Segment: Know Your Target Audience First: The Strategic Thinking That Turned Street Food into Money.

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast – Episode Summary

Segment: Know Your Target Audience First: The Strategic Thinking That Turned Street Food into Money
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Derrick Abaitey

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Episode Overview

In this episode of the Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey explores how deeply understanding your target audience and leveraging personal skills can transform a small street food idea into a sustainable, profitable business. The conversation centers on practical entrepreneurship, strategic thinking, and overcoming conventional expectations, featuring a guest who shares the journey of elevating a street food brand—plantain chips—through packaging, placement, and perseverance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Identifying Community Needs and Personal Value

• Problem-First Approach: The guest begins by asking himself a crucial entrepreneurial question:

  “What is the problem in my community? … What value do I have that is so exceptional… that when I provide to the community, it will impact the community and also bring me a good impact.” (A, 00:00)

• He identifies his gift for cooking—not formal training, but a natural talent and experiential learning from various street food businesses.

Niche Selection & Value Proposition

• Gap in the Market: After trying bread, kelly willi, ruto, yam and chips, and banku rice, he realized plantain chips were sold in “non-standardized” ways, mostly in traffic and poorly packaged.
• Packaging as Differentiator: Drawing on high school lessons about packaging, the guest aimed to create “an exceptional package and present it to a particular caliber of people” (A, 01:55).
• Targeting the Right Audience: He chose affluent, professional neighborhoods (East Legon, Airport Residential, etc.) for selling plantain chips, focusing on busy, business-class customers needing convenient snacks.

Calculated Entrepreneurship versus Conventional Paths

• Strategic Risk-Taking:

  “I was very, very calculating. But bruh, the comedy, like we were suffering and we wanted to break the yoke of poverty. So there was no time to… make errors.” (A, 03:06)

• Why Not a Conventional Job?: He explains that discovering himself early—knowing his strengths/weaknesses—made entrepreneurship more appealing than pursuing university and a “white-collar job.”

  “I discovered myself very early… And I said to myself, you can’t go that path. Rather choose this path. And it’s 50/50. Even if you fail, you’ll get an experience and if you win, you’ll become a victor.” (A, 04:56)

Early Challenges & Mindset

• The unconventional path drew skepticism from family, who preferred a university and stable employment route.
• His philosophy remained:

  “When we get to the crossroad, we’ll cross. That has always been my anthem in life.” (A, 03:50)

Starting Small with Strategic Resourcefulness

• Initial Capital: 1,500 cedis raised from family/friends, with details:

  “All I needed was my table, my stove and gas... the main raw materials was considered: the plantain, the oil and basically the salt.” (A, 06:01)

• He resourcefully found a free space under a tree in East Legon and creatively sourced equipment from extended family.
• Startup Simplicity:

  “It was just a big tree under… my table, my stove and gas… just the basic tabletop business… nothing too fancy.” (A, 07:30)

Growth and Lessons in Partnership

• Navigating Partnerships: Started with relatives/friends to share growth, but “parting of ways didn’t end up so good… it hurts, but that is really… the reality I needed to accept.” (A, 09:00)
• Shared how trust and lack of formal agreements caused rifts, with a former collaborator copying the business next door.

The Importance of Contracts in African Business Context

• Mentor’s Advice:

  “Trust is good, but controls are better. And control to him is put a contract in place.” (B, 11:06)

• Cultural Challenge: Formalizing partnerships with contracts often sours relationships in informal business settings.

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• "What is the problem in my community? … What value do I have?" – (A, 00:00)
• "I realized I could cook. Cooking was a gift for me… I knew I was going to do food business." – (A, 00:25)
• "I was looking at a working community, a business class community… [who] need quick food, quick snack." – (A, 02:37)
• "I was very, very calculating. But bruh, the comedy, like we were suffering and we wanted to break the yoke of poverty…" – (A, 03:06)
• "When we get to the crossroad, we’ll cross. That has always been my anthem in life." – (A, 03:50)
• "I discovered myself very early… you can’t go that path. Rather choose this path. And it’s 50/50…" – (A, 04:56)
• "It was just a big tree under… my table, my stove and gas." – (A, 07:30)
• "Trust is good, but controls are better… put a contract in place." – (B, 11:06)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–02:30: Discovering personal value, community needs, and skill leveraging
• 02:31–04:00: Audience targeting and packaging as strategy
• 04:01–06:00: Rejecting conventional career/life paths for entrepreneurship
• 06:01–08:00: Bootstrapping startup capital and resources, launch story
• 08:01–09:00: Advice for young entrepreneurs; scaling up from minimal resources
• 09:01–11:00: Partnership challenges, lessons learned about trust and contracts
• 11:01–end: Cultural reflections on partnership and the necessity of formal agreements

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Takeaways & Final Thoughts

• Start with Community Problems: Your business should solve a real need; identify your own unique value and how it can fill a market gap.
• Target Audience Matters: Strategic thinking about who will buy your product and where they are located can make or break your launch.
• Start Small but Be Calculated: Resourcefulness and a willingness to grow from limited means can set a foundation for long-term scales.
• Learn from Setbacks: Failed partnerships, copycats, and broken trust are realities to learn from—structure agreements, even with friends/family.
• Mindset Shift: Success comes from calculated risks, self-discovery, and the willingness to fail in pursuit of a bigger vision.

