1. What drives you?
People, Every time I see a customer happy because of a product or process I am part of, that just gives me the will to get up and running next day.
2. What was your inspiration to start this venture?
Fresh from campus in August of 2013 I felt the need to find apartments to move into. That proved to be a daunting task. Finding a good rental pad being let out at a comfortable rate for fresh graduates was close to impossible. It required a lot of time view the different houses and a great expense paying fare and viewing fees to real estate agents.
As a last resort I checked out the existing online property listing platforms which only added to my frustration. They all catered for the high-end market.
After doing some research I realized that a large percentage – close to 49 percent actually – of the total Kenyan population, comprising youth, face that same problem. They mostly fall in the low- and middle-income earners’ bracket.
I felt this was a problem I could tackle.
3. What’s your opinion on the future of the housing in Kenya?
Housing in Kenya, compared to other markets is still an area that a lot can be done. Owning a house for young people is almost impossible as it is, mainly due to inflated prices.
4. How does Keja Hunt position itself in changing the way we rent houses in Kenya?
KejaHunt: Our target market is the 49 percent of potential tenants that fit into the low-income bracket and are considered youth. They can’t afford to rent the houses listed on other property listing platforms.
Our market research indicates high viability since we do not compete for the high-end market meaning we are catering for an overlooked and “neglected” portion.
There are many property owners with houses targeting this market but they lack an adequate channel to get the word out. We happen to provide them with an efficient channel and at a very reasonable price.
5. What are some of mistakes you have made in your start-up?
The biggest mistake we’ve made I guess was trying to do too many things at once. We were everywhere, there was nothing we couldn’t build. But time taught us that problems we face are not technological problems, but people problems, and they should be handled as such.
6. Why does start-ups fail? What could be the reasons?
A lot of start-ups don’t give themselves enough time and runway to fail, so they never do find that coveted product-market fit. Most of them give up after the first or second bad deal. Entrepreneurship is about perseverance, but also knowing when to persevere.
Another reason, that I also have been a culprit of before, is that most start-ups do not do their research well. We ask a couple of friends, Google and then immediately move to product development. Wrong way to go about it.
7. What’s your advice to young entrepreneurs?
Tech is the way to go. Nothing will benefit you tomorrow more than learning a programming language today.
8. What’s your favorite quote?
"Be good at what you do. If you are not, drop it"