olowoporoku

We have now come to the end of season 3! It has been such an exciting journey, one I hope you enjoyed as well. Please listen to my review of the season, what you can expect from next season and when we will be returning.

Its been a great pleasure to do this. To have conversations with interesting, smart and awesome people who are shaping the future of Africa. This show has been one of the most exciting things I’ve done as an entrepreneur. It’s fun and I get to learn from a lot of people. We’ve now come to the end of season 2. And I want to take this time to reflect on some of the lessons I learned in the conversations I’ve had. I will be touching on 4 of them. These not all the lessons learned in this season, its a snippet. It’s my reflection of some of the things that stood out for me. And I’m sure you may have a longer list than me. I’m grateful to the entrepreneurs and thought leaders who shared their stories with me. I'm also grateful to the British Council in Nigeria for partnering with us in season 2. Their financial support went a long way in making this season a success. So many thanks to Tomi Soyinka and Maria Williams from the council. Season 3 starts on July 30th. So see you then!

We have come to the end of Building The Future Podcast Season 1! It has been an interesting journey full of learnings and exposure. Season two starts next year, and already we have an impressive lineup of entrepreneurs as well as a special series planned I have given a bit of insight into what you can expect on Buildng The Future Podcast season 2. I look forward to sharing this journey with you!

Michael Simeon is the Co-founder and CEO of VoguePay, a user-friendly online payment system in Nigeria.   Michael believes that to launch a product, it’s essential to research the market. In his words “You have to build something that fits for a purpose.”   VoguePay is a multi-million dollar business that never received any funding or grant.   In today’s episode, you’ll learn:   How Michael’s sister influenced his decision to start Voguepay.  She owns an e-commerce platform in the UK and wanted a payment platform that could collect payment from Nigeria. She expected Michael to solve the problem. How did he decide to start a business from that? How did Michael build his first business while he was still at the university? How successful was the business? There were five co-founders who put money in the business every month from their personal pocket. How easy was it to bootstrap? And what does this have to do with Michael’s belief about collective effort? Voguepay marketed to developers instead of merchants. What was the reason behind that? Why did VoguePay ensure that all their strategies were self-sufficient? And how did they manage it? How do you build a multi-million dollar company without raising funds? Michael has some tips What is their biggest pain point? And more Selected links from episode