My client vanished with my ₦2.5m and I only had a WhatsApp chat to show for it

Three years ago, a fintech startup in Victoria Island contracted me for a six-week build. ₦2.5 million. My biggest job yet. I was calculating rent, savings, the whole plan in my head before I even signed anything. Signed anything... that's the joke. I never did.

The CEO was smooth. Took me to a place in Oniru, talked big about their Series A, said the contract was 'coming from legal.' Six weeks I built that thing. Night after night in Yaba, my eyes red, delivering updates they kept saying were 'excellent.'

Then launch week came. His number stopped going through. His office? A receptionist who looked at me like I was mad. 'Which company?' The WhatsApp chat was all I had. No contract. No payment terms. Nothing.

I sat in my car that evening for one hour. Didn't cry. Just sat there doing the maths on how many months of savings that money was supposed to cover.

Lesson? If it's not on paper, it's not real. No matter how nice the office looks. No matter how well they dress. Now I collect 50% upfront, contract signed, stamp and all. Every single time. That ₦2.5m was expensive school fees but God, I learned.