Transcript
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Welcome to Scaling with Purpose, the show where we explore what it takes to build companies that aim for commercial success and meaningful impact.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: I'm joined today by Tope Akande, founder of Buckstrybe. Great to have you here.
Tope Akande: Thank you very much, my mate. It's a pleasure to be here. and yeah Great work you guys are doing with Wise Mind. and yeah I look forward to the conversation. Thank you.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Lovely. Welcome. So before we get into the story of Buckstrybe, I want to ask you a question that I ask most founders on this podcast.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: What is the most important lesson you you you have learned on your journey here?
Tope Akande: All right. Thank you very much, Mohamed, for that question. The most important lesson that I've learned in my journey here is distribution is king. right Distribution is king. Yeah, it's fine that you have an idea. It's fine that you may be able to recognize a gap. It's fine that you've been able to identify the need. You've been able to identify problem and you are offering a solution, right, to the problem. So when you're offering a solution to your problem, it's your own approach towards solving that problem. That is the solution, right? Like there's a problem, but there's a way you think about, this is the way i feel that I believe that
Tope Akande: we should solve this problem. Do you understand?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Right? So everything is in your head as a founder, are trying to like think about different moving parts to make that happen. But you providing that solution does not, it's not complete until the people or the user that you are providing the solution for and get it in their hands, use it and most importantly, pay for it.
Tope Akande: right that That is when the whole business circuit is complete. right so Now, in the time of in the age of AI that we are now, building those kind of solutions is very, very easy or is way easier than it was a few years ago.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, definitely. Exactly.
Tope Akande: And now, the most important lesson for me now that I've learned and I've still learning is that distribution is key. How can you place your product or your solution in the hands of people that want it or that needs it or that needs to use it?
Tope Akande: You understand? That is very, very, very important. And if you look at the big businesses that we have now, Microsoft has hacked the distribution such that even when Dell or HP creates like a system or a computer, they still need Microsoft's software, right, on that particular system and software.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Tope Akande: You understand? So, And if you see the way Apple is going about their distribution, they are big on and consumer items, right? And they've built an ecosystem such that when you get the iPhone, you want to get the tab, you want to you want to get the iPad, you want to get the... the Mac, you want to get the Google Watch, you understand?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yes
Tope Akande: So two and that that is a form of distribution, you understand? they have the problem, the solution, but they have they have to turn their users to their own, like maybe their fan or someone that wants to use it, you understand?
Tope Akande: That is a form of distribution.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: Microsoft, on the other hand, is going B2B. It has deals with businesses, big complaints, right? So that all their staffs, like for example, Microsoft is going to sign a deal with Companies like maybe Barclays, so that all their staffs can use Teams, they can use emails and all of those things.
Tope Akande: So distribution is basically key. And that's like the most important lesson I've learned in my journey and is a lesson I'm still learning until today.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, beautiful. You know, what's very funny, I've heard someone say and fire was invented far before the first person person that we know has started using it.
Tope Akande: Mm-hmm.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: so And also with electricity. Electricity was probably invented much longer before we the world knew about it right so the person in the world thinks invented electricity it's not the first person that really brought this solution to the world but it's the first person that understood how to distribute it correctly yeah
Tope Akande: Exactly, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: Exactly. Exactly. exactly that that that that is that is That is key. And that's very, very important. So that's the lesson I'm learning. i not up I've not stopped learning it, right?
Tope Akande: Currently, there's a product I'm building or there's a work we are doing on Buckstrybe and d the distribution part has been something that has really been key and important.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yeah
Tope Akande: So that that's that's that's just the way to go.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, lovely, lovely.
Tope Akande: Yeah.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: That's a very important lesson. And maybe good to go a little bit deeper or later on it.
Tope Akande: and That's fine.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: But first, I want to ask more about your journey, how you started.
Tope Akande: OK. OK. okay
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: So um'm i'm I'm very curious because every idea has a beginning somewhere. So as a young boy London,
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: the uk uh i think what made you think this is the right thing to do what was the trigger for you to start bug stripe
Tope Akande: Thank
Tope Akande: All right. All right. Thank you very much, Bahamut. I'm going to say a bit about my story. i grew up in Nigeria, right? And just got into the UK but yeah about four years ago.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: oh yeah
Tope Akande: Yeah, about four years ago. So I just got into the UK about four years ago. So when you grow up in a developing country like Nigeria, like you you there's problems everywhere. You understand?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
Tope Akande: There's problems everywhere because a lot of things are not currently working as it's meant to work. You understand? So I've faced different challenges going up and all of those things.
