START SMALL, GROW BIG - A THEORY, NOT REALITY
We hear it everywhere: start small, grow big. Sounds wise. But in practice? It's a theory, not reality. How many businesses that started small have scaled big without access to credit or loans? The theory takes years. Reality takes leverage. Take Aliko Dangote. In 2013, he announced he'd build a refinery to end Nigeria's fuel imports. Four government refineries had failed for decades. Most assumed his would join the list. The budget started around $10 billion. Ended closer to $20 billion. Built on reclaimed swampland in Lekki – with its own ports, roads, and over 1,000 km of pipeline. It was commissioned in 2023. Critics swore it would never run at scale. February 2026: it hit full capacity - 650,000 barrels a day. This month, it pushed past 700,000 in a test run, becoming the largest single-train refinery on the planet. While everyone argued whether it was even possible, he quietly made it boring. A lot of people talk – not from knowledge, but from theories. Wh...