Posts in category: Leaders Connect

Meet Tope Awotona – Nigerian Commercial Giant And Tech Billionaire

If the saying: “Do not despise the days of little beginnings” could ever become a human being, it would definitely be Nigerian Commercial and Technology mogul, Tope Awotona, who has risen from being an average sales representative in 2006 to one of only two tech billionaires in the world in 2022.

Inspiring, motivating, sensational; the appellatives we could use to describe this remarkable young man are endless, but one thing that is for certain about him is that he never had it easy growing up in the city of Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa, Africa, and he had a driven and 100% focused mentality to become the very best at his craft or nothing!

Today, the whole world uses his brainchild, Calendly, and it is unarguably one of the very best tools for organizing the world of commerce and scheduling. According to a recent ranking on Forbes, Tope is currently worth over $1.4 Billion, and he is one of only two tech billionaires in the world. He is also one of the very few billionaires of African and Nigerian origin presently.

How did this mission that has made him a global phenomenon start? It began, according to him, at the age of 12 when he witnessed the murder of his father during a carjacking incident that went awfully wrong. Having been born and raised in Lagos State, Nigeria, Tope swore that he was never going to experience such again, and he also became very determined to get over that terrible experience.

So, some years later, he left Nigeria to attend college in the United States of America in 1996. There he got his life together and started doing quite well as a manager with Dell EMC. One day, though, he decided that he wanted to take the next step in his life by taking a huge leap of faith. So, he quit his job at EMC, put all his life savings of about $200,000 back then into his dream, and the result of that move is the Calendly we all celebrate today!

The simplistic quality in the DNA of this product is reportedly one of its greatest selling points and the reason why it is as widely embraced by both corporations and individuals worldwide.

Tope Awotona started Calendly as its founder and CEO in 2013, and the modern scheduling platform for high-performing teams and individuals accelerating business forward is now well renowned worldwide.

According to him, he founded the tech firm with “the vision of simplifying scheduling for everyone without the back-and-forth emails.” Now, with his visionary and strategic direction, Calendly has grown and evolved to over 10 million monthly users.

Before Calendly, Tope spent the majority of his career in enterprise software sales, working for companies such as IBM, Perceptive Software, and Dell Technologies, in addition to launching a series of startups.

He holds a degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia, and he is the recipient of the 2021 Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEO Award and the 2019 Comparably Best CEOs award.

Tope is an inspiration to every young person aspiring to become the very best at whatever it is they do in life, as his rise through the sordid experience of seeing his father slain to joining an elite class of the world wealthiest is indeed a remarkably commendable feat.

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Meet Kingsley Ezeani – Nigerian Tech Entrepreneur Breaking Grounds In Harvard University From His Humble Lagos Beginnings

When 500 highly qualified startup teams across Harvard University applied to the President’s Innovation Challenge, not many people thought that the best brain amongst this lot would be a Nigerian from an unprivileged background.

The competing teams included those selected from Harvard Business School and the Harvard School of Engineering. At the end of it all, tech entrepreneur Kingsley Ezeani was chosen as the winner.

This was just a few weeks after he emerged as the grand prize winner at the Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition, the most prominent business competition at HBS.

Kingsley did not just start excelling at these competitions overnight, though, as he had come a long way before arriving at the celebrated finished product he is today.

An entrepreneur with over 12 years of experience building and scaling technology businesses in Africa, he is a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration candidate at Harvard Kennedy School. In 2019, Kingsley was selected as an Obama Foundation African Leader.

An alumnus of the University of Lagos, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering in 2012, he moved on to the prestigious University of Oxford for his Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, which he completed in September 2020. About a year later, he moved on to Harvard University, where he bagged his Mid-Career Master in Public Administration and became an Edward S. Mason Fellow this June 2022.

Speaking about his recent achievements, Kingsley said: “I graduated from Harvard against all odds! I was the first in my family to study outside Nigeria, and I got accepted to Harvard University on a full scholarship!

