Enock aka Omosayansii sold one of his first products for 5 figures (USD) and is currently working on another. Building and selling is his play of choice.
Hi Enock, what’s your background and what has been your career?
Hey, my background is fun, exciting and to some extent, a bit boring 😅. I’ve had a fun career since my days in university. I realized that there was a lot to learn in relation to the course I was pursuing so I started acquiring other tech skills here and there.
I then started off by marketing and offering my acquired skills and knowledge in business and tech to small entrepreneurs and midsized enterprises to help design and develop web apps that could support their digital presence.
While providing these services, I got other offers that gave me the chance to get into social media management and marketing. This came at a time when social media was just starting to take off but most people didn’t have the skills and time to support this. So two of my friends and I jumped on the opportunity and it became a good business venture for us.
Fast forward to 2018, it felt like I was doing a lot of things while getting little appreciation if so to say. At this point I decided that I would focus on one thing. But shortly after I sought employment and got hired as a Product Owner in an e-mobility clean energy tech startup in Uganda. I did this for 2 years after which I quit in 2021 and got another job working remotely with another tech startup based in Colombia as a Product Manager. I worked with them for 6 months and quit again.
This is where I began work on my first ever web-app called proFans, it allowed content creators to monetize their premium content by accepting paid subscriptions via M-Pesa instantly to their wallets. I ran this product for about 8 months after which it started to become overwhelming, mostly in terms of onboarding creators and there after trying to get buyers for their content. I made a few bucks off it but a lot of the users didn’t believe in the product, I killed the project after a while.
I moved on to create another product called Changisha, an online crowdfunding tool. Shortly after followed by FastaCv, MasoAI, tryBuni, SaaSly and now ikoLinks which is what I’m working on currently.
What are you working on currently and how did the idea come up?
Currently I am working on a pretty exciting project called ikoLinks, it’s a No Code Bio Links Page Builder.
Think of it this way, you probably have a twitter account, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, a blog page, maybe a website to mention a few, if you are highly active online or a creator, you probably have accounts on other platforms as well, ikoLinks helps you put all of these together in one easily accessible page online.
More than that you can also generate content using AI, add custom domains, get analytics and stats for your links, shorten URLs, generate QR codes for different uses, create event links plus a host of other great features.
IkoLinks helps users have a strong online presence and stand out in a competitive market. IkoLinks provides users with a virtual introduction to their businesses or personal brands. Your online business card on steroids but also eats healthy.
The ideation process was simple, with the current burst of AI, I wanted to try and incorporate AI and portfolio building into one useful tool. Have users create their Bio Pages and market their brands while also using Artificial Intelligence for tasks such as image generation and production of great audio content for efficiency and time saving.
How did you build it? (tools and resources used)
I try to save development time as much as I can by using the most basic low code or no code tools. IkoLinks was no exception and for it I used WordPress, HTML/CSS for the Frontend and on the Backend I used JavaScript and SQL
How did you get your first customers/users?
This is definitely one of the hardest parts of any project for any Indie Maker or founder.
Developing and shipping products is usually quite easy but marketing and user acquisition is a different ball game all together.
For instance, I got my first customer for the product ProFans right from my contacts list, quite easy. Getting the second one and the others after that was the hard part, but it was possible because of Product Hunt where you put up a product that you have worked on and people upvote it and also get a chance to try it, it allows for discovery of new products.
I also do weekly follow ups with customers, unlimited product demos, newsletter blasts plus a lot of convincing for those who are not yet sold. They needed to know that the tool will serve them and is working as intended. Sometimes I even adjust some features just to benefit them and have them sign up.
I am also a big fan of the build in public movement and I do this a lot on X (Twitter).
What are some challenges that you have faced and how did you overcome them?
Quite an interesting question. Well, there are a couple of challenges one faces as an Indie builder, most of which have to be solved in real time.
