Segment: You Have No Excuse - Skills Are Free to Learn

What if the biggest difference between people who build successful tech careers in Africa and those who spend their lives stuck in degrees they hate isn't how many certificates they collect or which university they attended, but understanding that investors no longer fund ideas but demand traction, that the young person who thinks they need to code to succeed in tech has been programmed to miss the massive opportunities in product management project management UI UX design and marketing where the real talent shortage exists, and that the medical student who discovered his future wasn't in human anatomy but in teaching himself WordPress at 17 learned something universities will never teach you about the world rewarding those who build skills not those who simply collect degrees? In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with a product manager and tech entrepreneur who reveals why he wanted to be a doctor because in his time the main thing was to either be a doctor or an engineer, why his mom wanted him to be a doctor but his dad said this is my son it looks like he likes computers I see something around computer engineering for him, why he applied for medicine but got human anatomy instead, and why while he was doing his human anatomy course he already knew that this was not it for him but he had to try and finish. He breaks down why his tech journey started during his national service year when he was posted to Cross River State and got connected with a Christian broadcasting studio that needed a website, why that was his first foray and he had to go learn how to build websites teaching himself starting with WordPress and web design, why he went from freelancing to learning HTML CSS JavaScript React.js front end development, and why he's really grateful for how everything was aligned during his NYC year that transferred him into tech. But he also confronts the brutal reality of building startups in today's investment climate. Why it's not just about using the right channels but also about the narrative you're creating and using the language your audience understands, why everything about building products and startups rests on data and insights from the people you're building for, why beyond technical skills business skills are critical and you need to learn operations structure legal bits and compliance, and why if you are deficient in one area like compliance you can do all the exciting things but still fail. He reveals the massive shift in how African startups get funded. Why then versus now is very interesting because there have been recent concerns around the transitions that the African tech ecosystem has faced when it comes to investment VC funding angel investors equity funding and debt funding, why back then because of increased attention on the African tech ecosystem startups could get funded at the idea stage without even having a product, why you could have an incredible idea do your research and come to an investor saying give me a million dollars based on potential, but why there have been changes and shifts in global trends which have impacted Africa. But he also exposes what investors actually look for today. Why right now for the average investor to take you seriously you have to have built a product and not just that you have to have launched to the market and be able to show some good traction, why traction means you have launched your product and there is clear demand clear adoption customers love what they see and customers are coming on board, why it doesn't mean you have to have profit already or millions in revenue but it means the data shows great demand and excitement, and why based on that you can say give me money so I can double down on marketing and scale. He breaks down why investors want to see traction and will fund based on traction and trust, why for a B2B startup one top investor looks at the quality of customers you have, why if big reputable brands are using your product your value in an investor's mind goes up because it means you're solid, why traction cannot be faked it's either it works or it doesn't work, and why when you are able to showcase sufficient demand then your grounds to get funding are significantly improved. But he also confronts the truth about being stuck in the wrong degree. Why there are many young people today at university who are not exactly happy with what they are studying especially because sometimes you don't get a course you want and the university picks a course for you to fill up their space, why he would encourage anyone listening right now who feels stuck in school doing something they don't like or aren't passionate about or don't feel has potential to do two things, why the first thing is you have to learn a skill because the world has changed or rather people are just now coming to realize what has always been true that you finish university apply for a job and they ask you for experience. He rev.