My father first told me about Harvard University when I was a kid. After my undergraduate degree at the University of Lagos, passing through the crimson doors of Harvard remained a key goal for me.

During my time at Harvard, I was honored to win four of the biggest competitions at the school, including the Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge, which came with recognition from President Joe Biden.

Today I feel blessed and humbled to say that I am a graduate of Oxford University and Harvard University. I owe it all to my parents!”

Kingsley is the Co-Founder and CEO of CashEx, based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is a venture-backed Fintech startup building the future of digital banking for African communities.

He is also the Founder of Techhive Africa, which helps African businesses drive their digital transformation.

Kingsley is an Adrian Cheng Fellow and an Obama Foundation Leader. His other core skills include SEO, Entrepreneurship, Online Advertising, Public Relations, Web Development, Strategy, Social Media, Online Media, Google Analytics, Facebook Marketing, and many more.

Elon Musk: From Odd Jobs On A Farm, Lumber Mill To Becoming The World’s Richest Man

Many people know Elon Musk as an astute businessman who made his billions from several investments and business ventures, including Tesla, PayPal, SpaceX, and others.

However, a substantial percentage of these people do not know the story behind this fair-looking billionaire’s journey to being the wealthiest man on earth. What were the challenges he faced while growing up, and what were the things he had to do to get by in life? What sacrifices did he make to achieve all he has today?

There are quite a few inspiring things to learn from this man, who sometimes can be as controversial as he is rich, and we would like to discuss them here as we look at his life briefly.

Birth And Early Life

Born Elon Reeve Musk in Pretoria, South Africa, to Errol and Maye Musk on June 28, 1971, Elon was raised in South Africa by his White South African father and Canadian mother. His mother was a dietitian and model, but Elon must have gotten his business and diversification knack from his father, a sailor, electromechanical engineer, pilot, consultant, and a once well-to-do property developer. His father used to co-own an emerald mine close to Lake Tanganyika in Zambia.

After his adenoids were removed as a child, Elon was once pronounced deaf by doctors. His mother, however, reportedly disagreed, saying that her son was “thinking in another world.” He would soon start to prove her right and show his business genius and affinity for technology at 10.

After acquiring a Commodore VIC-20 because he had built a liking of video games and computing, Elon taught himself computer programming from a manual. By the time he was 12, he had made his first $500 by selling the code to two BASIC-based video games he had written called “Office Technology Magazine” and “Blastar to PC.”

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for him, though. He was once hospitalized after some boys tossed him down a flight of stairs, and he was bullied throughout his childhood.

Education

Elon attended Waterkloof House Preparatory School and Bryanston High School, both in Pretoria, before completing his high school education at the Pretoria Boys High School, Pretoria, South Africa.

It was mandatory to serve in the South African Military after high school education. To avoid this, Elon enrolled in the University of Pretoria and spent just five months studying there. He had been seeking a way into the United States of America via his application for a Canadian passport before getting into the university. He left South Africa for Canada immediately after getting it in June 1989.

Upon arriving in Canada, Elon put had to stay with his second cousin for one year, and he worked odd jobs at a lumber mill and a farm in Saskatchewan just to get by. He eventually gained admission into the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1990, but he transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He finally graduated here with two degrees – a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics in 1997.

While studying for his degrees, Elon held two internships during the summer in Silicon Valley. One was at the Palo Alto-based startup Rocket Science Games, and the other at an energy storage startup firm called the Pinnacle Research Institute. They were into researching electrolytic ultra-capacitors for energy storage.

Lessons To Learn From The World’s Richest Man

You may observe that right from childhood till his early adult life, Elon had always had a fascination for technology, computers, space-related tech, and being diverse. He was accepted into a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in Materials Science at Stanford University, California, USA, in 1995. Still, he opted to drop out only two days after his admission because he chose to launch an internet startup and cash in on the internet boom.

Today, it is common knowledge that Elon has made billions of dollars from founding and selling PayPal, founding SpaceX, to becoming the CEO of Tesla. And he is even poised to make a lot more after his recent acquisition of one of the world’s largest social media platforms, Twitter, for a staggering $44 Billion.

