Posts in Life

Exciting Updates Ahead

Life

I’ve got a couple of updates to share!

✨ KintraceAI is now officially incorporated! Whoop whoop! 🎉

Yesterday, we reached out to 75 of our earliest supporters, those who’ve helped shape our product with invaluable feedback. Your input has been crucial, and we’re so grateful for your support!

Now, let’s dive into something I’ve been reflecting on: Has my LinkedIn activity paid off? 🤔

At first, I said “Yes” without hesitation, but I decided to back it up with data. Here’s what I found:

📈 I’m about to hit 3,000 followers (up from 2,994 when I started drafting this post). While that might not sound huge, over 1,200 followers joined this year alone, averaging 100 new followers per month.

What’s fascinating? Most days, I gained zero followers. But through consistent posting, I grew by 150% this year, proving that persistence pays off.

This mirrors the entrepreneurial journey, with lots of ups and downs, but with steady effort, growth is inevitable.

But beyond the numbers, LinkedIn has opened incredible doors for me:
🌍 A private conversation with the Chief Brand Officer of one of the world’s most valuable companies, a surreal moment.
🎯 Found a reliable assistant after years of struggling with recruitment. A true game-changer.

Here’s the kicker: I’m not a LinkedIn guru. I’ve simply committed to posting at least once a week (sometimes more, sometimes less). Imagine if I developed an actual strategy. That’s definitely on my 2025 to-do list.

So, yes, LinkedIn has brought both quantitative and qualitative benefits. Thank you to my 3,000+ followers for being part of this amazing journey. Here’s to the next 3,000 and beyond!

🚀 Join our waitlist if you haven’t already: www.kintrace.ai

Kintrace is Growing!

Adventure Life Stuff

At Kintrace, our journey has been anything but straightforward. What began six years ago as a simple hypothesis has evolved into an AI-driven storytelling platform redefining how families preserve their heritage.

Our path has been marked by persistence, pivots, and a deep commitment to solving a fundamental human need: keeping family stories alive. We underwent a critical reset after relocating to Canada and enrolling in the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business. Our focus shifted entirely to customer validation, ensuring that our platform meets the needs of families wanting to document their unique narratives.

We’re proud to embrace an African proverb that resonates deeply with our mission: “It takes a village to raise a child.” At Kintrace, this isn’t just a saying it’s our operational philosophy. Our growth is a collective effort, supported by a community of storytellers who believe in our vision.

Recently, we experienced a significant milestone that validates our approach. A family channel, already experienced in documenting stories, chose to migrate their entire network of storytellers to our platform. This 43.33% community growth is more than a number, it’s a testament to the trust families are placing in Kintrace to preserve their most precious memories.

We’re building more than a platform. We’re creating a future where no story is lost, and where every family narrative is cherished and preserved through cutting-edge AI technology. Our commitment is simple: empower families to document, share, and protect their unique histories.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be showcasing the transformative power of Kintrace. We invite you to be part of this exciting movement. Join our waitlist and help us ensure that your family’s stories continue to inspire generations to come.

Together, we’re keeping stories alive.

Finding Inspiration: Where Stories Come to Life

Adventure Life Nature Travel

“We need stories to understand ourselves.” – Salman Rushdie

At Kintrace, we believe that inspiration for storytelling can be found in the most unexpected places. Recently, our journey of discovery led us through a day of meaningful exploration that reinforced our mission to preserve family narratives.

To commemorate our 6th anniversary, we embarked on a journey through Waterloo’s rich tapestry of stories. Our day began in a local bookstore, where we encountered Yahaya Baruwa, author of “Struggles of a Dreamer” – a powerful novel chronicling an immigrant’s journey. Baruwa’s own story is remarkable; his family emigrated to Canada in 2001 when he was 12, and his novel has resonated with over 55,000 readers.

The Waterloo Museum’s exhibition, “Waterloo From Above 200 Years of Change,” offered a profound testament to the power of preserving stories. The exhibition traced the city’s transformation from early Indigenous communities to its current vibrant landscape. One particularly moving narrative was that of Levi Carroll, a Black freedom seeker whose family history is deeply interwoven with Waterloo and Kitchener’s historical fabric.

What struck us most was the exhibition’s innovative approach to storytelling. Historic maps, aerial images, and even LEGO recreations of iconic structures demonstrated the myriad ways we can connect with and preserve our past. It’s a reminder that stories are not just about words, but about creating meaningful connections across time and space.

These experiences reaffirmed Kintrace’s core mission: building a future where no story is lost. Every family has a unique narrative waiting to be discovered, preserved, and shared.

We’re curious: Where do you find inspiration for stories? What narratives in your family or community deserve to be remembered?

At Kintrace, we’re committed to helping you capture and celebrate those irreplaceable moments that define who we are.

