Tell us about your school life

I was in art class in secondary school. Towards the end of that, I started thinking about the best course to do and I settled on Law. 

It wasn’t that it had to be Law. It was more like why not Law? So I went and studied Law at Unilag for five years. It was a fun journey. 

I voluntarily interned at a couple of law firms so I knew what being a lawyer was like, and I quickly realized that I wasn’t cut out for it. 

By the time graduation came around, I couldn’t see myself practicing law.

Lawyers in the mud 🫠

Don't get me wrong. Many lawyers are living well but the majority of them are not living as comfortably as they would like because law firms are in tiers. 

Tier 1, 2, 3. The lower the tier, the more underwhelming the pay is. 

If you're not part of that one percent doing all the great things, you might not enjoy it as much. 

As a law student, you knew people in your class who were probably going to make it to that one percent.

You didn’t think you could be part of the one percent? 

Not exactly. I mean, my grades were decent in school so I could have managed to get on that route but it just wasn’t for me. 

I dabbled into a lot of creative extracurricular activities in university and during my internships - one of which was at a top law firm. 

Because I was just an intern, I wasn't assigned core tasks. My job was to read case files or tag along whenever the lawyers were going to court. 

That experience really put things in perspective for me. I got to see what that lawyer life entailed and I just thought to myself that I couldn’t strive for it. 

Fair enough. So, what happened next? 

I started trying to figure out what aligned best with my interests - what I really wanted to do. Along the way, I got an opportunity to work at a new company. 

It was very random but I was open to it. I asked about what roles they had available and they said Customer Experience (CX) was. 

And I said cool, let’s do it. I didn’t know what I was getting into. 

Daring move. What was CX like for you? 

The first few months I spent working in CX solidified things for me. 

I enjoyed it because I’m the kind of person who is always selling something, so talking to people and dealing with the challenges that come with that has always been one of my strong suits. 

Also, the feeling of fulfillment I get when I resolve an issue that customers have is great. I really liked that. 

When another opportunity came to do the same thing at Casava, I thought why not? And here I am. 

Lovely! Many people think CX is repetitive. Do you? 

I don’t think it is repetitive. Especially because every customer has their own flavor of problem. That’s what makes it interesting. 

It’s even more interesting when you are in an industry like insurance, where there are very specific details that you must know. That means you learn a lot on the job and it’s fun that way. 

So no, CX is not repetitive.

Awesome. Tell me about your typical day at Casava as a CX professional

I listen to customers tell me their problems or questions and I resolve those things for them to the best of my ability. Once I’m finished speaking to them, I inform the right team about what was said so it can be resolved. 

I constantly need to make sure that the customers are satisfied and happy with Casava. 

I genuinely enjoy being able to really help the customers that I interact with. It makes me feel good that I helped someone else feel better than they did before speaking with me.

That sounds cool. What are some of the skills that you believe are necessary for success in CX?

The barrier to entry to CX as a career is very small. So getting in is smooth but staying there is a different ball game. 

Firstly, great communication skills and emotional intelligence are a must-have and they have to be top-notch. 

Trust me, they will come in handy in understanding customers, answering their questions tactfully, and pre-empting problems. 

Secondly, you might encounter some intense customers so you obviously need to be level-headed 

Thirdly, knowing how to handle data is necessary. You don’t need to have extensive data analytics knowledge. Just the basic data administration is fine. 

Sweet! What do you enjoy the most about your job at Casava? 

At Casava, you can only learn by doing things. Some of it might be new so you might be thrown off sometimes but you will figure it out. It’s not rocket science. But hey, who knows, you might be able to solve that too. 

Lol, thank you, Tolu! 

Peace ✌🏾

You can join the barn too!

We are on the lookout for exceptional and interesting people to join us in achieving some of the exciting and transformational things that we do at Casava. 

If that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, click here. 

Tell us about your school experience

I studied civil engineering at the University of Benin (Uniben). My brother told me about the course and it seemed quite interesting.

I was meant to go to the university that year and I knew that my chances of getting in would be a lot better if I chose that course so I did. 

By the time I graduated five years later, I knew I wasn’t going to practice. 

Oh… Why? 

During my time in school, I became more involved in content development, writing, marketing, and other creative things.

The more I did these things, it made me more certain that this was what I was supposed to do. 

NYSC solidified everything for me. I served in Bayelsa with the military. They were constructing a barrack so I was helping with that.

I enjoyed working on the theory aspect of things for that project but one time, I was onsite and under the sun, I knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do long-term. 

That’s understandable. So what did you do after Bayelsa?

I got a job at Redot Digital  - a digital marketing agency - as a Content Specialist. I developed content for brands like Morning Fresh and Premiere Cool. It was great.

I worked there for a while until I got another job a Koolboks, a manufacturing company based in France. They were producing solar energy refrigerators. 

I was responsible for content and fundraising at Koolboks. That was my introduction to the world of social impact fundraising for brands. 

Exciting! How much have you raised for brands so far? 

A little over $4 million since 2020. 

Star girl 🚀 How did you discover Casava? 

So the first time I heard about Casava was during the COVID lockdown. The company was promoting its job loss insurance product called Income Protection.

I thought that the product was a very cool and interesting solution that the job market needed. 

Four years later, Casava is hiring for a Social Impact Manager and an ex-colleague refers me. I went through all the hiring stages and here we are today. 

What do you consider to be the most difficult part of being a social impact fundraiser for brands?

I would say it's managing the expectations of C-suite executives. Social impact fundraising cycles last as long as 3 months, 6 months, and even, a year.

It's dependent on the organization you are working with, the stakeholders involved, and the timeline of their assessment. Ultimately, a lot of patience is required.