But how did it all really start to come together for Elon, though?

After dropping out of Stanford in 1995, Elon and his brother Kimbal Musk co-founded a web software company called “Zip2”. By 1999, the company was bought for $307 million by Compaq. Without wasting any time, Elon took his profits and again co-founded an online bank called “X.com,” which later merged with another online bank, Confinity, to form PayPal in 2000. By 2002, eBay bought PayPal for a whopping $1.5 billion, and Elon made a profit of $180 million from that deal.

What sacrifices did he have to make to become the world’s richest man today?

Speaking during a recent TV interview, Elon recalled how he spent his booty from the sale of PayPal, and we must say that it is one of the things that has made him the billionaire he is today.

According to him, between 2002 and 2004, he split the profit from the PayPal sale into different investments, and after that, he” was so broke that he had to borrow to pay rent.” Now, that is the definition of a man of vision and a person on a mission. He has never been content with having some but has always desired to own it all!

Today, the American citizen is an investor, business magnate, and entrepreneur is the founder of The Boring Company; founder, CEO, and chief engineer at SpaceX; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; angel investor, CEO, and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc., and quite recently, the owner of Twitter Inc.

According to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list and Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Elon is currently the richest man globally, with a net worth of over 264.6 billion USD (as of April 2022).

Married twice, with eight children, but divorced on both occasions, the ever-lively and liberal billionaire has been widely criticized for a few things, including his stand on certain things about the COVID-19 pandemic, for which he was accused of allegedly spreading misinformation.

Some have also criticized him for his stand on issues like public transportation, artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrency, and even the way he uses Twitter. We guess the latter won’t ever be an issue anymore, though, as he now owns the platform.

2 Reasons Why Ethiopia’s First Female Chief Justice, Meaza Ashenafi, Is An Outstanding Leader.

When Ethiopian lawyer Meaza Ashenafi was appointed as the President of the Federal Supreme Court by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly of Ethiopia in November 2018, it did not surprise many observers, stakeholders, and the people of the Ethiopian nation. She had more than earned that honor.

Born in Asosa, Ethiopia, East Africa, on July 25, 1964, Meaza, 58, was no longer a rookie attorney or a pushover when she was nominated and confirmed as the country’s first female Chief Justice. Before her appointment, Judge Meaza had been very vocal and renowned for championing the cause to have more female participation in politics and public decision-making in her country.

Having served as the President of the Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court since 2018, she has firmly shown and proven herself to be an exceptionally gifted leader. Here are two reasons why we believe she deserves to be regarded as such.

(1) She Is An Astute Business Mind: After reportedly noticing a lacuna in financial provision for women in the country, Judge Meaza co-founded Enat Bank in partnership with some other female businesswomen in Ethiopia.

Enat Bank is the first bank in Ethiopia founded by female-majority shareholders. The move to set it up revealed that Judge Meaza is not only a legal specialist but also a vastly skilled business mind.

(2) She Pioneered The Fight Against Sexual Abuse In Ethiopia: Judge Meaza co-founded a non-profit, non-partisan group called the Ethiopian Women Attorneys Association (EWLA) with a couple of equally visionary young female lawyers in Ethiopia in 1995.

She sits as the association’s Executive Director. Under her leadership, the organization has made remarkable progress in the war against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and the push for women’s rights in Ethiopia. With the help of her legal contacts in 2002, her “Fighting For Women’s Rights In Ethiopia” group recruited over 45 graduate attorneys.

According to Judge Meaza, the primary mission of EWLA is to promote Ethiopian women’s social, economic, legal, and political rights, even as the organization also helps them obtain total protection of the fundamental rights under the country’s constitution and other international human rights conventions as well. EWLA also has a vision of having a country where men and women are treated equally in every area of life.

