Businessman and youth advocate Shacky Timburwa has advised young entrepreneurs to rethink their approach to investment and ownership, arguing that success in business is not determined by how much equity one controls, but by the value and expertise that strategic partners bring to the table.
Speaking during a youth entrepreneurship engagement, Timburwa reflected on a conversation with a young innovator who was pitching a venture capital idea.
He noted that many emerging entrepreneurs fail at the first step—not because their ideas lack potential, but because they are unwilling to part with equity or tap into the experience of established players.
“One of the biggest challenges young entrepreneurs have is wanting to own 100% of something that never grows,” Timburwa said. “It is better to be a tail of an elephant than a head of an ant.”
He stressed that investors do not simply offer money—they bring networks, experience, credibility, and business infrastructure. Young founders, he warned, must stop viewing investment as a threat to autonomy and instead see it as an opportunity to scale faster and more sustainably.
“When someone puts money into your business, they are not doing it to lose,” he noted. “You tap into the expertise that enabled them to raise that money in the first place.”
To illustrate his point, Timburwa referenced Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who today owns just 1% of the company but remains one of the richest individuals in the world. The lesson, he said, is that percentage ownership matters less than the growth capacity of the business and the quality of partners involved.
“It is not about the numbers,” he said. “It is about how successful the business becomes with the right partners.”
Timburwa challenged young innovators to enter negotiations ready to exchange equity for mentorship, market access, and industry-backed confidence—rather than clinging to full ownership of ideas that may never scale.
His message comes at a time when access to capital remains one of the biggest barriers to youth-led enterprises across Africa, despite increasing investor interest in the continent’s startup ecosystem. Timburwa believes bridging this gap will require a mindset shift rooted in collaboration, not competition.
“We need young people who are willing to do business—not just dream, but structure their ideas in a way that attracts investment,” he said.
He concluded by urging youth to prepare, pitch clearly, and understand that scalability requires shared ownership.
“Your idea grows bigger when more people have a stake in it,” he said. “That is how you build a success story.”