Afropolitan Afropolitan / Jamit

Quote- “You don't have to raise funds to get validation. A lot of people will raise funds just for validation.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.
This episode features Ray Youssef, CEO of ‘Paxful’ - a peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace used by millions worldwide. As an immigrant from Egypt raised in New York, Ray has always been passionate about helping others.
Ray believes that education is important in creating equitable opportunities and through his non-profit organization, built with bitcoin he has been able to provide that for so many children in Africa.

He has always dreamed of a world where finance is accessible to everyone and that idea manifested as Paxful.
Listen and enjoy as Ray talks to us about the African crypto market and the exceptional human capital on the continent.

Ray’s reading list
King, Warrior, magician, lover : Rediscovering the Archetype of Mature Masculine by Robert Moore
​​https://www.amazon.com/King-Warrior-Magician-Lover-Rediscovering/dp/0062506064

The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861

The fiat standard by Saifedean Ammous
https://www.amazon.com/Fiat-Standard-Slavery-Alternative-Civilization/dp/1544526474

History of Money by Jack Weatherford
https://www.amazon.com/History-Money-Jack-Weatherford/dp/0609801724

Show Notes

1:02 Mission and vision of Paxful.
5:19 African crypto market.
8:15 Advice to founders on navigating regulatory framework.
12:12 COVID-19 impact on Paxful.
13:35 Paxful approach to recruiting and retaining talent.
15:30 Advice to founders during fundraising process
18:02 The Mission of built with bitcoin.
22:51 Significant encounter with failure.
27:10 Ray’s reading list.
34:22 What does being Afropolitan mean to you?

The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linkt

Adeniyi Abiodun

Quote- “No one says you need to be an engineer or a PA for life. Nobody said you'll have one particular role for life but you can actually be capable of a lot more.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.

This episode features Adeniyi Abiodun,co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Mysten labs. Mysten Labs is creating infrastructure and tools for the decentralized future.

Fedup by the red tape of Big Tech, Adeniyi together with three former facebook employees created mysten lab. A startup focused on web3 and block chain infrastructure.

They were instrumental in the development of the diem blockchain and move programming language. A cross-platform smart contract language that helps developers secure against exploits.

Adeniyi realized programming and writing applications was something he cared about and hasn't looked back ever since. His career cuts across finance, product and blockchain technology.

Adeniyi is passionate about leveraging deep tech to solve developer and consumer problems.
Listen and enjoy as Adeniyi talks to us about the newly launched Sui blockchain network and his experience fundraising for Mysten labs.

Adeniyi’s reading list

The Bible
​​https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+holy+bible&adgrpid=84105609520&gclid=CjwKCAjwi8iXBhB
Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke
https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Focus-Achieving-Important-Objectives/dp/099600602
8
Inspired by Marty Cagan
https://www.amazon.com/INSPIRED-Create-Tech-Products-Customers/dp/1119387507

Show Notes
1:20 Journey to becoming CPO of mysten lab
4:19 Mysten lab’s vision
5:18 Sui’s role in the blockchain ecosystem
11:14 Decentralization VS Centralization
15:19 Advice to founders on recruiting and retaining talent
17:15 Gaming sector VS other sectors in the ecosystem
18:57 Advice to newcomers in the blockchain ecosystem
20:39 Most significant encounter with failure and lessons learned
23:50 Adeniyi’s reading list
25:36 Advice to founders on the fundraising process
The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?
Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Naithan Jones

Quote - “There's a fundamental misunderstanding of how success actually happens, how success happens is, you pick something to work on, that you don't mind working on in the wee hours of the night, for 20 plus years”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.

This episode features Naithan Jones, former partner at A16z and current Head of Growth at Royal. Royal enables anyone to own and earn royalties for their favorite songs.

In 2011, Naithan drove out to silicon valley in his 1994 Corolla with everything he owned and went on to build Ag local, an ecommerce startup that eventually folded up.He later joined Andreessen Horowitz(A16z) where he did amazing work for seven years.

Naithan is a tech executive with over 20 years background in market strategy with emphasis on entrepreneurship, startups and entertainment driven business.

Listen and enjoy as Naithan talks to us about the misconceptions about being a VC and royal’s mission to redistribute the ownership of digital property.

Naithan’s Twitter post
​​https://twitter.com/naithanjones/status/1550151720319303683?s=21

Naithan’s reading list

Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hard+thing+about+hard+things&adgrpid=82923967095&gclid=Cj

Cybernetics by Nobert Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/Cybernetics-Second-Control-Communication-Machine/dp/026273009X

The Human Use Of Human Beings by Nobert Weiner
https://www.amazon.com/Human-Use-Beings-Cybernetics-Society/dp/0306803208

Inner Engineering by Sadhguru
https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Engineering-Yogis-Guide-Joy/dp/0812997794

Man's Search For Meaning
https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X

The Black Jacobins by C.L.R James
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Jacobins-Toussaint-LOuverture-Revolution/dp/0679724672

Power vs Force by David Hawkins
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Force-David-Hawkins-M-D/dp/1401945074

Psychology Of Unconsciousness by C.G Jung
https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Unconscious-C-G-Jung/dp/0486424995



Show Notes
5:32 What inspired the mindset behind the tweet
11:25 How serving has changed Naithans’s perspective on life and humanity
17:11 Journey to Tech
24:43 Misconceptions about being a VC
33:15 Advice to founders
40:48 The role healing/therapy plays in dealing with past trauma
46:46 Royal’s mission
52:33 Naithan’s Reading list
br...

