Last week i turned 30, i did not have a celebration or anything like i did in my early 20's cos at thirty am not a happy man, am more of a conquered man, I have failed more than i have ever imagined. If i would pick a score sheet, i swear am scoring "E" and there is nothing spectacular to smile about. It's not that am a sad thirty-year-old man but by the standards i had set for myself, i swear i need a beer to keep writing this. One question though will the beer shield me from what i am feeling, of course not but i will feel good for some time, anyway i don't want to become an addict, i will choose to just ignore that urge and continue writing, with a promise to take two or three beers after super only because it's Easter. (At least i can get away with that reason) (Check Out My LinkedIn Profile )
What have i achieved? Is it nothing or vanity? have i just wasted those years of my life? You will be the judge at the end of this blog post, cos i far too many times lived in my head. Have you ever had such a moment where you even question your existence? am i just a number of the many who just walk past life half asleep, having never lived at all or enjoyed life and no lasting impact to the generations to come. I want to make a dent in the universe but i have to change many things as i age cos at 40, i don't want to come back here and be still bitching about it, it will be so sad.
What i have i done from 20 to 30...
At 20 i was young beaming with energy just finished college, i had big dreams of landing a job with an NGO earning a five-figure salary and probably buy my car within one year. What happened is different, as Kenyan slang saying "Vitu zilikua different kwa ground" I never really got that job, landed in a research firm working as a research assistant where i quit three months later cos i was paid in instalment and the salary was not even enough. I was very disappointed, i then met an insurance agent who convinced me selling life insurance was the best way to make real money in the world, I was super excited and joined. Little did i know i would rather have stuck the old job while looking for another one. After 8 months of cold calling and visiting almost all buildings within the CBD, i only managed to sell two policies, to make it real the only two people who bought were my Mom and Big Sister (I guess they only bought to comfort me, but it was very clear i was not cut for selling insurance). I finally quit in August 2011, i then went to visit my sister In Nanyuki, I met an old college friend, who was a teacher at a local secondary school, he almost convinced me to join him but i chose to become a security guard in a local flower farm with hopes of climbing the ladder and probably land an office job, that never happened and in four months i was bored, sleeping out in the cold was not fun, i had to get out. I then landed a Job at Planet Yogurt Nairobi. I returned to the city now with a decent job but i did not stay long. Bata, Kenya's largest shoe producer and retailer came calling, i was having a good time at Planet yoghurt (Am not sure why, but i guess because maybe it's on another planet ). Left for Bata, Here I had the dream job, a tittle, a cubicle, yearly bonus, a good salary as many would say or think, i had found a little palace and i was happy. Unfortunately, maybe the animal in me could not live in a cage, One day i will look back and say that was the best decision i made.
A year later i was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, and i finally quit to start a new journey. I left to start my first startup called Fine Blendz. One thing i remember i was so passionate about it, it almost broke my heart when it was finally very clear that i had to kill it and focus on the next startup. I had created the second startup sort of by accident, i never in any way wanted or imagined i would have Soko Huru( An online marketplace for people to buy and sell things, Now a full fledged digital marketing Agency with Clients in Kenya and abroad), i wanted to market my Juice & smoothies business but i just ran out of money to pay for Facebook Ads, i decided to create a Facebook group added my friends, asked them to add their friends and it grew to a marketplace, i could see transactions happening, i had to think of way capitalizing on the group and bring sort of order, Met an amazing guy who we partnered and launched a site, it's still alive today and what i love most, Working on it since 2015 to date. We have touched more than 2,500 + Small and Medium Businesses ever since we opened our doors in 2015, and we are not going to stop. Out of it, i have learned a lot on digital marketing (some bragging right to say am almost a master in this space :) ) , open to consulting for corporates as well. We have been covered on local newspapers and Tv stations over the years, the PR has been good but am now focused on building away from the attention and the noise.
In 2019 i went on to create a football club to express and share the love for football, Penguin Football Club, In September 2019 we won a Local League(Crowned champions of Kinyanjui league) currently playing in Local Sub County League. If i would live in an alternate world, they better have football, otherwise, i would probably suffocate. In my 30's i want to give up my love for football, if i could get other people to keep supporting the team financially, i would be more than happy to see it grow than what it is even without my presence.
In the next chapter of my life and with this Corona Thing, stuck indoors for a long time. I have been reflecting, decided to give up football and also considering doing eCommerce and Consulting on the side. I feel sort of tired, the boy in me wants to live but i want it to die, no more adventure, no more startups, get a real job, settle down with my Girlfriend, make babies and have a happy family.