Tope Akande: And to be sincere, I think I was able to identify that there's an entrepreneurial part of me as early as 2016. think was about 23 24 there about as I did.
Tope Akande: When I was working in a bank or like I was working in a big mall, right, in Nigeria, and then I just thought about it.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: There's a lot of people that comes to this particular place and I believe that my money or like I can create a service for them that they can pay for. And it's going to be a win-win for me, right?
Tope Akande: So that that was when it actually really started. So I started paying attention to my environment. i think that's the first I'm going to start. started paying attention to my environment. What is it that people are don't think that they need, but they actually need?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yep
Tope Akande: Right. What is it that people actually need and they talk about that sometimes I was able to identify that sometimes people don't actually really know what they need until you show them. yes, I need this.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yep exactly beautiful
Tope Akande: You understand? So I just started paying attention to things like that, trying to understand my environment more. Trying to ask more questions. Naturally, I'm a very inquisitive person. I ask questions a lot.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yes
Tope Akande: I ask questions. If I meet you for the first time, I want to know about you. I ask you a question based on what you are doing and all. So that's what I was doing. Then I was able to just create a value. I created like the recreation center at the mall right there in 2017.
Tope Akande: And I made like my, the the I think it cost me about a hundred thousand to start then and had made that money just in the first month of starting the business basically.
Tope Akande: Right. So that was how the whole like entrepreneurship, like of side of me really really started.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. yeah.
Tope Akande: I'm like, okay, this makes sense. I had to hire somebody to stay there. So I learned about hiring, what I'm what i'm supposed to look out for at that like quite early stage at 23. Right. So that was what started for me.
Tope Akande: So I started like that. Then the following year, did another type of business. But in the midst of that, I've always wanted a a business without walls. Like there's no brick and mortar.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and
Tope Akande: Right. So I'd always wanted to have a digital business.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: oh yeah
Tope Akande: So I knew right from time that like I was going to do this. So that was by this side and my career, I have working in the bank for about 10 years, right? Worked in the bank in Nigeria.
Tope Akande: When I got here in the UK, worked in the bank also.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: So financial service services is my bread and butter, especially consumer. like consumer the retail part of financial services or the retail part of banking i interact with with customers daily i understand their pain point i see some things that yeah so they are that they that they need or they are suffering for that the big banks cannot provide solution to right that so that was where box tribe started like you know interacting with customers i was in customer service interacting with them on a daily basis i just realized that okay
Tope Akande: When I got to the UK, so I working with the bank, I realized that, okay, a lot of people come into the bank to request for loans. And if three people come into the bank to request for loan, two and a half, or sometimes three of them are immigrants.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: but like Like that, that is, that, that, that is, that is what we, I observed. I'm like, okay, so what is really happening? yeah i was able to identify, you remember i said, i started by observing my environment, understanding what people need. So that was the same principle that used. And i started asking questions, I'm like, okay, What is it that, like, why why why is this like this? You understand? so That was how it started for me.
Tope Akande: And before I left Nigeria, I started Buckstrybe, but it was the way, the focus of the business was a bit different, right?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: So it was same principle of me identifying that there's a problem that people have and how I can like provide solutions to So that was how Buckstrybe started. So when got into the UK, I realized that, oh, okay, this problem also exists.
Tope Akande: And the immigrants that we have here in the UK, especially Asians and African immigrants, that did they There are some financial transactions that they do that is similar to their communities, within the communities.
Tope Akande: i think I've explained it before when some people call it community, people call it different names in different countries. In Nigeria, they call it Ajo, they call it Isuzu, they call it community.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: I think in in and North Africa or Eastern Africa is when a group of people come together and then they make contribution into pool of funds and then they give one person in the first month, second month, third month, and and they go like that everybody gets it.
Tope Akande: So we're able to like, okay, this is it this is a process that people do. And the immigrants that do this, even here in the UK, it shows that they are creditworthy, right?
