How we made it to a million users in 2 years

The​ ​adoption​ ​rate​ ​of​ ​mobile​ ​is​ ​twice​ ​that​ ​of​ ​the​ ​internet,​ ​three​ ​times​ ​that​ ​of social​ ​media,​ ​and​ ​10​ ​times​ ​faster​ ​than​ ​PCs. — Emma​ ​Crowe,​ ​Somo.

Two​ ​years​ ​ago,​ ​Zoto​ ​started​ ​out​ ​as​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​recharge​ ​app. At​ ​the​ ​end​ ​of our​ ​first​ ​year,​ ​we​ ​were celebrating​ ​100k​ ​users.​ ​June​ ​would​ ​make​ ​it​ ​the second​ ​year,​ ​and​ ​we​ ​already​ ​celebrated​ ​1​ ​million​ ​users.

Exponential growth?​ ​In​ ​some​ ​way,​ ​yes.​ ​But​ ​we​ ​know​ ​there’s​ ​more,​ ​so​ ​we​ ​shared​ ​a slice​ ​of​ ​cake​ ​and​ ​are​ ​already​ ​looking​ ​on​ ​to​ ​the​ ​next​ ​target.

That​ ​isn’t​ ​the​ ​purpose​ ​of​ ​our​ ​post​ ​here​ ​today. Instead,​ ​we’d​ ​like​ ​to​ ​talk about​ ​the​ ​journey​ ​so​ ​far.​ ​The​ ​voluntary​ ​7​-day​ ​work​ ​week​ ​and​ ​sleepless nights,​ ​the​ ​unexpected​ ​crashes,​ ​making​ ​Android​ ​top​ ​charts, and​ ​that one​ ​time​ ​we​ ​got​ ​over​ ​200k​ ​users​ ​in​ ​a​ ​few​ ​days.

We’re​ ​looking​ ​to​ ​share​ ​the​ ​experiences​ ​we’ve​ ​had​ ​along​ ​the​ ​way,​ ​in hopes​ ​of​ ​others​ ​learning​ ​from​ ​our mistakes,​ ​and​ ​ourselves​ ​learning from​ ​your​ ​feedback.​ ​Because​ ​we​ ​understand​ ​that​ ​this​ ​is​ ​how​ ​we​ ​grow together​ ​as​ ​an​ ​ecosystem,​ ​and​ ​we’re​ ​here​ ​to​ ​stay.​ ​So​ ​why​ ​not​ ​start now?

Everyone​ ​who​ ​has​ ​had​ ​to​ ​market​ ​an​ ​app​ ​in​ ​Nigeria​ ​today​ ​knows​ ​that the​ ​journey​ ​is​ ​a​ ​tough​ ​one.​ ​For​ ​the most​ ​part,​ ​you’re​ ​competing​ ​with our​ ​“oyinbo”​ ​counterparts,​ ​and​ ​their​ ​apps​ ​already​ ​have​ ​like​ ​a​ ​gazillion
downloads.

And​ ​even​ ​when​ ​you’re​ ​able​ ​to​ ​carve​ ​out​ ​a​ ​niche​ ​market​ ​for​ ​yourself,​ ​like Babymigo​ ​did​ ​with​ ​their​ ​app (which​ ​we​ ​think​ ​is​ ​awesome​ ​by​ ​the​ ​way), getting​ ​the​ ​word​ ​out,​ ​driving​ ​early​ ​adopter​ ​downloads​ ​and
engagement,​ ​then​ ​pursuing​ ​growth​ ​is​ ​always​ ​a​ ​problem.​ ​We​ ​faced those​ ​same​ ​things​ ​and​ ​more.

So​ ​here’s​ ​what​ ​to​ ​expect​ ​from​ ​us​ ​in​ ​the​ ​coming​ ​months.

• Our​ ​first​ ​major​ ​fail​ ​in​ ​product​ ​scalability​ ​and​ ​what​ ​it​ ​taught​ ​us
• Driving​ ​a​ ​culture​ ​of​ ​growth​ ​and​ ​experimentation​ ​at​ ​an​ ​individual
  level​ ​for​ ​tech​ ​organizations
• Growing​ ​a​ ​social​ ​community​ ​that​ ​supports​ ​your​ ​brand​ ​through
  humanisation
• Data​ ​driven​ ​offline​ ​marketing​ ​for​ ​digital​ ​products​ ​and​ ​how​ ​it
  saved​ ​us​ ​millions
• Creating​ ​a​ ​service​-centric​ ​brand​ ​and​ ​how​ ​to​ ​get​ ​your​ ​whole
  organization​ ​involved​ ​in​ ​customer​ ​service
• What​ ​we​ ​learned​ ​from​ ​our​ ​first​ ​design​ ​sprint​ ​in​ ​building​ ​Zoto​ ​v3

Throughout​ ​this​ ​series,​ ​we’d​ ​be​ ​looking​ ​forward​ ​to​ ​answering​ ​your questions​ ​on​ ​anything​ ​app​ ​related. Our​ ​engineering​ ​and​ ​marketing guys​ ​will​ ​be​ ​following​ ​each​ ​post​ ​to​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​we​ ​answer​ ​every​ ​question we​ ​can,​ ​so​ ​don’t​ ​hold​ ​back!

If​ ​you’d​ ​like​ ​us​ ​to​ ​address​ ​anything​ ​more​ ​specific,​ ​start​ ​dropping​ ​your comments​ ​below,​ ​we’d​ ​see​ ​how​ we​ ​can​ ​fuse​ ​them​ ​into​ ​upcoming​ ​posts.

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On the 1st of June, 2019 over 5000 tech experts and enthusiasts will convene at Techpoint Inspired to explore the impact of technologies like AI, robotics, blockchain, cloud computing in solving Africa’s problems. Register now to be a part of it.

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Nigerian startups raised $178m from 166 deals in 2018. Find out more when you purchase Techpoint’s Nigerian Startup Funding Report 2018 here.

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