From Frustration to Innovation. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong

What started as an optimistic plan for a week of testing and a few hundred thousand Ugandan shillings in research and development costs for an affordable protein supplement has become a multi-million shilling, two-month-long R&D odyssey filled with setbacks and replanning. But hey, that’s the first lesson, right? What we plan rarely goes according to plan! 🕯

Murphy strikes again! It sounds cliché, but everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. For instance, among the many steps I had to go through was first extracting oil from the ground nuts. But dear did I make peanut butter instead of pressing the oil out! My entire lab smelled like a rogue elephant had raided a peanut butter factory. In hindsight, the signs were there – the consistency was a bit too chunky, the machine was groaning like a tortured soul – but maybe I was too focused on becoming a protein powder superhero to see the peanut protein reality. Here I am, trying to rekindle my entrepreneurial spirit after successfully running Minute5 for five years. This time, I’m chasing a passion project I’ve held dear for a long time.

The fitness bug bit me hard during the pandemic. It became my stress-busting secret weapon, a way to clear my head and, most importantly, feel and look amazing. Fast forward a year (2020-2021), and I was fluent in more biological terms than I ever learned in school (thanks, self-taught sports nutrition course!). This led me down a rabbit hole of nutritional supplements, specifically protein. Let me take a moment to debunk a myth: Protein supplements are NOT steroids! However, after five months of consistent supplementation, I felt like a superhero: stronger, faster, with seemingly endless endurance. I rarely got sick, and my energy levels were always high. It made me wonder, why isn’t everyone reaping these benefits? The answer was simple: protein is expensive!

Getting enough protein from African cuisine can be a real struggle. West Africans know this pain all too well. And then it hit me: protein-packed peanuts! Abundant in Uganda and Tanzania, these little powerhouses could be the key. My vision? Extracting the protein, packaging it conveniently, and making these health benefits accessible to everyone.

The Quest Begins! Research mode: activated! I obsessively researched everything I could find – how-to guides, past attempts, potential pitfalls, the whole shebang. Or at least, that’s what I thought. Fast forward to 2024, and I was finally putting my research to the test. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t go smoothly) I’ll spare you the nitty-gritty details (unless you’re into failed science experiments, then hit me up!), but basically, everything went wrong. Sourcing the right ingredients was a nightmare, I cycled through different machinery like I was swapping out old batteries, and even the little protein I managed to extract…well, let’s just say it wasn’t fit for human consumption.

The Upside of Failure:

Here’s the thing: the ability to learn from setbacks is what separates entrepreneurs from the rest. Looking back, I should have planned more extensively instead of relying solely on the “lean startup” model, which emphasizes rapid learning. Sure, I learned a ton about what not to do in a week, but at a significant cost. The key takeaway? Move fast and adapt, but don’t skip the planning stage altogether! We often get stuck in “planning purgatory,” fearing failure or expecting instant success. But guess what? The first attempt rarely yields the dream results. Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. The key is to embrace the unexpected learnings and use them to move forward.

The Plot Thickens:

Now I know for a fact that rushing protein extraction from peanuts (or any plant source, really) is like trying to mosh pit in quicksand. You just sink faster, and all the good stuff gets tangled up in a chaotic mess. Imagine your favorite protein molecules as tiny, pumped-up gym rats. When you try to yank them out quickly, they freak out, grab onto everything around them – carbs, fats, the whole crew – and you end up with a clumpy, unusable protein protein smoothie. Not exactly what we’re going for. (Unless your goal is accidentally inventing a new kind of high-fiber, high-protein wallpaper paste.)

Could have saved myself some trouble by reading online or, you know, asking someone who’s been down this protein extraction path before. But hey, as my girlfriend always says, “We now know one way it won’t work” (Maybe next time we’ll try a gentler approach, like offering the protein molecules a spa day before politely requesting their departure)

This newfound knowledge, however painful it may be to my wallet and ego, means we can focus on inventing a new, gentler extraction method. Months of testing, money, and time, here I come! But the end goal is a protein supplement so good, so convenient, it’ll practically melt in your mouth and convince your taste buds they’re on a tropical vacation. Wish me luck (and maybe a fire extinguisher for future mishaps)

I hope to reach out to experts on the matter, engage them and also have a group of testers.

If you have any requests or questions, please feel free to drop me an email at paul@katumbapaul.com