The benefits of being an entrepreneur by Yussouf Ntwali
Yussouf Ntwali
Yussouf Ntwali is the co-founder and COO of BAG Innovation, a digital support system for students in higher learning institutions to complement technical learning with market-relevant experience and virtual internships. They are bridging the gap between the academic sector and business environment by enabling an effective online system to develop, track and match the student capacity with the market need upon graduation.
He’s a passionate entrepreneur with significant background operating technology, education and service businesses and together with his team, they’re creating the largest network of university students on the African continent.
We chatted to Yussouf about the benefits of being an entrepreneur and starting your business in order to inspire young people to do the same. Here’s what he had to say…
I’ve been an entrepreneur ever since I can remember, from growing up in a household where my dad is a serial entrepreneur to graduating from school and being impacted by the problem of unemployment. Entrepreneurship was everywhere in my upbringing. I like to take any opportunity to discuss entrepreneurship everywhere I go, even though I’ve been involved in starting 2-3 businesses that I consider to be on the path to success, I still wonder and ask fellow entrepreneurs, ‘why did you (we) venture into entrepreneurship’ and the most common answer I receive is obviously “I wanted to be my own boss” or “I hate working for others” and as much as I agree with these statements, I still believe that there is more to entrepreneurship than just working for oneself. With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of 3 benefits I personally derive from being an entrepreneur:
1. CONSTANT GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
In the early stages of any startup, as a founder, you are required to learn every single aspect of doing business. I remember when my co-founder at BAG Innovation (Gabriel Ekman) and I were getting started, even though we had no finance/accounting background and we didn’t have a big enough team with expertise in the field, we had to do all the bookkeeping, taxation and financial planning by ourselves. This required us to reach out to accounting experts, read tips and tricks, and watch lots and lots of Youtube videos to understand how to do this.
2. LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Starting a company and growing one requires a lot in terms of skills. Since I started managing a team of 5+ people I had to learn how to communicate effectively with my team and become better at time management so I could get more things done.
3. GROWING A STRONG, PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
“Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come.” — Diane Helbig
Since I got into the entrepreneurial lifestyle I’ve made so many friends than ever before mostly from networking events, pitching competitions, business trips and social media. Some of these friends have throughout the years become business partners, clients, mentors, ambassadors etc.
The above is just a few of some of the great benefits of being an entrepreneur, with a number of different personal benefits that everyone experiences for themselves once they start this journey. Wishing you the very best on the journey you choose to pursue.
