The Spotlight

Iwalola Sobowale

5.0 (1)
TECHNOLOGY
UPDATED WEEKLY

The Spotlight is a podcast that discusses topics around Product Research and Strategy. This podcast is for curious minds and aspiring innovators who are leading the charge in the research revolution. We dive deep to discuss inspiring, informative, and offbeat conversations on Product Research and Strategy!

01/17/2025

Taking charge of your career growth in tech

On this episode of the podcast, we were joined by Dolapo Omotoso. She is the Revenue Growth Director at TransferGo and has had quite an interesting career progression. We discussed how she went from law student to customer support intern and now director. She also gave some amazing tips and advice. Follow her on LinkedIn. We talked about: Dolapo’s career progression Putting yourself out there The importance of volunteering Being open to learning Relating with your manager Breakdown 0:00 Intro 3:02 Icebreaker game 10:41 How to navigate the job market 19:56 How to position yourself and what courses to take 24:20 How to get into tech 28:02 How to grow from social media manager to marketing specialist 40:28 How Dolapo got into marketing 56:44 Know when and how to advocate for yourself 1:00:38 Learn from you manager and make sure they recognise your work 1:05:53 Is work-life balance really important? 1:12:22 How long should you stay at a job? 1:16:16 Why she moved to TransferGo 1:18:20 Dolapo's career highlights and advice for others We referenced: TransferGo PiggyVest LemFi Her article Treford Temsi Africa RACI chart Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1h 21m
12/05/2024

Personal finance tips from THE wealth advisor to the 1%

On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by finance expert, Abiola Adekoya. She has a well-used degree in Economics, is a Partner at Genea Family Office, and is the CEO & Lead Wealth Advisor at Artios Wealth... amongst many other achievements. Follow her on LinkedIn We talked about: The importance of investing How to maximise your savings The right way to negotiate your salary What to do when you’re in debt Incorporating things you enjoy into your financial plan Breakdown 0:00 Intro 1:50 Icebreaker game 9:07 Factors to consider before debt financing 12:14 How to retire big 16:31 How to negotiate for equity 19:59 Why women should ask for more 24:38 How to pay off your loans and improve financial health 31:04 What to consider before buying a house 34:21 How to maximise your savings 38:30 How to be financially responsible without reducing your quality of life 43:20 Abiola's background 47:40 Recommendations 50:51 Her career highlights 54:14 The importance of being diligent 58:22 What Abiola does as a financial adviser 1:02:45 How families manage money 1:06:54 How men handle money vs how women handle money 1:12:28 Her client success stories 1:13:42 The state of the Nigerian economy 1:17:09 Should we eat the rich? 1:19:18 General advice on how to manage money 1:24:21 Where to find Abiola We referenced Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell Acquired (podcast) Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1h 25m
10/24/2024

Running a Business as a Young Person in Nigeria

On this episode of the podcast, we were joined by Isaac Adekanye co-host of the the Road to 30 podcast and Head of Strategy and Operations at TFG Group. He shared amazing insights on how to run a successful business and money management tips to get you through this “T-pain” economy. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter We talked about: Starting and running a business Dealing with the troubles of running a business Knowing when to quit Managing your money wisely Investment tips for beginners Breakdown 0:00 Intro 2:26 icebreaker 8:08 Why TFG? 10:00 Where to invest in for a good ROI 11:14 Establishing authority as a young person 14:58 What to do/know before starting a consulting business in compliance 17:04 How to make a business work 20:06 Challenges in starting a business as a young person 24:11 How to get angel investors 27:07 Can we have the life of our dreams? 30:57 The safest way for beginners to start investing 33:07 Isaac's background 40:49 Why Isaac is who he is 45:15 Isaac's career highlights 46:16 What running TFG has been like 52:50 The people problem in running a business 57:47 Other problems faced by the business 1:02:54 How his MBA helped in solving business problems 1:05:23 How to make things work even in your absence 1:09:18 Dealing with employee theft 1:12:14 How employees can buy into your dream 1:14:06 Ponzi schemes and avoiding them 1:16:16 How to manage your money 1:27:23 Building an emergency fund 1:36:13 Tools to manage your money 1:38:19 How to survive financially in Nigeria We referenced Road to 30 TFG Group Glovo Financial Derivatives Company ETFs Rich Dad Poor Da by Robert T. Kiyosaki The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason *Mischka YouTube Flo Finance The Disciplined Investor by Andrew Horowitz Marko - Whiteboard Finance Jaiz Bank Bamboo Meristem PiggyVest Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1h 43m
10/07/2024