This segment provides an authentic, relatable playbook for aspiring entrepreneurs, blending practical advice with real-life hurdles and mindset shifts essential for lasting success.

Transcript

[A]

One, what is the problem in my community? Okay, I search, I search, I search, I search. And first and foremost, you have to look to yourself and see the value you carry to give to the community. What value do I have? What, what value do I think I have that is so exceptional to a lot of people in the community that when I provide to the community, it will impact the community and also bring me a good impact. And I realized I could cook. Cooking was, was a gift for me because I didn't go to any kitchen school, but I could cook any local dishes and with the continental teach me to them tomorrow, I'll be perfect. So I realized cooking was my gift and I didn't want to waste it. So right from the onset, I knew I was going to do food business. But the particular food business was still not discovered because I have to look at the community and look at what kind of food business is not really trending and how I can come in to fill the gap and then make some cash. So luckily for me, after senior high school, I work with a couple of caterers. I've baked bread before, I've fried Kelly Willi before I've fried ruto. Yam and chips. Yam and toffee. Do you know yam and toffee? Yeah, of course. I've even sold bankun rice. So yeah, I've had all those experiences growing up back then. So I had, I have, I've had a couple of exposure to a lot of food trade. So when I was thinking about the particular value I wanted to give to my community, the particular food trade that I think is not really training the community to give to my community was when plantain chips came in mind, I realized plantain chips was cursed. Not just cased people were selling plantains. But back then, if you recall 10 years ago, if you need plantain chips, unless on the traffic that you buy plantain chips in the Tide rubber and that it wasn't standardized. And back then in senior high school, I was taught how to brand a product. How, sorry, packaging. I didn't know too much about branding, so packaging. So I knew how to package a product to make it more appealing to a certain level of client. So with those basic knowledge, I said, okay, why don't I start also planting chips, package it in an exceptional package and present it to a particular caliber of people that can patronize my standard of value I'm giving to the community and then make some money. So it was a basic knowledge. It wasn't too much like someone really going to School to learn all this. But it was out of all the experiences I've had. So I had those broad knowledge, run business and starting a business. So the first step was to find my target audience. That was when I came to East Lagoon. Because looking at plantain chips, I was looking at a working community, a business class community where people in that community are busy, they don't have time to cook, and then they need quick food, quick snack that they can carry it everywhere, anytime, at every moment they can enjoy and be full. So. So I, I think I had a couple of communities in mind. First was Airport Residential. Second was Pinterest. And third was East Lagoon. And I knew those were where my targeted audience were, so I came up with a plan.

[B]

You were thinking very creatively.

[A]

I was very, very calculating. But bruh, the comedy, like we were suffering and we wanted to break the yoke of poverty. So there was no time, there was no time to. To make errors.

[B]

Yeah, but look, why not go the regular path that you know, go to school, get a job and get employed. It's, it's. If you want to break the yoke of poverty, why did you not just go for the regular route and then decided entrepreneurship?

[A]

It's.

[B]

It's beautifully crafted. I think looking really through your path, it's. It's almost as if you were being molded. Of course, you know, they throw you into wealth, you see a few, then you go back again.

[A]

Again. Right.

[B]

So why.

[A]

That is why Earlier I said it was a defined direction because sometimes I look back and I became. I become very emotional because from the beginning, I didn't even understand what I was doing. I wouldn't lie to you. You recall earlier when we're talking, I told you sometimes I do things I don't understand. So I even tell my wife. Oh, when we get. Normally that's what I even discuss with my wife. Oh, when we get to the crossroad, we'll cross. That is. That has always been my, my anthem in life. When we get to the crossroad, we'll cross. Because sometimes I. I actually take a path. A lot of people around me tells me it is risky, but I would take a lot of it.

[B]

Are you like the chosen one or something?

[A]

I'm yet to know. Yeah, A lot of people, like one day I'll intentionally let you talk to a lot of people around me. They tell you this guy is different. I take part that is not. It doesn't make sense. By talking about planting chip business, how can a young guy from senior high school that the whole family is looking up to him. Tertiary find a white colored job to do is going to the roadside to sell plantain chips.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And my family was against it.

[B]

Why did you not go to university anyway?

[A]

Because I discovered my myself very early. I discovered I got to know of my strength, my weaknesses and everything very early. I was picturing myself back then. How is Feliz going to like navigate through tertiary right after tertiary, Right. And I was even as early as that age. I was even calculating my monthly salary and the things I wanted to do for myself before 30 years. And I said to myself, no, you can't go that path. That was way back when I was in my early 20s. And I said to myself, you can't go that path. Rather choose this path. And it's 50, 50. It's either you fail. Even if you fail, you'll get an experience and if you win, you'll become a victor.