Tope Akande: because there's a mutual act trust within the community and they do it.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: I'm like, okay, but the UK financial services does not recognize this. And that's when we decided to do something about it. Like, okay, we can turn this around. We can make this, and agelong
Tope Akande: process whereby people use mutual trust to raise funds and then for for people in the community and turn it to something that the financial services is or the financial service system in the UK can recognize. So that was how VoxTrad actually really started and that's what been doing majorly ever since then. So the basic principle for me is the ability for me to identify gaps within like the systems that I'm supposed to.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: And then because I have an entrepreneurial spirit, I just decided to do something about it. And when I think about doing something about it, I go digital first. You understand? So how can I digitalize this process?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Oh, yeah. Interesting.
Tope Akande: So yeah, that's what started for me.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Interesting. Yeah, i have two I have two things that I want to go deeper about. and So the first thing is, you're you're making a great point here.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: So the financial services or banks in general, the traditional banking system, look at people as individuals.
Tope Akande: Mm-hmm.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Whereas you're saying that you you are seeing some kind of pattern where people act as a community or a group.
Tope Akande: Mm-hmm.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: So whereas the normal traditional banks will try to assess your financial situation and your credit score as an individual, you are saying we need to change that pattern.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: We should do have a paradigm shift and look at people as groups and also assess their trustworthiness as groups.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: individuals instead of looking at a single individual. Am I summarizing that correctly?
Tope Akande: but Yes. and Yes. But this is how I look at it, right?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: No, I can look at
Tope Akande: For financial services, you we cannot... Take away the individuality, right? Because, you know, financial services, we have to do a lot of KYC, you know, your customer.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: We have to do a lot of anti-money laundering checks, fraud checks, and all of those things, right? As much as we want to make it easy for people to maybe get loans or get credit, we need to also as ensure that they are safe.
Tope Akande: And then people are not trying to scam the bank or not trying to scam, like, or defraud the bank by claiming who... like by claiming who they are not so sad to be able to get something from the bank.
Tope Akande: So yes, we can't exactly
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And also protecting them, right? Because if they overland, they will get into some crazy financial situation and who will help them get out of that situation, right?
Tope Akande: Exactly. exactly so So as much as we want to bang people based on community, we can't take away the the approach that we are looking at or that we are working on, that we are doing is, and when you see people as individuals, we should not take out what they do within the community.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: That's what the bank does.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: They take out what those individuals do within the community.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yep.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yep.
Tope Akande: right and if you If you are very familiar with credit unions and cooperatives, right those are like informal or very small like group of banking or financial services that people do based on the trust that they have within themselves.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yep.
Tope Akande: You understand? like maybe 10, 20 people will say, oh, maybe they attend the same and religious center, maybe they're Christian or a Muslim, or maybe they all of them, they are bought they are all Uber drivers, they work in the same maybe bus stop or station, so they know themselves, and then they now come together and decide to start making payments or contribution together into a mutual fund, right?
Tope Akande: Into a mutual port, right? Those type of transactions, they speak to individual credit credibility. You understand? So for people to like 10 or 20 people who who come together, that means they trust themselves and they've been making those kinds of payments on a monthly basis, some people on a weekly basis.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: Right. So those type of transactions that happened within this kind of community is what we are saying that banks should not stray with or banks should also consider it because they help them to be able to unlock new customers and understand how those particular people are doing their own transactions and and and financial services, basically.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, interesting. So as you grew up in Nigeria, I know financial inclusion is a thing there, right? So how did that help you in your journey like to identify this missing piece actually in the UK banking sector?
Tope Akande: that is the core or foundation of...
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Growing up in Nigeria, since like you mentioned, bla I would say maybe 80% of Nigerians are financially excluded because like you may like there's a lot of differences in the way the banking system and financial services is in Nigeria and the UK.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: So for somebody that has been exposed to that for 28 or 29 years of his life, now moving to a more developed... system or country what i've learned or what i know from has formed the foundation of building what i'm building here in uk because i realized that now let let me you know when you're in nigeria it's very difficult for you to see to understand that you are financially excluded because a lot of people are financially excluded in nigeria so you
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: It's the norm. It's the norm. Yeah.
Tope Akande: You understand. So now thank you. You understand. So you may not really know. So now living Nigeria and coming to a place like this, that's when you're now like, ooh, you now understand that, like,
Tope Akande: I cannot assess some things that an average person here can access. You understand? So now, i so the, the experiences that I've had, and also like, you know, I mentioned I worked in the bank in Nigeria for like over six years. So I lived it.