It scare's me at night the thought of giving up, i always believed working for myself was the best option, captain of my own ship, but am i coward to walk away and go back to Employment, Can i hold back that thought and work towards turning this thing into a real company. It's more than 5 Years now, and it's still a startup, when will it ever grow, what do i have to change? Can i step aside and run it from the other side? If you're an entrepreneur, i bet there have been moments like this? What would be your advice?
What have i achieved? Is it nothing or vanity? have i just wasted those years of my life? You will be the judge at the end of this blog post, cos i far too many times lived in my head. Have you ever had such a moment where you even question your existence? am i just a number of the many who just walk past life half asleep, having never lived at all or enjoyed life and no lasting impact to the generations to come. I want to make a dent in the universe but i have to change many things as i age cos at 40, i don't want to come back here and be still bitching about it, it will be so sad.
What i have i done from 20 to 30...
At 20 i was young beaming with energy just finished college, i had big dreams of landing a job with an NGO earning a five-figure salary and probably buy my car within one year. What happened is different, as Kenyan slang saying "Vitu zilikua different kwa ground" I never really got that job, landed in a research firm working as a research assistant where i quit three months later cos i was paid in instalment and the salary was not even enough. I was very disappointed, i then met an insurance agent who convinced me selling life insurance was the best way to make real money in the world, I was super excited and joined. Little did i know i would rather have stuck the old job while looking for another one. After 8 months of cold calling and visiting almost all buildings within the CBD, i only managed to sell two policies, to make it real the only two people who bought were my Mom and Big Sister (I guess they only bought to comfort me, but it was very clear i was not cut for selling insurance). I finally quit in August 2011, i then went to visit my sister In Nanyuki, I met an old college friend, who was a teacher at a local secondary school, he almost convinced me to join him but i chose to become a security guard in a local flower farm with hopes of climbing the ladder and probably land an office job, that never happened and in four months i was bored, sleeping out in the cold was not fun, i had to get out. I then landed a Job at Planet Yogurt Nairobi. I returned to the city now with a decent job but i did not stay long. Bata, Kenya's largest shoe producer and retailer came calling, i was having a good time at Planet yoghurt (Am not sure why, but i guess because maybe it's on another planet ). Left for Bata, Here I had the dream job, a tittle, a cubicle, yearly bonus, a good salary as many would say or think, i had found a little palace and i was happy. Unfortunately, maybe the animal in me could not live in a cage, One day i will look back and say that was the best decision i made.
A year later i was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug, and i finally quit to start a new journey. I left to start my first startup called Fine Blendz. One thing i remember i was so passionate about it, it almost broke my heart when it was finally very clear that i had to kill it and focus on the next startup. I had created the second startup sort of by accident, i never in any way wanted or imagined i would have Soko Huru( An online marketplace for people to buy and sell things, Now a full fledged digital marketing Agency with Clients in Kenya and abroad), i wanted to market my Juice & smoothies business but i just ran out of money to pay for Facebook Ads, i decided to create a Facebook group added my friends, asked them to add their friends and it grew to a marketplace, i could see transactions happening, i had to think of way capitalizing on the group and bring sort of order, Met an amazing guy who we partnered and launched a site, it's still alive today and what i love most, Working on it since 2015 to date. We have touched more than 2,500 + Small and Medium Businesses ever since we opened our doors in 2015, and we are not going to stop. Out of it, i have learned a lot on digital marketing (some bragging right to say am almost a master in this space :) ) , open to consulting for corporates as well. We have been covered on local newspapers and Tv stations over the years, the PR has been good but am now focused on building away from the attention and the noise.
In 2019 i went on to create a football club to express and share the love for football, Penguin Football Club, In September 2019 we won a Local League(Crowned champions of Kinyanjui league) currently playing in Local Sub County League. If i would live in an alternate world, they better have football, otherwise, i would probably suffocate. In my 30's i want to give up my love for football, if i could get other people to keep supporting the team financially, i would be more than happy to see it grow than what it is even without my presence.
In the next chapter of my life and with this Corona Thing, stuck indoors for a long time. I have been reflecting, decided to give up football and also considering doing eCommerce and Consulting on the side. I feel sort of tired, the boy in me wants to live but i want it to die, no more adventure, no more startups, get a real job, settle down with my Girlfriend, make babies and have a happy family.
It scare's me at night the thought of giving up, i always believed working for myself was the best option, captain of my own ship, but am i coward to walk away and go back to Employment, Can i hold back that thought and work towards turning this thing into a real company. It's more than 5 Years now, and it's still a startup, when will it ever grow, what do i have to change? Can i step aside and run it from the other side? If you're an entrepreneur, i bet there have been moments like this? What would be your advice?
(Update 2023 *This post was made during Covid Time, when there was the scare and everything seemed to be going South, Soko Huru is now a fully pledged Digital Marketing agency with Clients in Kenya and abroad, am working on it fulltime)
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