Tayo Oviosu

Quote- “A life of service is worth living.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.

This episode features Tayo Oviosu, founder and group CEO Paga,a mobile payments company focused on digitizing cash in emerging economies.

The Stanford educated professional saw a huge opportunity in the financial service industry and came up with what is now paga.

With over 19 million users, paga is unrelenting in bringing financial services to the unbanked.

Listen and enjoy as Tayo talks to us about the impact of FinTech companies in Africa and how Paga aims to serve the unbanked.

Tayo’s reading list

True North by Bill George
https://www.amazon.com/True-North-Discover-Authentic-Leadership/dp/0787987514

My American Journey by Colin Powell
https://www.amazon.com/My-American-Journey-Colin-Powell/dp/0345466411

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
https://www.amazon.com/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-Nike-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44

Show Notes
1:33 Paga Mission
4:00 Has paga solved the pain point of carrying cash around in Nigeria
6:26 Unique challenges faced while starting paga
8:43 Fundraising challenges founders in Africa face
12:28 How paga has engaged regulatory bodies
15:58 Insights on agency banking model
22:01 How paga has been able to recruit and retain talent
25:52 Operational challenges paga faced during covid
30:01 leadership challenges
31:26 Books that have impacted Tayo’s life
36:05 First encounter with failure as an entrepreneur
42:46 Concept of product management in the tech ecosystem.


The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

Deeze's Quote

"Don't enjoy to the point where you're not doing hard work again and don't do hard work to the point where you don't take a moment to enjoy just a little bit."

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Today’s episode features Deeze, the Director of vibes at Fractional, a decentralized protocol that enables collective ownership and governance of one or more NFTs.

Deeze is most known for his outstanding work in supporting the NFT community, he hosts twitter spaces to spotlight up and coming artists with quality work in the scene.

Listen and enjoy as Deeze talks to us about everything from fractional and how he got started with NFTs.

Twitter thread
https://twitter.com/punk6529/status/1507787390114488322?


Deeze reading list

https://www.amazon.com/Million-Stuffed-Shark-Economics-Contemporary/dp/0230620590 The 12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompson

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Suasion-Robert-Cialdini-Ph-D-audiobook/dp/B01JAYK6HI/ref=sr_1_1? Pre-suasion by Robert Cialdini

https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robert-Cialdini/dp/006124189X Influence by Robert Cialdini

https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-History-Will-Durant/dp/143914995X/ref=sr_1_1? Lessons of history by Will and Ariel Durant

https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Mentors-Short-Advice-World/dp/B082VM5VZN/ref=sr_1 _1? Tribe of Mentors by Will Ferriss


Show Notes
1:15 How did you get started with NFT
7:52 What are NFTs and what can be their use in the future
10:52 Journey to fractional
14:33 Owning a collectible with a group of strangers/ friends
17:21 Advice to newbies joining NFT projects
21:25 Pseudonymity within the NFT ecosystem
27:40 Thoughts on the Azuki scandal
34:50 Favorite books
39:03 Highs and lows of NFT
47:32 First encounter with failure and lessons learned.

The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup

MERCEDES BENT

Quote - “one of the biggest, most profound realization I've had is there is no life path that can be planned or followed.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Our guests will share their working formulas, the hard facts about leaving familiar terrain, embracing the unknown, and staying relevant afterwards.

This episode features Mercedes Bent, partner at Lightspeed, a venture capital firm based in the USA, with her focus on consumer investments in crypto.

Born in North Carolina and raised in California, Mercedes’ parents introduced her to web development at a young age and dinner table conversations were centered around the next invention. It’s no surprise Mercedes found herself working at startups in her early career as a Product Manager and later as a General Manager.

Mercedes’ path to VC is a true convergence of her life experiences, finance roles managing P&Ls at two consumer startups (including growing one from $2 to $100M in revenue), and her long-term goal of empowering communities she cares about.

A member of Lightspeed’s consumer and crypto investing team, Mercedes is primarily focused on investing in crypto, fintech, and other wealth-building and consumer products.

Listen and enjoy as Mercedes talks to us about venture capital.

Mercedes reading list
https://www.amazon.com/Anne-Green-Gables-Complete-8-Book/dp/0553609416 Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery.

https://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Nearer-Ray-Kurzweil-ebook/dp/B08Y6FYJVY The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil

Show Notes
6:59 Journey to Venture Capital and Lightspeed
8:41 Evaluating startups
11:00 Common misconceptions about VC
12:40 Why Lightspeed
15:01 Covid’s impact on deal flow and personally
17:41 How the barrier can be broken for women trying to raise capital
21:25 First encounter with failure and lessons learned.
24:17 Advice to founders struggling to recruit and retain talent
28:24 Advice to people trying to break into VC
29:51 If the only thing left in the world was to read a book about your life, what will the title be
33:41 What does being Afropolitan mean to you



The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/
Afropolitan Community - https://linktr.ee/afropolitangroup