I Grew Too Fast and Nearly Lost Everything | The Cash Flow Trap No One Talks About скачать в хорошем качестве

I Grew Too Fast and Nearly Lost Everything | The Cash Flow Trap No One Talks About

Lucy, founder of a Kenyan manufacturing brand built around purple tea, unpacks the realities most entrepreneurs never talk about. Lucy shares what it really takes to build a manufacturing business in Kenya — from product formulation and cash flow management to retail distribution, fundraising, and surviving near shutdown. She opens up about expanding too fast, running a business dependent on 30-day credit terms, and the hard lessons that followed. We also talk about: • Why revenue does NOT equal cash • The dangers of scaling without systems • Retail vs direct-to-consumer tradeoffs • Fundraising mistakes founders make too early • How a serious health crisis exposed gaps in the business • Why “it’s not always about the money” • What resilience actually looks like when things fall apart Chapters (00:00) Introduction: Building a Manufacturing Brand in Kenya (01:20) What Is Purple Tea? (Kenya’s Most Underrated Export) (02:58) Purple Tea vs Green Tea: Benefits & Differences (04:17) The Italy Trade Expo That Changed the Business (06:34) How Research Led to a Purple Tea Product Line (07:36) Becoming a Cosmetic Formulator in Kenya (09:20) Motherhood, Eczema & Starting a Skincare Business (11:30) From Shea Butter to a Scalable Product Range (13:47) How the Business Was Funded Without Investors (14:50) The “Mama Mboga” Growth Strategy Explained (19:31) When Scaling Too Fast Became a Problem (20:04) The Retail Cash Flow Trap (30-Day Payment Terms) (22:19) Why Production Had to Stop Completely (25:36) Rebuilding a Business After Near Shutdown (29:07) What Happens When a Founder Is the Business (38:25) Health Crisis That Changed How the Business Operates (44:40) Why Funding Doesn’t Fix Broken Systems (55:08) Distribution Mistakes That Hurt the Brand (59:50) Why Quitting Was Never an Option (01:09:08) “Nothing Beats Your Health” – A Founder’s Lesson This is an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, manufacturing, women-led businesses in Africa, and building something that can survive both personal and economic shocks. Follow us on all our socials: @sohowsbusiness Instagram: https://shorturl.at/TElff TikTok: https://shorturl.at/8MwGh Facebook: https://shorturl.at/Opr6a LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/GW5Wu African entrepreneurs, women in business Africa, manufacturing business Kenya, cash flow problems, startup failure stories, founder resilience, fundraising mistakes, skincare brand Africa, So Hows Business podcast