“When we founded EWLA 20 years ago, we did historical work of getting discriminatory laws such as the family, citizenship, and pension laws repealed. We brought the word ‘Sexual Abuse’ and ‘Sexual Harassment’ into the Amharic Language, as there were no words to describe them back then.”

EWLA’s Legal Aid Program provides free legal assistance to women who are victims of gender-based violence, particularly underprivileged women. Legal advice/counseling, preparing court papers (court charges and affidavits), and representing clients in court are all part of the service. They also provide free legal assistance, public education, capacity building, and research and advocacy for legal change.

Judge Meaza had her elementary and high school education at the Natural Sciences Campus in her birthplace Asosa before heading off to the Law Department of Addis Ababa University. There she obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and then proceeded to the University of Connecticut, USA, for her Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in International Relations and Gender Studies.

After graduating from Addis Ababa University’s law school, she served as a criminal court judge, where she was the only female graduate of her class year. This vital phase in her life allowed her to experience firsthand how laws discriminate against women.

Between 1989 and 1992, she was a judge on Ethiopia’s Federal Supreme Court. The Ethiopian Constitution Commission designated her as a legal consultant in 1993. Judge Meaza also formerly worked for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

She said about being a leader: “Leadership for me is having a vision and striving to achieve it. Women need to believe that they can do whatever they set themselves to do, despite society’s pressure and people telling them otherwise. You can only have the power to be a change-maker if you believe in yourself.”

Also, a distinguished author of a book titled: “Participation of Women in Politics and Public Decision Making in Ethiopia,” Judge Meaza is married to a Professor of Physics at Addis Ababa University, Dr. Araya Asfaw. Their union is blessed with two daughters.

Inspirational Quote:

“Be Who You Are And Say What You Feel, Because Those Who Mind Don’t Matter, And Those Who Matter Don’t Mind.” – Dr. Seuss.

 

One of the greatest mistakes we make in life is adjusting to a lifestyle, and things we know for sure are not in tune with our personality and gifts. And, more often than not, we do this mainly to please some people and remain in favor with them.

Oh, if only we all know the true meaning of what it means to love something or someone! We would all realize that those who genuinely love you will never leave or forsake you no matter what you say, think, or do.

When this realization genuinely sets in, and we walk by it daily, we will see many more people having the boldness to live their dreams and pursue their true passions.

What you are deep down in your soul is what you are. No matter the pressure or unacceptance you encounter, even from those who should have been your major cheerleaders, you cannot change who you are destined to be. The sooner you know and embrace this truth, the better for you.

Be who you are, and say what you feel always. Those who mind do not matter, and those who matter do not mind. You can never please everyone in life, so you shouldn’t even attempt to do such!

You owe yourself genuine self-discovery so that your true purpose in life is not alien or hidden to you. When this is discovered, keep working on yourself in your closet and prepare for that opportunity that could become your big break.

When it comes, grab it with both hands and excel greatly, and you too will be celebrated as an icon of value and goodness in your generation.

Meet Samson Okunlola: A Uniquely Rare 5-Star Football Prospect Lighting Up Massachusetts.

Now and then, there are exceptionally talented and very gifted athletes in sports. These uniquely gifted athletes show up and practically dominate the scene in their favorite games all through their sporting careers.

Names like the late Kobe Bryant, Lionel Messi, Muhammed Ali, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James, Lewis Hamilton, and others readily emerge when talking about such generational talents in sports.

A 16-year-old African-American boy, Samson Okunola, is another name that looks set to join this list of uniquely gifted sports stars. Born to parents of Nigerian descent, Samson stands at an imposing height of 6-foot-6 and weighs in at 295-pounds. This intimidating physique and exceptional skills make it almost impossible to miss him on any high school football field in Massachusetts.

Samson is yet to become a senior at Thayer Academy in Brockton, Massachusetts, but his incredible talent has already made him a 2023 5-star offensive tackle on the football team. He does come from a family of gifted footballers, though, as two of his elder brothers – Samuel and Sunny, have already turned pro. However, not even Samuel, signed by the Pittsburgh Panthers as part of their 2022 class, was ever rated more than a 3-star prospect.

