It’s the 12th episode of Hunting Hurdles and today we’re talking to Christian of Coupon Technologies. Enjoy.

Could you kindly introduce yourself?

My name is Christian Dziwornu, and I’m the CEO and co-founder of Coupons Technologies. By profession, I’m a petroleum engineer, but I’ve always been fascinated with tech, software in particular, and so I decided to take up programming as a new challenge after university. Coupons.com.gh is the first child of those efforts. It was founded together with Henry Benyarko and Antoine Mensah.

Tell us all about Coupons Technologies.

Coupons Technologies is a 100% Ghanaian IT startup that focuses on B2C marketing solutions for the hospitality, retail, food and beverage, and other industries. Our main product is Coupons.com.gh, a web-app that helps businesses sell their products through exciting promos and discounts. The site allows businesses to create free e-coupons for enticing discounts on products and services which our users can redeem. It also allows event organizers to promote free events, or give out free tickets to paid events. Businesses can create a free online listing, with detailed description of services, open hours, contacts, photos, etc. Users can view this provided information, get directions to the place, make enquiries, rate the business, like or share with friends. Sign up is free for both businesses and users.

What gave you the idea for the business?

I was very fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to study in St. Petersburg, Russia. As students, we all used to love shopping off season, so we would buy summer clothes in winter, and warm clothes in summer, because that’s when they were on discount! Being a student, you learn several ways to save money, and top of that list is always discount shopping. In Ghana, when driving around town, I would see many shops with discount sales ongoing, and always wonder if there was a way to make those discounts reach more people. When I decided to learn programming, the aim was to build something interesting. And I think the idea of promoting discounts of cool places and businesses online through e-coupons sounded interesting and fun. Everybody likes discounts!

Did you tell people about your idea? How did they receive it?

When I first had the idea, the first people I told were my closest friends. I think generally they all thought it sounded great. Maybe it’s not that great an idea, and they are just being good friends. The only question that keeps recurring is if the idea is viable in Ghana, that is, if people will be willing to use an application like this. I think that with the reception we’ve had from the businesses signing up, it is something that will work. It is also another reason why we made membership free. We want to make shopping and having fun more affordable. And to me, the only thing that beats discounted stuff, is free stuff.

What kind of market did you have in mind for your product?

Coupons.com.gh is meant to be used by anyone who has a smartphone or computer and an internet connection. We want the platform to be the place where everyone goes to find cool deals before they plan that next trip to the shop, or to the cinema, or restaurant. Businesses that offer services or products at discounts should also use the platform as a place to promote those discounts. So it’s a discount shoppers’ club. The first of its kind in Ghana.

How difficult was it to start?

I think the most difficult part was actually getting started. As a self-taught programmer, I always thought I didn’t know enough to be able to finish the project when I started. But once the courage to start building came, everything started falling into place. Together with Henry Benyarko, a co-founder, we would go over most features together before implementing them. Most of the challenges we faced were technical at the start.

What challenges do you face on a day-to-day basis?

I would say that the biggest challenge we face now is skepticism. Many businesses still use more traditional media for their marketing, and giants like Facebook and Instagram offer them the opportunity to promote their businesses through groups and pages. What we are offering is slightly different though. We are offering a free space for your business and your promotions, the ability to move old stock or special products, gain new clients and retain existing ones. Funding for more publicity is also a problem, but I guess it’s a general problem with most startups.

How do you market your business?

We have a marketing team headed by Antoine Mensah, also part of the founders. We have quite a following on social media, so we promote there, and we also have salespeople talk directly to business owners to sign them up.

What has the response to Coupons.com.gh been so far?

So far, I think the response has generally been positive. Since our soft launch, businesses have been signing up in their numbers to become part of the club. We hope to have more coupons, places and events available to our users from all categories of products or services. If you are someone who loves discount shopping, you definitely need to sign up to our club.

Do you have any employees? What does someone have to do to work with you?

At the moment, Coupons Technologies is a 3-man team. However, we’re planning on adding more new features in the coming months, as well as building native mobile apps, so we’ll be looking to employ a few good mobile developers.

How does entrepreneurship compare to a regular job?

I think compared to a regular job, being an entrepreneur requires more day-to-day problem solving. Aside a few jobs that are always demanding something new, most regular jobs become routine after sometime. But being an entrepreneur means facing hurdles or new developments almost daily. Navigating that successfully isn’t always easy. That is why it is very important as a young entrepreneur to have a good team, and good mentorship.

What have you learnt about running a business that no one could have told you before you started?

That good things don’t just happen in business. They take lots and lots of hard work and dedication. Most of the time we trivialize people’s achievements because we can see the results of their work, and it looks easy. However, behind those results, there are days, and weeks, sometimes months of putting in work behind the scenes, failures, small victories, disappointments, and the like. You have to be ready for this, but somehow, no one tells you this at the start.

What can government do to help young entrepreneurs?

As a software company, we believe that a favorable environment for the budding tech startup scene in Ghana will really help. Government should help young entrepreneurs with good ideas be able to grow from just ideas to real products, and these products should be supported to scale up from serving a small part of the country to the whole nation or continent. This support can be in the form of easy access to capital, investments, training and mentorship and a generally conducive government policy for startups.

Any advice to other entrepreneurs or would-be entrepreneurs?

If you have an idea, and it sounds good to you, as much as you can, do not let it remain an idea. Act on your dreams. You never know what will come of it, but if you do things right, and with a little luck, that idea might just become the next big thing. What if you fail? Who cares? Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Set your mind to your goals and work towards them. Do not be distracted by the hurdles or circumstances that make things harder than they should be. Remember that nothing good comes easy. So work hard, and with time, you will reap your rewards.

Thank you!