African Startups: We Didn’t Raise First — We Proved First
Yesterday I came across a post urging African founders to stop chasing million-dollar raises before validating their MVP. One line stood out: “Investors fund certainty, not ideas. A $200K round with six paying clients beats a $3M pitch deck with projections.”
I couldn’t agree more. But here’s what we did differently at AddProp.
We didn’t even raise $200K. We launched with zero funding, zero clients, and zero noise — just a clear vision and relentless execution. What started six months ago has now become a story of undeniable traction.
Today, AddProp is approaching 10,000 users. We’ve listed over R3.8 billion in property. We’ve expanded nationally through our From Backrooms to Boardrooms roadshow. And we’ve done it all without raising a single rand.
We built in public. With real landlords. Real tenants. Real properties. Real transactions. No pitch decks. No vanity metrics. Just consistent, focused work.
If you’re building in Africa, remember this: You don’t need a million to start. You need a real problem. A working product. And a community that says yes.
Then — and only then — do you raise. Not for validation, but for scale.
AddProp is ready for the next chapter. We didn’t skip stages. We built the staircase.
It’s More Than Just Money
African Startups: We Didn’t Raise First — We Proved First
Yesterday I came across a post urging African founders to stop chasing million-dollar raises before validating their MVP. One line stood out:
“Investors fund certainty, not ideas. A $200K round with six paying clients beats a $3M pitch deck with projections.”
I couldn’t agree more. But here’s what we did differently at AddProp.
We didn’t even raise $200K.
We launched with zero funding, zero clients, and zero noise — just a clear vision and relentless execution.
What started six months ago has now become a story of undeniable traction.
Today, AddProp is approaching 10,000 users.
We’ve listed over R3.8 billion in property.
We’ve expanded nationally through our From Backrooms to Boardrooms roadshow.
And we’ve done it all without raising a single rand.
We built in public. With real landlords. Real tenants. Real properties. Real transactions.
No pitch decks. No vanity metrics. Just consistent, focused work.
If you’re building in Africa, remember this:
You don’t need a million to start.
You need a real problem. A working product. And a community that says yes.
Then — and only then — do you raise.
Not for validation, but for scale.
AddProp is ready for the next chapter.
We didn’t skip stages.
We built the staircase.
Now it’s time to go higher.
Build with us: www.addprop.co.za
#AddProp #AfricanStartups #SmartPropertyManagement #TechAfrica #BuildThenRaise #FounderLessons #FromBackroomsToBoardrooms #ItsMoreThanJustMoney #StartupExecution #ProptechAfrica
1 month ago | [YT] | 75