Entrepreneurs should explore networking to grow businesses – Tech company founder

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Splice, Layo Ogunbanwo, is no less a beacon of entrepreneurial brilliance. The successful launch of her ground-breaking tech company in the beauty and wellness industry exemplifies the power of resilience and ingenuity. In this interview with Biodun Busari, she reveals how her passion for addressing real-world challenges culminated in a revolutionary app designed to drive business growth and redefine industry standards

What was the unique idea behind starting Splice?

I started Splice as a tech company for a few reasons. The first one was that in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, I was talking to my friends who owned a salon here in Lagos to revamp some of her profit base.

I remember asking her if there was a tool we could use to automate a lot of functions such as reminders, and loyalty, and what could be used to have a kind of robust booking history for customers. And, she then said there was a tool she knew but it was not user-friendly and some of them were expensive.

Then, I joked with her about possibly building one for her. Fast forward to 2022, when I came back from the gym one day and the ideas came back to me again.

I spent some time researching and speaking to different business owners across the beauty and wellness bars, and make-up artists including video therapists.

Across the board, the general thing was a need for a central place they could run their businesses in a right-in-one platform, where they could do all the bookings, payments, time management, reminders, loyalty programmes, and all, so I decided to build Splice.

What has your experience been with after starting Splice?

It has been lovely and a great idea. In January 2023, I got a designer to help design the user interface. Between March and April, I got an engineer to help me bring this idea to life.

Then in August or September last year, I released the very early version of the Splice application. And, it’s been quite interesting since then.  We invited just a few selected businesses in Lagos to try out our software in their businesses and the feedback has been great.

We’ve got a lot of great critical and constructive feedback that helps to shape what the product is today.

The product we have today was not what we had when we first produced it in private data last September. It’s grown a lot. The feedback has been used to improve the app.

Let’s delve deeper into the Splice application. What are its functions and how does it help business owners in the beauty and wellness industry?

Before the launch, it was private data that was not available to everybody until it was launched on September 9, 2024.

The Splice software is an all-in-one booking payment and business management platform for the beauty and wellness industry.

It helps these businesses to automate their entire backend management operations from scheduling bookings, payments, and accessing the frontend, to promo codes, and loyalty programmes. It also helps business owners manage their entire customer relationship from automated reminders to email, email marketing, staff management and every other aspect of their business.

The Splice software helps these businesses to run more efficiently, grow the businesses, and improve their customer experience.

How has the feedback on the Splice app as private data in 2022 impacted the unveiling in 2024?

When we were private data, we had existing customers. So, our customers who have used and still using the Splice app have shared their great testimonials with us. One of our customers said the app has helped to more than double her revenue as well as reduced her late cancellations. Because of that, she’s been able to reduce the amount of revenue she loses from these cancellations because she uses one of her features that allows her to accept deposits ahead of time.

We also have other customers who because of the Splice app were able to better run their operations.

They don’t have to be physically present in their salons or stores all the time because they have access to the mobile app that shows them how customers are booking, and what the revenue is for the day.

They have total visibility into how their operations are going on, so they don’t have to be there every day.

What would you say are the expectations and benefits of Beauty Connect Africa 2024, which was a convergence of operators, experts, and professionals in the beauty and wellness industry?

It was the maiden edition of Beauty Connect Africa. We had more than what we expected. Our hypothesis was that we needed to create a safe base for beauty and wellness entrepreneurs, where they could learn, exchange ideas, collaborate, and grow. The turnout was massive. People came early and waited till the very end of the event. They were engaged and had a lot of questions on how to collaborate and explore new opportunities.

Even when there is a lot of competition in the industry, it doesn’t mean we can work together. It doesn’t mean we can’t exchange ideas.

Everybody is going through similar challenges right now and one of the perfect ways to solve them is to come together and have a community that can support you.

The response that we saw at the event and after has been nothing short of amazing. The attendees saw the need for visibility and were already asking us when the next one would take place. We are going to have another one next year. Our goal is to make it an annual event. We were able to accommodate 150 attendees but we hope to double that number next year.

With the feedback from the event, do you think networking stands as a viable way to grow business in the Nigerian economy?

I think people should look at networking from the perspective of what I’m giving and not only about what I’m taking. It should be about what can I give. One of the amazing things about networking is that every panellist I approached for the event did not reject the opportunity or charge me.

They all agreed and contributed their time, knowledge, and expertise. I think that shows the attitude of networking.

They started ruminating on what they could offer and focused on how they could share their knowledge.

The idea is that everyone should be able to offer something but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions that you think are beneficial to your growth.

The main thing is that as you’re trying to learn or explore new things, you must also try to offer your help.

How have you been able to address major challenges in your business?

I think everyone or business is going through one challenge or the other at the moment. But for us at Splice, the challenge has been trying to hire the right people. It’s a challenge of talents. I won’t say we’ve overcome it but we’ve been very practical, and efficient. We’ve been working to tighten up our belt and should be able to know why we’re spending. And, I think this is not just about the tech company but almost all businesses in the country at the moment.

What contributions has your company proudly contributed to society?

Well, I think we’re still very early in our journey. Notwithstanding, what we do or that have been able to do is efficient with the system. Before now, businesses in the beauty and wellness industry might have been using tools, but not designed for the Nigerian market.

However, the Splice software was designed for the Nigerian market. Apart from the fact that those tools are not meant for the Nigerian market and don’t have the nuances that the Splice application has, another thing is that our innovation deals with the naira.

We make sure that we charge our customers in naira, which is more sustainable for them. This will also help to keep the economy growing.

What kind of advice do you have to offer potential entrepreneurs thinking of innovative ideas to help the Nigerian economy at this time?

I’m a baby entrepreneur here, and I’m learning too. However, for anybody coming to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria, I will say do your research. Do a thorough research of what you’re going into. Another thing is to leverage your community. It is not easy to be a business owner or entrepreneur but it can be very rewarding.

Then, don’t be afraid. When you have thought it through, don’t be afraid to launch out.