Diaspora Business Buildingbusiness.
From idea to revenue with mentors who have built in Lagos, London, and Houston. Cohort + 1:1 office hours + a pitch night tied to the Business Network accelerator pipeline.
What you will learn.
Customer zero
Finding the one person whose problem you understand better than anyone. Diaspora insight as moat.
Shape of the offer
One sentence, one price, one promise. The simplest possible product that solves the problem.
First ten customers
Who, how, at what price. Acquisition strategies that don't require a marketing budget.
Cash + runway
Bootstrapped math. Cash conversion, collection, and the founder's relationship with money.
Hiring the first help
Contractor vs. employee, the scope of the first hire, and how to fire compassionately.
Operations
Process, tools, and the systems that let the founder step away without the business breaking.
Partnerships + supply
Homeland partners, diaspora distributors, and the ethics of cross-border trade.
Capital path
Self-funded, friends-and-family, pre-seed, SBA. When each fits. Introductions to the Investment Club.
Compliance + structure
Entity choice, cross-border tax, labor rules, and the unglamorous work that keeps the venture alive.
Pitch night
Your venture in front of the cohort, investor mentors, and Convention accelerator scouts.
What we expect, and what you will walk out with.
Prerequisites
- A real business idea (active, not theoretical)
- 5 hours weekly for assignments
- Ability to attend live Tuesday session
- INC-USA Business Network membership encouraged
Outcomes
- Ship a customer-validated one-pager for your venture
- Land your first 10 paying customers
- Model 24-month cash flow and break-even
- Pitch at Convention's Founder Showcase (invitation required)
You learn from one person for the full term.
TBD
Founder coach · Lagos–London–HoustonThe founder-coach for this course will be named when the first cohort opens at Convention 2026. We are recruiting an operator with multi-region (Lagos, London, US) startup and accelerator experience.