7 Lessons from a Man Who Built Three Unicorns
by Paul Foh
90% of podcasts quit by episode 10.
I just published episode 200 of the Paul Foh Podcast — and I made it count.
For this milestone, I sat down with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the man behind Andela, Flutterwave, and Future Africa.
This wasn’t a motivational chat.
It was a blueprint for building businesses that scale in Africa.
Here are 7 lessons from our conversation that can move your sales, brand, or company forward — starting today.
1. Your first 1,000 customers are closer than you think
Flutterwave didn’t launch with big-budget ads.
They partnered with Access Bank, which already had thousands of merchants.
Lesson: Your ideal customer might be inside someone else’s network. Don’t build alone. Partner strategically.
2. Focus > Frustration
50 customers brought 60% of their profit.
But the team still tried to please everyone — and paid for it in stress and churn.
Lesson: Serve the profitable few. Don’t exhaust your team trying to satisfy the ungrateful many.
3. Hire for heart, not just skill
“Even competent people will destroy your company if they don’t share your values.”
That line hit hard.
Lesson: Always choose alignment over ability. The wrong energy can slow everything down.
4. Know your customer like you know your child
Talk to 100 of them. Watch what they do. Not what they say.
Flutterwave’s edge came from real customer insight — not boardroom theory.
Lesson: Marketing is applied psychology. You don’t guess your way to growth.
5. Nigeria’s competitive edge isn’t oil. It’s talent.
We graduate over 600,000 people a year.
If just 100,000 earned $5/hour remotely, GDP would shift.
That’s not theory. It’s math.
Lesson: We need more coaches, freelancers, and creators exporting their skills. The future isn’t local — it’s global.
6. Run small experiments. Obsess over data.
They tested pricing. Tested channels. Tested messaging.
They doubled down on what worked and killed what didn’t.
Lesson: Stop guessing. Start testing. Let data do the talking.
7. Build what solves, not what impresses
Too many founders chase headlines.
But vanity doesn’t pay salaries. Problem-solving does.
Lesson: Your product doesn’t need applause. It needs adoption.
Final thought:
Iyin co-founded three unicorns. I’ve recorded 200 episodes.
What do we have in common?
We didn’t quit early.
We stayed curious.
We stayed consistent.
And we kept solving real problems.
That’s what I’m teaching inside my 5-Day Make Sales Challenge.
I’ll break down how to:
– Generate high-quality leads
– Close better using buyer psychology
– Use AI to speed up sales
– Scale without burning out your team
Ready to sell smarter and scale faster?
Click the link below to register
5-day make sales challenge webinar