Samuel is a 6-foot-4 junior defensive end and tight end at Thayer and holds several scholarship offers. Their brother, Sunny, is a former Enterprise All-Scholastic and Brockton High standout, and he plays in the Div. 1 college football ranks in his first year at Merrimack.

Superstar recruits reportedly rarely come out of Massachusetts, so it is indeed a huge deal to have one who none other before he has ever measured up to. The beauty of it all is that none of this gets to Samson’s head because he doesn’t pay too much notice to all the fame and national attention.

While discussing his recruitment process and other issues in a recent interview, the giant lineman cut a modest figure as he said: “I don’t necessarily feel any pressure. I want more out of myself, and I want to get better as an athlete and student. It has given me opportunities I thought I would never have.”

Samson also paid glowing tributes to the caliber of recruits at the college football level that the State has produced before him. He said: “I know many players before I could have been 5-stars. I’m just bringing more light to Massachusetts. We’ve got players that can ball too.”

His massive appearance and dazzling skill level are not the only things smashing records about him. Samson reportedly has had 39 total offers already, and he plans to reveal his top picks soon. No other player in the entire history of Massachusetts has ever had that number of offers before. Even the most prominent name the State has produced in a while, A.J. Dillon, only had a total of 17 offers in his time before he eventually opted to remain in Massachusetts and selected Boston College.

There is undoubtedly more for Samson, too, as his list of offers will keep growing when he starts playing as a senior. He already has some very prestigious schools across the entire country on his back, but he is not bothered by the attention and will not be rushed into making a pick just yet. According to him, his ideal college football home must be one that can develop him as a player and a student. “They must also be able to provide a consistent and stable coaching staff because this is very important to me,” Samson added.

In all of these glowing things about Samson, a few things about him stand out to us, and we would like to share them with you now.

(1) Samson’s level of maturity and stability is quite exemplary for his age, yet not so far-fetched. According to reports, he maintains a solid bond and relationship with his elder brothers, and this helps to keep him grounded and on his toes constantly.

His love, commitment, and respect for family values are something that we believe many young people of his age can learn from and emulate.

(2) Players with a great mastery of his athleticism and huge size are reportedly never seen in the sport often. His technical abilities and skills make him the dream of almost every major college in the United States of America presently, yet he remains as humble and unfazed as any other regular Joe.

This is another excellent quality to have, especially for someone getting such a mega load of national and international attention because of his generational talent. It is so easy for young ones to get carried away and lose their way in the euphoria of all the media hype and glamour, but that has not been Samson’s story.

An industry average ranking platform that obtains its ratings from the major media recruiting services, 247Sports Composite Rankings, recently declared Samson Okunlola as the No. 3 offensive tackle in the United States. He is also currently rated as the No. 32 overall 2023 college football recruit.

This is not a mean feat by any standards for a 16-year-old boy, and we pray that God will continue to watch over him and promote him even beyond his wildest dreams and expectations. Amen.

Inspirational Quote:

“Being humble means recognizing that we are not on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

One of my favorite lines in the Spiderman franchise was when Uncle Ben told a young and inexperienced Peter Parker that: “With great power comes great responsibilities.”

I love this because it embodies a profound truth that I also live by. Life is not about how rich, famous, good-looking, or influential you can become but about what you can achieve with all these qualities when you possess them.

True power is in knowing what you are capable of but having the willpower and discipline to control yourself even in great temptations!

Humility helps a person to connect to their inner peace amid the turmoil. It lets you realize that a show of force or excessive power only makes you a brute. Humility helps you to recognize that your ability, skills, talents, and all are not only for your glorification but to benefit and impact others around you too.

When a highly-skilled individual walks in such humility as this, they enjoy a kind of longevity and seem to remain forever at the top of their field.

Many times, pride has destroyed great destinies because the voice of their gift was louder in their head than the soft, still voice of reasoning and humility!

