On Tuesday, Backstories with Fatu premiered on YouTube. Backstories with Fatu is a YouTube show hosted by tech entrepreneur Fatu Ogwuche on her channel Big Tech This Week, in which she discusses the backstories of some of the most prominent people in the African tech ecosystem and the pivotal events that made them who they are today.
The first episode, which featured a conversation with Kola Aina, a renowned entrepreneur and founding partner of Ventures Platform, covered a variety of topics, including his background before becoming a tech investor, and what he looks out for when backing founders. The chat lasted about 40 minutes and came across as quite relaxed and candid, like a discussion between friends. Ogwuche and Aina discussed the Paystack exit and what it meant for him as one of their investors, the Nigerian Startup Bill, some of his losses as an investor, and his interesting art collection.
The highlight of the interview was Aina sharing how Ventures Platform stepped in to resolve the ThriveAgric crisis in 2020. The agro-crowdfunding startup couldn’t repay retail investors due to the loss incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to countless fraud allegations on social media.
Aina also shared how much his personal rule of not backing founders whom he doesn’t consider to be fundamentally nice people saves him from being burnt in the investing business.
“We want to back founders who are decent people,” Aina said, “who treat their co-founders and employees decently, and who are respectful. Because, to be honest, it ultimately bubbles to the top.”
Ogwuche said the purpose of the series goes beyond just entertainment.
“It serves as a launchpad for emerging tech entrepreneurs, providing them with actionable insights and mentorship from seasoned industry veterans,” she revealed in a press release. “For established tech insiders, the interviews offer a glimpse into the future of the ever-evolving ecosystem,” she added.
Ogwuche writes a weekly newsletter also called Big Tech This Week, a popular newsletter covering the African tech ecosystem. This season of Backstories will feature interviews with three other innovators in tech and business, including Odun Eweniyi of Piggyvest and Olumide Soyombo of Voltron Capital.
To watch the first episode and look out for coming ones, visit Ogwuche’s YouTube channel here.
