In the mid-2010s, Zoona became synonymous with money transfers in Zambia. Its bright green and blue kiosks were dotted across the capital, Lusaka. The company was a shining example of an emerging fintech on the continent. However, a press statement from co-founder Brad Magrath in 2019 signalled that things might not be well with Zoona. In the letter, he confirmed that Zoona was pivoting to a business to business (B2B) company rather than its initial business to consumer (B2C) service. In Failing to Win: Hard-earned Lessons from a Purpose-driven Startup, the CEO and co-founder narrates what went marvellously right and wrong at Zoona.

The ending of this story is known; however, we get to understand the journey that got Zoona there in the book. Mike Quinn is Canadian born who first came to Africa as a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders Canada. He identified a gap that there wasn’t much impact investment happening on the continent and believed he could contribute towards changing it.  “I knew from experience that Africa was awash with entrepreneurs, many of whom were working tirelessly to solve hard problems for their communities and — with the right capital and support — had the potential to scale. The real problem was that these entrepreneurs didn’t know that impact capital from foreign investors even existed, let alone how they might access it,” he said. He then met brothers Brad and Brett Magrath, who were working on a startup called Mobile Transactions, which later changed to Zoona.

There are plenty of books on the stories of companies from Silicon Valley but few from Lusaka or Lilongwe. In Failing to Win, Mike spends time mapping out the genesis of Zoona from the inspiration to meeting the Magrath brothers, raising capital for the business and the aspirations for a cashless Africa. He also lays out the landscape of the African fintech space at the time and the multitude of hurdles they had to overcome to start the business. The 11-chapter book is split into three parts — Founding, Failing and Winning — with Failing made up of eight chapters. For all the adulations that may come with seven or eight-figure valuations or acquisitions, getting a company to that stage is a path littered with landmines and vipers. In short, it is hard.

Mike’s candidness and unapologetic writing make the book a pleasurable read. It rarely feels like he was holding back but instead laid bare all the ‘trophy raising moments’ like when they closed their first funding round and the difficult one, such as firing the CFO. As CEO of the company, Mike was at the centre of many of the challenges the Zoona faced, such as failure to raise funds, managing staff, depreciation of the currency, unsuccessful expansion attempts and competition from the telecom giants MTN and Airtel. However, his excellent networking skills perhaps helped Zoona ride most of the waves that came their way. In part two, at the end of each chapter under the heading ‘Embracing Failure: Lessons Learned’, Mike shares his insights from the different stages of the company and him at the helm for ten years.

Whereas it might be an easy read for someone in the business space, certain parts might be difficult to grasp for the casual reader. For example, when Mike talks about raising Series A, Series B, and Series C funds. The jargon might be too complicated for some, and Mike would have done well to explain this a little more. Nonetheless, the essence of the story in these parts is not lost.

Mike Quinn must be applauded for writing Failing to Win: Hard-earned Lessons from a Purpose-driven Startup. Failure is still a topic that makes people uncomfortable. A facilitator at a conference Mike attended said it best, “… that voice in our head, which we all have, that conflates “you failed” with “you’re a failure. There is a critical difference between these two messages….” The bold choice to document his experience at Zoona as CEO shows that Mike learnt to separate the two. The book will provide lessons and valuable insights for entrepreneurs navigating the African business landscape and the challenges that come with it. Even though Mike did not achieve his lofty ambitions for Zoona, he cannot be accused of not trying. And perhaps that is the biggest lesson of all— Try. Failing to Win is highly recommended for entrepreneurs, especially those building fintech solutions.

Failing to Win: Hard-earned Lessons from a Purpose-driven Startup

290 Pages

Publisher: Burnet Media

Available on Amazon