2023: Year in review

Almost every time someone asked me how I was doing this year, my answer was "I am good", and in my head, I usually completed it with "I can't complain". In truth, I didn't have a lot to complain about this year.

It was good, excellent by all accounts, and I am grateful.

Of course, it wasn't all roses; I had some painful moments, but it was net positive by a landslide. Here are my top moments and top lessons.

January

I started January (literally, the 2nd) with a job offer to join Smile ID as its Director of Marketing. Smile made sense for many reasons: (a) There's a UK office, but it is Pan-African by nature and in vision. (b) From working in Financial Services, I deeply understand the KYC problem and its impact. (c) It is B2B, and I wanted to deepen my B2B experience further after my previous experience at Kora .

Still, in that first week of the year, I went to Aberdeen to visit my family and then to Paris for a solo trip to pat myself on the back for doing a hard thing the month prior. I saw the Eiffel Tower and visited Disneyland.

On the 31st, I removed my braces after 22 months and made a video about lessons learned from the journey.

February

On the 1st of February, I returned to social media after a two-month break and then went to see my first theatre show (The Lion King).

March

I travelled to Kenya to work with some of my Smile ID colleagues. I remember that Kenya Airways delayed our flight for 6 hours, then cancelled it till the following day, and put me on a Lufthansa flight, transiting through Germany. It was the ghetto, but I made it through.

On the 22nd, I launched a new show on my YouTube channel called "How I the Series." The series launched with the story of how Joyce Imiegha changed her life in one year.

April

April is one of my favourite months of this year. My friend, Oiza Sadiq and I did an 8-day trip to Spain, visiting Barcelona and Malaga. We partied, ate delicious food, and rode a segway around the city. I kayaked for the first time for 3 hours around the beach in ice-cold water and then came back to London sick (but it was worth it).

I also collaborated with AppsFlyer in April to host an intimate Founders Connect meetup in London.

May

First, I visited my friend Eyitemi Egbejule in Lisbon.

Then, one day, I thought, what if "I organised a meetup in Lagos for Founders Connect (inspired by the April event)?" So, on the 10th, I spontaneously tweeted this and life as I know it will never be the same again.

One thing led to another, and 20 days later, on the 30th of May, I officially announced that Founders Connect, the first-ever live show, would take place in Lagos.

June

June is a blur! I was neck-deep planning for the live show event while trying not to let it distract me from putting in my best work as usual at Smile ID.

I thought remember though, that June was the first time I collaborated with Grow with Google for the Google Career Certificate Campaign.

It was also the month of my second anniversary of living in the UK.

July

I spent 20 days in Lagos. #FoundersConnectLiveShow in Lagos was a huge success. The day after, we hosted a private screening for #InnovatingAfricaDocumentary, and the applause gave me the needed boost to complete the project.

This event, which will be a cornerstone of what Founders Connect does annually going forward, taught me a few things: #WeStayLearning.

• Teamwork Triumphs: My team in Lagos was the cornerstone of our success. The dedication and enthusiasm of Joyce, Treasure, Tito, Toyosi, Ridwan, Ara, and Izzie were invaluable. Their ability to move mountains made all the difference, and I am grateful to be surrounded by such hardworking individuals.
• Action Breeds Results: This year, I learned that consistent action can lead to significant outcomes, even though it might take time to be visible. If I had given up on Founders Connect or my YouTube journey early on due to a lack of growth, I wouldn't have realised the potential ahead. My experience has shown me that persistence is key. By continuing to move forward, I've seen our brand grow and manifest into something greater.
• Execution Over Ideas: Ideas are Great, but execution is everything. I've had many ideas, but the real game-changer was choosing to execute this one despite the risks and fear. By taking one step after another and not getting bogged down in overthinking, I saw a modest goal of "can we get fifty attendees in the room" multiply tenfold, and we ended up with over 550 guests. This has taught me the actual value of taking action on your ideas. They say tiny drops of water make an ocean, and it's so true.
• Uncompromising Quality: The event taught me the importance of never compromising quality. My vision for the event was clear, and I continuously reinforced this standard with my team. We were conscious of costs, but we always prioritised quality, which ultimately shone through in the execution and was reflected in the outstanding feedback from attendees. So, always insist on the highest quality.

While in Lagos, I spoke at the Growth Con event organised by PBN and Lagos Startup Week. I also used the opportunity to shoot new case studies of how Smile ID is helping Flutterwave, Bridge card, Paga and Fairmoney to onboard users quickly and prevent fraud.

I launched Smile ID's State of KYC in Africa Report in July. It is the best and most comprehensive edition yet (so my CEO says anyway :D), and it covers the identity verification landscape across Africa, including fraud types and prevention methods and new regulations across multiple countries.

July was intense, but I triumphed. I juggled, and not a single ball fell out of my hands.

August

August was a month of rest, but my YouTube was still popping as we dropped new episodes of How I the series.

September

In September, we announced the Founders Connect Live Show in London.

I spent September planning for my friend's birthday, my birthday, my mum's trip to visit me, and the FC London live show.

October

First, I went to Mombasa for a few days to rest, spend time with friends and celebrate my birthday (on the 8th). A great, great time was had.

Then, I returned and immediately began finalising plans for the event on the 14th.

The London Live Show was a huge success (and my favourite of both events). We had over 250 people in attendance from across the UK: Scotland, Bristol, Belfast, Dublin, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Manchester, Newcastle, etc.

