I invested my life savings in my childhood friend's startup and he signed a deal behind my back

Two years ago, I got a call from Tunde. My childhood friend from Akure. He said he had this idea for a fintech app that would help local farmers get loans without collateral. I was excited because I know how those farmers suffer. My own father is one.

I had just finished a good contract with a fintech in Lagos, so I had some savings. About ₦4.5 million. I packed my bags and went back to Akure. We worked for six months straight. No sleep. No weekends. Tunde handled the business side, I handled the tech. We built something solid.

Then one morning, I came to the office and saw Tunde packing files into a box. He couldn't look me in the eye. I asked him what was happening. He said he had signed a deal with an investor from Abuja. A man named Chief Bayo. I asked to see the terms. Tunde said I wasn't on the paperwork. The investor wanted only him. He took 60 percent equity for himself and gave Tunde 40. I got zero. Nothing. Not even a mention.

I asked Tunde how he could do this to me. He said the investor insisted on a single founder. That it was business, not personal. I told him we grew up together. We stole mangoes from the same tree. He just shrugged.

I packed my things and went back to Lagos. I had ₦200,000 left. I sat in my room in Yaba for two weeks. Just staring at the wall. My mother called and asked if I was okay. I said yes. What else could I say?

The app launched. I heard it failed after eight months. Something about the loan recovery model not working. Tunde called me last year. He wanted to apologize. I didn't pick up.

What I learned is that not every dream is worth dying for. And some friendships are just business arrangements waiting to happen. These days I still work with people, but I always get everything in writing. I won't let trust cost me that much again.