Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

What if the biggest difference between African startups that succeed and those that fail isn't how fast they can build with AI or how passionate the founder is about their idea, but understanding that the most likely outcome of every startup is failure, that the young developer who spends months building a fintech app in his room without talking to a single customer has been programmed to worship technical skills while missing the brutal truth that you cannot build for a market you have not engaged, and that the founder who thinks they can compete with the top five fintech companies in Nigeria without understanding what those companies are not offering has stumbled onto something universities and startup accelerators will never teach you about the mathematics of market research and competitive advantage? In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with Glory Olami Ngoke who reveals why there are a lot of startups in Africa and there's somebody in his room right now trying to do something but the issue we have is that very few succeed, why the most likely outcome of every startup is failure, why even the most successful startups today globally like Google Microsoft and Apple failed at some point and were able to learn from failure to pivot into things they are doing now that are successful, and why a good number of these guys did not start out in the beginning doing what they're doing now so failure taught them lessons and they pivoted. He breaks down why the quality of the kind of product you're building is critical and as a founder you need to ask have you done enough research, why if you get the product wrong and you are building something that doesn't solve a clear problem you will fail, why if you're building something for which there is not sufficient market meaning enough potential customers you will fail because what keeps the startup light on is money and revenue, and why to make money you have to have enough customers out there not just enough customers but enough customers willing to pay you money for what you're offering. But he also confronts the brutal reality of competition and market research. Why there are many startups that have had the right product but did not do enough investigation on their competitor, why if you're building and launching a fintech product today in Nigeria you know that in that industry there are the top five guys big ones and these guys have owned the markets in terms of market share, why if you're trying to launch something to that same market without understanding what they are offering and using that to figure out what they are not offering that the market wants which will be your unique competitive advantage it means you'll be offering something that already exists and it means failure, and why you need to do research on what industry you're building in and research your potential market sufficiently and research your competitors sufficiently. He reveals why with the advent of AI there's somebody in his room right now trying to do something and he's built something that for him is going to change the world and you know how a lot of these tech guys are just indoors constantly always indoors focused on just making sure that they get the product right, why the same AI which is a tool that has made building technically of a product a lot faster and easier is also a very critical tool that aids in research, why once a person has a technical skill and now with AI you can build that Facebook app that took months to build years back in a week but that doesn't guarantee success, and why it's really a knowledge gap. But he also exposes the critical mistake of building without validation. Why a lot of people build out of passion and he's seen persons even himself build things that he wanted to use alone but if you're building for the public you can't build for the public without talking to the public, why in the startup world it's called making assumptions and research helps you validate those assumptions, why when you're building something for a problem you believe it exists but it's an assumption until you can talk to people to validate it is correct, and why you're assuming people have a problem and without talking to them to validate that the chances of failure are in there. He breaks down why they had a recent program where a few startups that originated from his tech talent platform Tech Nexus as well as Tech Revolution Africa which he co-founded were sent out on the streets to talk to users, why one of them an ed tech platform building something for kids wanted kids to be able to learn local African languages and they said for the category of kids you're building for the people you should talk to are the parents, why they told them go out there and find parents go to schools on ground and use online medium to find parents and talk to them, and why you cannot build for a market you have not engaged and you cannot build for a market...

What does it really take to survive as a music producer in an industry that doesn't exist? Can talent alone sustain you when there's no governing body, no royalty system, and no guarantee you'll see money for seven years?
On this episode of Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Edward Nana Poku Osei, better known as Hammer of The Last Two, the legendary Ghanaian music producer behind some of the biggest names in Ghanaian hip hop and hiplife.
