From IT Sales To Cheese, An Inspiring Entrepreneurial Story

They say that most start ups die within their first 3 years. The statistics are worse in Africa where starting a business is fraught with challenges ranging from lack of capital to  legislative difficulties and of course the worst, lack of sufficient local market. When I think of the businesses I would advise anyone to start, cheese is the last on the list. Africans aren’t known to like cheese, and exporting animal products is problematic, not to mention the complicated dynamics of cheese making and a dairy industry that’s dominated by a few key players.

One man did it though. Sammy Githongo went into cheese making as an experiment 9 years ago, and today he is selling over 1.5 tonnes of cheese per month in Nairobi and Mombasa, and he says the best is yet to come.

Accidental Beginnings

Sammy’s mom was in the milk transport business, and Sammy noticed that the milk companies would send s much milk back, for reasons he found petty since the milk wasn’t really spoiled. One day, Sammy took a gallon of the rejected milk to a cheese factory that was in his neighbourhood, and requested them to make him some cheese, just to see what would come out of it.

The cheese turned out to be really good! His friends loved it, and Sammy, a natural entrepreneur got an idea.

At the time, he was working in IT sales with a leading internet services provider, but he decided to use his spare time to hatch this business.  He didn’t know much about cheese making, but on a stroke of luck, the neighboring cheese factory was relocating to Nanyuki, and he approached one of it’s elderly cheese makers who wasn’t too happy moving towns, and Sammy convinced him to join his start up.

He decided to use what he had at hand; he renovated an abandoned chicken house in his mom’s home for use as a factory, then rented a room in his mom’s house which he set up as a cold room, and Sammy was in business. He slowly started producing samples and approaching hotels and other potential clients. Sammy’s natural sales acumen and warm personality were critical in getting the first customers, and after that, the product spoke for itself.

In 2008, 4 years after making the first batch of cheese, Sammy quit employment to focus on cheese making full time, and now 5 years later, he is all smiles. He supplies cheese to 13 hotels in Mombasa where he has a cold room, and several hotels and international schools in Nairobi. His target is to expand to about 15 tonnes of cheese per month, and he believes there’s opportunity to even grow bigger.

In addition to being a brilliant entrepreneur, Sammy is an employment creator, currently has over 5 members of staff, and his factory provides an income to a number of farmers in Central Kenya and the Rift Valley.

Important lessons 

My meeting Sammy wasn’t planned. I ordered some cheese after he posted about it on Farming Kenya, and expected a rider to deliver it, only for Sammy to tell me he was going to deliver the cheese himself. It is always a delight to connect with an entrepreneur, so I decided to wait out and meet him, and as a result, I was able to introduce him to a potential customer. Personal touch is very important when you’re in business. Most start ups get business through referrals, so as much as you can, meet and talk to your customers.

In our chat, Sammy revealed that he didn’t borrow to start his business and hasn’t borrowed for 9 years. This is despite the fact that his customers pay after 30-60 days, yet the farmers from whom he gets milk expect payment by the 10th of the next month. This stood out to me as amazing working capital management skills and a level of business prudence. It is always better to start small and grow organically, than to rush for debt funding, only to fail to repay when your business encounters challenges (which are many at the beginning).

Sammy didn’t know much about cheese when he started out, but he did something right; he hired right. His production manager is passionate about cheese making, and Sammy has retained him for the last 9 years by paying him well, and giving other motivating benefits. With production covered, Sammy has focused on what he loves; selling. When starting out, do not try to be an expert at everything, you will burn out and you will fail. For technical businesses, it is best to get someone with some practical experience, it saves you lots in losses.

As we were leaving, Sammy gave a sample piece of cheese to the client I had introduced him to. This is the best way to sell a product. Let your customers sample it even before mentioning the price.  This leaves communication channels open for self improvement, and a later sale.

There you have it. If you would like to sample some of Sammy’s cheese, leave a comment below and I will link you up with him. I just had a slice of my cheddar and yum!