Failing To Win: Hard-earned lessons from a purpose-driven startup

by Mike Quinn

In 2009, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Quinn packed his backpack and moved to Lusaka, Zambia on a mission to find African entrepreneurs building scalable, high-impact businesses. There he stumbled across two South African brothers who had founded a business to help unbanked smallholder farmers receive mobile payments in a market where cash was king. After convincing his retired parents to mortgage their house and lend him $100,000, Mike joined as a co-founder of Zoona and became CEO for nine of the next ten years.
With his partners, Mike built a network of more than 3,000 entrepreneur agents across Zambia and Malawi that enabled millions of unbanked consumers to send and receive $2.5-billion in money transfers and remittances. Headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, Zoona raised over $35-million of venture investment and operated on the leading edge of Africa's emerging fintech ecosystem.
Mike's remarkable story gives a rare and honest glimpse into the workings of a pioneering African startup through the lens of a purpose-driven entrepreneur who went "all in". Zoona faced tremendous adversity along the currency crises, investment round collapses, ruthless pushback from the major mobile network operators, and a continuous internal struggle to discover and execute a growth strategy that matched the company's billion-dollar ambition.It was by failing to win that Mike learned what entrepreneurship - specifically purpose-driven entrepreneurship - is all about, and it was what motivated him to double down and try again.
"This raw, honest account is a must-read for anyone thinking about starting a company and for every entrepreneur who feels alone in the journey." - Elizabeth Yin, Co-Founder & General Partner of Hustle Fund
"Startups are hard. Most people understand this. However, most people don't understand why. Mike's story is a rare glimpse into how challenges present themselves - and ultimately how to overcome." - Matt Flannery, Co-Founder of Kiva & Branch
"In a rare look behind the scenes, Mike shares a vivid picture of the other side of leadership we don't talk about enough. As he aptly describes 'founding, failing and winning', this book highlights the risk of taking that all-important first step, embracing failure and ensuring you learn the transformative lessons critical to success as an entrepreneurial leader." - Fred Swaniker, Founder of African Leadership Group
"This story is a gift for entrepreneurs and indeed anyone wanting to learn about the first generation of African fintechs that paved the way for future companies to thrive." - Katlego Maphai, Co-Founder & CEO of Yoco

290 pages, Paperback

Published August 30, 2021

Reviews

[Conrad Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Failing to Win for demonstrating how far we've come in startup ecosystems across the continent while reminding me how hard it is to build new ventures generally. I was in particular impressed with Mike's writing quality and openness to report "how it was" to build and grow Zoona. Failing to Win is a book that is both accessible and original; it felt at times like a thriller replete with insightful anecdotes and lessons (a few snippets for me worth re-iterating: don't lose focus when serving your customers, competition can actually matter, nothing is certain until the money actually hits the bank - even after Series B!)

Mike and team deserve thanks for their role in seeding much of Africa's still-nascent startup ecosystem, which is growing rapidly. Here's hoping to his and their future successes. If you have any interest or connection to Africa's startup ecosystems (whether as founder, investor, or stakeholder), go ahead and read this book.

[Mbachi Thindwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Falling to Win is a compelling account of the Zoona story. I worked in the fintech and mobile network operator (MNO) industry in Zambia during the period when Zoona was at its peak. At the time, it seemed inevitable that the MNOs would eventually overtake Zoona in the money transfer market. However, reading about the founders' and investors' strategic decision-making, the challenges they faced, and the options they considered behind the scenes was particularly insightful. The book offers a fascinating perspective on building and scaling a startup in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market.

[Fredrick Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I have read about building a business.

This is by far the best book I have read about building a business. Mike didn’t hold back,when telling about his experience. The book is very relevant to the business environments in Africa. Key leadership traits were also explained in the book, Vulnerability ,Tenacity, Resilience and Courage.
I would recommend this book to business leaders and and anyone who wants to become and Entrepreneur.

[Kaizen Ventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for entrepreneurs

Just read Failing to Win in less than a day! A candid and vulnerable depiction of the highs & lows of entrepreneurship. More of these inside accounts need to be written but for now just buy this one. Kudos Mike and good luck with Boost!!

[Dirk Roets · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Perhaps because we’ve been doing a lot of business in East Africa in very similar segments of the market, but there are also plenty of generally valuable lessons to learn. Definitely worth a read.