Afropolitan

“This world is small, the more you pitch, the more you'll get to those with a pool of money.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Elizabeth Yin,co-founder and general partner at hustle fund, a venture firm that invests in early-stage startups. Elizabeth Yin and her co-founders created the venture capital firm hustle fund to help level the playing field at the pre-seed funding stage. After reviewing about 20,000 pitch decks while working as a partner at 500 startups, Elizabeth came up with the idea of an early stage fund to help founding teams that struggle to attract investors attention. A two time founder, Elizabeth has always had a drive for business, technology and investing. Listen and enjoy as Elizabeth talks to us about her journey to becoming a VC and advises startups entering the bear market.Elizabeth’s reading listThe Lean Startup by Eric Rieshttps://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898Predictable Revenue by Aaron Rosshttps://www.amazon.com/Predictable-Revenue-Business-Practices-Salesforce-com/dp/0984380213Shoe Dog by Phil Knight https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight/dp/1508211809Show Notes 1:33 Journey to becoming a partner at hustle fund.4:04 Misconceptions about being a VC 5:57 Most successful exit.7:29 Different fundraising process10:26 Advice to founders on recruiting and retaining talent longterm14:11 Advice to aspiring venture capitalists 16:47 Elizabeth’s fundraising experience20:57 Thoughts on sky high valuations for startups22:09 Advice to startups coming into the bear market and what the market potentially holds23:57 Vc that has had a major impact on Elizabeth's growth25:44 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned30:09 Elizabeths’s introduction into crypto and web332:19 The hustle verse/ crypto shift initiative34:13 Downside to web335:42 Elizabeths’s reading list37:49 What does being Afropolitan mean to you? The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Quote -“Trying to cater and impress social media is only going to lead to disappointments”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Denis Asamoah,Co-founder of FORVR mood, a lifestyle brand focused on selfcare. Denis Asamoah is an entrepreneur, brand development specialist, coach and former investment banker with Morgan Stanley. In 2020 during the pandemic lockdown, Denis and his fiancee Jackie Aina co-founded and launched FORVR mood.They successfully self funded and scaled DTC to 7-digits within a few weeks. Denis is passionate about the creator economy and is on a mission to empower more people of color to launch brands and flourish in their space.Listen and enjoy as Denis talks to us about the creative economy and how he has successfully built a multimillion dollar business. Denis’s reading list The One Thing by Gary Kellerhttps://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776The 4-hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Escape-Live-Anywhere/dp/0307465357Show Notes 2:07 Naming process for the owambe collection.4:49 Was the owambe collection a PR stunt?16:18 Cancel culture22:40 Denis’s mental selfcare26:57 Transition to the creators economy33:36 Advice to creators.38:25 How creators can leverage their relevance to diversify38:40 Sephora partnership43:13 How Denis deals with negative comments on social media.48:47 Internal and external scorecards51:19 Most significant encounter with failure52:20 FORVR mood sales during the pandemic54:33 How FORVR mood manages the shipping process57:33 Denis’s reading list1:01:11 What does being afropolitan mean to you?The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Quote- “You don't have to raise funds to get validation. A lot of people will raise funds just for validation.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Ray Youssef, CEO of ‘Paxful’ - a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace used by millions worldwide. As an immigrant from Egypt raised in New York, Ray has always been passionate about helping others.Ray believes that education is important in creating equitable opportunities and through his non-profit organization, built with bitcoin he has been able to provide that for so many children in Africa.He has always dreamed of a world where finance is accessible to everyone and that idea manifested as Paxful.Listen and enjoy as Ray talks to us about the African crypto market and the exceptional human capital on the continent.Ray’s reading listKing, Warrior, magician, lover : Rediscovering the Archetype of Mature Masculine by Robert Moore​​https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammoushttps://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861The fiat standard by Saifedean Ammoushttps://www.amazon.com/Fiat-Standard-Slavery-Alternative-Civilization/dp/1544526474History of Money by Jack Weatherfordhttps://www.amazon.com/History-Money-Jack-Weatherford/dp/0609801724Show Notes1:02 Mission and vision of Paxful.5:19 African crypto market.8:15 Advice to founders on navigating regulatory framework.12:12 COVID-19 impact on Paxful.13:35 Paxful approach to recruiting and retaining talent.15:30 Advice to founders during fundraising process18:02 The Mission of built with bitcoin.22:51 Significant encounter with failure.27:10 Ray’s reading list.34:22 What does being Afropolitan mean to you?The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan?Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linkt