Tope Akande: I helped people, other customers, consumers or customers, you and like yeah get financial solutions. So all those experiences formed the way I see things here in the UK.
Tope Akande: I'm like, okay. So now I can see that a lot, not just me, like thousands or millions of people, right? That are here that have been in similar countries, India, like Pakistan, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and all of those Zimbabwe, those are like, they have similar financial services like systems, you understand?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: Like, okay, now it's a big problem time you get to a developed country, right? Like in the UK. So because of what I've experienced, it just made me, I was able to think from the shoes or from the point of people like me here in the UK, you understand?
Tope Akande: So that's growing up in Nigeria, working in Nigeria formed the basis of my approach towards solving this problem in the uk
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, interesting. So youre you you you have some kind of outside view.
Tope Akande: yes
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: youre you're You're already looking outside from outside the box, and then you come in the box.
Tope Akande: yeah here
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: In the UK, that is very institutionalized, just like all of Western Europe, let's say.
Tope Akande: okay
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and And then you see opportunities, I think. and And that gives you a very, very interesting competitive edge.
Tope Akande: Exactly. Exactly. that That's the word. I see opportunities. I don't see problem.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, exactly.
Tope Akande: I think, yeah, that that that is that is the core value that I live with.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: okay
Tope Akande: I see opportunities. I don't see a problem. Like, okay, yeah, this is a problem. like this is a problem But the way I see it, the way I understand it, the way approach it is this is an opportunity for us to like, okay, turn this around and make these people more visible to, to learn that in the UK. Yeah.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, beautiful. And and and you also enable financial institutes to see those people. So it's it's also a win-win, right?
Tope Akande: Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: so
Tope Akande: Thank you. Yes.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and And a lot of people see inclusion in general as something like we're helping the poor. or we we wi give free money or it's a charity. It's actually not.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: You are enhancing a business model, an existing business model.
Tope Akande: okay
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: You are adding customers to do an institute that needs them, right?
Tope Akande: yes
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: I mean, who who says no to extra customers that fit into your model?
Tope Akande: yes
Tope Akande: Nobody. Exactly. Exactly. thank i like the fact that, Mohamed, it's obvious that you've done a lot of research and you understand our approach and what we are trying to do. So basically, when these customers are into the system and then we're able to bring them in, it's more customers for financial services and also it's mostly, we are doing the the dirty work, you understand, of making sure that these people are financially fit into the financial service system and then we make them visible to the to the lenders of and then lenders will be able to have access to more customers.
Tope Akande: So we are like a bridge between those set of people.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Yeah, spot on.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Beautiful.
Tope Akande: yeah yeah
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Beautiful. So I just noticed you said i didn't want to do brick and mortar. and What was the reason? I'm umm i'm very curious.
Tope Akande: Okay. So the reason I think maybe quite early, I knew that i was going to... I've always had a global mindset.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Hmm. Yeah.
Tope Akande: I've always had a global mindset. There was a time I used to call myself, they the up some of the platform form my friends used to call me Topak Kode Global, T-E-G, Topak. So I've always had a global mindset. Yeah, I grew up in Nigeria, like all of those things. I just really knew that I was going to do something that was going to be global. So like from that early stage, in my early twenties, I've always like, okay, I can't.
Tope Akande: And that's one thing. Also maybe because I worked in the bank while I was in Nigeria, because I can't, I knew that Monday to Friday, I work 9 to 5 or 9 to 6 or 9 to 7 sometimes.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Tope Akande: So i mean I don't really have time to be able to have a brick and mortar that can be checking and all, but I can easily do it maybe if I have a laptop or my phone and just follow how what is actually really happening.
Tope Akande: So those are the two major things that that that formed that consciousness. I've always knew that I was going to build a product that almost everybody is going to is going to like use or want to like on off and all.
Tope Akande: I knew having a brick and mortar business was not like was not going to but do it for me. you understand And then scaling that can be a bit difficult.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: you have You need manpower. You need to be chasing suppliers, chain days and all of those things. So it's it's difficult. like But as a day I then, could see Uber.
