No pain, No Gain: how 2020 took me from surgery hell to startup heaven (review)
I was nervous.
Understandably so.
I had lost 3 pitch competitions in a row.
Why would this be any different?
My 2020 was a journey from hell to heaven, and I mean that literally. By the time you finish this review, you’d probably think I’m nuts (and that’s ok). What’s even crazier is that I have been doing this for 7 years straight! My reviews have been described as ‘inspiring’, ‘game changing’ and ‘weird’. Catch up on 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019.
Backed by numbers and never seen before commentary, here is how my 2020 went down:
2020 in Numbers
· I spent N137,046 ($290) on data (N11,420/month, N380/day), compared to N25,900 on voice calls (N2158/month, N72day). it’s clear why Telco’s are spending heavily to upgrade their infrastructure, outdo each other and attract more data subscribers with mouthwatering data plans. Data is the present, and the future of communication.
· I spent a measly N201,109 ($423) on food (N16,759/month, N559/day) thanks to free pre-breakfast, breakfast and lunch at Epower. It’s not like any of us can do without food. The key is to buy in bulk, budget and cut down on eating out.
· 14.2% of my expenses was on charitable donations to family, friends & orphans. I urge you to set aside 5%, 10% or whatever amount you can afford, for others, each month. That tiny amount you give can make all the difference in someone’s life. Don’t wait till you become Jeff Bezos before you start giving. Be a ray of sunshine in someone’s life.
2020 by Goals
Insights
1. Overall, I think I set too many goals (I have drastically cut down in 2021).
2. I had personal and corporate goals together in the same place (they are now in different documents).
3. The main goals and how to achieve them (sub-goals) were muddled up (I have now spelt out my objectives and key results).
4. A few goals were not realistic (my 2021 goals have a definite plan to achieve them).
5. Having to scroll down to see other categories may have affected too as the categories with the highest ‘not achieved’ rates were further down the list (I set 2021 goals in excel as against MS word. Every category is visible without scrolling).
6. Some plans were suspended in favor of bigger plans (life happens).
7. Not checking my goals often enough certainly played a role (will check more often in 2021. So help me God).
8. Availability of spare cash meant gadget goals that were not pressing, were ignored (Samsung A90 on my mind).
9. Most goals were achieved after the set deadline (I certainly need to work more on this).
Health struggles
Fairytales only exist in Disney movies.
Just like you, I had my fair share of struggles. And in 2020, my biggest struggle was my health.
For anyone who has closely worked with me, you’ll know I am almost always blowing my nose. My right nostril has been partially blocked since 2008 (deviated nasal septum). Never mind that I did a surgery (turbinectomy) in 2011 (and honestly, I didn’t see any significant improvement).
Now, a partially blocked nostril might not seem like a big deal on paper, but I want you to imagine the worst catarrh you’ve ever had, multiply its irritation by 5, and you begin to understand what it means to have lived with a partially deviated nasal septum for 12 years straight.
The ear, nose and throat are connected. So, I basically had some form of infection in my ear, nose or throat at some point in 2020. The sore throat that I tried to get rid of (in 2019) came back and at a point, my ears were so swollen, they had to be packed for weeks to combat infection.
This meant that for more than half of 2020, my sleeping pattern was just plain terrible. I sometimes struggled with sleep at my desk at work.
My medical regimen looked like this:
Steam inhalation, pain killers, antibiotics, ear drops, nose drop, Strepsil, CT scan, Xray, GI Endoscopy. Repeat.
I decided I had had enough and opted for surgery to fix my nose.
The first surgery barely made any difference. I started complaining few days after the surgery that there was no improvement. Then I learnt the surgeons missed a key detail in my case note (they did not do their homework). Which meant I needed yet another surgery.
Every surgery comes with real risks. It’s not like surgery is a trip to the market to buy foodstuff so you can imagine how upset I was. But the hospital did a few key things differently this time around: the surgeons thoroughly read my case note (something they should have done the very first time), performed the surgery under the guidance of an endoscope (so they were able to see into the nose in real time) and brought in a very senior surgeon to lead the entire thing. The second surgery has worked out well so far.
