So, a few months ago IIocation held our first pop-up at Backyard Stories - a local event intended to showcase upcoming artists and support local businesses based in Gaborone, Botswana. Aside from gaining visibility and generating initial traction, our main objective was to showcase IIocation's product demo to potential users to receive early, actionable feedback that would inform further product development. But, because we often get more than we bargain for, my interactions with curious individuals and intrigued business owners have not only influenced my approach to building IIocation - the mobile application - but how I see and navigate founding a startup.

1. “Always Shoot Your Shot” - the worst they can say is no, and most people don't.
When the steady stream of people visiting our stall trickled then eventually stopped, I took some initiative and brought IIocation to them.

Key Takeaway - Yes, approaching strangers is uncomfortable and - despite what people say - rejection always feels personal. But discomfort is where growth is achieved and sustained. My personal philosophy is that our limits are meant to be tested because our perception of who we are and our capabilities is flawed.

Result - Abandoning my “shyness” and encouraging people to visit our stall increased waitlist signups by approximately 30%!

2. “Before You Sell Your Product You Sell An Experience” aka “Getting People's Attention Is Not Keeping It”
At the risk of losing the crowd around our stall's interest, we prioritised good customer service by consistently making learning about IIocation enjoyable.

Key Takeaway - Because what you say is as important as how you say it, pitches should be as interesting as they are informative. When you successfully do both thus capture people's attention, the real work begins - keeping it. How, one may ask? I’m still figuring that out!

Result - Introducing IIocation to people through interactive games (as seen in the images) kept them intrigued long enough to see how we intend to connect people and grow small businesses by sitting through our 4 minute product demonstration.

3. “It's Difficult. But You're Also Just Afraid.”
My fear of failure had a butterfly effect hence I procrastinated and was a little late to IIocation's first event. As my to-do list piled up I could have thrown in the towel. But, like when I decided to pursue IIocation after years of back-and-forth, it's always better late than never.

Key Takeaway - There's always evidence why you should give up - an “impossible” bug in your code, a missed deadline, an unavoidable failure etc. It's a founder's job to find evidence to counter this and in some cases preserve despite its absence. Resist the urge to give up when it gets hard - everything worth doing is. You will eventually fail but not trying is a surefire way of ensuring you never succeed.

Result - Because I didn't give up and found someone else to help man the stall when my “assistant” cancelled last minute, IIocation 1st pop-up was a success. And because I asked a photographer at the event to take some pictures of our stall and followed-up one more time you know about it!

IIocation's 2nd pop-up a few weeks ago was the perfect environment to put what I learnt to the test! Follow IIocation's social media pages for exclusive BTS. If you haven't already, join our waitlists to be first to get updates about what's going on at IIocation.

IIocation's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/iiocation?igsh=MTM2am4yM2ZkM3JpaQ%3D%3D
IIocation's TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@iiocation?_t=ZM-8vSugrBtEnO&_r=1
IIocation's Waitlist For Users - Users' Waitlist
IIocation's Waitlist For Businesses - Businesses' Waitlist
Photo Credits - https://www.instagram.com/tsutsurika_tata?igsh=NjVidXQxMzlhd3B4