Inside the Lazerpay Shutdown: A Conversation with Njoku Emmanuel

In today's episode, we welcome Lazerpay’s Njoku Emmanuel to the show.
In April 2023, Lazerpay announced that it would be shutting its doors in April of 2023. The startup, which was founded at the height of the crypto bull market in 2021, and to much fanfare Njoku who was just 19 years old at the time, promised to bring seamless crypto payments to Africa.
But since it shut down, a lot has been said in the ecosystem about the company and its shortcomings, so we wanted to get the story directly from Njoku himself.
crypto@scale is sponsored by Ripple.
Across Africa, Ripple is partnering with local financial institutions and fintechs to bring the benefits of better cross-border remittances to the region. To learn more and get in contact with the Ripple team, head over to ripple.com.
00:00 - Intro
02:49 - Lazerpay's founding story.
05:51 - Pre-seed round, headcount growth, initial traction.
09:12 - Bear market impact.
14:59 - The issue of Njoku's age.
19:55 - Building with transparency.
22:57 - On the decision to shutdown.
34:48 - Njoku's lessons.
40:56 - The future of crypto in Africa.
42:18 - What's next?

[@ezeaguprincewill7005]

“A good product without a good business model is bad business” was the highlight for me. Thank you Njoku

[@noblechukwuemeka6080]

(Like you know) Njoku you're really good and your product is awesome.
Let's hope (like you know) the new Blockchain Policy will make things (like you know) easy for Tech development in Nigeria and Africa.
(Like you know) we're expecting you back in a better shape and form

[@justinkaunda2964]

he says "Like you know" 1,000,000,000 times in this video Lol

[@godwinfrance2156]

It's the editor's fault, they could have removed them. I usually remove these when I interview folks

[@subomioduntan5650]

Even CapCut would’ve edited it out so easily 🥲

[@danielifechukwu1453]

Love how he talks about the real problem, Regulation is the biggest problem

[@chukwukamordi250]

Man is young ... Love to see you your next product. And where we go from here

[@_happydare]

The takeaways here is that they didn’t focus quite early on the business side of things and regulations affected them so much the from scaling(onboarding new businesses)
This affected there valuation which really affected so much when it was time to raise in a crypto market that was already looking bad.

[@temitopeaiyegbusi5972]

Proud of you Emmanuel!
You are a big inspiration!

[@ImadeIyamu]

Smart and confident young man. Love to see it.

[@taofeekayodeji1714]

I actually love how he came transparent.

[@mubarakyaqeen3286]

Really enjoyed every bit of this.
It's just the beginning Emmanuelle.

[@akikiaovie]

glad to see he is in a better space mentally

[@michaelebuka2779]

This was so well said, Njoku. Well done!
I would be happy to chat to you over beer some day; like, you know, I feel like we have the same spirit.

[@chidichuks2853]

Great one Njoku! You will bounce back

[@sundayolubode7044]

I really admire his intelligence and courage.

[@akikiaovie]

Keep blazing Njoku

[@chideraugonwa7695]

Proud of you Boss!, like you know :)

[@adegbemigunadedayo9116]

Njoku is a great guy!

[@Lilmations1]

Finally he talked about it..... Excited to see where he goes from here

[@greatokundalaye1214]

He never said he won't. There was just too much pressure

[@Lilmations1]

@@greatokundalaye1214 yeh....I know man....maybe you read my message with a different voice in your head 😂😂 now reread it in a nice tone plsss ....

[@anthonyasiimwe24]

Wow

[@akikiaovie]

"i need money, i dont want to read any book"🤣🤣🤣

[@danielifechukwu1453]

As a guy that use filler i respect the like you know

[@TemitopeOmoniyi]

Tough to listen to, like i don't know TBH.

[@coinwhale-fs3lw]

Like you know x 947 time 😂😅

[@TechTribe]

😂😂😂😂

[@odogwunwoke7319]

No be lie

[@PetChronicle]

I swear
you know😂

[@damithegoat]

absolute chad fr >>

[@Howtodo41922]

#like you know

[@greatokundalaye1214]

Like you know😂

[@startup928]

What is it with "like you know" ? I couldnt listen to the interview, it was too much.

[@davidchima]

Like you know 😅

[@okiefegift9006]

Like you know x1000

[@rhemaimoloame8182]

Like yunno😅

[@iemberwaribo7465]

Saying you know a lot makes one sound not articulate . Just don't say you know too much like you know

[@aniahlpaul2643]

The video editor didn't do a good job. Was supposed to remove them

[@agatevureglory]

Like you know is too much o :)

[@Austin-bx3jj]

😂😂😂

[@NanaKwame119]

Too much talk.

[@luxuryprime9189]

I would have easily scaled the company back up

[@akikiaovie]

Lmfao sell one house popsi real g... that sell your house and ape in saying happened before your eyes.

[@bullboywins]

"Like you know" is jarring man

[@michaelai8274]

He'll get better, can't be perfect with everything at 19... lol

[@Acel-01]

You could have helped us mute out the "like you know"s 🥲

[@melanatedthought7014]

Like you know😂