I had 2 surgeries barely 1 month apart. Wow.
Ok…back to the story.
I sleep better now. It certainly has significantly improved the quality of my life. Seeing just how much I spent out of pocket to take care of my health, I finally signed up for health insurance. So, don’t be like me: sign up for health insurance before you need health insurance.
Also, both surgeries reminded me of just how important family is: my parents, sister, brothers and close friends came through with food and love and support.
The Orphan Empowerment Society (TOES)
I founded The Orphan Empowerment Society (TOES) in 2016 after seeing firsthand, extreme poverty and neglect in an orphanage home in southwest Nigeria. Since then, TOES has been working tirelessly towards a goal of empowering 1 million orphans in Africa and end orphan poverty in Africa.
For the interventions in Lagos & Oyo, we partnered with Vetsark (Lagos) ably led by Mr Mene Blessing and BASCO Nigeria Limited (Oyo) ably led by Otunba Isamat Adebayo. Both partners keyed into our mission of ending orphan poverty in Africa and chose to directly empower orphans through TOES as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Between March and September, TOES provided free medical care to 209 orphans, donated over 1,000 nose masks, donated 20 CovKit boxes (upgraded first aid boxes with personal protective equipment) with COVID-19 sensitization, provided free vocational skills training to 44 orphans and provided food to 824 orphans across Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire & Chad.
Between September and December, we provided free fashion focused vocational skills training to 631 orphans while 95 orphans got tools to start business. We provided free medical care to 948 orphans across Nigeria, Sierra Leone & Botswana.
The graduation ceremony of skilled orphans “TOES Fashion Academy: Graduation Edition” held on December 19 in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Botswana & Gambia. In Nigeria, the graduation ceremony simultaneously held in 16 states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Enugu, FCT, Imo, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun & Oyo.
In 2020, we have so far provided free medical care to 1,116 orphans in Africa (about 750 in Nigeria), free meals to over 1,000 orphans (about 700 in Nigeria), free vocational skills training to 579 orphans (about 400 in Nigeria) and free business toolkits to 95 orphans. In other words, they will rely less on aid and rely more on their new found skills to start small businesses, and with their improved finances, access better feeding & better education. A major step towards ending orphan poverty in Africa. You can read all about it here and here.
Laundry Service
Washing with my small washing machine took my Saturday mornings and made me semi useless in the afternoon. I considered buying a bigger washing machine but then I did the maths. Instead of spending N150,000 on a washing machine (and still worry about spreading my cloths and ironing — that I dread), why not subscribe to a monthly unlimited laundry plan between N5,000 to N10,000? And that’s exactly what I did.
I convinced the dry cleaner in my area to start a subscription plan and I become his first subscription customer. Since November, I have completely outsourced washing and drying and ironing cloths from my life. Now on Saturdays, I literally wake up refreshed and excited for the day.
While I understand not everyone reading this has the means to completely outsource their laundry, the key thing is to find a way to reduce the manual things that you do. That tiny amount you spend outsourcing tasks that drain your energy and make you lifeless, will free up your time for more productive work.
Speaking engagement
The thing about achieving some measure of success (no matter how little) is this: someone somewhere finds your story inspiring. Of course, the invites got out of hand in 2019 and I wanted to add some form of structure in 2020. I have work to do so I cannot possibly honor every single request.
To filter invitations from unserious folks and work with the best, I created this form. The quantity of bookings reduced but the quality soared. That said, I spoke at 33 different conferences in 2020 across Nigeria, Kenya (IEEE Young Professionals) & Bangladesh. Being the year that COVID-19 hit, 23 (a staggering 69.7%) of this was virtual.
I also served as a judge at Hult Prize FUTO & Hult Prize University of Rajshahi
Epower, together with Field of skills & dreams teamed up with the US Consulate to organize the online conference, “Mindset of a Thriving Entrepreneur in the new world”. I moderated it to rave reviews.
