How I learned that the worst business advice can come from inside your head
It all started as a joke between my brother and I, on his couch, back in Indianapolis.
We laughed about a term we used growing up in Nigeria – ‘Kpakpakpa’ which means doing things quickly. “We need a kpakpakpa.com, a place you can go online to do things quickly in Nigeria.” We laughed.
That joke was the seed that became my first business.
That name taught me an expensive lesson about quality that took me five years to learn.
Your audience determines what quality is – not you.
I’m still learning this lesson with every business and project.
A few months after that joke, I purchased the domain for $1K. Another year, I was building the business while in Austin, then business school.
I was proud of that name. It had cultural significance, embodied hustle, represented everything I was about. I’d teach every prospect how to say it – “the ‘k’ is silent, pah-pah-pah, there you go” – convinced I was sharing culture, not creating friction.
I was wrong.
When my original audience – Nigerian entrepreneurs – weren’t willing to pay, I pivoted to helping American businesses expand into Africa. The name became a problem.
Clients couldn’t say it. They wouldn’t recommend me. When I asked for reviews, they’d ask: “Should I just use your name?” The relief on their faces when I said yes was obvious.
I started losing confidence saying it on sales calls.
Without confidence in what you’re selling, closing becomes close to impossible.
The name that started off the entire business had now become a friction point. It made execution harder.
I had data showing it wasn’t working, but I was too attached to my initial idea of “good quality” – what I liked, what I thought was important. I wasn’t listening to what my audience was telling me.
This is what that experience taught me: your audience determines what quality is, not you.
I’ve seen this with other builders – attachment to the initial spark stops momentum. They don’t adapt their business or content because they’re too attached to every detail. They don’t delegate because it won’t be “their way.”
But when you ignore what your audience decides is quality, you create friction.
Execution becomes harder.
Growth slows.
I fell prey to the distraction of other people’s opinions.
Some people loved that name. They’d say “oh please, stick with it, what does Google mean anyways.” Others would say, “dude, you’re still running that duck company – puck puck puck – or whatever it’s called again.” Opinions were yay or nay but the only opinion that mattered was that of my customers.
They voted with their dollars – and they weren’t buying.
It took me five years to rebrand to KPA. My business grew faster immediately after. The name wasn’t the only thing that mattered, but it was a clear friction point. Removing it made execution easier.
Quality is anything that reduces friction in your execution.
You learn that through audience feedback, which requires starting rough without strong attachments and prioritizing quantity.
Quantity-driven experiments to fine-tune quality
Here’s what I’m learning on the practice ground: The fastest way to quality is feedback from quantity-driven experiments.
I’m currently writing my 5th book.
I have 20k+ words drafted – good enough to start – but I’m running 25 interviews first. Each conversation refines my thinking, surfaces better angles, improves the quality. Once I hit 25, I return to the manuscript with more clarity
This quantity-driven quality is what I’m currently experimenting with in writing and business.
I start with an initial idea of what I want to build, I get it in front of a defined number of people, I use that feedback to improve the quality. This approach allows me to detach from that initial concept of quality without killing the idea before giving it legs.
With a quantity-defined task, I can get out of my head to execute on an idea, so I can get to quality faster.
With a book, it’s 25 interviews.
With LinkedIn, it’s 60 days of consistent writing before changing.
With a new product, it’s 10 demos before a version change.
With my GTM consultancy, it’s 7 client conversations before I change the positioning statement.
Quantity gives feedback that informs quality.
Here’s how I’d invite you to experiment with quantity-driven quality.
Make a choice about what you want to build or create. Don’t be too attached to it—it’s just a starting point.
Set a quantity goal. It can be an actual quantity (share with 20 people, 15 interviews) or time-based (send daily meeting requests for 30 days).
Once you’ve hit your quantity goal, reflect: Were you comfortable talking about it? How did people respond? What’s the one thing that must change to get me closer to my goal faster?
Use quantity as a tangible tool to refine your definition of quality.
Closing Reflection:
How quickly will you change to make it easier to get to your goal?
When I look back at my resistance to change the name of my first business, I know I could have adapted faster. Even though execution matters more than a business name, my audience was telling me what I could change to make execution easier.
Wherever you are. Whatever you’re building. Be open to change because there’s a good chance the quality in your head is not the same for your audience out there.
Yours truly,
Nifemi
P.S. If you read this far, can you reply with one quantity-based experiment that you would do this week? I’m curious what you’re building.
