Hello friend,
Quite Important — You’re getting this newsletter because you subscribed to Starta mailing list. If you’d changed your mind, please scroll to the very bottom of this e-mail, where you’ll see a link that says, “Unsubscribe.”
Early last year, we took a long pause on Building the Future podcast. This was necessary after I took up a new role as a Principal at Novastar Ventures in January 2019. I wanted to put my head down and deeply understand the fundamentals of venture capital business. I know that it takes at least 10 years to become a successful investor, so I want to take the time to lay the right foundation for myself.
I spent a lot of time with my new colleagues at Novastar in Kenya for the most part of last year. I spent a fair amount of time at the airport and on aeroplanes. I met with lots of interesting entrepreneurs building amazing business across Africa. I learnt a lot from conversations over coffee, debates during pipeline meetings, deliberations in boardrooms, and closely observing experienced investors in the firm.
I wanted to learn more, but also share my journey through this podcast as I’ve done in the past. So I decided to interview other investors across the continent.
I want to understand how their personal stories shaped their investment thesis. I want to wrap my head around different investment strategies, how to nurture pipeline relationships, support entrepreneurs, and facilitate successful exits. Season 4 of Building the future podcast is exploring this and more.
We’ve had 5 episodes so far—apologies for telling you late :)
Yele Bademosi, Microtraction– On people, startups and funding in Africa, pt 1
Yele Bademosi, Microtraction– On people, startups and funding in Africa, pt 1
Nnena Nkongho, Digame - Startup valuation, capital allocation and returns expectations in Africa
Eric Idiahi, Verod Capital – Optimising for exits and high investment multiple
Tokunboh Ishmael, Alitheia Capital – Investing for profit and purpose
We will be releasing the episodes weekly. I will try to send updates via this newsletter regularly, but it’s far better if you subscribe directly to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Here are a few places you can get the show;
I look forward to hearing your feedback on the new episodes. You can holler at me on twitter @drdotun, where I say random things.
Stay awesome
Dotun Olowoporoku