That's something many C-suite executives struggle to come to terms with at first but once they do, it's smooth sailing from there on.

Awesome. What’s your job like at Casava? 

I’m the Social Impact Manager at Casava and what that entails is spotlighting the impactful things that the organization does for people and the environment.

This makes the company a worthy candidate for impact partnerships and funding for projects. 

It’s not a walk in the park but I’m very passionate about what I do and I’m reliable so I’m sure I’ll do great things here at Casava. 

Do you have any advice for those who want to join the barn? 

Oh, yes. Casava is a great place. You’ll learn a lot and build capacity. So just visit the Career page on Casava’s website and you’ll see everything you need to know - from benefits to open roles. It’s all there. 

Simple as ABC. Thank you Ufuoma

Thank you too. Bye!

You can join the barn too!

We are looking for exceptional and interesting people to join us in achieving some of the exciting and transformational things we do at Casava. 

If that sounds like something you'd like to participate in, you can click here. 

What was school like for you?

I studied at the Yaba College of Technology. It was a nice experience that went by pretty quickly.

Sweet! So what happened next?

So some of my course requirements included a three-month internship, and then a one-year internship.

I wanted to do my three-month internship at FBN General Insurance because my uncle knew the M.D.

When that didn’t work out because the FBN took too long to get back to me, I went to work at the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). It was a wonderful experience. 

When it was time for the one-year internship, there was an opportunity for me at FBN. 

Finally! How did it go at FBN?

It was absolutely brilliant actually!

I think working at FAAN prior made me appreciate the environment at FBN more. The way work is done at a government institution is totally different from how it’s done at a private institution. 

Managers sending interns on errands to buy food for them was a thing. None of the managers asked me to go and buy food for them but there was always a possibility. 

It stopped when the M.D. noticed that a particular intern was going to Chicken Republic up to three times a day. He was bothered so he called the intern and asked him why he was eating that much. 

The intern then explained to him that a manager sent him to go and buy the food. That evening, the M.D. called a meeting with all managers and sternly instructed them never to send interns on errands again.

Through that incident, nearly 80% of all of us who were interns that year began actual careers in insurance because we actually got involved in insurance work and were impacted. 

All thanks to Chicken Republic lol

Yeah, all thanks to Chicken Republic for real.

How do you find working at insurance companies?

So far in the insurance space, I have worked at Sanlam and a broker called SCIB Nigeria and Co., arguably the biggest broking firm in the country.

I worked at SCIB for two years then I moved to Sanlam where I worked for another three years. 

Now, I’m at Casava. I've basically done a broker, an insurance company, and now an Insurtech. I have a very rich career.

And a rich bank account lol

I don’t know about that, oh.

So how did you get to Casava?

I have a friend who had worked at Casava before me. When I received an email from the HR team at Casava about my current role, I messaged my friend to find out if he knew anything about it. 

He said he was the one who forwarded my CV to the HR team and told me more about the company. The rest is history. 

Friends that put you on >>> What was your interview process like?

So the first two interviews were virtual and then I had a physical one. When I walked in, I liked Casava’s office space. When I saw the size of the team, it scared me a bit because I had worked at traditional organizations prior. 

I knew what to expect and I also wanted that challenge. I just thought that Casava was cool and after my conversation with the COO, I left thinking ‘Let’s give this a shot.’

Read our blog post on Asthma

So, this is your first start-up. How different has the experience been? 

The difference is massive actually.  In traditional companies, there is a structure that gives clear expectations for everyone there. You know exactly what you're going to do every day. 

Startups on the other hand are a bit more chaotic in the sense that everything is still being built and you are part of that process. So you’ll have to advocate more for the things you believe in, there is a lot of experimentation, and you just figure a lot of things out by yourself until it works. 

But yeah, everything is different. Even the management style is different.

That sounds exciting. What do you enjoy the most about working at Casava?

I think the challenge that I envisioned is what I like the most about working at Casava. You don’t know what problem you’ll be resolving today or what team you’ll be collaborating with tomorrow to launch something new. 

I think the spontaneity at Casava is something I look forward to and it has stretched me. I have had to go out of my comfort zone several times.

Before I joined Casava, I wasn't a natural at sales but now, I’m considering sales because I’ve had to engage people and I think I’m good at it.

It’s simply because I’ve had to do it sometimes at Casava. 

I was on my way to play football one evening when someone threw a basketball in my direction for me to take a shot. I just watched the ball roll away because my rationale was I don’t play basketball so there was no need to try and catch it. 

That’s an example of how I don’t engage with what I don’t already know. You can’t do that at Casava because when the task demands for you to do something new, you find creative ways to execute it. And I consider myself to be a creative person so yeah, working at Casava has made me more creative in my approach to problem solving. 

That’s amazing Ola. Finally, what’s your advice for people transitioning from traditional companies to startups?

Hmm… I haven't really thought about that before but from my experience so far, I’ll say you first need to be ready to change your mindset. 

Your mindset drives everything so if you're stuck with the traditional mindset, you will struggle. Adjust your mindset to adapt to any new organization or industry you find yourself in. That way, you are ready for anything and everything.

Secondly, you need to keep an open mind and be flexible. Traditional organizations set you on a clear career path and it’s easy to feel like you can’t do other things excellently. Startups challenge you to rediscover yourself so you can harness skills you might not have realized that you had.

It might be overwhelming at first and that could be frustrating but if you have an open mind and are flexible, you’ll be alright. 

Solid advice! Thank you Ola 

That’s what I do. You are welcome lol. 

You can join the barn too!

We are looking for exceptional and interesting people to join us in achieving some of the exciting and transformational things we do at Casava. 

If that sounds like something you'd like to participate in, click here.