A Lesson from My Morning Routine

Life Stuff

My grooming routine every morning usually involves combing out my hair first, followed by applying hair mousse and finally using a Big Twist Sponge to achieve the Afro Curl Coil.

As I carried out the routine this morning, I noticed my almost 4-year-old son by my side waiting for school drop. As he watched, he had a comment for each process. For the first one, it was “Daddy I like your hair”. For the second one, “Daddy what is that and why apply so much”. I had a response ready for each of his questions up to this point, but nothing prepared me for the last one, “Daddy why are you scattering your hair?”

I mean, he just passed a compliment when he saw me comb it out, only to watch in horror as I scattered the same hair 🤦‍♂️

This brings me to the why of this post. During a recent class at the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, one of the professors Dean Pacey talked about the concept of #creativedestruction. Being someone who is fascinated by paradoxes, I found this very interesting. Even more so when he shared an example of its use – during Steve’s Jobs second stint at Apple, which ultimately turned the fortunes of the company around, making it the most valuable company in the world.

The more I explored, the more I found it relatable to my professional journey up to this point – First it was Design, then Photography, then Branding, then Advertising, then Websites and Digital Marketing, then Events, then Software Development. Today I’m embracing Sales. The outcome for me is that each iteration sets you up for innovation.

So I’m curious about why more companies are not open to adopting a concept that could exponentially change their outlook. Could it be fear? comfort? or just having their head in the sand. Let me know in the comments section.

Just in case you’re wondering what I told my son, let’s just say that I told him the truth. That was his first lesson in Creative Destruction 😎

 

Retired, not tired

Food Life Stuff Travel

As a toddler, if you had asked me what my mum did for a living, I probably would have mouthed “cake” and I wouldn’t have been far from the truth. You see, the earliest images I had of my mum were rather doughy, not the money kind though. I’m talking lots of flour, butter, eggs, milk, nutmeg and baking powder. Read More

Welcome to Tosin’s Room

Life

Where to begin? Tosin Olusoga died 5 years ago today at the age of 19 but already has a space dedicated to his memory at the University of East Anglia (UEA)’s School of Economics, where he also has a prize named after him, The Tosin Olusoga Memorial Prize, open to African students and awarded for excellent performance in their final assessment.

A lot has been written already about Tosin HERE and so I will keep this simple.

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No One Fails Alone

Life

Social media (in all its manifestations) often appears like the world’s best-kept secret but even then, it is undeniable that there are no secrets on social media! A notification here, a nudge there, you’re constantly reminded (read that as harassed) about milestones, goals, and projections.

If you pay closer attention, you’ll realize that social media knows a lot more about you than you give it credit for. Scary! It is like the timekeeper with the demanding task of ringing bells in people’s ears or the class captain with an equally unenviable task of getting everyone into shape.

This brings me to the reason for this post. Linkedin just notified me that I’ve been 6 years at Bedouin (pronounced Bed-Win). Wow!

It feels like only yesterday that I was contemplating trading off ALL my material belongings to enable me to actualize a burning ambition to activate a 2-year part-scholarship to study in the US, which had precipitated my resignation from my last place of work.

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I eventually gave up the scholarship and the idea of traveling altogether since it was beyond my means, despite my efforts at raising the funds. In the end, it turned out to become a quintessential example of how not all disappointments turn out to be bad after all.

I got inspired to pour out my energies and some frustration on a business I had registered 14 months prior but didn’t feel adequate to run yet. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought I could build let alone run a business at the time.

Not to be deterred, I set out with my Canon 60D camera + gear, old Mackbook Pro, which were the only legacies of savings from my convoluted work history.

I recall barely having anything left each month after paying for Internet, Fuel, NEPA, and giving allowances to the 2 guys that started with me as interns. We operated out of my bedroom in an apartment my siblings and I contributed some money to rent for our mum. My workstation was a converted shoe rack!

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Behold The Purple Room!

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Left: Me at work, Right: Interns as the first recruits

It’s been six years of sacrifices, sleepless nights, heartbreak, disappointments, and frustration but it’s also been a jolly good ride. I’ve established a lot of connections and made a lot of friends and enemies in the process.

From very humble beginnings, our business has grown in value and impact. The goal had always been to make steady progress to achieve organic growth on a year-on-year basis despite the headwinds. As at first quarter last year, that figure stood north of $700,000!

It has not been a walk in the park. We’ve been forced to tweak our business model three times and on the verge of our most ambitious pivot yet.

I designed the roadmap and blueprint that currently drives the business forward, but I wasn’t alone. I’ve had a fully grounded support system made up of a close circle of friends and my ever-supportive family. I’m particularly grateful to Kayode Kolade for working with me to craft that vision, Tunji Mesh for providing his expertise when available. Segun Ogunleye, Basit Arasi for their constant support and guidance. I can’t mention everyone but I’m truly thankful for every time anyone has said NO to me.

Here’s to 60 more years!

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