But the main challenge that I have faced in regards to my line of work is consistency. It is quite hard being consistent especially when you build a product that nobody wants or has zero users despite your marketing efforts.
However, I overcome this by watching, listening to and reading loads of founder failure stories and adjusting my processes accordingly. Knowing that somethings will not always go my way but also using the knowledge that I have gained from others to try and tilt things in my favor.
Financially/user acquisition wise how is the product doing?
My business model is not the most conventional one.
I am an Indie who likes building and shipping products, growing them for a while, generating revenue, making profit and then getting the product acquired by the next able and interested founder or investor.
I do this by having it listed for acquisition on platforms such as Empire Flippers, Acquire, Flippa etcetera.
Why do I do this? I am not the best at managing products for a long time, I really enjoy building. I can’t say I hate management, but selling and marketing a product for a longtime are not in my list of things that I enjoy doing. But I am definitely learning on a daily, I keep trying and adjusting accordingly.
So far my current product, ikoLinks has generated $2,363 in revenue (subscription based) since going live one month ago.
We also sold MasoAI a while back for five figures USD, worked on this awesome product with a friend.
What are some of the mistakes you made & some disadvantages of working on the product?
It’s a learning process. I believe there is always room for correction.
I would say my biggest mistake was discarding my first ever product, I feel like it would be so relevant today, especially now when everyone is trying to be a digital content creator. Hopefully I’ll be able to revive it soon.
What are some of your future plans?
I would like to set up a digital hub where I will be able to share, educate and mentor the up and coming African Indies in tech. Encourage them to acquire skills, create products and be their own bosses. Building a better Africa for ourselves.
If you had the chance to do things differently, what would you do?
I would still do the same things I am doing now but with a bigger team, perhaps to help with motivation, consistency and creating with passion. This will also help accelerate shipping of products and improve work efficiency.
Any recommendation in terms of who to follow, YouTube videos to watch, a useful website or books to read (learning resources)?
If you are getting started as an Indie Maker, I would recommend these top four resources:
– Product Hunt – This is a free tool that will help you get and acquire the first users for your product, it’s free to use.
– Simon Hoberg on Youtube – This channel will help guide you on all the basics as far as being a Maker is concerned. Starting from ideation, MVP, Shipping and strategic processes.
– Dev Hunt – For Makers who want to promote their developer tools for free and get user feedback and reviews
Where can people go to know more about you and your work?
My socials are open on X, @omosayansii and GitHub @Kiongosss
You can also checkout my latest product ikoLinks. You can sign Up for a free account, try it out and see how it works. If it does solve your problem, do upgrade to a paid account and let’s connect further. Follow its social page on X @ikolinks
Getting personal, what does success look like to you as an individual and at what point would you say you have achieved said success?
Success to me is being able to share my skills and knowledge with others, possibly at great scale. Being able to collaborate and build great things with others on the continent.
Being part of the African build in public space to mentor and to be mentored
Growing my product across Africa is key for me as well.
Startup Spotlight – Mookh
A lot of startups and businesses perished during and after the COVID 19 pandemic. Those that operated in areas that required people to interact physically were affected the most. If you had a business that had events as one of its main offerings, you knew you were in for a rough ride.
It took a lot for businesses in the physical entertainment industry to survive and one such tech company that made it out alive is Mookh. They have been at it for about 10 years now and have stood the test of time, it seems as though the only way to go for them now is up.
Initially the platform allowed artists to sell their music to fans and people to create events and sell tickets but currently they have zoned in on event ticketing and offer a solution that helps with all matters events and tickets. They also have MookhPay, a payments processor for creatives and small businesses.
Led by Eric Thimba, check out Mookh.com if you need a 360 degrees ticketing solution or if you are just looking for cool events to attend next week.
Worth Reading:
🚩 Why even well-funded startups struggle
💸 A simple technique to grow your online product’s revenue
👍🏼 Subreddits that allow self promotion – Get users for your online tool
Worth Sharing.
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