Rich Tanksley, Senior VP at Neubridges, a consultancy company aimed at building up future entrepreneurs and executives was on hand at Capital square Ikoyi, Lagos to discuss how startups can move up and succeed in the highly challenging Nigerian business environment.

Tanksley was able to share his experience heading the team at Pulse Nigeria before leaving and becoming an ambassador of the brand, the importance of failing and learning from it.

He also discussed practical things to do that would ensure your business is on the right track.

“Nobody should ever have to wait to give you money, so make it super easy,’’ Rich advised business owners.

Other touch points included how to valuate your company giving a simplified rule of thumb for how much equity a founder should give a first round investor as not; how to keep your best employees, the importance of finding the best salesmen and giving them the right incentives to close sales deals, among other insightful tips.

It was a very engaging and interactive session as the participants threw out a lot of questions that had been weighing on their mind.