The BYP Network team were thrilled to have a summer celebration at the end of August in honour of all our successes, hard work, and the achievements to come. We’re also proud of our community members who have been enthusiastically engaging with our events and posts, and even getting hired through our Mentorship programme. Not to mention our partners who continue to put in the effort and collaborate to do great work together.
In true BYP style, we like to learn just as much as we like to party. And so after a site visit to our Leadership Conference venue at London’s Mermaid Theatre to get us buzzing about the main event in October, we headed back to the office for a sit-down chat with entrepreneur, advisor, self-confessed tech geek, and all-round crowd pleaser, Emma Obanye.
Obanye is currently the Managing Director at Capital Enterprise, CEO and Co-Founder of The Mindful Team and Co-Creator of The Retrospective Game, and was also Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BuddyBounce.
She greeted us virtually from sunny Spain, with an equally bright and brilliant disposition to match. Our own CEO and Founder, Kike Oniwinde, led the discussions on the fireside talk.
Here are some of our team’s key takeaways from Emma Obanye’s talk:
- She always knew that she was meant to have her own business
- Understanding that having a friend as a business partner isn’t always easy, but you can make it work if your heads are in the right place
- When you get rejected, you need to realise that it’s not necessarily a fault in you but it’s that the other person can’t recognise the value in what you are doing
- Consistently push yourself for personal development
- Don’t be afraid to tell anyone about your startup idea – you should actively push it out
- The hustle of the early stage start-up experience. She told everyone about her idea and when she was trying to figure out how to get to Will.I.Am, one of those chance conversations led to an opportunity of finding out where he was next going to be and meeting him
- Her emphasis on approaching the early stage experience as being an opportunity for tremendous personal growth and self-development
- That anecdote she shared about connecting to one of her early investors / advisors. If she hadn’t have sent that email when she did – the investors policy was to ignore people that didn’t follow up within 24 hours
- It’s a rollercoaster ride and it’s hard work, i.e. not 9-5, but it’s about hustle and grit. You should do something you’re passionate about
- Sometimes you know it’s the right project when you naturally want to continue pursuing it, while other projects may lose steam
- Make the right choices when it comes to people i.e. one person was toxic. Secure the right contacts to help you grow your business
- Importance of building a strong work culture
- Importance of figuring out your target demographic to grow your client / community network
- Mentorship is key in learning how to develop professionally
- The importance of mental well-being for you and your team – take action to nurture happiness and productivity
- Be audacious and relentless in your pursuit into what makes you happy
- Don’t settle for a paycheque to stay comfortable
It was really inspiring to hear from Emma about all her experiences and thoughtful insights.
Next up, the summer party
Since we’re based in Britain, we were naturally blessed with perhaps the rainiest day of the summer. However, following the talk the weather had cleared up on the office terrace and the tropical theme and positive vibes meant that we paid no attention to the more subdued sky.
After a feast that included delicious rum cocktails and our Client Delivery Executive Ramona’s homemade tiramisu, our Fun Squad put our competitiveness and dexterity to the test in games such as Jenga with written challenges and scooping lighter-than-air fluff balls into bowls while blindfolded… before we ended the night showing off our dancing and TikTok prowess.
Do you want to be a part of the dynamic BYP team?
Take a look at our Careers page for more information on available roles. Even if there isn’t a suitable position listed there for you, we’d love to hear from you if you align with BYP’s mission and values – we’re always looking for ambitious individuals to work with. Join our movement to empower Black professionals!
