Speaking on the Afropolitan Podcast, Flutterwave Co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji said he has developed a “radical view” about investing, arguing that he would rather build businesses himself than continue relying on other founders to execute his vision.
Aboyeji questioned the popular emphasis on investing, noting that some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs became wealthy primarily by building companies rather than by investing in other people’s ventures.
“I’ve never heard of Elon really investing in anything. So for me, I’m not interested in investing in all those things. I’d rather invest in myself and build something of my own. Investing is for lazy people, in my view” he said.
Aboyeji explained that his career evolved in phases. In the first six years, he operated and helped build businesses alongside experienced entrepreneurs. In the second phase, he began writing checks and outsourcing execution, but discovered that the results were often “shaky.”
According to him, many of the problems he wants to solve are too important to entrust to founders who are primarily focused on personal gain.
“The problem I’m trying to solve is too important for a bunch of founders who just want to ride the big car and japa for me to trust them with my vision.”
He also argued that some investors are fully capable of building companies themselves and should not assume that founders are the only people able to execute successful businesses.
“Some of us investors can actually build stuff, and we have built stuff before.”
Aboyeji further noted that the execution risk of building businesses in Africa is unusually high, making it difficult for investors to rely entirely on founders.
“If you can help build, why don’t you just build? As an investor, you’re trusting somebody else’s execution.”
He concluded by saying that he is increasingly shifting his focus toward building and operating businesses directly, rather than merely investing in them.
