5 Morals from Bootstrapping an eCommerce Startup

Shortly after my exit from Konga in 2016, ex-colleague, Wale Osinuga, reached out to me to assemble a team and lead operations at an eCommerce startup still at the ideation stage.

Here are 5 morals gleaned from bootstrapping Odeya.ng.

1. Pick a niche

For any startup without the privilege of external funding or significant financial investment, it is just smart to pick a product or product category and stick to it. For Odeya, the niche was ceremonial fabrics popularly known as aso-ebi in Nigeria. Our specific product category is ankara and lace fabrics. Market research indicates that there is a huge market for this, with Nigerians spending between $10 – $50 for low end aso-ebi fabrics, and up to $2,000 for 4 – 6 yards of high-end ceremonial fabrics.

   2. Carry out extensive market research

I would easily have refuted the offer to lead the team at Odeya had market research not been thoroughly conducted. The initial survey carried out almost dampen hopes. All respondents interviewed affirmed that they would not buy fabrics online and this is understandable. With the proliferation low quality fabrics that has saturated major fabric markets in Lagos, Ibadan and Kano, there is a lot of scepticism with purchasing fabrics online. Subsequent research and surveys extended revealed our target audience’s needs, preferences and painpoints on which we worked hard to improve.

   3. Source good products wide and far

Where do we get good products to sell at competitive prices and still make a decent margin? This was one of our worries at the start. Luckily for us, former Konga staff, Lade Olukogbon, who later joined the team was able to rise to the task. Bringing her street smartness and experience at Konga to the table, we were soon combing all the nooks and crannies of Lagos Island and Abeokuta, as well as reaching out to fabric makers and suppliers in as far as Austria, China and the United Kingdom. Soon after, we were able get our inventory for the product launch.

    4. Build your online store

You certainly aren’t going to start an eCommerce business without having your own online store. Setting up a functional website was perhaps our biggest challenge at the start of the business. In introspect, we would have scaled faster and cheaper had we leverage eCommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce or other user-friendly platforms to set up the online store. All that we would have added to the available templates are colour and logo to align with the brand’s identity and values.

5. Sales and Marketing

No matter how lean your startup is, always factor in how to sell your products and services. All options were laid on the table at the start, but considering the lean resources we had at Odeya, we were left to decide on the most affordable and effective channels to market the products. Setting aside some budget for social media and email marketing, we were able to start selling from Day 1! I recollect the pride and excitement the team felt when we made over $1,000 in product sales before the close of business on the very first day we launched.

Did I say 5 morals? Let me drop one more.

Customer service

Excellent customer service cannot be over-emphasise. Enquiry, concerns, and issues were promptly addressed.We went the extra mile to make sure exceptional customer service was provided including making deliveries on weekends and public holidays. This helped to build trust and loyalty among our customers.