Adeniyi AbiodunQuote- “No one says you need to be an engineer or a PA for life. Nobody said you'll have one particular role for life but you can actually be capable of a lot more.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Adeniyi Abiodun,co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Mysten labs. Mysten Labs is creating infrastructure and tools for the decentralized future.Fedup by the red tape of Big Tech, Adeniyi together with three former facebook employees created mysten lab. A startup focused on web3 and block chain infrastructure.They were instrumental in the development of the diem blockchain and move programming language. A cross-platform smart contract language that helps developers secure against exploits.Adeniyi realized programming and writing applications was something he cared about and hasn't looked back ever since. His career cuts across finance, product and blockchain technology.Adeniyi is passionate about leveraging deep tech to solve developer and consumer problems.Listen and enjoy as Adeniyi talks to us about the newly launched Sui blockchain network and his experience fundraising for Mysten labs.Adeniyi’s reading listThe Bible​​https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+holy+bible&adgrpid=84105609520&gclid=CjwKCAjwi8iXBhBRadical Focus by Christina Wodtkehttps://www.amazon.com/Radical-Focus-Achieving-Important-Objectives/dp/0996006028Inspired by Marty Caganhttps://www.amazon.com/INSPIRED-Create-Tech-Products-Customers/dp/1119387507Show Notes1:20 Journey to becoming CPO of mysten lab4:19 Mysten lab’s vision5:18 Sui’s role in the blockchain ecosystem11:14 Decentralization VS Centralization 15:19 Advice to founders on recruiting and retaining talent17:15 Gaming sector VS other sectors in the ecosystem18:57 Advice to newcomers in the blockchain ecosystem20:39 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned23:50 Adeniyi’s reading list25:36 Advice to founders on the fundraising processThe Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan?Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Naithan Jones Quote - “There's a fundamental misunderstanding of how success actually happens, how success happens is, you pick something to work on, that you don't mind working on in the wee hours of the night, for 20 plus years”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Naithan Jones, former partner at A16z and current Head of Growth at Royal. Royal enables anyone to own and earn royalties for their favorite songs. In 2011, Naithan drove out to silicon valley in his 1994 Corolla with everything he owned and went on to build Ag local, an ecommerce startup that eventually folded up.He later joined Andreessen Horowitz(A16z) where he did amazing work for seven years. Naithan is a tech executive with over 20 years background in market strategy with emphasis on entrepreneurship, startups and entertainment driven business. Listen and enjoy as Naithan talks to us about the misconceptions about being a VC and royal’s mission to redistribute the ownership of digital property. Naithan’s Twitter post ​​https://twitter.com/naithanjones/status/1550151720319303683?s=21Naithan’s reading list Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitzhttps://www.amazon.com/s?k=hard+thing+about+hard+things&adgrpid=82923967095&gclid=CjCybernetics by Nobert Weinerhttps://www.amazon.com/Cybernetics-Second-Control-Communication-Machine/dp/026273009X The Human Use Of Human Beings by Nobert Weinerhttps://www.amazon.com/Human-Use-Beings-Cybernetics-Society/dp/0306803208Inner Engineering by Sadhguruhttps://www.amazon.com/Inner-Engineering-Yogis-Guide-Joy/dp/0812997794Man's Search For Meaning https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429XThe Black Jacobins by C.L.R James https://www.amazon.com/Black-Jacobins-Toussaint-LOuverture-Revolution/dp/0679724672Power vs Force by David Hawkins https://www.amazon.com/Power-Force-David-Hawkins-M-D/dp/1401945074Psychology Of Unconsciousness by C.G Jung

