Why Founders Should Build by Giving First
This is the overlooked principle behind companies that actually endure.
The startup world has far more failures than successes. Research supports this finding - CB Insights, Harvard Business School, and Startup Genome all concur on the same reality: 70%–90% of startups fail within a few years, and most VC-backed companies never return a profit to investors.
Yet from this cycle of failure, some entrepreneurs manage to rise and build enduring companies. Their edge isn’t usually a bigger cheque or a brighter idea; it is a mindset shift: create value first, capture value later.
Take Salad Africa as an example. It began as Salary Advance, a simple lending service. When that model struggled, Chikodi Ukaiwe (Founder & CEO, Salad Africa) could have walked away. Instead, he pivoted - transforming it into a financial infrastructure platform that now helps African SMEs access credit through e-commerce channels.
In his recent Founders Connect interview, Chikodi revealed the philosophy driving this journey: a “give first” approach - building trust with users, empowering partners, and supporting teams before chasing returns.
What Giving First Looks Like in Practice
Salad Africa isn’t an isolated case. The “give first” mindset is something founders can apply across every part of their company.
For customers, it means solving real problems before thinking about upsells.
For partners, it’s about building win–win relationships instead of transactional ones.
For teams, it looks like investing in people’s growth, not just adding names to a payroll.
Each of these choices reflects the same principle: build trust and deliver value first, then allow the returns to follow.
And here’s why it works.
Trust compounds.
Customers stay loyal to companies they believe in.
Partners open doors for those who help them succeed.
Teams commit when they know their growth matters.
This kind of trust becomes a buffer in hard times. Startups built only on quick wins collapse quickly; those with goodwill survive turbulence because stakeholders want them to succeed.
When founders lead with giving, opportunities flow naturally. Partnerships, referrals, and collaborations don’t have to be forced; they come because people gravitate toward value-driven companies.
The Caveat: Giving Without Draining
Of course, giving first doesn’t mean giving endlessly. We must balance generosity with sustainability. Offering free value without a clear path to monetization will eventually drain resources. The key is strategic giving: knowing where generosity builds long-term trust and advantage.
Ultimately, success goes beyond revenue or user numbers. It’s also about impact. Did an employee grow into a leader because of your company? Did a customer achieve measurable progress because of your product? Did your ecosystem get stronger because you existed?
These are the quiet signals of resilience - the markers of a company built to last, not just to profit.
At the end of any career, valuations and titles will fade. What endures is the value created for others. A “give first” mindset ensures success extends beyond personal wealth into communities and future generations.
Imagine if every builder asked, “How can I add value?” before “What can I gain?” Our ecosystem would look radically different: stronger partnerships, more resilient teams, and businesses built to outlast trends.
So the real question is - are you building for a quick win, or are you building for a legacy that lasts?