Tope Akande: Uber did not have any single taxi, but they were making like made like they were making a lot of money just providing that kind of service. So I think right from time, it has built that consciousness with me that like, okay, I really don't want to,
Tope Akande: box myself, right? We can build something from anywhere and have global reach in what we are doing. So yeah, i think that has just been, that has really been my my mindset or my thought process, right, from a very early stage.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, so you didn't want to be pinned to a certain location, certain assets and and and and those type of things.
Tope Akande: Exactly. Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: that
Tope Akande: Exactly. Mm-hmm.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Then you have this idea. Boom, Eureka, this is what I wanted to do. How did you proceed from there? did How did you find the team to execute on it?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: I guess you're not a tech guy.
Tope Akande: Yeah.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: You're coming from a financial background.
Tope Akande: me
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: How did that look like? What were your first challenges there?
Tope Akande: All right. So I think, let me, let me pull it this way. Before started Buckstrybe, I've started, i tried to do a bit of from digital solutions. The first thing I tried my hands on was, a an event ticketing company. call it in event timeline, but that's it. I was not able to go live with that.
Tope Akande: And the the idea for event timeline was very simple. Build a ticketing platform that people can host their event. get tickets, and then the unique selling point then was to have a cloud service cloud service that anybody that comes to the event can take a picture and upload to the cloud.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: right so Let's say 50 people come to the event, they take the picture with their phones and then automatically just upload it to the cloud.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: so other people can have like, the it's going to be like a picture chair in in the cloud. So, so far you have the tickets, even if you don't have like maybe a phone or you don't have, you don't have, there are some pictures that was taken that you don't have access to, or maybe the official photographer of that particular event takes all the pictures and just upload it to the cloud, right?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. you
Tope Akande: So everybody that attended that event can easily put in that ticket their like their ticket number or ticket ID and have access to those pictures.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: right.
Tope Akande: So you can download it on your phone. And like, so that was that was the unique selling point that i wanted to do with event timeline. So a ticketing platform where can host event and then you can actually host or like a cloud service that you can put in your pictures and then people can, after the event, can have access to the pictures, picture sharing and all.
Tope Akande: So if what I did then, like when I wanted to, because like you said, I'm not technical, but I stayed, had a friend that was a lecturer in the university in the city that was living.
Tope Akande: So that friend was like, i think he was a lecturer in named comp computer science or information science and all.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Oh, yeah.
Tope Akande: So I reached out to him that I needed a student, maybe in yeah children in their semi-final year or final a year, that can code, right that we can work on a project together.
Tope Akande: So basically, when I think about ideas, I look at my inner circle, my circle, and start thinking about, okay, who can I talk to? can I speak to? i know and I'm a very religious person.
Tope Akande: I pray to God that, okay, can you direct me? What what can I speak to? How do I go about stuff like this? So that was what I did for that. So my friend, because the lecturer just connected me to one of his students that writes codes.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Right.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: So that was how we did the first one, but we could not go live. I'll just be giving him stipends and all. So for for but for for Box Drive, same thing. I stay in the same way.
Tope Akande: there There's the solution in mind. One thing I try to do, not I try to do that I do always is I make sure that my idea is clear.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: a
Tope Akande: there's there's i need There's clarity. I get clarity about the solution before even talking to anybody or trying to look for, set up a team. I need clarity because the way I see it is anybody that comes on board
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: to what we are building, they need to believe in it. They need to understand the value in it.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: They need to see what the reason why I'm doing what I'm doing. So it needs to be clear.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Exactly.
Tope Akande: So I get clarity of thought, clarity of vision. This this is what we want to do. This is where we are going to. you guys So once I do that, once I have that, so selling it to anybody is is easy.
Tope Akande: So the first people I try to sell it to is the technical guy, right? so
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: There was, a like for the Box Drive, there, I was a friend of mine, just somebody I've known for a long time. I just reached out to her, they're like, okay, hi, how are you?
Tope Akande: Do you know any technical person that can work on your project?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: And she goes, oh yeah, I know somebody that, well we worked together on a project before and he was really a cool person. I'm like, okay, fine. Can you talk to the person? Can I talk to the person about something I'm trying to work on? If it's if they're interested in them, maybe we can work on it together. said, oh yeah, shoot. So she speaks to my CTO and then they're like, okay, he's interested. Let's have a conversation. So, you know, because...
