2022: The Duality of progress
There are certain events that happen in a lifetime, after which history is evaluated as pre and post said event
The biggest example being the death of Jesus, Nigeria’s independence, and for me; the biggest event since 2010 happened this year.
So my review will basically be titled “Pre Article” and “Post Article”. If you have no idea the article I refer to? Its definitely a testament to the tenacity of my team and advisors who helped push through it
Pre Article
2021 ended on an amazing high. I fully transitioned into GetEquity’s CEO role, fundraised, etc. I had also managed to achieve family self sufficiency, which was a 2020 year end promise.
I started my year with a gift to myself, got a new ride, pimped to my satisfaction (at least that my pocket’s satisfaction).
GetEquity also hit the ground running, 3 of our portfolio companies got into international accelerators, basically doubling their valuation, with extra cash to spare
Family was even the most spectacular, They all grew by strides I’m proud of. Mummy threw a housewarming/thanksgiving/her birthday party in February and I just spent that period in bliss
Spent a lot of this period traveling; mostly for work, but I definitely got to see some amazing sights, and meet amazing people.
Visited Nairobi and Diani; Kenya, Dakar; Senegal, Accra; Ghana, Dubai; UAE.
Couldn’t make a lot more places than I visited; Amsterdam, London, Capetown, Marrakesh… next year definitely changes that
I also appeared on screen this year; Channels TV, CNBC Africa, Peace Itimi. Albeit for work, it felt really good to know people wanted to hear my opinion and perspective on things. Will try to do more this year
I met the Don himself, was a surreal experience; Don Jazzy is everything I expected of him and more, quite jovial; thankfully he understood and loved what we do, met a lot of capital market legends as well. This year I already have a combined list of those I would love an introduction to. Top of mind is Tony Elumelu (universe, bring this home)
Post Article
Unfortunately for us, the article came out during a fundraise. What made things even worse was the downturn in capital markets, which then trickled into venture capital.
Just like a couple of other companies I know, we went from being oversubscribed to some commitments not being fulfilled. Some of these were also chalked up to LPs in funds not fulfilling capital calls
Anyways it helped put things into perspective. I’d read somewhere on twitter “The most resilient companies are built in a downturn…”. This meant we needed to review our focus and strategies on not just revenue generating, but opening to opportunities to fill gaps this venture downturn would create.
Our review here shows this restrategy seems to be working. One thing this article and further (yes we were talked about a lot) showed, was we were perceived as much bigger than we actually were.
For a less than 18 month old company, with under $500k raised in its existence, we were being mentioned and sometimes rated above startups who had 3+ years and over $2m in their arsenal. One thing this showed was we we’re definitely doing something right
GetEquity also had quite the bit of awards/recognition
- Most Innovative New Digital Asset Trading Platform – 2022 (Global Business Outlook Awards)
- Most Innovative New VC Platform for Startups – 2022 (International Finance Awards)
- Top 10 African Tech Startups in 2022
We also opened up in East africa, listing some of the best early stage companies I have seen in Africa.
We partnered with some of the best venture studio and institutional investors in the continent, which allowed for a deal sourcing pipeline (My venture and growth team are the most amazing), follow on investment into some of our startups, and a steady flow of startups across emerging markets. Our plan is to double down a lot on these
2022 was supposed to be heralded by an acquisition by GetEquity, spreading us into a new market. While we finish up on those details, I am quite happy about the direction we are taking
We went from a startup losing commitment in one of the worst times in the year, to almost break even, the grit, resilience, tenacity and drive of all team members made this a reality, and should see us break even by H1 next year.
Onto other matters…
A lot of things happened in 2022 that I would probably never be able to speak about publicly, this year definitely toyed with my mental health.
I slowly drifted away from some close friends, as I have been one to fight my demons by myself, before the extrovert comes out to play. One thing that remained constant was definitely friends, family and even well wishers going the long mile for me
My therapist gave an advice of a relationship detox, after the drama that was my life for the most part of last year and into this year. I’m happy I listened to her, it made me see patterns in my behaviour, attractions and even approach to relationships
I spent 2022 dating, and enjoying the dating experience. contrary to public opinion, quite a lot dey streets. This was finally the year of marriage and settling down conversations from folks; and while I am not 100% sure about that, I finally know what I want from a relationship (currently feel like a single father of one; GetEquity)
Prophecies for 2023? (Lol)
I know I get my workaholic life from both folks, this December was the first time I finally took a 2 weeks (no laptop) break. I think I am definitely going to try more of that.
The focus for 2023 at GetEquity is profitability, the ambition in me definitely wants this in Q1 2023. Lets see how that goes…