Epower
As anyone running a digital agency can tell you, cash flow can be difficult to predict. One month you are flush with projects and cash, the next month you have fewer projects and less cash. Yet, your overhead costs are either stable or increasing.
At Epower, we build websites and apps that are enjoyable, lovable & profitable. From dawn to dusk, we develop business-changing, culture-defining and profit-spinning digital products for brands.
We build products for clients like Movendi (the Swedish giant) and Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), all the time so we thought to ourselves: why not build something for us?
To stabilize our cash flow, we decided to launch new products that could bring in cash daily and monthly. So, we knew what we wanted to do, that was the easy part. The difficult part was finding the ideas to execute.
I work with a super talented team at Epower. Our core principles of simplicity, divergence and excellence shone through our numerous brainstorming sessions as each team member suggested ideas and we all dissected them and argued and proposed new ideas.
Out of these brainstorming sessions came 2 ideas: Social Sugar, a B2B social media marketing agency now managing international brands like Fanfaro Oil & Golden Tulip (2021), and Grant Master, an online platform that connects ambitious organizations in need of grants with the top 5% of grant writers.
Within a year, Epower has effectively given birth to 2 startups. To accommodate the massively growing team, we will be moving into a bigger space in the next few weeks. This also came with promotion and a significant stake in the startups for 3 team members who now join me as co-owners.
In other news, the entire team is excited that we are finally moving away from Akobo because of the badly damaged and eternally dusty General Gas — Akobo Ojurin road, a 1.6km (6 min drive) that has been under construction since 2018 (pls share this review with Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state).
Movies & Songs
Parasite
Parasite tells the crazy story of how a poor but smart family played their way into the heart of one of the richest families in Korea. Totally sick family with super smart parents and kids, yet broke. They warmed their way into a rich family using recommendations to bring each other in. Except they were not the only parasites. A psycho turned violent and It all ended in tears.
.
Bombshell
it was so fast paced and the story so well told, that 1hr:45mins seemed to breeze by. It was the story of how Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox news was exposed for sexual harassment. Read up a bit on the main characters.
.
Up North
This movie renewed my confidence in Nollywood. The storytelling was compelling. The casting was even more excellent (I see you Banky W).
.
Upside
Kevin Hart was special assistant to a Billionaire who was Quadriplegic. From a lazy ass, Kevin finally learnt how to take care of other people. He even tried painting (which later landed him a $50k cheque). He helped his boss have a good time and came back to help him when his world was falling apart. The Billionaire made his money from investing in startups and turning around failing companies.
.
Skyscraper
Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) pulled off insane stunts. The skyscraper was a $6 billion edifice with the most secure high-tech security. The human element — moles in the billionaire’s security- including Dwayne’s friend who got him the security contract, compromised the security. Dwayne had to jump from a crane and risk all odds to rescue his daughter and reunite with his family. The movie was action packed from start to finish. I didn’t blink!
.
Citation
It was shot on Obafemi Awolowo University campus, my darling school. Which means I am obviously biased (wahala for who no go fine school). In terms of the storytelling, I think the part where the prof was driving a rickety car was just nonsensical. Someone like him would be driving a Jeep (and maybe even have a driver). I liked the fact that Citation continued the conversation on ‘sex for grades’. Temi Otedola really acted well. She may not have a future in music, but She certainly has one in movies (pls don’t show Temi this review).
.
Seasonal movies
In terms of seasonal movies: I enjoyed multiple episodes of the ‘Good fight’ & ‘The Good Wife’. ‘Silicon Valley’ blew my mind.
I connected with ‘Lethal Weapon Season 1’ on a very emotional level. The story telling was compelling…I could feel what the characters were feeling….and the sound tracks were a perfect match each time.
As for ‘Ballers’, the sex scenes got me putting my hands on my head. But seriously, the series showed the practical side of how top sport stars accumulate wealth and lose it all, and how a few of them actually manage to grow their wealth.
