From the Founder's Desk — Segun Adeyemi, Co-founder & Head of Strategy & Development
A term without a mental model is a trap. "Product-market fit" is not a slide — it's a state your product either lives in or does not. "Exit" is not a rumour — it's the mechanism that decides whether a decade of work becomes wealth for the people who built it. Learn the words, then learn the mechanisms behind them.
“Investors are patient about growth. They are ruthless about clarity.”
29. GMV — Gross Merchandise Value
The total value of goods transacted through a marketplace — critical for Kiachow and Kiavendor conversations. If sellers transact ₦5bn through the platform and we take a ₦200m commission, GMV = ₦5bn and revenue = ₦200m. Don't confuse the two — one is scale, the other is the business.
30. Exit
How investors ultimately make money. Common exits:
- Acquisition — a larger company buys the business.
- Initial Public Offering (IPO) — the company lists on a stock exchange.
- Secondary sale — investors sell their shares to another investor.
31. PMF — Product-Market Fit
Product-market fit is the moment customers genuinely want the product, use it repeatedly, and recommend it to others. Before PMF, startups are searching — every dollar spent on growth is wasted. After PMF, they focus on scaling — every dollar spent on growth compounds.
- Signals of PMF: strong retention, low CAC relative to LTV, unprompted referrals, feature requests instead of complaints.
- Signals you don't have it yet: churn spikes, weak retention curves, customers you have to "convince" to keep using the product.
Putting It All Together
| Question an investor asks | Metrics you should be ready to quote |
|---|---|
| Is this a real market? | TAM, SAM, SOM. |
| Do customers love it? | PMF signals, churn, retention. |
| Is the economic engine healthy? | Gross margin, LTV : CAC, payback period. |
| Are you a responsible operator? | MRR/ARR, burn rate, runway, cash flow. |
| Why can't someone bigger copy you? | Moat — brand, network effects, data, switching costs. |
| How do we make money on this? | Exit paths, cap table, dilution profile. |
KIAGO TECH Standard
- Every venture maintains a live cap table, updated after every equity change.
- Every venture reports MRR / ARR, gross margin, LTV : CAC, and runway monthly.
- Every founder and manager can explain the WACC, unit economics, and exit story of the venture they lead — without notes.
- Every board deck includes the same headline metrics in the same order, quarter after quarter.