Behind every groundbreaking tech product that has been launched lies the ability to sell. Without strong revenue engines, even the most innovative products struggle to survive, and that is the gap Orewa (Jenny) Olusanya and Oluwatunmise (Mise) Ishola are working to close.
Both seasoned business development professionals, Orewa and Oluwatunmise, have built sales systems at global and African startups like Hugo, AiPrise, Esca, and SARAL. Along the way, they discovered a truth many overlook: Africa needs more professionals who can translate great products into growth. That conviction led them to co-found Tech Sales Starter, a training program designed to equip Africans with the tools, mindset, and strategies to thrive in global tech sales without writing a single line of code.
In this conversation with TechCabal, Orewa and Oluwatunmise share their journeys into tech sales, the lessons learned from building go-to-market systems across continents, and why teaching Africa how to sell tech may be the key to powering the continent’s digital economy.
How did you first get introduced to the world of sales in the tech industry?
Orewa: I didn’t take a traditional route into tech sales. I studied English because I loved reading. I had no business background and, honestly, no clear career direction. After NYSC, like many young graduates in Nigeria, I scrambled to find work and ended up in a job I hated. That frustration made me open to new paths, and when I joined Hugo, a US-based BPO, everything changed.
Hugo wasn’t a tech company, but it became my training ground. I was fortunate to have managers who trusted me with ownership early and who mentored me closely. There, I learned that sales is not about knocking on doors and begging people to buy, as many people imagine. It’s about structure, problem-solving, and strategy. That experience planted the seed for what later became Tech Sales Starter. I would eventually create Tech Sales Starter to pave a clearer entry path for other young people, so they wouldn’t have to stumble into sales the way I did.
In 2023, I took the leap fully into digital technology when I joined AiPrise, a Y Combinator-backed compliance technology startup, as their very first sales hire. My role wasn’t just “selling”. It was about ensuring the product became a revenue-generating engine. I built the go-to-market strategy from scratch, learned to translate technical concepts like APIs and onboarding flows into business value, and worked directly with the founders. Within a year, we grew to 7 figures in ARR, closing clients across Africa, Europe, LATAM, and North America.
That’s when I truly fell in love with tech sales. There’s nothing like the adrenaline of a deal, watching someone’s face light up in a demo when they realise your product solves their biggest pain point, and then seeing that translate into measurable growth for the company. For me, sales is where strategy meets human connection, and I’ve built my career on that belief.
Oluwatunmise: I actually started out as a QA analyst for AI data annotation at Hugo, a US-based tech BPO. That role gave me the early foundations of professionalism, structure, and working with global clients. But since I studied Business at the University of Lagos, I was always naturally curious about how companies worked beyond execution, especially around growth and revenue.
So when an opening came up in the business team, I jumped at it. The team was brand new, so it felt like being thrown into the deep end. We had to figure out operations, execution, and most importantly, demand generation. That experience shaped me a lot, I learned how businesses position themselves, how systems are built to scale teams quickly, and what it really takes to drive profitability. Because my first exposure was on a global scale, I learned to cut through the noise quickly and focus on what truly moves growth.
That path naturally led me into tech sales, especially for SaaS companies. And for me, tech sales isn’t just about pitching products, it’s about go-to-market. My role often involves identifying the right customer segments, building repeatable outreach systems, and creating sales processes that scale. That’s the part I enjoy most, because it blends strategy with execution and makes growth inevitable
What were the pivotal lessons from building sales systems at companies like Hugo, AiPrise, Esca, SARAL, Awarri, and Lingua?
Orewa: Each company taught me something different about building sales systems. At Hugo, it was all foundation, learning how to structure processes, set up CRMs, and train people in a way that made sales predictable rather than random. I was given responsibility early, and that gave me a deep appreciation for how much the right systems shape results.