Tayo OviosuQuote- “A life of service is worth living.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Tayo Oviosu, founder and group CEO Paga,a mobile payments company focused on digitizing cash in emerging economies.The Stanford educated professional saw a huge opportunity in the financial service industry and came up with what is now paga. With over 19 million users, paga is unrelenting in bringing financial services to the unbanked. Listen and enjoy as Tayo talks to us about the impact of FinTech companies in Africa and how Paga aims to serve the unbanked. Tayo’s reading list True North by Bill George https://www.amazon.com/True-North-Discover-Authentic-Leadership/dp/0787987514My American Journey by Colin Powellhttps://www.amazon.com/My-American-Journey-Colin-Powell/dp/0345466411Shoe Dog by Phil Knight https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44 Show Notes 1:33 Paga Mission4:00 Has paga solved the pain point of carrying cash around in Nigeria6:26 Unique challenges faced while starting paga 8:43 Fundraising challenges founders in Africa face12:28 How paga has engaged regulatory bodies15:58 Insights on agency banking model22:01 How paga has been able to recruit and retain talent25:52 Operational challenges paga faced during covid30:01 leadership challenges31:26 Books that have impacted Tayo’s life 36:05 First encounter with failure as an entrepreneur42:46 Concept of product management in the tech ecosystem. The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Deeze's Quote"Don't enjoy to the point where you're not doing hard work again and don't do hard work to the point where you don't take a moment to enjoy just a little bit."The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Today’s episode features Deeze, the Director of vibes at Fractional, a decentralized protocol that enables collective ownership and governance of one or more NFTs.Deeze is most known for his outstanding work in supporting the NFT community, he hosts twitter spaces to spotlight up and coming artists with quality work in the scene. Listen and enjoy as Deeze talks to us about everything from fractional and how he got started with NFTs. Twitter thread https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1507787390114488322? Deeze reading list https://www.amazon.com/Million-Stuffed-Shark-Economics-Contemporary/dp/0230620590 The 12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompsonhttps://www.amazon.com/Pre-Suasion-Robert-Cialdini-Ph-D-audiobook/dp/B01JAYK6HI/ref=sr_1_1? Pre-suasion by Robert Cialdinihttps://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X Influence by Robert Cialdini https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X/ref=sr_1_1? Lessons of history by Will and Ariel Durant https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Mentors-Short-Advice-World/dp/B082VM5VZN/ref=sr_1 _1? Tribe of Mentors by Will FerrissShow Notes 1:15 How did you get started with NFT7:52 What are NFTs and what can be their use in the future10:52 Journey to fractional 14:33 Owning a collectible with a group of strangers/ friends17:21 Advice to newbies joining NFT projects21:25 Pseudonymity within the NFT ecosystem 27:40 Thoughts on the Azuki scandal34:50 Favorite books39:03 Highs and lows of NFT47:32 First encounter with failure and lessons learned. The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

MERCEDES BENTQuote - “one of the biggest, most profound realization I've had is there is no life path that can be planned or followed.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Mercedes Bent, partner at Lightspeed, a venture capital firm based in the USA, with her focus on consumer investments in crypto. Born in North Carolina and raised in California, Mercedes’ parents introduced her to web development at a young age and dinner table conversations were centered around the next invention. It’s no surprise Mercedes found herself working at startups in her early career as a Product Manager and later as a General Manager.Mercedes’ path to VC is a true convergence of her life experiences, finance roles managing P&Ls at two consumer startups (including growing one from $2 to $100M in revenue), and her long-term goal of empowering communities she cares about. A member of Lightspeed’s consumer and crypto investing team, Mercedes is primarily focused on investing in crypto, fintech, and other wealth-building and consumer products. Listen and enjoy as Mercedes talks to us about venture capital. Mercedes reading listhttps://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Complete-8-Book/dp/0553609416 Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery. https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Nearer-Ray-Kurzweil-ebook/dp/B08Y6FYJVY The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray KurzweilShow Notes6:59 Journey to Venture Capital and Lightspeed8:41 Evaluating startups11:00 Common misconceptions about VC12:40 Why