In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Hammer reveals:
• Why his banker father warned him that musicians in Ghana have no industry to protect them
• How he turned down Full Sail University in Florida because Obrafo's hit dropped
• Why musicians are not supposed to be businessmen but the absence of an industry forces them to be
• How producers survive on publishing royalties that can take seven years before the first return
• Why he never charged for beats and only got paid $2,000 once in his entire career
• How selling 60,000 loaves of bread a day at 10 pesewas commission gave him financial freedom
• Why Sarkodie is the only artist he ever called first and how their relationship remains solid
• What happened to Agyekum, the cleaner he discovered who recorded one song and died before it was released
He breaks down why the Ghanaian music industry has no centralized governing body, why GHAMRO is ineffective without a proper login system, why Nigerian artists like Davido don't need brand deals to live large because their industry protects them, and why Ghanaian producers and artists survive on barter and relationships instead of upfront payments. He confronts the brutal reality of why 85.4% of Ghanaian musicians have no pension scheme, why successful musicians in Ghana are only a handful, and why being a teller at a bank offers more financial stability than being a musician without an industry.
But he also exposes why his father's wisdom was correct, why dishonesty from both artists and businessmen prevents the industry from growing, why AI will not replace human creativity but will reward those who master the right prompts, and why he's coming back to music full time now that bread money gave him the freedom to create without competing.
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: The Reality of Music Economics in Ghana
00:01:18 Growing Up: A Banker's Son with a Rebellious Streak
00:06:02 Father's Wisdom: Why Music Didn't Have an Industry
00:08:15 The Missing Industry: Why Ghanaian Music Lacks Structure
00:11:05 The Turning Point: Obrafo Hits and Missing Full Sail University
00:13:44 Musicians Aren't Supposed to Be Businessmen
00:28:05 The Publishing Game: How Producers Actually Make Money
00:34:06 Seven Years Before the First Return: The Adam Album Story
00:38:36 Discovering Sarkodie: The Only Artist Hammer Called First
00:41:54 The Bread Business: Finding Financial Freedom Outside Music
00:48:39 AI, The Future, and Coming Back to Music Full-Time
00:52:29 The Agyekum Story: Music, Hope, and Loss
00:57:04 Legacy and Lessons: What Really Matters

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Guest: Edward Nana Poku Osei (Hammer of The Last Two)
Join our FREE Community https://konnectedminds.com/communities
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🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Derrick Abaitey is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, podcast host, and personal development advocate.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey
Web: https://www.abaitey.com/
#MusicIndustry #GhanaMusic #KonnectedMinds

What if the biggest difference between African tech ecosystems that build world-class AI infrastructure and those that remain perpetually dependent on Western technology isn't how many talented developers they have or how many fintech startups get funded, but understanding that self-sufficiency in AI requires billions of dollars in data centers and energy infrastructure that no individual founder can afford alone, that the young entrepreneur who thinks they can compete with Google and Microsoft by building another fintech app has been programmed to copy what works instead of solving the massive unsolved problems in health tech ed tech and logistics where African innovation could actually lead the world, and that the founder who discovers that raising 110 million dollars in Africa is considered exceptional while Western AI companies casually deploy billions has stumbled onto something universities and startup accelerators will never teach you about the brutal mathematics of competing at the frontier of technology without government support or critical infrastructure? In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why we are really going really fast in even the whole AI systems but we are still not building our own systems, why if he has anything to say to talents out there we should really focus on building our own but it's a systemic problem, why for a guy like him who's passionate about the African tech ecosystem there's only so much that an individual can do, and why when we break things up into the private sector and the public sector there's only so much the private sector can do or positions where we can have conversations on the public sector side with the government. He breaks down why when we talk about LLMs and Agentic AI we're encouraging founders to build but these things are insanely expensive, why in the West it wasn't just the government that supported them to build it but the companies at the forefront have incredible funding, why when you talk about AI and being self-sufficient and not relying on the Western world you need to have critical infrastructure, and why you need to have data centers that Google Microsoft and OpenAI are building costing billions of dollars. But he also confronts the brutal reality of Africa's fintech saturation. Why we can build data centers in Africa but funding is required, why sometimes we can focus on the same thing that everybody's doing rather than do something different, why when you ask how many fintech companies we have in Nigeria there's plenty but we shouldn't all be building fintech companies, why that piece is saturated so some of them should give up and then build something else, and why there's a scripture that talks about counting the cost and he's laying out the cost of true self-sufficiency for Africa in AI which is billions of dollars. He reveals why it's so much energy required that the biggest companies in the world are buying thousands of acres of land in the US to set up energy centers, why they have like 50% coverage but what they've done so far is so big so huge that it's already impacting the environment ecologically, why when we talk about energy we need to ask how much power do we have in Nigeria and African countries, and why on the funding side billions of dollars are required and on the energy side billions of dollars are required but on the talent