At AiPrise, the challenge scaled. I joined as the very first sales hire, so there was no playbook. I had to design the entire go-to-market strategy, implement the tech stack, build reporting dashboards, and recruit and train a global team. The real lesson there was that building a revenue engine around your product is how it survives. Within a year, we went from under $50,000 to 7 figures in revenue, closing clients across Africa, Europe, LATAM, and North America. That experience proved to me that sales systems are just as much of an innovation as the technology itself.
Beyond that, Mise and I have also had the privilege of supporting early-stage founders through Tech Sales Starter. With companies like Awarri and Lingua, the focus was on translating vision into revenue: drafting their first GTM plan, setting up their CRM and sales stack, and in some cases hiring their very first salespeople, often graduates of our bootcamp. Those moments showed me how impactful structured sales systems can be in shaping the trajectory of a startup from day one.
Oluwatunmise: Esca Finance was a real turning point for me. Before that, most of my work was serving customers in North America, but suddenly, I was in the middle of cross-border payments, moving money in and out of Nigeria. A totally different world! And because finance in Nigeria is so crowded, the only way to stand out as an Irish company in a new territory was to execute with deadly precision; everything had to be sharp if we wanted to gain market share.
At Esca, a Techstars-backed company, my role was primarily about helping the team transition beyond founder-led selling and establish processes that made growth repeatable. Then, at SARAL, the focus shifted; it was all about precision in outreach, running account-based campaigns, and intent-driven strategies, so the sales motion actually scaled.
Those two experiences taught me that real growth isn’t just about chasing one-off deals. It’s about building the strategy, the workflows, and the systems that make growth inevitable and repeatable. And that’s the same thinking we’ve carried into Tech Sales Starter. It’s not just teaching people how to sell, it’s about equipping them to help founders build real engines for growth that lasts.
Why do you think tech sales has been underappreciated, and why does it matter now?
Orewa: I think tech sales has been underappreciated for a couple of reasons. From the talent side, sales in Nigeria has a bad reputation. Most people think of door-to-door selling with no real tools or training to succeed. It’s draining, it affects people’s mental health, so a lot of young professionals avoid it altogether.
On the business side, many founders don’t really understand what it takes to build a sales function. They might hire one person, give them no clear vision or structure, and then get frustrated when it doesn’t work. They do it without a clear ICP, messaging, or process, then blame the hire when it stalls. I have seen this firsthand. I’ve even had a founder tell me exactly what he thought he wanted in a sales leader. I advised him differently, he went ahead with his plan, it flopped, and only then did he circle back to do it the right way. Founders are so focused on building the product that they’re not always equipped to execute sales with precision, and that sets both them and their sales hires up for failure.
But it matters more than ever now. With AI, products are being built faster than ever, which means there’s going to be an overwhelming number of startups in the market. The ones that survive won’t just be the ones with a good product. It will be the ones that master the fundamentals of sales, build proper go-to-market engines, and can actually win and retain customers at scale.
What unique challenges do African startups face in building strong revenue engines compared to their counterparts in other regions?
Orewa: African startups face a very different set of realities when it comes to building strong revenue engines. In many other regions, you can assume certain building blocks are already in place, things like widespread digital identity systems, consistent regulatory frameworks, or even access to affordable global payment infrastructure. In Africa, those gaps mean that sales leaders often have to build not just the go-to-market plan, but also the context that makes the product usable in the first place. For example, customer onboarding can be far more complex here. Compliance and KYC processes vary wildly by country, and that slows down sales cycles. Payments are another challenge: in Europe or the US, startups can plug into Stripe or Plaid and focus on growth. In Africa, you might need to stitch together multiple providers just to cover a single region. That makes the sales motion heavier and requires a lot of education, both for clients and for end users. Another challenge is talent. Many brilliant founders in Africa come from engineering or product backgrounds, but they haven’t been exposed to structured sales systems. That’s why you see incredible products struggle to scale not because of the technology, but because the revenue engine is missing. Through Tech Sales Starter, we’ve seen how training and placing sales operators can change that trajectory. When startups get the right people and systems in place early, they can move faster, attract investment, and compete globally. For me, that’s the unique challenge but also the opportunity: African startups have to innovate not just in product, but in sales and distribution. If we can solve for those gaps, we’re not just building companies, we’re shaping entire markets.
