Cytonn Report: What services does DnD offer?

Noah Muhindi: DND is an all gifts and everything nice online outlet that offers a unique shopping experience, for us it’s the product experience we give that makes us stand out.

CR: How did you get the idea for the business?

NM: Quite interesting. I was watching an American TV series “Major Crimes” and in some scene there was some lady doing a bouquet delivery, not just a normal delivery some creative, stylish delivery, I paused, wrote down what I had seen and the rest is history. Funny thing I have never ‘unpaused’ that series from where I left it.

CR: What is the amount of capital you started with and how much would you say DnD is worth?

NM: At the initial stage, zero, but as I continued pushing family and well-wishers were always there to offer financial support to whatever I needed. We are in the process of doing our current value assessment but last time we did our value was at 1.5M, but since then we have progressed a lot and I can’t wait to hear what our current value is.

CR: What were your projections when you started the business? How is it coming about?

NM: My projections were and still are to offer great product and service experience across the East African region and from analyzing our numbers we can comfortably say we are on the right path.

CR: How do you advertise your business and how does it work for you?

NM: Being an online outlet social media works best for us because of the numbers we reach and ease of interaction, we also do word of mouth and from recent time we have received most of clients from referral. Social media works because when we sponsor posts its easier for us to specify our target audience, their age, location, religion, gender... etcetera.

CR: Two of your products stand out, jerseys, and gifts. Which one brings in more returns?

NM: We don’t see them as different products, for us any product that is in our store can be gifted whether to self or a loved one, jerseys for example can be packaged together with other items as gifts, I would say the products complement each other, and the revenues are not too far apart.

CR: Describe Noah the businessman.

NM: That’s a tough one, I love to think of myself as a radical, optimistic, and innovative human full of energy and unimaginable patience levels.

CR: What is the personal motivation that keeps you soaring on?

NM: No matter what you do, if you stay committed and consistent at it, it will grow. I have seen it with DND and I continue to see it every day with every effort we put in.

CR: Where do you see DnD and yourself in 5 years?

NM: Exactly where we want it to be in our five-year projections, revolutionary entity giving the best customer and product experience to the region, putting a smile on people’s faces with every package we deliver and spreading love across the continent.

CR: What are the challenges you have encountered with DnD and how have you conquered them?

NM: Resources to handle capacity and enhance faster growth, unlike in countries with fully developed financial institution and systems, Entrepreneurs in Kenya struggle to connect with venture capitalists and angel investors, but somehow we have managed to keep our doors open and maintain a steady growth curve through various innovative means.

CR: How has the Coronavirus pandemic affected your business?

NM: In the first months when corona had just arrived it was tough, business had gone down immensely, no one was letting their money out to buy a bouquet of roses when they had to worry about a lockdown and potential financial constraints that would be caused by the pandemic.

CR: Advice to fellow youth looking to get into business?

NM: Stop waiting for capital and just get started, as much as it sounds crazy to say this, you don’t need capital to start, you need capital to grow, It’s not easy but without commitment you will never start and without consistency you will never finish.