Webinar: The Role of Branding in Fundraising

In our recent webinar in partnership with Workspace Global, we discussed how to think about branding for your business using PaidHR as a case study. If you’re a startup founder looking to design a pitch deck or other social media assets, our partners at Workspace Global are giving you an amazing 7-day free trial of their design and development services. All you have to do is visit https://www.workspaceglobal.com/freetrial and use our discount code: WGSPOTLIGHTPOD. You can follow all the speakers on LinkedIn: Olumide Soyombo, Seye Bandele, Ore Badmus, Sydney Sam 0:46 Olumide Soyombo's introduction 2:31 Is there a winning formula for startups? 6:08 Reputation in branding and business 9:49 How important is a pitch in making money? 12:29 Can a good pitch turn a bad reputation around? 15:36 Deciding to put money into a business 18:20 Do outsiders always see the effort put into the business? 20:30 Bolt case study 23:24 Andela case study 26:24 Fullgap's impressing storytelling 27:48 Audience questions for Olumide 35:51 Seye Bandele's introduction 37:04 About PaidHR 44:16 The importance of personal branding and reputation in building a successful business 46:15 Mistakes made and overcoming them 48:18 Reaching out after past rejections 51:07 What to prioritise when building a brand 56:23 Going from Pade to PaidHR 1:00:28 Audience questions for Seye 1:10:00 Ore Badmus’ introduction 1:12:33 The process behind the PaidHR rebrand 1:38:14 Audience question for Ore 1:43:54 Sydnye Sam’s introduction 1:44:30 What Workspace Global does 1:54:25 Audience question for Sydney Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1h 59m
09/05/2024

Only 47% of Women Have Bank Accounts! Here's How Women’s World Banking Is Uplifting Female Entrepreneurs with Olajumoke Daramola

On today's episode we were joined by Olajumoke Daramola. She has worked in the financial sector for over a decade and currently provides advisory services with Women’s World Banking, an organisation that aims to empower low-income women around the world through financial inclusion. Follow her on LinkedIn We talked about: What Women's World Banking does What financial inclusion is and how women are left behind Closing the financial gap The importance of using the right approach to connect with your target audience Being flexible and always having backup plans Episode breakdown: 0:00 Intro 1:58 Icebreaker 6:05 Olajumoke's background 7:49 Her experience at Sterling Bank 9:15 People that have influenced her 12:22 Why she transitioned into product management 14:09 Her career highlights 18:07 What financial inclusion is and how Women's World Banking comes in 20:31 Countries Women's World Bank operates in 21:17 Are women financially included? 25:49 Women's World Banking’s impact so far 27:22 Why Women's World Banking is focused on women 29:11 The financial gap that exists against women 32:13 How Women's World Banking identifies with clientele 36:03 Does Women's World Banking invest in people? 37:01 How Women's World Banking chooses partners 39:04 Women's World Banking’s success stories 41:01 Challenges faced by women in relation to access to financial services 44:37 The most difficult parts of solving the financial inclusion problem 47:21 Navigating policy changes that affect the business 52:39 Olajumoke's advice for African women with businesses 56:34 How to get in touch with Olajumoke and Women's World Banking 58:32 Outro We referenced: Women's World Banking Sterling Bank WISCAR Professor Olayinka David-West EfinNA EfinNA Access to Finance Report 2023 World Bank’s Global Findex Report Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1 hr
08/15/2024

