Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bola Lawal, Co-Founder of ScholarX (LearnAM), located in Lagos, Nigeria.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We're in the business of scaling the future of work training. ScholarX (LearnAm) is working to scale access to in-demand skills for the future of work. We're not just training people; we want to be able to do it where we can get millions of people to get the training. It's different.
Tell us about yourself
What got me started in business is I moved to the US in 2003 because I wasn't able to get into my preferred University in Nigeria. I moved to the US alone and struggled to get a university education. I had to work while going to school; I had difficulties paying my tuition. In fact, at one point, I almost got disenrolled from University. One of the things that helped me then was access to Scholarships and Students loan from the government, and I was able to get an education. I also think I have entrepreneurial blood in me because of my late mum, even though she had a regular job working for the government - Internal Revenue Service. She had businesses and shops. She had different things she was doing, one of which was she traveled to buy goods to sell in Nigeria; in one of her shops, she was supplying packed juice distributed to retail stores. When I was much younger, I'd be the one to go meet those stores and see if they wanted more boxed juice, and then we supply them, so I've always had the entrepreneurial drive in me.
After University, I got a nice job with all the conveniences of working, but I just didn't feel fulfilled. I was just drawn back home and thinking about different ways to participate in the country's affairs. One of the things on my mind then was to do business back home, so when I got the opportunity to partner with my co-founder, Maxwell, I took it. The idea was about creating a platform, an app to give people access to scholarships. This connected really well with me because of my background. I had to rely on scholarships, too, to get an education. So, that was the missing link I was looking for, and that really brought me properly into becoming an entrepreneur and building a platform. That's how I got into the business. What keeps me up at night or what makes me continue to do what I do every day is that the problem we're trying to solve is not going away anytime soon. It's even much more on the largest scale now, so I'm truly passionate about human capital and the future of work.
I believe anybody that's able should be able to learn anything they want to learn and do the jobs that will provide them dignity and provide them all the social safety nests that they need ( food, shelter, education, you know). They have to live a well-meaning life. I'm really passionate about that. Whether it's through ScholarX, our learning platform, LearnAm, or through building a community like Premia Business Network to give people the opportunity to connect with each other. Increase their network by emphasizing group economics; you know, we'll go farther when we grow together. So, definitely, I look at solving problems from a group standpoint, from a collective standpoint. So, yeah. That's what gets me going.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Building an education brand that has helped hundreds of thousands of young people get access to quality education, building a product up to that level of recognition where you know, you want to mention the key players in education in Nigeria or on the continent, you won't go too far without mentioning ScholarX. You know, putting that footprint is very important; the power of the platform is very important. Building that as a catalyst for other things that I'm doing, including building a community like PBN, is quite fulfilling.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The thing is that business itself is a continuum and things change from minute to minute, hour to hour. Having to adjust to a moving or a dynamic situation can be challenging because while you're trying to solve one problem, by the time you're done with that problem, another problem is already waiting for you or the other problem you felt you solved, by the time you get to the end, more complexities will be added to it and so, in a dynamic environment that changes all the time, in a very difficult, unforgiving market like where we're based in Nigeria, it's quite hard to adjust and to continue to deliver results. So, a dynamic changing environment is very hard.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First thing first, you have to be completely honest with yourself. Self-awareness and self-assessment are key, so be honest with yourself. Second, don't be afraid to try and test things out. I think most of what you're doing is an experiment anyways, so the first one is, to be honest with yourself, the second is the test, test, experiment, and the third is, I'd say, build a strong network in that line. Don't suffer in silence; always speak up. And the key part of that is to have a network so you can always lean back or rely on your network or balance things up with your network. Your network can also protect you and support you.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://learnam.africa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwlawal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BWLawal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bola-l-3344ba32/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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