side we're not doing too bad. But he also exposes the practical roadblocks facing African founders. Why when a founder has an idea and wants to use AI compute the roadmap is clear and he needs to create a business plan and when he's done he needs to raise money, why the maximum amount we've raised in Africa as a continent recently was Money Point raising 110 million, why without the right contacts and connections it's going to be difficult for that guy to raise as much money, and why he's laying out the parts required for African AI self-sufficiency. He breaks down why it would take the funding the energy and in his opinion the energy is something he believes the government has a huge part to play, why he knows private individuals can do it but he thinks the government has a key role to play in that, why from an African context it's not great yet based on connectivity and internet spread across Nigeria, and why to bring all of this together he's not saying it can't be done because he spent the last five six years through conferences mentorship and advocacy saying this has to happen. But he also confronts what's really holding Africa back from AI leadership. Why the conference he co-founded Tech Revolution Africa is an annual conference where they pull together global technical STEM leaders and last edition in January in Lagos they had federal government Lagos state government and investors from the US in attendance, why these conversations are happening but it looks like there are bigger factors at play that need to be solved on...

What if the biggest difference between people who build successful tech careers in Africa and those who spend their lives stuck in degrees they hate isn't how many certificates they collect or which university they attended, but understanding that investors no longer fund ideas but demand traction, that the young person who thinks they need to code to succeed in tech has been programmed to miss the massive opportunities in product management project management UI UX design and marketing where the real talent shortage exists, and that the medical student who discovered his future wasn't in human anatomy but in teaching himself WordPress at 17 learned something universities will never teach you about the world rewarding those who build skills not those who simply collect degrees? In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with a product manager and tech entrepreneur who reveals why he wanted to be a doctor because in his time the main thing was to either be a doctor or an engineer, why his mom wanted him to be a doctor but his dad said this is my son it looks like he likes computers I see something around computer engineering for him, why he applied for medicine but got human anatomy instead, and why while he was doing his human anatomy course he already knew that this was not it for him but he had to try and finish. He breaks down why his tech journey started during his national service year when he was posted to Cross River State and got connected with a Christian broadcasting studio that needed a website, why that was his first foray and he had to go learn how to build websites teaching himself starting with WordPress and web design, why he went from freelancing to learning HTML CSS JavaScript React.js front end development, and why he's really grateful for how everything was aligned during his NYC year that transferred him into tech. But he also confronts the brutal reality of building startups in today's investment climate. Why it's not just about using the right channels but also about the narrative you're creating and using the language your audience understands, why everything about building products and startups rests on data and insights from the people you're building for, why beyond technical skills business skills are critical and you need to learn operations structure legal bits and compliance, and why if you are deficient in one area like compliance you can do all the exciting things but still fail. He reveals the massive shift in how African startups get funded. Why then versus now is very interesting because there have been recent concerns around the transitions that the African tech ecosystem has faced when it comes to investment VC funding angel investors equity funding and debt funding, why back then because of increased attention on the African tech ecosystem startups could get funded at the idea stage without even having a product, why you could have an incredible idea do your research and come to an investor saying give me a million dollars based on potential, but why there have been changes and shifts in global trends which have impacted Africa. But he also exposes what investors actually look for today. Why right now for the average investor to take you seriously you have to have built a product and not just that you have to have launched to the market and be able to show some good traction, why traction means you have launched your product and there is clear demand clear adoption customers love what they see and customers are coming on board, why it doesn't mean you have to have profit already or millions in revenue but it means the data shows great demand and excitement, and why based on that you can say give me money so I can double down on marketing and scale. He breaks down why investors want to see traction and will fund based on traction and trust, why for a B2B startup one top investor looks at the quality of customers you have, why if big reputable brands are using your product your value in an investor's mind goes up because it means you're solid, why traction cannot be faked it's either it works or it doesn't work, and why when you are able to showcase sufficient demand then your grounds to get funding are significantly improved. But he also confronts the truth about being stuck in the wrong degree. Why there are many young people today at university who are not exactly happy with what they are studying especially because sometimes you don't get a course you want and the university picks a course for you to fill up their space, why he would encourage anyone listening right now who feels stuck in school doing something they don't like or aren't passionate about or don't feel has potential to do two things, why the first thing is you have to learn a skill because the world has changed or rather people are just now coming to realize what has always been true that you finish university apply for a job and they ask you for experience. He rev.