‘Elite’ seasons 1 & 2 was very compelling story telling. Asides the sex and the drama, the plot twist was thick. I highly recommend this series.
Books
In 2020, my goal was to read 1 book each month. While I didn’t read up to 12, I read tons of reports and hundreds of online articles. Instead of watching a movie during meals, I switched to watching documentaries and (startup videos) and of course, reading books!
Atomic Habit was a fantastic read. If you want to start and sustain new habits in 2020, you have to read this book. I re-read ‘Find your Why’ by Simon Sinek. I found ‘Built to Sell’ and ‘Fast Lane Wealth’ extremely insightful. If you are looking to build a business empire, you have to read both. I also read ‘Automatic Customer’ and got to appreciate the power of charging subscription fees.
Books unlock a different kind of thinking in our brains. I certainly will read more in 2021.
Media features
· YALI Network and Mandela Washington fellowship featured me on the work we do at TOES.
· The Mandela Washington Fellowship featured me as an expert on 2 courses. The first was on storytelling (start watching at 10:40). I actually introduced the course on Demystifying the Numbers: Using Data and Analytics for Effective Decision-Making and Planning
· As for newspapers, I was featured in Tribune, The Nation, Vanguard, Blueprint, & Pilot.
· I was featured on the RETHINK PODCAST SERIES (the most explicit and most explosive interview I have ever done). Listen here.
· On the TV & Radio side of things, I was featured on BCOS TV & radio multiple times. I had an explosive interview at IATV on the fallout of the #EndSars protest and the path to 2023.
· Top Interactive Agencies interviewed me on the phenomenal work we do at Epower.
If you’re reading this and you’re saying to yourself “I want to be written about too”, you can do it.
The key to get featured in the press is to
-Do deep, meaningful, impactful work
-Make sure you share it on social media from time to time
-Network with people in the press (they are always looking for stories)
-And treat each media feature like your last (give it your best shot)
Grant Master
Personally, I think the biggest mistake aspiring entrepreneurs make is to first launch a product or service, then start looking for customers. The ‘build it and they will come’ mentality may have worked in the industrial age but not anymore. I learnt this the hard way.
In 2019, I came up with the idea of Polivoice, an online platform that connected political leaders with followers. A place where you could talk about what you needed government to fix in your area and where elected leaders could see and act on such. Except, it was near impossible to monetize. I got to the final of GIST TECH-I in Bahrain and the judges asked me a simple question: who would pay for this? I lost that pitch contest.
Still thinking that I just needed to figure out the ‘payment part’, I worked with my Epower team to rebrand Polivoice. This time, we built a platform called ‘Polivoice for work’, an anonymous feedback platform where any worker in an organization could give feedback anonymously to help the organization detect, predict & improve work place conditions.
Even after recruiting a business developer and talking to nearly 100 potential clients, not one person signed up. I share this story because not only did I lose another pitch contest (this time in America), but I wasted time working on stuff nobody wanted.
By 2020, I was wiser. I knew exactly where I got things wrong.
When I had the idea of Grant Master, I sought to first confirm if there was indeed a market. Did people want this service? I organized a Grant Masterclass, and charged N19,800 ($50) for it. This online training grossed over N800,000. Still not satisfied, I launched an online survey targeting SME’s and NGO founders asking if they would pay to hire a grant writer or pay for online training. About 15 of the 93 that filled the form paid for a service we had not launched. That was when I knew we were on to something.
Grant Master got to the final of the Global Startup Ecosystem Demo Day. I was nervous. Understandably so. I had lost 3 pitch competitions in a row. Why would this be any different?
Enter village people: my network was awful. I kept switching between networks and just at the last minute, I joined the contest.
Enter Mr James Bond: Not only was my presentation flawless, the host could not contain her excitement after my pitch. Watch the entire pitch here.
It suddenly hit me: I lost 3 pitch contests in a row not because I couldn’t speak well (I am a pretty good public speaker) but because I had shitty ideas (or good ideas that couldn’t scale).
