Not everyone should de a startup founder — and that’s okay
It’s been nearly a decade since Nigeria’s startup ecosystem began to find its feet, with Lagos emerging as the poster child of innovation and entrepreneurial ambition. We’ve witnessed the birth of exciting ventures solving real problems — from digitising payments to transforming agriculture, healthcare, and logistics.
This wave has inspired countless young people to dream of building the next Flutterwave or Paystack. But as the dream spreads, so does the noise.
The truth is, not everyone is cut out to be a startup founder — and that’s perfectly okay.
Being a startup founder isn’t the peak of achievement one can attain. There are numerous ways to find relevance. This obviously is not known to most budding entrepreneurs. Without further ado, let’s examine why everyone mustn’t be an entrepreneur.
The startup rush — what’s really going on?
The glamour associated with being a startup founder is hard to miss. Media headlines celebrate fundraising milestones. Social media paints pictures of digital nomads building “disruptive” products from laptops in cafés. Accelerators hand out funding to promising ideas. To many, becoming a founder looks like the new badge of honour.
But underneath the glitz lies a more sobering reality. While some founders are genuinely building impactful solutions, many others are simply following a trend, without clarity, without competence, and often, without conviction.
Why are so many people in a hurry to wear the founder title?
One possible answer: we’ve glorified the title so much that many forget to ask themselves the most important question — “Am I really built for this?”
Being a founder is not the only path to Relevance
In a society where success is often tied to status, it’s easy to see why entrepreneurship feels like the ultimate achievement. But the truth is, founding a startup isn’t the only way to be relevant, impactful, or fulfilled.
Think of the best products and companies in the world — they weren’t built by founders alone. Designers, engineers, marketers, operators, customer success experts, community builders — all these people played vital roles. And often, it’s these non-founder roles that make or break a startup.
You don’t need to lead the charge to make a difference. You just need to know where you thrive and how to add value.
Not everyone has the prowess
Let’s be honest — not everyone is built to identify problems and create scalable solutions. Entrepreneurship requires a mix of grit, creativity, emotional intelligence, leadership, financial management, and a healthy dose of risk tolerance. And even then, success is never guaranteed.
Many aspiring founders jump into the game without fully understanding the demands. They mistake having an idea for being ready. But ideas are cheap — execution is everything.
Without the right skillset, mentorship, or mindset, what was supposed to be a solution ends up becoming a mess. Before you call yourself a founder, ask: “Do I truly have what it takes to see this through?”
The race is not to the swift
Ironically, many people leave their jobs to “be their own boss,” only to land in a more exhausting rat race — this time, self-inflicted. Why? Because they underestimate the time, patience, and resilience required to build anything meaningful.
We live in an age of instant gratification. Founders are celebrated for their success, but rarely do we hear about the years of uncertainty, failed experiments, sleepless nights, and tough choices they had to endure.
The most successful companies weren’t built overnight. If you’re not ready to commit for the long haul, maybe you’re not ready to start at all.
Patience isn’t just a virtue in entrepreneurship — it’s a survival tool.
Underlying agenda, money?
One of the most important (and often overlooked) questions every aspiring entrepreneur should ask themselves is: “Why am I doing this?”
If your answer is solely about making money, you might be in for a rude awakening. Building a startup is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. Without a strong “why,” you’ll burn out before you break through.
Even in tech, the most iconic founders were driven by a bigger mission. Mark Zuckerberg wanted to connect people. Elon Musk wants to colonise Mars and accelerate sustainable energy. These aren’t just lofty ideas — they are deep convictions that fuel their persistence, even when things go wrong.
If your only fuel is profit, you’ll likely run out of gas at the first sign of difficulty.
So, be honest with yourself: What’s your true agenda?
Final thoughts: The ecosystem needs more than just founders
The Nigerian tech ecosystem is still young, growing, and full of potential. But for it to thrive, we need more than just founders. We need product managers, developers, growth hackers, storytellers, operators, designers, and customer champions. Everyone has a part to play.
Don’t become a founder because it sounds fancy or makes you feel important. Do it because you’ve found a problem worth solving, and you’re ready to commit to the journey, no matter how rough it gets.
And if that’s not your path? That’s not failure. That’s self-awareness.
The most valuable players aren’t always the ones in front of the camera. Sometimes, the real game-changers are behind the scenes — quietly, consistently making things work.
In the end, we must stop glorifying the title and start respecting the journey.
