Combining Tech and Touch The intersection of tech, human connection, and building a sustainable startup.

Hello, welcome to this week’s edition of Zero to One, I’m excited to write to you again. Every week, I write about topics dear to me – Africa, her women, social change, building indigenous global brands and strong public systems. Last week, we talked about productising institutions . Today, we’re exploring how tech can help build human connection. But before then, hit the subscribe button if you haven’t already.?

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The startup world thrives on disruption; there’s a problem that needs to be fixed, a void that needs to be filled, and needs or wants that must be met. From finance to food, fashion, banking, and so on, founders have always identified problems that need solutions and sectors that need to be disrupted, and established businesses to meet these needs. At the forefront of this disruption is innovation and technology.?

Technology is the cornerstone of most startups in this consistently-evolving world. From building apps like HerVest to websites, and the features we create, the aim of many founders is to build a better user experience, and a better world, by extension. The ability to leverage technology, and ensure our startups cater to times and seasons is of utmost importance. But as the world of business tilt heavily towards digitisation and the usage of technology, and as people fear for their place in the future of work, as a founder, I cannot help but wonder if the use of technology, particularly in building and usage, is eroding our (human) connection to our users.???

Maintaining Human Connection While Leveraging Tech

It isn’t news that when building your startup, you need a community of users who will use/test? your product, connect with it, give feedback and then refer to others. To build this community, there’s a need for human-centric approaches that will help your startup connect with them on a deeper level. In the newsletter about building momentum as a founder , I shared how operationalising from day one helped HerVest’s acceleration. Wewere running the HerVest community in a WhatsApp group, holding virtual and physical meetings, while building the technology for HerVest. This helped us build meaningful relationships with our early customers, investors, and partners. When you build that human connection with your users, they not only serve as your support system, they also help you scale faster by referring your products to others.?

?Fabio Gallerani says that the more technology we have, the more people will want to connect and come together. He believes that in the age of technology, the future of selling is human contact, not automation. That is because consumers are prioritising businesses that are tailored to their unique needs, leading to more demand for personalisation and customisation. So while AI and automation handle the heavy lifting of routine tasks, startups must focus on nurturing relationships with their customers if they want to scale. The key is finding the right balance between leveraging technology and maintaining human connections. How can you do this?

Integrate AI tools with a customer relationship management (CRM) system?

One way to sustain your startup is to understand your customers and how they react to and/or consume certain products and services. Unfortunately, you cannot meet them one after the other to do this.? But you can make use of CRM (customer relationship management) – a combination of practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyse customer interactions and data through their customer lifecycle .?

What CRM systems do is compile customer data across different channels and points of contact between the customer and the company, and give detailed data on customers' personal information, buying preferences, purchase history and concerns.?

So by using CRM tools, you are leveraging technology while gaining understanding into how to connect with your users better and improve customer relationships. This can lead to more customer retention and a sense of belonging.

Build an engaging community using digital platforms

One of our strongest communities at HerVest is the HerVest Campus Ambassadors where we take financial literacy, tools to eager undergraduates in their formative years. With spread across 46 tertiary institutions and over 300 active community members, it is a rich community where they network, receive life-hacks and tons of capacity-building sessions. We introduce impact investing to them earlier on and even when it seems alien at first, once convinced they become evangelists while helping our mission to improve financial access and usage even for the last mile woman. Some even volunteer to follow us for last mile trips into farming communities.

Earlier, I shared how having a WhatsApp group helped us operationalise better, but if you don’t want to go into community management or stretch your team too lean, you can make use of social media or information platforms – TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, Newsletters – to connect with your users, keep them informed of decisions or major changes and help them build a sense of connection to your startup. You can also host virtual events, webinars, IG live sessions, X Spaces, and workshops to engage with your customers/users in real-time. Facilitate interactive sessions where participants can ask questions, share experiences, and network with each other through video conferencing and live sessions.

Using Robotic Process Automation Software

You must have noticed a rise in the use of chatbots, particularly on social media. But as annoying as some of these bots can be, you must have also noticed how they have enhanced your interaction on these platforms. For instance, I can easily read a long thread in an essay format now, thanks to @threadreaderapp – a bot that helps unroll tweets.?

Chatbots are computer programs that simulate and process human conversation, allowing your users to interact with digital devices you have put in place as if they were communicating with your team. You can power a chatbot on a platform where many of your customers spend a significant portion of their time. In these platforms, chatbots can help you answer questions, get complaints, offer temporary information, issue reminders, thereby enabling your startup to communicate 24/7 with (prospective) customers without burning out your team. That way, you maintain that human connection using technology.?

UI/UX writing

Imagine you’re trying to log into an app and there’s an error, compare a pop-up that reads, “Your network is poor, try again” with an angry emoji to one that writes, “Looks like there’s an error, but we’ve got you. Have a chocolate chip while we sort this out” with a smiley. Even though you know there’s no chocolate chip, you’d be tempted to wait a while. Users' demeanour and interaction with businesses can sometimes be influenced by how well the UX writing connects with them. As a startup founder, you want to ensure you have that human touch and relation as you set up your websites, apps, and so on.

Analysing data frequently?

Now, all of the above will not help sustain your startup if you do not understand how your users are responding to features. At intervals, ensure you analyse data frequently using tools like Google Analytics, Zoho, Qlik, Microsoft Power BI – whoever suits your business best. Having data-backed information will help you understand what information people are most interested in, what platform to build a community on, what AI tools to make use of, how your chatbot should respond to people, how the ‘About’ page on your website should read and how to improve your UI/UX writing to connect with your users better.

So, Can Human Connection Help Build a Sustainable Startup?

My answer is yes. Even with the use of tech, humans want to feel included in your startup. They want to feel like they are a huge part of your journey too. Kim Peterson Stone says that, “We’re human. We’re real. We aren’t robots or aliens. Our humanity is what helps us relate to one another. In fact, the need for meaningful human connection is so deeply rooted within us that it permeates every aspect of our lives- even business.” And I agree with her. Humans want efficiency at great speed, but they also want to know that they are important to your business and you cherish their patronage and relationship. The best you can do is leverage technology to ensure speed and efficiency while also connecting with them on a deeper level.?