Grant Master has taken off. Here is what has happened so far:
Traction (Oct to Dec 2020)
· Launched our Minimum Viable Product
· Onboarded 54 grant writers who have won $4.5M in grants
· $15,000 won for 3 clients
· Won Best Pitch at Global Startup Ecosystem Demo Day
· Won $250,000 in perks from brands like Amazon & Google
· Selected for DMZ’s Black Innovation Fellowship Bootcamp for tech startups (DMZ is Canada’s leading accelerator for tech startups)
· Selected to exhibit at YALI TV’s MADE IN AFRICA EXPO 2020
· Selected for Startup Close Monitoring Program of Startany (Startup Istanbul)
You can win $5,000 Tony Elumelu Grant
Right now, Tony Elumelu Foundation has launched its search for budding entrepreneurs who wish to win funding ($5,000) and training for their start-ups or ideas.
On a personal note, I have worked with and helped over 20 entrepreneurs win the TEF grant. Now, combine that with our roster of Rockstar grant writers who have won $4.5M in grants and you already know Grant Master is your best bet to win the Tony Elumelu Grant. You don’t have to keep receiving rejection emails year after year. Hire a grant writer here.
Recognitions & Awards
Asides from the recognitions from Grant Master, 2020 was pretty exciting.
Here are some of the highlights:
-Won JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria:
This was very dramatic. I made it into the top 20 based on the incredible work we do at TOES, and I needed votes to break into the top 10. I then mobilized my massive network of friends spread across different fellowships and cities to deliver the votes. I literally bombarded social media. The last day of voting was my first day out of surgery (and I was pressing phone….ha ha). Thanks to you, I made it!
The lesson here is simple: you need to constantly share valuable information on social media. Become a creator of content rather than a mere consumer. You may not have millions of fans like celebs but if the 1,000 followers you have see you as someone that is adding value, they will show up for you when you need them the most.
-Selected as International partner, World Business and Angels Forum (WBAF is an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion)
-Unanimously voted SIHD Entrepreneur of the year (for the 3rd year in a row)
-TOES was accepted into Google for non-profits
-TOES was selected for Global Giving accelerator
-I was appointed as Oyo state rep for Mandela Washington Fellowship Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN)
.
A good friend of mine once asked me how I win these awards and my reply was this, “winning awards is a byproduct of impact”. When you keep making a difference in the society, in the lives of people around you, recognition will naturally follow.
Conclusion
2020 was a difficult year (hello Coronavirus), but it was also an exciting year. In preparing this review (which took 6.5 hours to write), I leveraged heavily on my daily life events dairy, daily personal financial diary (with formula’s plugged in), goals planner, as well as my speaking engagement calendar (among other things). I have been bombarded with requests of “pls show me how you track your finances” and “how do you track everything?”.
Find templates of all my personal planners here. I am a student of Peter Drucker’s philosophy that “you cannot manage what you cannot measure”. This is why I track every key thing in my life, every single day.
You only need 5 to 10 mins each day to update your diaries. To track your financials, treat every purchase like an event. Make sure you mentally note down, and then physically write down purchases made by cash. As much as possible, pay by card because you will get debit alerts and you can easily track your expenses via the sms alerts or your bank app. Also, assign a numerical figure to gifts in kind.
For example, I gave out my washing machine in December 2020 (remember I no longer use it?). I essentially wrote down half of the market value as the cost of that gift. My financial diary helps me see where my money is going so I can control its flow. My life events diary helps me see where my life is going so I can control the direction.
And it’s important to note that I did not start writing this review until I was done planning for 2021. I personally think you have no business on social media if you are yet to plan (or at least start planning) for 2021.
And just like every movie thriller writer hopes for a gasp from the audience at the end of the movie, I truly hope you found this review interesting enough to make you smile, rich enough to make you plan better, inspiring enough to push you to greatness and useful enough to share. See you next year.
