Stories Are Powerful.

Whenever I watch a new Founders Connect video, this sentence comes to mind: 'Stories are Powerful." I like how all the founders we interview come from different backgrounds and do incredible things with their lives, inspiring people like me. We'll never know how Odun Eweniyi, Adia Sowho, or any of the other incredible people we've interviewed got to where they are today if we never heard their stories. Stories help to humanise people. Their journeys become more real. 

Knowledge is passed down through storytelling. Our forefathers preserved whole civilisations by passing down information from generation to generation. Storytelling preserves culture and life, and Founders Connect's vision is to document the stories of African founders. I've always loved documenting through words, pictures, etc., but with Founders Connect, I have come to appreciate it more because the show's importance will outlive its existence, providing deep insight that will influence people in the tech ecosystem for years to come.

Storytelling also spurs people into action. When you learn that someone has accomplished something you never thought possible, it gives you the confidence to attempt the same. Few things are as motivating as hearing the success stories of people who grew up like you. It may not be a conscious realisation, but something in your brain clicks, making the image of you accomplishing the same easier to visualise. If you listen to enough Founders Connect episodes, you will begin to notice patterns: consistency, discipline, preparation, and action. These elements are clues for achieving success, and the stories reveal them to you. 

Allowing People to do Work is Great Leadership.  

My favourite thing about working on Founders Connect is the incredible leeway I get to create and design content. A lot of the decision-making on how things look is left to me, and I think this is cool because it has allowed me to transition from my role as assistant to content marketer. It also improves our bond as a team because it shows incredible trust. Peace is fond of telling me to figure things out, which has made me a lot more confident in devising my abilities as an assistant and content manager. 

I like that we collaborate a lot as a team. Everyone has a part to play, and we give and receive feedback from each other. Founders Connect feels like a group project, which has fostered a sense of ownership among the team members. It's not only Peace's work but also our work, and I think that is good leadership on Peace's part. She doesn't micromanage our work process, and in turn, we feel connected to what we do, and it inspires us to do better. 

Consistency is Key. 

My mom always jokes whenever she sees me working: "Peace doesn't run out of work?" She says this because there's always something to be done, and most of it is down to consistency and repeating the same processes for the different videos we roll out. We have been really consistent with our output, and when you work with Peace, you quickly learn that you don't do things once and fold your hands. There is always something new to do. Something new to learn. I like it because it has made me improve my skills really fast. Things I struggled with months ago, like writing copies, designing posts, etc., I can do now with ease due to constant repetition.

When things aren't working, Switch Things Up.

In July, we took some time as a team to reassess all the work we had been doing. We needed to switch things up, so we returned to the drawing board. These meetings introduced some changes that have led to immeasurable growth in the past few weeks. For one, we diversified content and extended our rollout for new episodes. Then we sandwiched new uploads with interesting social media bits, fun posts, and carousels. We also implemented subtitled reels in our content strategy. Combining these things has done wonders for the growth of our social media platforms! We got 9K views on one Instagram reel, and for a page with 1K followers (then), it was insane. We were so happy. 

Then one morning, Peace woke up and told everyone on the team that we would start posting on Tiktok. I felt a little apprehensive because I didn't think there was a market on Tiktok for the kinds of videos we make. Well, guess what? We posted a video on TikTok that got 100k views in 24 hours! It was mindblowing! 

This whole thing has been a very eye-opening experience for me. For one, it has taught me that it pays to go back to the drawing board now and then and experiment with new things. Sticking to old or familiar routines may stifle your growth as an individual or business. It's been thrilling for everyone on the team to see the numbers skyrocket, and it's all because we switched things up. I'm so happy even thinking about it. I'm glad we did that. 

Have a Plan. 

Working in Social Media can be fun because you get to experiment with ideas and concepts, and as a creative person, it is easy to get carried away with doing Canva designs and coming up with witty captions. But I have learned that it is very important to know what you're doing, at least most of the time. 

When we had that meeting, I drafted up a plan defining who our target audience was and the type of content that would resonate with them, and so when I look at videos to find content for reels or carousels, I have a target audience in mind. This is why I am usually not surprised when I see comments from people saying that the video resonated with them. I knew it would! So work with a plan in mind. Know what you're doing, so you don't get carried away spreading your energy thinly or placing most of your energy on affairs that will give you minimal results. 

I am thankful for the Founders Connect Team because I have learned much from working with them. I am grateful for Peace because she taught me so much by doing. I love all the impact we have been able to create together, and I cannot wait to see how much success Founders Connect will achieve in the coming months and years. 

So that's all from me today. It was lovely sharing with you guys! 

As Peace would say, Peace out!

– Treasure Okure.