I am Lawal Ayo, the founder of LAS G Concept, and I build our products myself. LAS G Concept is based in Nigeria, and it is the company behind LAS News and LAS Converter, with LAS CAD currently in development. This is a reflection on what it is like to build several products as a solo founder, what that approach is good for, and what it makes hard. It is a personal account, not a formula.
Why start with products people can use
When you are building alone, there is no room for products that exist only on a slide. Every hour spent on something has to turn into something a person can open and use. That is why my first products were a news site and a media tool. They solve everyday needs: knowing what is happening, and handling the audio, video and images on your phone or computer.
One person, several products
Working on three products at once sounds unwise, and sometimes it is. What makes it possible is sharing as much as possible between them. A common approach to infrastructure, a common design language, and a habit of automating anything repetitive all help. LAS News is a good example. Rather than staffing a newsroom, I built a pipeline that gathers reports from public sources, writes original summaries, credits the sources and publishes every 30 minutes. The result is a site that stays fresh without needing my attention every hour. You can read how it works in our article on the pipeline.
Automation does not remove responsibility, though. It moves it. Instead of editing each story, I spend my time on safeguards, quality checks and limits, and on improving them when I see something go wrong.
Constraints that shape decisions
Building in Nigeria comes with real constraints. Internet connections vary, data is costly for many people, and an Android phone is often the main computer. Those facts drive concrete choices: lightweight pages, static sites that load quickly, an Android app for LAS Converter, and prices in naira. I do not see these as disadvantages to apologise for. They are the conditions the products have to work in, and building for them makes the products better for everyone.
Keep costs low, stay independent
A solo founder has to be careful about money. I favour tools and hosting that cost little at small scale, such as static hosting on Cloudflare, and I avoid building anything that needs a large team to maintain. Staying small means I can make decisions quickly and change direction without a committee. It also means I have to say no to a lot of good ideas.
What being alone makes difficult
There are honest downsides. There is nobody to review my work, so I rely on automated tests, careful checks and readers who tell me when something is wrong. There is no one to cover when I am unwell or busy. Everything, from design to support to legal pages, lands on one desk. Burnout is a real risk, so I try to keep scope small and ship in small steps rather than waiting for perfection.
Habits that help
- Ship small and often, then learn from real use.
- Write things down, so that decisions can be understood later.
- Automate repetitive tasks, but keep humans in the loop for judgment calls.
- Be clear in public about what is available and what is not. LAS CAD, for example, is in development and not yet available, and I would rather say so than imply otherwise.
- Take feedback seriously, especially from people who use the product daily.
What comes next
LAS CAD is a desktop CAD application I am building. It is not available yet, and I will announce it on our social channels when it is ready. In the meantime I continue to improve LAS News and LAS Converter. If you are building something yourself, I hope this encourages you. Start small, build for the people around you, and be honest about what you have made.
You can learn more about the company on our about page, see the products on the products page, or get in touch through the contact page.
Written by Lawal Ayo. LAS G Concept is a Nigerian technology and media company. Questions? See the FAQ or contact us.