The founder who constructed Storipod with a group on zero wage

For African writers, sharing your work to receives a commission on world platforms has at all times been a herculean job. African startups are constructing to resolve this downside, however Storipod has a unique method, serialising the tales within the format of social media tales. 

It’s a daring method that seeks to make the most of  more and more quick consideration spans. That is the Day 1-1000 of Storipod. 

Day 1: When weblog posts die

James Nelson has at all times written. In 2019, whereas working at Interswitch, he’d publish weblog posts one week and spend the following week spamming the hyperlink all over the place. “Come learn my weblog. Come click on. Come to my weblog.” After some time, he felt like he was simply annoying individuals.

Then he began writing on his WhatsApp Standing as a substitute. Identical content material, totally different format. By slide 5, individuals had been already responding. “Oh, I don’t assume that ought to have occurred.” “I truly assume this is sensible.” The engagement was instantaneous.

“Folks devour issues in tiny bits,” Nelson explains. “That’s how we learn now, WhatsApp Standing, IG Tales, tweets. So why not use the identical method for precise storytelling?”

The perception was easy however highly effective—music has Spotify and Apple Music. You possibly can document a tune in your front room and make streaming cash. Films have YouTube and Netflix. Put up a fantastic movie, individuals watch it, you receives a commission.

However what occurred to writing? Nothing. Medium doesn’t pay. Substack doesn’t pay Africans. Twitter’s monetisation requires subscriptions. “There’s no platform that allows individuals who write unbelievable tales to truly make influencer cash,” Nelson says. Writers deserved higher.

In 2022, whereas nonetheless head of product at Shuttlers, a startup digitising shared commutes, Nelson registered the Storipod.com area. The identify got here from ‘peas in a pod’, writers sharing tales collectively. ‘Storypod’ with a y was already taken, so Nelson went with ‘Storipod’. “We’ll out-market them,” he figured.

By December 2022, he’d left Shuttlers, purchased a Mac and an iPhone. “If I’ve these two, I can’t be jobless,” he informed himself.

“I realised the distinction between most Nigerian founders and me is that they’ve raised cash and I haven’t. That’s it.” After a quick stint at Edukoya in 2023, he made the decision: “We’re going to do Storipod, or we’ll die attempting.”

Day 500: 15 builders and a prayer

Constructing a social media app is likely one of the hardest issues you are able to do as a startup. The bar is brutally excessive. Customers count on Instagram’s polish from 2-3 individuals. They don’t need lag. They don’t need it to ‘really feel like a Nigerian app.’ They need the worldwide model.

Nigerian builders “understand how to make things better and work in an organization,” Nelson says. “They don’t know find out how to construct from scratch to scale.”

Storipod burned by means of 15 cell builders. Nelson used his final financial savings to rent an Indian developer who left bugs all over the place, however in December 2023, they acquired into the Android retailer.

Then got here the iOS dance. Twenty-two builds rejected. Nelson saved pushing. On February 6, 2024, the e-mail arrived: “Welcome to the App Retailer.”

“I learn it twice,” Nelson says. “That’s essentially the most highly effective e mail I’ve ever acquired.”

However cash was gone. The Indian developer left. The group was right down to Nelson and his co-founders, Caleb Chinga and Prince Ita. No cell engineer. No method ahead.

“In some unspecified time in the future, I assumed this was the top,” Nelson admits.

Then he went on LinkedIn and started cold-messaging Flutter builders. “We’ve bugs. Are you able to assist us? We don’t have cash, however this factor can blow.”

Most blocked him. One developer, Daniel, requested to see the documentation.

“That is what I do for a residing,” Nelson replied, sending over all the things.

Daniel seemed on the code, fastened a number of bugs, then stated he’d maintain serving to when he was free. He was between jobs. That’s how Storipod survived the primary crash. However in these early months, he saved the app alive without spending a dime.

