How to play Zero to Exit

In this guide

1. Your first hour
2. Businesses and managers
3. Selling your company
4. Investing in startups
5. Stocks, shipping and takeovers
6. The streets of Lagos
7. Living a whole life
8. Seasons, missions and Gold
9. Crashes and disasters
10. Tips from top players
11. Questions

Your first hour

Every player starts in Lagos with nothing. You pick your currency, your name and your path, then hustle: sell pure water in traffic, run errands and save your first naira. Once you have enough, you open your first business, usually a phone kiosk.

Tap Run to serve customers. Every upgrade makes each sale bigger, and every 25 levels doubles your profit. The tutorial chapters walk you through the basics and pay Gold as you finish them.

Businesses and managers

You can own many businesses at once: suya spots, car washes, small chops, logistics, fintech and more as you grow. A business only earns while you tap, until you hire a manager. Managers keep selling while you sleep, which is the single biggest step in the early game.

Your team

Hire staff like Aunty Ngozi the accountant (+20% income and half the tax), Sergeant Musa for security and Barrister Kola to block lawsuits. Each one changes how your company survives.

Selling your company (the exit)

Your company has a valuation. Raise money in rounds from Pre-seed to Series C, then sell when it hits the exit target or go public with an IPO. The money from the sale lands in your Bank, and you start a new company in a bigger city, with a legacy bonus that makes the next run faster.

Watch out: other real players can buy shares in your company, and you can buy them back, at a premium, when you are rich enough.

Investing in startups

Your investor fund backs young startups. Some become unicorns. Some founders lie about their numbers. Use due diligence to catch them. When it is time to sell your shares you can take an offer, run a live auction where you choose the moment to bang the hammer, or launch a hype campaign for better offers.

Stocks, shipping and takeovers

Stocks and currencies

Trade shares on the stock market and swap naira for dollars, pounds and more. Prices move every few seconds and jump on news.

Shipping

Import phones, fabrics, cars, gold, solar panels or export cocoa. Insure the cargo or gamble without it. Halfway through, the captain may call about pirates, storms, strikes or a customs officer who wants "settlement". Your answer changes the outcome. Grow your fleet to six ships.

Buying whole companies

Buy any computer company outright, or a company another player owns, and watch for rival tycoons like Chief Bode starting a bidding war. Owned companies pay dividends every 12 hours, and you can fire the CEO, hire a celebrity, strip it for cash or swallow a poison pill so nobody can take it from you.

The streets of Lagos

Lagos has its own money: Lagos cash. Travel between Ikeja, Oshodi, Lekki, Victoria Island and more by danfo, okada or your own car. Buy goods where they are cheap and sell where they are dear. Every 10 minutes one good is hot somewhere and sells for two to three times the price. Upgrade from a Ghana-must-go bag to a container trailer, a fleet of trucks or your own cargo plane.

You can also go the other way: steal cars, run heists and kidnappings. Each crime raises your wanted level. Buy a fast car to outrun the police or hire an escort with sirens. Get arrested and you lose everything.

Living a whole life

Your character ages. You can date, take your partner out (from suya to a surprise weekend in Dubai), propose, marry, have children and name them. Your family has jobs, moods and secrets. When you die, your heir inherits the empire and the story continues for generations.

Seasons, missions and Gold

Every month is a new season. Players race to gain the most money, and the top 10 win Gold. Each season has 16 missions, such as shipping five cargoes, buying a company outright or pulling off a heist, plus chests worth up to 100 Gold.

A free scratch card arrives every day, with the 💎 100 Gold jackpot as the top prize.

Market crashes and disasters

The economy is alive. Every few hours something can happen: a stock market crash, the naira collapsing, a recession, an oil price crash, the tech bubble bursting, or a boom. The richest players are hit hardest, with scandals, tax audits and frozen accounts. Nobody stays at the top forever, so diversify.

Tips from top players

1. Hire your first manager as soon as you can. Money while you sleep beats every other upgrade.
2. Do not keep everything in one place. Spread money across your Bank, companies you own, stocks and property.
3. Sell during booms, buy during crashes.
4. Insure big shipments. Pirates do not care how rich you are.
5. Finish your daily tasks and season missions. The Gold adds up fast.
6. Install the app on your phone or computer for alerts when your ship lands or your rivals pass you.

Questions

Is Zero to Exit free?

Yes. It is free on the web, iPhone and Android. Gold packs and the Boss Pass are optional.

Can I play on PC or Mac?

Yes. Open zerotoexit.app in Chrome, Edge or Safari. It fills the screen, and you can install it as an app.

Is there real money gambling?

No. Everything is play money. You cannot win or withdraw real money.

Who makes it?

Zero to Exit is made in Nigeria by Chumstar Technology Limited. Contact hello@zerotoexit.app.