Five days after the event, my mum arrived in London to visit me. This is the biggest highlight of my year. Since I was a kid, I had always wanted to fly my mum around the world, and when I moved to London, I knew she had to come and visit me someday.

So, finally, doing it was amazing for me in all the ways it could. We spent time together for weeks for the first time in years. I took her shopping in Oxford Street, and we just had a good, chill, low-pressure, quality time. She also met some of my favourite people – my friends.

I also supported Dr Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Federal Republic of Nigeria, to organise an AI-focused event in London.

After spending the year brooding on grad school and prepping for GMAT, it was in October that I got an epiphany about how exactly and where I would be going to grad school.

I also had a fallout with a friend this year. It hurt me a lot, but I also am grateful to God for creating space for better in my life. Truth is when people don't respect you or think they are doing you a favour by being your in life; then they shouldn't have a place in your life. I have lost a handful of friendships in the last two years; it never gets easier, but it creates space for the better.

November

November saw me take another 9-hour flight (this time, to Rwanda) for a company retreat. While retreating, I spent my nights working on grad school applications.

In November, I also decided to stop stalling or waiting for something grand to happen and instead to finally release the documentary, and we announced it on the 23rd.

December

In December, I took a very quick trip to Lagos, received my grad school acceptance email (I will talk about this in detail some other time), released the documentary, re-arranged my house, planned for 2024, spent much time alone, resting and writing.

There are two things about December that I am most grateful for:

• The documentary was so well received. I remember the Saturday I spent in Lagos this month. I attended two events, and tens of people came up to me at each, congratulating me on the trailer and raving about how amazing it was and how expectant they were for the entire film. Hundreds of people joined the online watch party on the day of the premiere. Today, it has over 40k views on YouTube, with more than hundreds of comments. I have not seen a single negative comment about the documentary on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Press mentions, YouTube, or WhatsApp. My heart is full. I was so scared, but the reception made all the work worth it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who has seen and is sharing the documentary.
• At the beginning of the month, I realised I was burnt out completely. I had zero energy. It turns out my body was also fighting a Vit.D and iron deficiency (which I am now taking meds for as prescribed by my GP), and so I was determined to spend the holiday resting. And oh, did I rest. I still need more time to recover and for meds to kick in, but I am grateful for the opportunity to take time out before the new year to rest and reconnect with myself. I spent the holiday watching TV, sleeping, spending time with friends, and just being.

What a year! I don't know how I did all of this, but I did. I excelled at my 9-5 and in my personal projects. I juggled, and not one ball fell.

I cooked a lot this year and fell in love with it. It started with salmon and fries, then steak and mashed potatoes, smoothies, beef wraps, and pasta, and ended with a meat pie, carrot cake, and lasagne for Christmas.

I rode bicycles a lot in the summer. I visited new places. I went out at night. I partied, I held and was held, I rediscovered my love for podcasts, I got two new tattoos, and I started going to church again.

I spent time with family; I learned to be better at gifting. I read more books this year than the last two combined (mostly romance novels at the beginning of the year, though, lol, thanks to Aanu). I spent valuable time in person and on the phone with my friends and so much more.

It was a great year. I can't complain.

2024 will be slower, but it will be BETTER by a landslide.

2024 is my year of consolidation.

It is a year of compounding results. It is also the year I fall in love with Instagram and content creation again (hopefully).

2024 is not a year of quantity; it is a year of quality.

I will do less, but I will do them better. I will balance all my endeavours with more flow and ease. And most importantly, God will not leave me stranded.

That said, what are my most significant lessons of 2023? #WeStayLearning

1. If you sit in a question long enough, the answer finds you. Learn to stay. Sit and dig deep; find time alone and clear your head. When you do, the answer always comes. Clarity always comes. But when it does, you have to get moving and fast! Momentum is essential in hitting big strides and doing hard things.
2. It is not the number of people you have in your life or how long you have known someone that matters but the quality of the relationship. It is about how they respect you and your boundaries, how they care for you (and you them), etc. This year, I am most grateful for friendship, for the people I have known for long but hit new depths of friendship. I am thankful for finding community, acceptance, and loyalty. I also learned that attaining new depths in any relationship requires vulnerability, and vulnerability requires trust and safety. Most importantly, friendship is a two-way street.
3. You have to create space. When you are cluttered, there is no room for more or new. Don't just pray for it; create space for it in your life (your heart, closet, and house).
4. Say yes! Say yes to opportunities to serve, impact, support, and do good work. But do not let your Yeses conflict with your values or God's will for your life. Discernment is very crucial. The real trick is learning to balance both. Trust your spirit enough to discern and say yes when it is right.
5. Consistency and proof of work (traction) is half the work. 50% of what you need to succeed is embedded in your ability to start, gain traction (no matter how tiny) and do it consistently. Be consistent; it may be long, but it will bear fruit.
6. I also learned this year that my career is not a sprint but a marathon. In fact, the real lesson was recognising and affirming that life is long—no rush for anything. I need to stay in my lane, do my thing, eyes fixed on my purpose and the prize, no cares about others, no bother about the competition, just me and my journey. That is where contentment, fulfilment and enjoyment of the process are found. I learned this year to explore and not worry about where it takes me because my life is long, and my career is a marathon, not a sprint.