Tope Akande: There's clarity of vision from my hand. So selling it to my CTO was quite easy. this This, this, this, this, this is what I'm trying to do.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: This is the problem. This is the gap I'm trying to fill. This is how I'm thinking we are going to make money. This is we are going to go about it. I've registered the company. I've done this. I've done that. i've done this. So every other thing that does not involve technicality, I do it.
Tope Akande: i used to say that anything that does not involve maybe big money or doesn't want me to raise, do it. I'm the kind of person that I prepare for opportunities, right? So I do things that I need to do, waiting for that opportunity to come. So when it comes, it's always going to be plug and play. So clarity of thought, clarity of vision, do my own as assignment, do what I need to do. And then i send it to my technical person, my CTO. I'm like, okay, this is what we're trying to do. This is where you come in. This is what I'm proposing. This is how we are going to do the shares and all of those.
Tope Akande: And then he believed in And it's easy to... to work with somebody that believes in what you are doing.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Exactly.
Tope Akande: like so So that's the first thing I to do. like So once I do that, then that's fine. and Then he comes in, he brings his own people. with a more technical. So you know he knows more technical. and So anything about the technical hiring, I leave it to him. He does it. He does the architecture and all. So anytime you are bringing anybody in, I make it a point of duty.
Tope Akande: to have conversations with them. Like I shared the vision with them. This is what we are building. This is why we are building it. This is why I needed to do this. I make it clear from day one, day zero, and then I reiterate it like, okay, i'm my strength is the financial services. So I prep myself to answer all their questions. Oh, Tokwe, what of these this? This does not work.
Tope Akande: Can we do it this way? No, this cannot work this way because my own experience in financial service is is clear. They can see that Tokwe knows what he's doing. he understands, so it's easy.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. You have a clear vision.
Tope Akande: Exactly. yeah So if really even if they have issues, it comes back to them oh no, we can't do it like this.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Let's do it like this. Let's try this. Let's try this. So they know that they just need to bother with writing those quotes and also once I do that,
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: My partner, she's into marketing. I say i told her about this, what we are trying to do. Then she visually focuses on the marketing path. So I don't micromanage, right? Once I build point i bring you in, I i follow your leading.
Tope Akande: Like I just shared your vision with you and because I believe I can do what you are doing.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: you So I bring someone that is smarter than me in that area. bring you in to do it so i follow your lead and i follow your advice i take ownership and i can tell you okay is this what you believe we need to do i'm trusting you like so i give them that sense of responsibility to make decisions and also but that that is how it does actually really work for me anybody that coming i sell division to them i make the course the question is clear to me once they believe in it and then they are fine with remuneration then we can work together
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, beautiful. So, yeah, it's like a chapter of a book almost.
Tope Akande: Okay.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: I don't know if you know Who Not How.
Tope Akande: Mm-hmm.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: It's a great book, by the way.
Tope Akande: and ki
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And this writer, he's one of the most well-known mentors of business mentors in the world.
Tope Akande: and who
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And he says, I do only one thing. Whenever I have a challenge or whenever I have an idea, the first thing I try to think of is who can help me tackle this challenge?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Instead of how, how can I write the code? No. Instead of asking that question, I ask myself, okay, who can help me write the code? Who can help me do the marketing? And then he says...
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Whenever you do that, you bring people that are better than you in that specific area. And what happens is they open new doors for you, things that you could not have seen.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: They are seeing them because it's their territorium, right?
Tope Akande: Exactly. Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and And they can multiply. They can bring a multiplier to you to you to your business if you bring them in.
Tope Akande: Exactly. exactly exact that that that's i think what you just said, that's what that's what I do majorly. Right. Okay, who can do this? I don't know to do this. Who can do this? but But before I get there, I know what I can do.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: exactly
Tope Akande: It's clear. I know what I can do. I know my experience. I know financial services. Understanding the pain point, I understand it clearly. So that is my part. Then also, I'm really big on business strategy, thinking about, I can i can map out a vision. Like, okay, this is what we are going to do. This is what we are going to do next. this is what we are going to. those those are That is unique to me.
Tope Akande: You understand? I have this ability to be able to expand on ideas. If you give me a little idea, i can make it bigger, right? I think about the distribution. I think about how we are going to sell it and all. That is my strength, right? So I make sure that I keep working on that. I know that. So anytime I'm speaking to you, like, okay, telling you you're technical person, part of the thing that convinces you is...
Tope Akande: you being certain that I know what I'm doing.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Exactly.
