Hey there ,

Lemme give you gist...

It's about how I almost wasted 2.4million naira...

And what it taught me about protecting ideas.

#getscomfortable

#sipscoffee

You see...

When I first started thinking about intellectual property...

I did what most people do.

Called a lawyer.

Me: "I want to trademark these terms. Copyright these frameworks. Protect everything."

Lawyer: "No problem. That'll be N2.4m to start."

I later found out the process actually doesn't cost that much...

But...

I digress.

Given that I wasn't as well off back then as I am now...

And N2.4million meant more then than it does now...

I gave up right there.

Why?

Because I thought:

IP protection = expensive lawyers before you even begin.

Turns out?

Not true.

Here's what I figured out:

The protection comes AFTER the value, not before.

Most people think it works like this:

Step 1: Pay lawyers to protect your idea

Step 2: Build business around protected idea

Step 3: Make money

Again...

Not true.

The real order is:

Step 1: Build the idea in public

Step 2: Prove people actually want it

Step 3: Make money from it Step

4: THEN protect it

See the difference?

You don't protect first and hope it becomes valuable.

You make it valuable first.

Then protect it.

That music label I mentioned yesterday?

I didn't trademark anything first.

I didn't copyright anything first.

I didn't hire lawyers first.

I just:

1. Started using the language
2. Built tribe around it
3. Created the first song
4. Got it placed in a film...accidentally
5. Proved it was valuable

NOW I'm protecting it.

Because now there's something worth protecting.

Before?

Just an idea in my head.

And ideas aren't worth N2.4m in legal fees.

Proven...

Valuable...

Money making IP is.

Here's the wild part...

#evillaugh

By the time you're ready to legally protect your IP...

You almost don't need to.

Because you've already built the real protection.

Your tribe uses your language.

Your community knows your frameworks.

Your believers spread your philosophy.

Good luck stealing that.

Some competitor can try to copy your framework.

They can't copy your tribe.

Some lawyer can mimic your methodology.

They can't replicate your community.

The real protection isn't the trademark.

It's the tribe.

#sipscoffee

#selah

#pausingfordramaticeffect

Anyway

Thought you should know.

In case you were thinking..

IP sounds great but I can't afford lawyers.

You don't need them.

Not yet anyway.

Build value first.

Protection comes later.

Till tomorrow...

Get out of your own way.

CTM

P.S: I've put together a playbook that will help you do this yourself. It's called #drumrollplease... The Tribemaster's IP Playbook: The Complete Strategy for Creating, Distributing, and Protecting Your Intellectual Property Before AI Makes Your Expertise Worthless

It goes live on Tuesday 28th, October 2025 for $100 or N150,000

But've got a special offer for you, given your a member of this newsletter. If you'd like access to this on tuesday when it's out...You can get it for just N50,000 or $35

But just for today. Simply reply with the words Tribemaster IP and I'll send you payment details and lock you in at that amount for Tuesday.

Please understand this is only available till midnight today West African Time...after that...deals off.