How would you explain “tech sales” to someone who has no experience but is curious about breaking into the industry?
Orewa: When people hear “sales,” they often think of door-to-door hustling or trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t really need. Tech sales couldn’t be more different. At its core, tech sales is about problem-solving. It’s about understanding how a digital product works, identifying a company or individual who has a specific pain point, and then showing them how that product can make their life easier, faster, or more efficient. The role is part educator, part strategist, and part relationship-builder. You don’t need to write code, but you do need to understand enough of the product — whether it’s APIs, compliance flows, or payment rails to translate that technical language into business value. That translation is where the magic happens. For someone breaking in, I’d say this: tech sales gives you a front-row seat to how technology becomes real in the market. You’re the one connecting a founder’s vision to a customer’s needs. And the best part? It’s a career where you can grow very quickly. We’ve seen graduates from Tech Sales Starter land roles at startups and, within months, they’re leading conversations with CEOs and driving deals that shape the company’s growth. So if you’re curious about tech sales, think of it less as “selling” and more as “scaling.” It’s about helping great products find their audience and ensuring that innovation doesn’t stay in the lab; it reaches the people who need it most.
Tell us about Tech Sales Starter. What problem were you trying to solve when you launched it?
Orewa: Tech Sales Starter was born out of the gaps Mise and I both experienced in our own journeys. Neither of us came from a traditional tech background, and we saw firsthand how difficult it was to navigate career choices without guidance. I stumbled into sales after university and was fortunate to have supportive managers at Hugo who mentored me. But I kept thinking: what about the hundreds of young people who don’t get that chance? Mishay and I realised that this lack of access and structured training was not just our story; it was a systemic issue. The problem was clear: in Africa, the narrative around entering tech often focuses almost exclusively on coding. Yet every tech company needs people who can sell, who can build revenue systems, and who can take products into the market. There wasn’t a clear pathway for someone with zero prior experience to gain those skills. That was the gap we wanted to close. That’s how Tech Sales Starter began as a digital-first training platform to create an entry point into tech sales. We run structured weekend classes, a clear curriculum, fireside chats with sales leaders, and community support via Slack. Since launching, we’ve trained over 100 people, with 65% of them landing jobs. Some of our graduates have gone on to join startups like Lingua and Awarri as their first sales hires, directly contributing to those companies’ growth. For us, Tech Sales Starter isn’t just about teaching sales. It’s about access, about proving that young people from non-traditional backgrounds can break into tech and thrive, and about giving founders the revenue operators they need to scale. That ripple effect of jobs created, startups growing faster, and the ecosystem strengthened is what keeps us committed.
How do you see tech sales changing in the next 5–10 years on the continent?
Oluwatunmise: I think tech sales in Africa is going to look very different over the next 5–10 years. Buyers are changing fast. By 2030, most of the workforce will be Gen Zs who grew up online, so they won’t just expect face-to-face meetings; they’ll want digital, seamless buying experiences. That means sales will get more data-driven and digital, but the personal touch will still matter. Relationships have always been a big part of doing business here, and that won’t disappear.
AI is going to be a game-changer, too. Instead of reps spending hours on repetitive tasks, tools will handle that and give insights on who’s most likely to buy, so salespeople can focus on solving real problems for clients. We’ll also see more product-led growth, especially in SaaS, with features like free trials and freemium models, as people want to see the value before committing.
And then there’s the talent piece. Companies are starting to build proper sales teams with structure, playbooks, and clear roles instead of just one or two people doing everything. Sales is becoming more of a science than guesswork. The startups that blend all this: digital tools, AI, product-led tactics, but still keep that human trust and relationship piece are the ones that’ll scale and compete globally.
