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FTA: "Wave’s mission is to improve the world, not to make money" "Our investors are venture capitalists trying to make a high return" "saving our users over

FTA: "Wave’s mission is to improve the world, not to make money" "Our investors are venture capitalists trying to make a high return" "saving our users over $100 million so far [in Senegal alone]." Am I missing something? What's to stop your VCs from leaning on you to suddenly hike your rates up in favor of more profits once you are a de facto monopoly on payment services? If the answer isn't "They don't and will never hold voting shares and board seats", then why did they invest in your company at all ...?

ignoramous 5y ago
I'm no capitalist, but if you could improve the world while delivering exponential returns on capital, that's a win-win? I don't think something's mutually exclusive just because it is rare.
barry-cotter 5y ago
> What's to stop your VCs from leaning on you to suddenly hike your rates up in favor of more profits once you are a de facto monopoly on payment services? They don’t hold a majority of votes is one possible answer. Another is that they’re much more invested in growth than profitability. Why try to make as much money as you can in Senegal when the rest of Africa is right there? Also “Your margin is my opportunity.” If you’re the first company to provide a good service and you’re cheap and good what exactly are wannabe competitors going to do to oust you? > If the answer isn't "They don't and will never hold voting shares and board seats", then why did they invest in your company at all ...? To make lots of money. If founding team is really important and VC returns are power law distributed then investing in a much better team that is a lot less greedy can be a great bet.
- bilbo0s 5y ago
  Why try to make as much money as you can in Senegal when the rest of Africa is right there? Because the rest of Africa is more likely to settle on mpesa. Not trying to be snarky, genuinely looking for a reason for a Kenyan or Ghanaian to switch to Wave for example? Off the top of my head, I can't think of one? This is particularly true for anyone in the EAC. In short, maybe your investors will begin to see they have little chance of winning over all of Africa. Fundamentally, you're really no different than mpesa in terms of structure. (I can't determine much of a difference in terms of fundamental functionality either?) I'd genuinely like to hear how you guys view things like mpesa? Along with a good answer to the neo colonial criticism? If you have good stories for those two issues, I think you have a chance. (Where 'good' means 'resonates with young Africans who are much more likely to be Pan Africanist these days'.)

ignoramous 5y ago

I'm no capitalist, but if you could improve the world while delivering exponential returns on capital, that's a win-win? I don't think something's mutually exclusive just because it is rare.

barry-cotter 5y ago

> What's to stop your VCs from leaning on you to suddenly hike your rates up in favor of more profits once you are a de facto monopoly on payment services? They don’t hold a majority of votes is one possible answer. Another is that they’re much more invested in growth than profitability. Why try to make as much money as you can in Senegal when the rest of Africa is right there? Also “Your margin is my opportunity.” If you’re the first company to provide a good service and you’re cheap and good what exactly are wannabe competitors going to do to oust you? > If the answer isn't "They don't and will never hold voting shares and board seats", then why did they invest in your company at all ...? To make lots of money. If founding team is really important and VC returns are power law distributed then investing in a much better team that is a lot less greedy can be a great bet.

bilbo0s 5y ago
Why try to make as much money as you can in Senegal when the rest of Africa is right there? Because the rest of Africa is more likely to settle on mpesa. Not trying to be snarky, genuinely looking for a reason for a Kenyan or Ghanaian to switch to Wave for example? Off the top of my head, I can't think of one? This is particularly true for anyone in the EAC. In short, maybe your investors will begin to see they have little chance of winning over all of Africa. Fundamentally, you're really no different than mpesa in terms of structure. (I can't determine much of a difference in terms of fundamental functionality either?) I'd genuinely like to hear how you guys view things like mpesa? Along with a good answer to the neo colonial criticism? If you have good stories for those two issues, I think you have a chance. (Where 'good' means 'resonates with young Africans who are much more likely to be Pan Africanist these days'.)