Six things many startups get wrong and how to fix them

If you have ever launched a startup in Ghana, you know it is exciting and overwhelming all at once. The energy in our ecosystem is incredible – young people building solutions for real problems. However, after working with multiple startups and accelerator programs, I have noticed a pattern.

The same mistakes pop up over and over. The good news? They are fixable. In fact, avoiding these mistakes early could save you months of frustration and set you on the path to real growth. Let us talk about them.

Falling in love with the idea too soon

Here is the thing, having a brilliant idea feels great- but an idea that no one wants to pay for is not a business. Imagine this: you dream up an app that delivers food to university students.

You are convinced it will change the game, so you hire a designer, pay for a developer, and three months later, you launch. It looks amazing. However, there is a problem. Students already have affordable food on campus, and they are not interested in paying delivery fees. Your downloads? Barely a dozen.

The Fix: Before you write a single line of code, talk to real people. Not your friends, not your mom—actual potential customers. Ask them how they solve this problem now, what frustrates them, and if they would pay for your solution. Better still, create a simple landing page and ask for pre-orders. If no one bites, the idea needs work.

Pitching passion without proof

Passion is great – it keeps you going when things get tough. However, when you are pitching to investors or development partners, passion alone does not close deals. Too often, founders spend the first 10 minutes of a pitch talking about Ghana’s unemployment problem and only a few minutes on what they have actually done. The funder is impressed by the passion – but they cannot write a cheque based on good intentions.

The Fix: Lead with results. How many users do you have? How much revenue? What problem have you solved so far? Show proof – screenshots, testimonials, numbers that matter. And be specific about your ask: “We need $10,000 to onboard 1,000 users in 6 months.” Funders do not invest in dreams – they invest in traction.

Walking solo

Many Ghanaian founders start strong but try to do everything themselves – coding, marketing, fundraising, customer support. It works for a while, but eventually, it becomes a bottleneck. Picture a tech founder who is the developer, the sales lead, and the designer.

Every decision goes through them. Growth slows because one person can only do so much, and when the pressure mounts, burnout follows – and sometimes, key team members walk away because they feel sidelined.

The Fix: Build a team early. If you are the tech brain, bring in someone who loves business development. If you are the sales wizard, find an operations guru. Share real ownership – equity, not just a token title. Holding regular check-ins where everyone’s input is considered goes a long way to build team spirit. A strong team is not a luxury; it is the engine of your growth.

Chasing users instead of profits

It is tempting to celebrate vanity metrics – 1,000 downloads, 10,000 Instagram followers. But if are losing money on every transaction, those numbers do not matter. Imagine an e-commerce startup that spends GHS 50 to get one customer, who buys GHS 120 worth of goods. After costs, they are still in the red. Growth looks good on paper, but the bank account tells a different story.

The Fix: Do your unit economics. How much does it cost to acquire a customer? How much do you make per sale? Do they come back, or is it one-and-done? If your model is not profitable per transaction, scaling will only multiply losses. Focus on building a sustainable business, not just a popular one.

Reinventing the wheel instead of partnering

Some startups believe they need to build everything themselves to be successful. But sometimes, the fastest way forward is through partnerships. Think about a payment startup that spends eight months building a merchant onboarding system from scratch. Meanwhile, a competitor partners with an existing point-of-sale provider and gets 500 merchants in two months. Who wins? The one that collaborated.

The Fix: Before you build, ask: “Who already has what I need?” Can you integrate with an existing platform instead of starting from zero? Map out potential partners and offer something they cannot easily do themselves. A smart partnership can save you time, money, and headaches.

Ignoring financial discipline

One of the biggest blind spots for startups in Ghana is poor financial management. Many founders treat business money like personal money, or they keep everything in their heads without proper records.

Imagine a startup that receives a $20,000 grant. Without a budget, clear accounts, or even basic bookkeeping, the money vanishes in a few months with little to show for it. When investors or partners ask for financial statements, they scramble- and opportunities are lost. Worse, tax obligations pile up, creating avoidable legal headaches.

The Fix: Separate your personal and business finances from day one. Open a business bank account; track every expense, and use simple accounting tools- or even an Excel sheet- to monitor cash flow. If numbers are not your strength, get an accountant or finance advisor on board. Build the habit of monthly financial reviews so you know exactly where your money is going. Strong financial discipline not only keeps your business alive but also builds credibility with funders and partners.

To conclude, Ghana’s startup ecosystem is full of potential. However, success does not come from avoiding mistakes altogether – it comes from learning and adapting quickly. The founders who make it? They test ideas before building, show proof to funders, build real teams, understand their numbers, and use partnerships to scale. Your idea might be amazing, but execution wins. So ask yourself: are you learning fast enough to win?

 

Amidatu Kassim mentors startups and builds bridges between international organizations and African entrepreneurs. Currently Programs Consultant at MEST Africa, she has supervised 20+ startups including Chestify AI and Nnoboa. With a Business Administration background and MSc in Project Management & Community Development in progress, she writes about startup strategy, international partnerships, and tech for social impact in Ghana’s evolving ecosystem.