Tope Akande: You know, people don't want to go in blindly with Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah. Have you? Yeah.
Tope Akande: So once, so I work on that, so once i can convince you know that this guy knows what he's doing. It's always very, very easy. It's very easy to actually pick it up from there. So that's how works. So the chapter that you just quoted is spot on, right?
Tope Akande: You have an idea, you make it clear, you understand what you want, what you want to go about it and how you want to get there. Then you now speak to look for who that can actually really work it. And then once your values align, then you guys can work together.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, vision alignment is one of the most important prerequisites, I think, here, right? Because, yeah, you can find a who who can code, but if he's not fully aligned with your vision and you cannot really explain your vision very clearly to that person, then how can you even align, right?
Tope Akande: Yes.
Tope Akande: Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: If if if you cannot verbalize it in any way.
Tope Akande: Yep. I agree with you. you I agree with you. And that is what I definitely try to do every time. Like if you wake me up at 3am and tell me, okay, what, what, what about maybe my business, about problem or all of those things, I can tell you right from the back of my mind, no, this can't work. should be able to work. Even my competitor analysis, oh no, this should work. this but this reason why we are doing this is better than this, this, this, this. this So yeah.
Tope Akande: And then you look out for visual alignment.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yeah beautiful yes so I'm curious about one thing how would the world look like with Buckstrybe in 10 years what change will you bring don't
Tope Akande: Yeah. Thank you. okay
Tope Akande: that's a big That's a big question. So to answer that, I'm going to like introduce something that we're currently working on. It's live already. It's a product of Boxstribe. I call it LendLens.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: L-E-N-D-L-E-N-S.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: So you if you check like your Google now, it's just LendLens.ai. And what what we are doing with that is when like after we started Boxstribe, we realized that there's a bigger problem.
Tope Akande: And as much as we want to build and credit profiles for credit invisibles, we realize that an average person does not, that's maybe trying to get credit or doesn't want to get a loan, they don't know what lenders look out for before they give them a loan.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and
Tope Akande: they don't know They don't know what lenders look out for when want to give them a loan. They just understand that, okay, maybe there's a credit score. Even if they apply for the loan and they reject them, they really don't know why they were rejected.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, exactly.
Tope Akande: Do you understand?
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And and also the the lending institutes don't always tell you why. right
Tope Akande: Thank you. So in the next 10 years, what with Boxstribe and with the new product that we're working on or that we've launched already, LendLens, I want it to be... but i want every customer or every user, right, of LendLens to be able to see themselves through the lens of a lender.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Tope Akande: yeah that that That is like, want millions of people across the world in UK, in Europe, in Canada, in US, anywhere there's lending, right? There's lending. I want lenders and users to be able to see themselves through the lens of a lender, like a form of empowerment, right? Like, okay, they understand, oh, they need to do this. Why this is not working?
Tope Akande: because this and this is not working. You understand? So the major goal, how the world is going to look like in 10 years with BoxRib in it, with our product lending lens is that on average average, like millions of people in the world will be able to see themselves through the lens of a lender.
Tope Akande: Currently, what we have in the world is when we eat, every every credit or lending product is built for the for the lender like for banks for people that want to borrow your money you know the way the the way a lender provides you you don't know it's only it's only lenders that know how they profile you there are these ones that only know the reason why they are not giving you the loan so you want to flip that or we are flipping that so that
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Accepting.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: something
Tope Akande: the borrowers, people that are actually requesting for this loan, they understand, they know, they see how a lender see, they think how a lender think, and then they'll able to apply for credit or manage their finances the way lender will do. So that's like, it's going to be a win-win for them. So in the next 10 years, we box drive in it, want to build a society, right? Or a world whereby people will see themselves through the lens of a lender.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, very interesting one. I yeah i like it. i like it. So you're giving people sight. You're letting people see.
Tope Akande: Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and And that is something very beautiful because a lot of people are financially illiterate. And besides that, they have no options.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And you should at least know what options you have. some some of them even have options, but they cannot see them. And I think that is that is very useful for a lot of people.
Tope Akande: exactly
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: I love it.
Tope Akande: and Exactly. Exactly. So so that that so once once once every user i uses late lins understand that understands that, sees that, uses the tool, then I believe I've left like the word is a better place with myself and Box Drive in it.
