Why I Am Building Coziza

What is Coziza?

In the simplest terms, Coziza is a real estate website for renting and purchasing homes. Yeah, I get it, It doesn’t sound like the most groundbreaking idea at first. But stick with me—I think Coziza is something that absolutely should exist and, somehow, still doesn’t.

Why Am I Building a Company to Begin With?

I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur. The idea of building something from the ground up—something that thousands or even millions of people find useful—has always been deeply exciting to me. It feels like the best way to leave a lasting impact on the world. And let’s be honest, the potential to make good money isn’t a bad motivator either. Over the years, I’ve tried and failed in various ventures. I don’t dwell on those failures, but I’ve learned a lot from them. I now feel like I’m at a pivotal point where I have the experience, the insight, and the timing to build something truly great. Speaking of timing, I just left my job at Digit, and I’ve spent enough time reflecting on my last startup failure (Chapelhive). Now feels like the perfect time to dive into something new and meaningful.

Why This Idea?

People often say I’m too picky and that I complain too much. I take it as a compliment. To me, it means I see the world as it is but also as it could be—better, smoother, more efficient. I encounter problems all the time, and many of them could be the foundation for a great company. But I didn’t just randomly pick real estate. I took a systematic approach. I watched Y-Combinator’s How to Get and Evaluate Startup Ideas and focused on evaluating ideas more than just generating them. Using the framework from that talk, I analyzed different problems and narrowed them down to:

• Entry-level recruitment is broken, especially for remote work.
• Buying and selling cars in Ghana is a frustrating process.
• Fully remote teams often miss out on the camaraderie of in-person workplaces, making it harder to build friendships and a sense of community. This is even more challenging for globally distributed teams due to differences in culture, background, and expectations.
• Renting and buying homes in Ghana is even more frustrating than the car issue.
• Staying on task is a challenge not just for first-time founders but for any builder or engineer working on a personal project. Many developers have countless unfinished projects on their systems. However, for first-time founders, the stakes are even higher.

I ultimately chose real estate because I recently had to move, and the process was horrible. That firsthand frustration made the decision easy.

Aren’t There Already Property Websites in Ghana?

Yes, plenty. Here are a few:

• Meqasa
• Jiji
• Apartments.com.gh
• Ghana Property Centre
• Private Property Ghana

The fact that so many platforms exist but still fail to solve the problem effectively tells me there’s a real opportunity here. These sites don’t work for several reasons:

• Real estate agents on these platforms have different incentives than renters. They post vague listings with terrible photos because they don’t want you to bypass them.
• Even if they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll push whatever they do have just to earn a commission.
• You often have to deal with multiple agents since each one has access to only a handful of listings. And they charge you a “viewing fee” just for the privilege.
• Some websites have better user experiences but lack enough listings to be useful.
• Platforms like Jiji or Facebook Marketplace aren’t specialized for real estate and don’t have the right tools.
• Shady agents are everywhere, making the entire process risky and exhausting.
• If you try to find a place on your own, you’ll spend forever searching. Accra alone is huge.

The MVP

My long-term vision for Coziza is ambitious: a dream platform for home renters and buyers, as well as a management system for property owners. But for now, I’m focusing on the MVP. The MVP is simple: a Zillow-like website with clear, detailed property listings. Users should be able to book free viewings and apply to rent or buy seamlessly. But the biggest challenge isn’t the tech—it’s the listings. We need to aggregate a significant portion of the rental properties in Accra. That’s where I’ll be focusing most of my time. For now, I’m ignoring home sales entirely and concentrating only on renting. If I can crack that, I’ll already be solving a major problem. Join the Journey If this sounds interesting, I’d love for you to follow along. You can sign up for my newsletter to stay updated or reach out if you’re looking for a place to rent. I’m also looking for a co-founder, so if this project excites you, hit me up at micah@coziza.com. Let’s build something great together!