Building companies has been my greatest classroom — Taiwo Akinropo

At a time when Africa’s technology ecosystem is producing a new generation of builders, Taiwo Akinropo represents the rise of the founder-engineer. After leaving Computer Science at the University of Ibadan to pursue entrepreneurship, he went on to build technology companies including HeyFood, a Y Combinator-backed food delivery platform. In this interview with BusinessDay, he discusses choosing an unconventional path, raising venture capital, scaling teams, building resilient companies, and why execution remains the true test of entrepreneurship. Excerpts.

You made a major decision early in life to leave university and focus fully on entrepreneurship. Looking back, why do you consider that one of the best decisions you made?

Leaving university was not about rejecting education; it was about choosing a different path to learning.
While studying Computer Science at the University of Ibadan, I realised that my biggest passion was building. I wanted to create products, solve real problems, and understand how technology could improve people’s lives.

Entrepreneurship became my classroom. Building a company forces you to learn quickly because the market gives immediate feedback. Customers do not care about your assumptions; they care about whether you are solving their problems.

That journey exposed me to technology, leadership, finance, operations, and people management. It was not the easiest decision, but it allowed me to start early, learn faster, and grow through real-world experience.

From HeyPay to HeyFood, you have consistently built around everyday problems. What shaped your approach to identifying opportunities?
I have always believed that technology is most powerful when it solves practical problems.
Many people start with the idea or technology, but the real question should always be: what problem are we solving?
HeyPay taught me valuable lessons about payments, infrastructure, and creating products people trust. With HeyFood, we saw an opportunity to improve convenience around food discovery, ordering, and delivery.

Food delivery may look simple, but behind every order is a complex system involving restaurants, customers, riders, logistics, and payments. We had to build technology that connected these different parts seamlessly.
The biggest lesson is that great companies are not built on ideas alone. Execution, consistency, and understanding customers are what create lasting businesses.

HeyFood became the first African food delivery startup backed by Y Combinator. What did that milestone mean for the company?
Getting into Y Combinator was a major validation of what we were building.
Beyond the funding, YC changes the way you think as a founder. It pushes you to focus intensely on customers, move faster, and constantly measure whether you are making real progress.

It also gave us access to a global network of founders, mentors, and investors who understood what it takes to build companies at scale.

However, fundraising is not the destination. Capital only gives you more resources to execute. The real work remains building products customers love, creating a strong team, and growing sustainably.

You have raised venture capital from global investors. What has fundraising taught you about building companies?
Fundraising teaches resilience and clarity.

As a founder, you will hear many rejections. You have to understand that a “no” does not always mean your company lacks potential. Sometimes it is about timing, investor focus, or market perspective.

The process forces you to understand your business deeply. You must clearly communicate the problem, the opportunity, why your solution matters, and why your team can execute.
Ultimately, investors back conviction and execution. The strongest fundraising strategy is building something valuable.

Many startups chase growth at all costs. What shaped your belief in building sustainably?
Growth is important, but sustainable growth is even more important.
One lesson we learned early is that every market is different. You cannot simply copy what works elsewhere and assume it will succeed locally.

For us, the focus has always been on building efficiently, understanding customers, and ensuring the fundamentals of the business make sense.
A great company is not just one that grows quickly; it is one that can adapt, survive difficult periods, and continue creating value.

What has been your biggest lesson moving from engineer to entrepreneur and team builder?
The biggest lesson is that building a product and building a company are two different things.
In the early days, founders naturally do everything. You write code, solve problems, and make most decisions yourself.

But as the company grows, leadership becomes about building systems and empowering people.
No great company is built by one person. The founder’s role evolves into attracting great talent, creating direction, and building a culture where people can do their best work.

Entrepreneurship is often associated with success stories, but less is said about difficult moments. How have you handled setbacks?
Challenges are part of the journey.
Every founder experiences moments when things do not go according to plan. Products fail, assumptions prove wrong, and difficult decisions have to be made.

What matters is your ability to keep learning and adapting.
I have learned that setbacks are not always failures; they are feedback. Sometimes they show you what needs to change.

Resilience is one of the most important qualities an entrepreneur can develop because building anything meaningful takes time.

After building in payments, marketplaces, and food delivery. What excites you about the future of technology?
I believe we are entering a new phase where technology will become more intelligent and personalised. This is evident from ChatGPT.

Artificial intelligence is changing how people work, create, and interact with software. We are moving beyond tools that only respond to instructions toward systems that can understand context and help people execute tasks.
For African entrepreneurs, this creates a huge opportunity. The next generation of globally relevant technology companies can come from anywhere.

What matters is identifying important problems and building solutions that create real value.

What advice would you give young Africans who want to become entrepreneurs?
Start building.
You do not need everything figured out before taking the first step. Many lessons only come through experience.
But also understand that entrepreneurship requires patience and discipline. It is not just about fundraising announcements or success stories; it is about consistently solving problems.

Be curious. Keep learning. Surround yourself with talented people. Stay focused.

The founders who succeed are not always those with the most resources at the beginning. They are the ones who continue learning, adapting, and executing long enough to build something meaningful.