Lightspeed15:01 Covid’s impact on deal flow and personally 17:41 How the barrier can be broken for women trying to raise capital21:25 First encounter with failure and lessons learned.24:17 Advice to founders struggling to recruit and retain talent 28:24 Advice to people trying to break into VC29:51 If the only thing left in the world was to read a book about your life, what will the title be33:41 What does being Afropolitan mean to youThe Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Atsu Davoh Quote- “Focus on the process, the destination will eventually come but the process is what gets you there.”The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.This episode features Atsu Davoh, the MD of Bitsika, a payment platform that helps people send money across countries.With several startups under his belt, Atsu has always been determined to build his multi million dollar company and he seems to have achieved that with Bitsika. While in college in the United states Atsu realized school wasn't for him. Atsu was more interested in building websites, working on small projects, learning HTML and CSS.He eventually dropped out and focused on entrepreneurship full time, a move that has eventually paid off.Bitsika was a pioneer in afrobeats and fintech collaboration. In 2020, they signed renowned music giant Davido as an official brand ambassador. This partnership was a pivotal moment for the organization as it led to the acquisition of numerous customers. Listen and enjoy as Atsu talks to us about building Bitsika and future plans. Atsu reading listAntiFragile by Nicholas TalebThe Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean AmmousInventing Bitcoin by Yan PritzkerShow notes:4:55 How Atsu scales ideas as a software engineer and technical founder. 8:25 How Bitsika plans to accommodate the central bank of Nigeria's regulation on crypto companies.16:36 The process of engaging Davido as a brand ambassador and the results after the campaign was launched. 30:10 challenges with hiring and maintaining talent as a startup in Africa. 37:39 The promise of crypto and decentralization. 42:28 Atsu’s entrepreneurial mind set.48:37 First experience with failure and lesson learnt. 1:02:03 What does being Afropolitan mean to Atsu1:03:45 Mission behind the social tokens and what it represents in the crypto ecosystem. The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/

Gossy UkanwokeQuote"Don't enjoy to the point where you're not doing hard work again and don't do hard work to the point where you don't take a moment to enjoy just a little bit."The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.Today’s episode features Gossy Ukanwoke, the MD of KingMakers, owners of the BetKing brand. With Gossy at the helm of affairs, the brand is evolving to encompass sports entertainment and gaming services. “It’s not just a roadside gambling company, it’s a proper technology business. It’s a product in gaming. It can easily be a fintech company tomorrow, given the spread across the continent, the number of users, the number of transactions. It can roll it out and it can be anything.”Gossy started out reselling Internet services in his late teens to wealthy customers, at a time when wireless routers were not yet commonplace. The Internet service provider caught on to what Gossy was doing and in no time, he found himself out of business. “You know when they say, cut you at the knees, day by day, my clients were just dropping off one by one.”It was a steep learning curve for him, but the lessons he learned would serve him well in the future.Listen and find out what those lessons are.You can also fuel your mind with Gossy’s impactful reading list.https://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996 Good To Great by Jim Collinshttps://www.amazon.com/Talent-Never-Enough-Discover-Choices/dp/0785214038 Talent is never Enough by John C Maxwellhttps://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/1442397683 Sprint by Jake Knapp Show Notes:11:05 Gossy mentions one of the things people don’t really talk about in entrepreneurship?14:55 Gossy talks about his boat business and building confidence in a low-trust environment.19:42 First and best entrepreneurial experience ever as a reseller of Internet services and lessons learned.31:21 How he created Beni American University. Building out a school that will address the issues of access, quality and relevance.42:19 From bootstrapping to fundraising.46:10: BetKing's growth and expansion.50:50 What’s important when it comes to recruiting the right talent.52:33 Gossy’s biggest leadership lessons in managing peopleThe Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.Want to learn more about Afropolitan? Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitanWebsite - https://www.afropolitan.io/