Always remember that your gift and talent is your power given to you to also help as many around you as you possibly can. You are not blessed to see how much glory you can amass but how many souls you can positively impact and lift.

Keep your head down, but your shoulders square always. Talent and power are intoxicating. Do not let yourself drown in its voice which constantly demands self-adulation!

You were sent to this world and richly blessed with that power and talent for a reason. Continue to walk in humility, and you will forever prosper in it and be remembered, even long after your physical life is over!

Patience And Perseverance Always Wins If You Do Not Quit!

Inspirational Quote:

“Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” – Napoleon Hill

An old and famous adage says: “The patient dog eats the fattest bone.” This is a profoundly irrefutable truth, but sadly, many people in this present generation seem to believe otherwise.

To succeed in life, you need a great combination of persistence, patience, and lots of long-suffering.

What do you do in the face of stiff opposition and seemingly insurmountable odds? How do you react when it seems like you have already exhausted all your options and failed? Do you let it run you to the ground and get you depressed?

Success is not the absence of failure but the ability to turn failure into victory. Failure is not the end of your life but the beginning of your greater chances to excel in life. If you don’t give up or become a monster to torment your opponents or rivals, you can turn any story of failure into glory eventually.

Keep fighting. Be relentless. Keep moving on. Learn from your errors, use the lessons to build yourself, and always try never to repeat them. History does not remember and celebrate all the soldiers that go into a battle but only those who survive and conquer!

The key to your success is how patiently and persistently you can wait and pursue your dreams in life. You’ve already come too far from where you started from, so don’t you ever quit on yourself!

Meet Cyril Ramaphosa: A True Example Of How Patience And Perseverance Wins!

An old and very popular adage says: “The patient dog eats the fattest bone.” This is a profoundly irrefutable truth, but sadly, many people in this present generation seem to believe otherwise.

Some have even said and publicly taught others that a patient dog goes to bed hungry rather. Life, however, always has a way of correcting such “woke ills” by placing prominent examples around us virtually everywhere we turn.

One such example is South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Born Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African President, is a businessman and politician who has served as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa since 2018. He has also served as head of the country’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), since 2017.

It may interest you to know that Cyril once lost out on a much desired and highly-coveted Vice Presidential slot with the nation’s most iconic leader, the late Nelson Mandela. As disappointing as that may have been for him, he, however, didn’t let it run him to the ground. Instead, he went into business and, over a decade later, came back as President.

While in business, Cyril has grown to become one of the wealthiest men in South Africa. Widely renowned financial publications like Bloomberg and Forbes reportedly value his net worth at an estimated $450 million. He also reportedly owns all 145 McDonald’s restaurants in South Africa. And according to reports, Cyril’s venture with McDonald’s is not a regular franchise as he holds all the assets and real estate in all 145 restaurants. This means that he can choose to lease any of the properties out or sell them whenever he pleases.

This is a lesson for many of us today. Failure is not the end of your life but the beginning of your greater chances to excel in life. If you don’t give up or become a monster to torment your opponents or rivals, you can turn any story of failure into glory eventually.

Whenever it seems like life has knocked you down hard, spend that time to improve your life and become better. When you eventually get all the knowledge you need, keep trying again and again, and you will see yourself living your dreams.

It doesn’t matter if you were mocked, called an empty barrel, or a failure. It doesn’t even matter if you were unnecessarily attacked by the enemies of progress who do not understand your vision and can’t interpret your dreams.

Pay no attention to distractions and detractors. Stir up ‘hell’ and remain focused. Learn to play your game smartly and always be in control.

When you have a vision, you will become the vision bearer and you have to take your time to make your vision better and clearer to enable you envision your mission, set proper goals and objectives to ensure that your vision is actualized.

You may encounter some challenges in the pursuit of your dreams, but do not be quick to give up on your vision.

Stay with your mind focused on your vision and remain confident in the pursuit of your dreams. The challenges you see or encounter are part of the building process to actualizing your dreams.

When you don’t give up on your dream, you will achieve it.

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