WellaHealth: Providing Accessible Healthcare for Africans

On this episode of the podcast, we were joined by Dr Ikpeme Neto, popularly known as Doc Neto. He is a medical doctor and health economist with over 10 years of experience in the health sector. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter We talked about: How WellaHealth is making quality healthcare affordable Why collaboration is more beneficial than competition Nigerians’ relationship with insurance Building trust among their clients in a low trust society The ups and downs of running WellaHealth Breakdown: 0:00 Intro 1:28 Icebreaker 6:16 Dr Neto's background 7:26 Who and what influenced him 10:50 His political views and how politics affects healthcare 14:28 His career highlights 16:22 What WellaHealth does 17:35 How WellaHealth came about 19:08 Running WellaHealth and building the team 22:44 How WellaHealth manages to remain affordable 23:24 Doc Neto’s view on competition 26:32 How Nigerians view insurance 30:55 How WellaHealth is solving the insurance trust problem in Nigeria 32:50 What healthcare is like in Nigeria 35:20 His research on the mental health of Nigerian founders 37:35 Some of WellaHealth's biggest achievements 38:36 The vision for WellaHealth 39:24 Challenges the business has faced 41:07 Where to learn more about Doc Neto amd WellaHealth 41:42 Dr Neto's advice for fellow industry players 43:37 Outro We referenced WellaHealth Africa’s Business Heroes Shuttlers National Health Accounts Nigerian Bureau of Statistics Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

45 min
08/01/2024

Do startups need a COO (Chief of Operations)? Let's discuss with Victor Onyekere

On this episode of the podcast, we spotlight master operator, Victor Onyekere aka “The Strategist”. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter We talked about: What a startup operator does Keys to building a successful business The importance of work experience as a founder/entrepreneur Why operators make the best founders Breakdown: 0:00 Intro 1:37 Icebreaker 6:27 Victor's background 12:58 Success stories 17:26 Challenges 23:26 The founder-operator vs other founders 30:05 Building a successful business 40:10 Companies that changed their strategy 47:19 How important are COOs? 59:01 How to determine if you're successful 1:02:25 Where to find Victor and what he's working on 1:07:44 Victor's thoughts on the future of the business and tech ecosystem (in Nigeria) 1:12:27 Outro We referenced: Talemia/Seeding Moniepoint Flutterwave Chowdeck Paystack Opay Palmpay Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

1h 13m
07/18/2024

Making Energy Affordable for Businesses with Earthbond

On today’s episode, we were joined by Chidalu Onyenso. Chidalu is the founder and CEO of Earthbond, an organisation that uses climate data and analytics to make energy affordable for Africans. You can watch the full video on Youtube here. Follow Chidalu and Earthbond on LinkedIn We talked about: Chidalu’s career What inspired her to start Earthbound The energy challenges faced by businesses in Nigeria How Earthbond helps businesses save money or make money Getting businesses to adopt renewable energy Breakdown: 0:00 Intro 01:44 More about Chidalu 02:41 Icebreaker 05:25 Chidalu's career highlights 08:50 The energy problem in Africa 11:30 What businesses are spending loans on 13:34 Deciding where Earthbond should operate 17:30 How Earthbond got into the market 20:42 Why Earthbond focuses on solar energy 22:56 How Nigeria's natural gas influenced Earthbond 25:26 Earthbond's success stories 27:13 Challenges Chidalu and Earthbond have faced 36:13 Financing Earthbond 37:15 How to reach Earthbond 37:54 Why businesses use Earthbond 39:51 Earthbond's proudest achievements 40:47 Places with the best opportunities for solar energy in Nigeria 42:20 Raising funds for the business 46:11 Lessons from the Earthbond journey 49:23 Earthbond's North Star 50:21 The future of Earthbond 51:54 Final words 52:24 Outro We referenced: Earthbond BBC Podcast: Focus on Africa IBM Don’t forget to follow The Spotlight Podcast on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. You can also subscribe to our YouTube and newsletter If you have any suggestions or questions, please complete the ⁠Q&A intake form⁠ or send me an email at iwalola@thespotlightpod.com P.S: If you are interested in appearing on The Spotlight Podcast, please complete this form to indicate your interest.

53 min

The Spotlight is a podcast that discusses topics around Product Research and Strategy. This podcast is for curious minds and aspiring innovators who are leading the charge in the research revolution. We dive deep to discuss inspiring, informative, and offbeat conversations on Product Research and Strategy!

Creator

Iwalola Sobowale
Years Active

2023 - 2025
Episodes

31
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Iwalola Sobowale
Show Website

The Spotlight