[B]

Have you regretted the decision?

[A]

Never ever. Not even a bit. I've learned a lot. I have learned a lot out of this part. Please.

[B]

How much was your initial startup for your business?

[A]

I'll say 1,500 for the capital to start a business. Where did you get it from family and friends.

[B]

And how did you structure that money to be used for the business?

[A]

I did very well. I did very well because I had a broad idea of how to run. One thing about me, my people will tell you I don't write too much, I just envision things and then I do calculation in my head and then I put the things in structure. So right when I started I wanted to start a business. I told people to get to just gather money for me, that I wanted to start business. So some gave me 100, some gave me 50. I think one of my auntie lended me 500 cities or so and I brought all those monies together and then I looked for the space. Luckily for me, the space was an abandoned land in East Lagoon. There was a bit of, there was a bit of contention on the land. So I had the opportunity to enter there and then start a little business. So I didn't have to pay for a space, it was just a big tree under. So all I needed was my table, my stove and gas. And then luckily for me, you know, from it extended family home. You get stove at a convenience, you get a frying saucepan at a convenient, you know, starting plantages. You don't need so much equipment to start planting this business. So I was able to put together all these basic stuffs and then the main factor was considered, that was the, the main raw materials was considered, that was the planting, the oil and basically the salt. And back then, if you recall, planting wasn't as high priced as now. So you could have. I was able to afford 30 cities worth of plantain. And these 30 cities was like, you know, the large back, large polytin bag. I had about three big, large rubber bag of planting for 30 cities. I had my vortex bottle of, of oil, like I bought like three or four, my fire and just one iodine salt. And that was how I started by the roadside. And back then, plantage rubber was I think three cities. For a packet. I had about a couple of two or three, depending on the size ranges. And I started on my tabletop. Nothing too fancy, nothing too extraordinary, just the basic tabletop business. You can imagine.

[B]

How many years ago was this?

[A]

11 years ago. Exactly around November.

[B]

Okay, so if you're watching, you know, a young guy or a young lady who is thinking of starting a business, maybe you are around 22, you just finished university and you are thinking to yourself, well, you know, I want to start a business. The story you're hearing is, you know, someone I've become a bit close to, I've heard him speak to me several times. We've had several conversations. I've patronized his business so many times even before I met him. And he's been doing this for 11 years. And he started at a low scale of 1500. Today you have friends that you know, you can probably go to and raise about 5,000 cities to do some business. And you're thinking, well, how can I grow 5,000 cities into what, a million or 2 million cities worth of business? It is possible.

[A]

It is, it is.

[B]

It is possible.

[A]

Absolutely.

[B]

Now, you had some issues with partnership when you started your business. Talk to me, what happened?

[A]

I'll say it's out of a little bit of ignorance and I'll say also immaturity. So I am the type of person who always love to help because I've. I've really struggled in life. So when I see people suffering, I feel like, why don't I also be like a shoulder for them. So I, when I started my business, I didn't start alone, but I started with a couple of relatives. I'll say that, a friend and relatives. But right along the line, some of them dropped. And then it was level one. We were doing so well. But it got to a time, we got to a stage whereby I realized, no, we needed to part ways and parting of ways didn't end up so good and it always hurts. But that is really. That was the reality I needed to accept. And it's. It was that bad. And unfortunately it wasn't just one, but it was two. Because right along the line, I also had an idea of starting a Gobert business that time. Back then, gobe branding wasn't a big branding. I was saying that I was part of the pioneers of Gobert branding in Ghana. So I had a shop right at American House that I had that fancy idea of selling Gobert. But I was also really focused on building my plantain brand because I've had a like, I have the vision of where the plantain brand has to get to and we've not gotten there, but money was coming. I was like, why don't I diversify some of my funds to other investments? So go back shop was opened. I also went to look for a family to. To also manage the space and stuff. And it will surprise you. When the business started growing, she came back and told me she wants to be a partner of my business. And I told her, no, I would never agree to that. And then we were like, okay, the. The best way to. To. To and this is too separate, so please find a way and let me maintain my shop. And you know what happened the moment I sat there the next three days. She has also started the same coffee business as just a stone throw from my shop. Wow. And that was where I realized how Ghanaians we can sometimes be very funny when it comes to trust and relationship.

[B]

Pastor Eric, one of my senior mentors, would always tell me that Derek, go buy this. Trust is good, but controls are better. And control to him is put a contract in place. But what I've realized, especially with us Africans, is that we are all well and good. We're great. We want to do business until you pull a contract, then you realize that somebody doesn't want to do it anymore. Why didn't you have a contract?

[A]

As I said earlier, I was inexperienced. I was just a young guy making money and I wanted to support family and friends around me. Connected Minds podcast.