Tope Akande: So fast you go.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, perfect. Sounds good. And the
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and not the last question but one before the last question that I want to ask you what if some bank comes and he gives you money and a lot of profit if you move to a certain other direction leave this impact what would you do?
Tope Akande: Okay. okay
Tope Akande: yes All right. So now... leaving, that is a very big question. When the bank comes, give me a lot of money to live leave this impact or to leave this vision, to leave this goal.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: So the question I'm going to ask is the impact that you are suggesting, right? That I should, if you say I should leave, that means I'm leaving this to this.
Tope Akande: I'm leaving point A to point B, right? So I will first analyze the point B that this bank or financial institution wants me to go to, write and ask myself some questions. Does this impact? you know My approach to solving the problem that I just mentioned to you is just my approach.
Tope Akande: It might be limited.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, exactly.
Tope Akande: You understand? So if I have like maybe a bank or a big financial institution that has more more resources, that has more data, that has more reach. And then they are telling me that point B gives me a similar impact, but bigger approach or a bigger reach.
Tope Akande: you understand? can consider that. right is's where Where you are taking me to is is more important than the reason why like we are going there.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: yeah actually
Tope Akande: so what's the future that you're trying to make me see? You understand? Yeah, I get the financial part, the funding part, the like, give me a lot of money and can be rich overnight and all of that.
Tope Akande: I get that part. But what is more important to me is the approach that you want me to see.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah. Yeah.
Tope Akande: So I understand that I may be limited to the way see things because just me. It's my approach. So if you're banking or financial institution you're saying, okay, they want to give you more money, they want to give me this, they can't sell.
Tope Akande: I can't, i won't sell my... the, my solution based on the money that they want to give me. I'm going to sell it based on the impact, like that you, or the vision that you want, that you want, that you have for that particular business. So to answer your question, i think it's more than like a yes or no. It depends, it depends on what, like the financial institution or the big bank, their vision for what we've been doing for over the years, that's what is going to determine. So if it's not going to affect, if it's not, if it's going to affect maybe the consumers or the people I'm building for negatively, then it's a no-no for me. I won't do that. i won't do that.
Tope Akande: won't do that.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, interesting. So you're not per se fixed to this way of making impact. You're saying if there is another way that is provided to me where I can make better and more impact, then then that would be my choice, right?
Tope Akande: Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. You're spot on. So I'm not, I'm not spot on like just on my ways. I just, know no, no, I'm really open minded to like, okay, you guys have more resources.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, yeah.
Tope Akande: You understand how this thing works.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah.
Tope Akande: If you are selling that to me, I'm like, oh, okay. And I can see the process. I cannot see where our maybe 10 steps can turn to 10,000 steps within the short period of time.
Tope Akande: Oh, definitely. Let's do that. Let's do business. So yeah.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Yeah, beautiful. Beautiful. Yes, that would be a collaboration to increase the impact.
Tope Akande: Yeah.
Tope Akande: Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Beautiful.
Tope Akande: Exactly.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Tope, I want to thanks thank you a lot for this conversation and all these insights you have given to us.
Tope Akande: yes please.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: We're unfortunately out of time.
Tope Akande: Okay.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: and but I really enjoyed our conversation. So I want to ask you the question, how can we follow you in your journey?
Tope Akande: All right, like I said, the first thing that you can follow me with my journey with, you can check LendLens.ai on your Google Chrome and like on Google. That's a platform that we are actually really working on as a company. And the goal is to make it easy for people to be able to see themselves through the lens of a lender. We started with analyzing your credit card statement. It's life. You can check that out. You can follow me on and LinkedIn, Talk Back On Day. And yeah, you can also sign up for my newsletter. We have a newsletter that we share. So you can sign up for the newsletter. I can share the link with you so that anybody that wants sign up for the newsletter can easily sign up. And then they are going to be getting a bi-weekly newsletter for how lenders see them. I call it the lens, you understand? So how lenders see them and then yeah pick it up from there.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: Beautiful. Thanks a lot for this pleasant conversation.
Tope Akande: You're welcome. come
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: And I hope to talk to you soon.
Tope Akande: You're welcome.
Tope Akande: Yeah, same here. Same here. I hope to talk to you so soon.
Mohamed Alkaduhimi: have a look Have a lovely day ahead.
Tope Akande: Thank you. yes Yeah. Bye-bye.