Then Nelson discovered Taiwo Farinu. Autistic, good, coding from a beer parlour with a damaged laptop computer. When Farinu wanted ₦20,000 ($13) for an emergency, Nelson despatched it instantly, even when he was broke himself. Farinu solved essentially the most advanced issues, like making tales keep in mind the place you stopped studying, similar to WhatsApp Standing. “Working with Taiwo might be actually arduous,” Nelson says. “However as soon as he will get it, he can resolve something.”

Getting free Microsoft Azure 150,000 credit from Microsoft saved them. So did relationships. Nelson known as in favours all over the place; former interns constructed the net app, a pharmacy encounter led to a designer who sketched your entire net interface throughout her NHS night time shifts at 3 a.m.

“She completed it in two days,” Nelson says, nonetheless amazed. “If there’s a will, there’s a method.”

However the group nonetheless wasn’t getting paid. Nelson was burning out. His co-founders had been juggling day jobs and night time shifts on Storipod. “I see what they’re going by means of,” Nelson says. “I’m like, ‘Guys, how far? We have to repair this one. Let’s push.’”

Each night time he’d pray the identical factor: “God, let this succeed, not for me, for these guys.”

Day 1,000: 150,000 customers, zero payroll

In January 2024, a Canadian join on LinkedIn noticed what Storipod was doing. He reached out and requested how a lot Nelson wanted. He signed Storipod’s first angel cheque: $5,000. Nelson shared a part of the funds with the group. Folks cried. “I by no means knew ₦200K ($138) meant extra to them than tens of millions,” Nelson says. That’s when Nelson knew they’d one thing actual; not only a product however a mission individuals believed in.

In 2024, they launched monetisation. Creators may lock their tales and readers would pay to entry them. Readers may additionally tip their favorite writers. Storipod deliberate to take 30% commissions on what writers earned. And in contrast to different platforms, payouts had been actual.

Then a consumer named Grace made an natural TikTok video. “Let me introduce you to an app the place you can also make cash from day one.” She had 3,000 followers. The video went viral. Nelson despatched her ₦30,000 ($20) and ran advertisements on it. It turned their killer advertising.

One other consumer, Winnie Child, began writing on Storipod, then joined the group to jot down newsletters. Nelson made her the face of the model. ‘Winnie Child from Storipod’ turned their voice. 

By mid-2024, they’d 50,000 customers. Then 150,000. They moved payouts on-chain by means of Busha stablecoins, USDC, so anybody in Africa may withdraw; no extra country-by-country fee integrations.

The group has since grown to twenty individuals. They run on Zoho’s free tier (5 e mail aliases shared between everybody), constructed their very own e mail marketing campaign supervisor, and use Microsoft Azure credit. Nobody on the group will get paid. “After I inform individuals we run at zero value, they don’t imagine me,” Nelson says.

And in some way, it’s working.

The exit no one’s pricing in

Nelson doesn’t assume like a typical founder. He’s not chasing the VC unicorn path. He’s watching what’s occurring within the creator financial system globally.

Farcaster, a decentralised Twitter for creators, is gaining traction. “Each platform makes its personal creators,” Nelson notes. “Folks large on YouTube aren’t large on Instagram. Storipod will make its personal – Winnie Child is already one among them.”

Amazon Books could be the actual goal. “A author places their e book on Amazon, makes nothing till somebody buys the entire thing. On Storipod, they’re creating wealth from chapter one, chapter two, and chapter three. After some time, Africans will default to Storipod.”

Proper now, Storipod is at 150,000 creators. Adverts haven’t even launched but. After they hit 1 million customers, advertisements will go dwell. The enterprise turns into actual.

Nelson is drained; sleeping at 4 a.m., waking at midday, and squeezing work from his group throughout their lunch breaks. Farinu remains to be coding from the beer parlour. The UX designer remains to be sketching at 3 a.m. between NHS shifts. New individuals maintain exhibiting up.

“Folks don’t resign at Storipod,” Nelson says. “Everybody’s a founding member. Even the cleaners. They imagine that is theirs.”

The maths is unimaginable. Twenty individuals, zero payroll, constructing Instagram-level UX. However in some way, they’re at 150,000 customers. And in some way, they’re nonetheless operating.

Nelson leans again. “The place there’s a will, there’s a method.”