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Companies that review their strategies monthly grow 30% faster than those that don’t.

Yahoo said no. Kodak said no. Blockbuster said no. BlackBerry said no. Nokia said no.

We know these stories because they’ve become cautionary tales of what happens when a company mistakes comfort for strategy.

Yahoo said no to buying Google for $1 million in 1998. It said no again in 2002 when Google asked for $5 billion. It even turned down Microsoft’s $44.6 billion offer in 2008.

Today, Yahoo is a shadow of what it could have been.

Kodak said no to the digital camera, a technology it invented, because it feared hurting its profitable film business.

That single No has become a global case study in corporate self-destruction.

Blockbuster said no to buying Netflix for $50 million, dismissing the dot-com hysteria. Its executives believed physical stores were the future.

Netflix is now a global force, whilst Blockbuster is a memory.

BlackBerry dismissed the idea of a full touchscreen phone, believing the physical keyboard was a key differentiator and that its enterprise customers preferred it.

Nokia said no to adopting Android and instead partnered with Microsoft's Windows Phone, a move that ultimately failed.

The decline of Nokia and Blackberry was swift and unforgiving.

Every one of these No’s was rooted in fear, pride, or a misunderstanding of where the world was going. Each one costs billions. Some wiped out entire companies.

But not every no ends in disaster.

There is one story that flips the narrative.

In 2013, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy said no to Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook offered them $3 billion in cash to acquire Snapchat. Facebook even hinted that it already had a competing product, Poke, ready to crush them.

Still, they said no.

A decade later, Snapchat has 932–943 million monthly active users, 460 million daily users, and at its peak was valued at $75 billion.

They said no from a position of vision, not fear or greed.

At one point, you will encounter decisions that force you to say No. That No can be categorised into:

Not all of these are strategic.

Yahoo, Kodak, Blockbuster, Nokia, and BlackBerry said no to protect what they already had.

Snapchat said no to protect what it could become.

There are seasons for saying No. You should not feel guilty about it.

But as empowering as it sounds, you should be careful not to assume that all Nos are progressive.

Some lock you in the past.
Some blind you to opportunity.
Some suffocate your growth.
While some, if chosen with clarity, can change your life.

Your job is to be diligent enough to know the difference.

Do you say NO because you’re afraid of losing what you have?

Do you say NO because the opportunity doesn’t align with your mission?

Do you say NO because you don’t discern the future fast enough?

Or you say NO because the timing is wrong?

Great entrepreneurs don’t say yes to everything. They say no, but with wisdom, vision, and courage.

Learn where to say no.
Learn how to say no.
And most importantly, learn who you become after you say it.

One of our next Mentors is Khensani Nobanda, the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank, and a respected leader in South Africa's marketing industry.

If you have any questions for her, send them through by replying to this email.

Application Deadline: January 30th, 2026.

The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship is an entrepreneurship acceleration program designed to support promising African EdTech ventures. The Fellowship provides select EdTech companies with critical business and financial support, as well as insight into the science of learning, preparing them for scale, sustainability, and impact.

Read More & Apply Here!

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The answer is always no unless you ask.

You can unlock opportunities just by asking for some help, a favour, a discount, a job, or even advice.

Closed mouths don't get fed.

In 2025, advertising spending in Africa will amount to an estimated US$10.28 billion, up from approximately $9.74 billion a year earlier – an annual growth of around 5.5%. The figure was forecast to continue to expand, surpassing $12.5 billion by 2030.

A business grows faster when its people grow deliberately.

Here’s a direct, strategy-focused breakdown of how to turn talent into a competitive advantage:

Aho ishari ritari agashato ka Rukwavu gakwira bane.

Translation: Where there is no jealousy, a small hare’s leather is enough to cover four people

Meaning: Where there is no jealousy, people can share the little they have.

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