What if the biggest difference between people who build successful careers in Africa and those who spend their lives trapped in unemployment isn't how many degrees they collect or which university they attended, but understanding that there are millions of beginner level talents competing for the same jobs while expert level positions sit empty because most people never push beyond starting, that the young person who learns graphic design or web development but stays stuck at beginner level will face 5,000 applicants for one position while companies desperately search outside Africa to hire experts they cannot find locally, and that the graduate who thinks technology only means coding has been programmed to miss the massive opportunities in product management project management IT support marketing sales and UI UX design where the real talent shortage exists at intermediate and expert levels?
In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why when people hear technology today the mind first goes to engineering and coding but there's a lot you can do outside of coding including design like graphic design product design UI UX design brand design and management like product management where you own a product and build it and are responsible for its failure or success and project management where you manage the successful execution of projects, why there are tech skills you can learn which are non technical like IT support and marketing and sales because there's no tech startup that doesn't have a marketing team and without marketing there will be no growth, why the biggest issue usually is figuring out what to learn, and why you should look inwards at what you are naturally good at like being good with color combinations aesthetics and botting colors which helps in web design track.
He breaks down why you should leverage online platforms like Udemy Coursera and YouTube which have thousands of free courses, why the channels he's had the most value from on YouTube are not popular channels but two hour three hour four hour courses from people with a thousand subscribers teaching marketing better than the big channels that do it as a funnel, why if you're looking to build skill today the avenue is there you can do it, and why people struggle to learn for themselves even though if you tell them to go to school and go through the system they'll do it but go home sit in front of the PC and learn a skill can be a problem for people.
But he also confronts the brutal reality of why people fail to learn skills on their own. Why it happens because a lot of persons have not yet understood how best they learn, why there are people that learn better primarily through audio by listening to someone saying something, why there are other persons that learn by watching videos but some fare better with short video clips and not long clips, why if you give a two hour three hour YouTube video to some persons their brain will overload in the first five minutes but they can sit in an exam for three hours because they do not have any other choice, and why people should approach skill building as if they have no other choice because the truth is you don't have any choice.
He reveals why if you are trying to learn in a way you are not suited with you will struggle, why if you have come to understand that you feel better with shorter clips and you have the option of a three hour product design course or that same course broken down into smaller modules three to five minutes each giving them what works for them increases the chances of successfully learning, why forcing them is like people raising kids and trying to force your kid down a specific line or path that's not how what they're used to, why that is the reason why some people struggle in school because it's a forced system and everybody's following, and why everyone has the ability to learn themselves but not everyone is disciplined enough to do so.
But he also exposes the truth about the talent pyramid that most people miss. Why at the bottom beginner level in terms of skill there are millions of persons and at this level there are more talents than jobs available so it's highly competitive, why a company puts out an advert for web design role or product design or software engineer role and in the first one hour or 30 minutes you already have 5,000 applicants but they need just one or two, why when you go up to intermediate skill level a lot of persons stuck at beginner don't transition in terms of skill knowledge and experience and problem solving ability to the intermediate level, why at intermediate level there's a balance between the jobs available and talent so this place is less competitive because it requires more knowledge of the skill more experience a track record, and why it's not about starting but you need the same energy you need to start to push with drive with discipline consistency become experienced become...