Podcast Transcript – Series One, Episode 23
Abbey Wemimo Esusu November 2020
[00:00:00] Abbey: [00:00:00] I grew up in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria,
[00:00:02]this concept of falling forward. has helped me throughout my life.
[00:00:06]I walk into every situation knowing I can see the other side and be successful.
[00:00:11]And our mission today is. Keeping working families in their homes,
[00:00:15]We are now at half a million rental units in 40 States in the country.
[00:00:19] the average white family has 10 times more wealth than their black counterparts.
[00:00:24]we spoke to over 300 venture capitalists and no one essentially wanted to give us money.
[00:00:29]relationships matter, invest in them.
[00:00:32]this is what is Esusu means. If you want to go fast, you go alone. But if you want to go far, you fundamentally go together
[00:00:39] Dan: [00:00:39] what’s up Unfound Nation, Dan Kihanya here. Thanks so much for checking out another episode of Founders Unfound. That was Abbey Wemimo, co-founder and co-CEO of Esusu, a revolutionary FinTech platform transforming the connection between data, tenants, and property. Esusu empowers renters around the most important financial [00:01:00] identity: the credit score.
[00:01:01] And listen to this story arc: he was raised in Lagos. Nigeria; went to school in the United States, worked on the Obama reelection campaign, launched his first startup, and even did a stint with Goldman Sachs – all before starting Esusu with his co-founder Samir.
[00:01:16] Keep on listening to hear this wonderful tale.
[00:01:19] Our episode is sponsored by Founders Live, a global platform, built to inspire, educate, and entertain the modern entrepreneur. Be sure to visit founderslive.com or check for a link in the show notes.
[00:01:30] This will be our last one-on-one interview for 2020. We’re dedicating our episodes in December to updates. We want to check in with former guests and see what they’ve been up to and how they fared with the remainder of 2020.
[00:01:43] In the meantime, please support us by following and subscribing to our podcast. We can use all the help we can get we’re available anywhere you like to listen. And if you’re inspired, drop us a review on Apple podcasts or podchaser.com. We’d love to hear from you.
[00:01:58] I know this has been a tough year for many of [00:02:00] you, and I truly wish that the upcoming holidays can bring you some peace and joy.
[00:02:05] Now on with the episode, stay safe and hope you enjoy.
[00:02:09] Hello and welcome to Founders Unfound, spotlighting, the best startups you don’t know yet. We bring you stories of exceptional founders from underrepresented backgrounds. This is episode number 23 in our series on founders of African descent. I’m your host, Dan Kihanya.
[00:02:24] Let’s get on it.
[00:02:25] Today, we have Abbey Wemimo, Co-founder and co CEO of Esusu, the leading financial technology platform that leverages data solutions to empower tenants and improve property performance. Welcome to the show, Abby, we’re super excited to have you on. Thanks for making the time.
[00:02:42] Abbey: [00:02:42] Thanks a lot Daniel for having me. Incredibly excited to engage in this thought-provoking conversation.
[00:02:48] Dan: [00:02:48] Terrific. Well, first let’s help the listeners understand what exactly is Esusu and what’s it all about.
[00:02:54] Abbey: [00:02:54] Yes, Daniel, Esusu is a platform that lets every day [00:03:00] renters reports their rents or data into the credit bureaus to build their credit. Right now, 1% of rental data being captured in the United States, but rental data, which is the largest monthly expense is not included.
[00:03:14] So at Esusu, we decided to capture this information. Reports are for residents so they can build or establish their credit scores.
[00:03:22] Dan: [00:03:22] It’s a brilliant innovation for sure. And I want to get it more into unpacking exactly what it is, but let’s switch gears a little bit and start with who you are and where you came from.
[00:03:33] You’re originally from Nigeria. Is that right? Correct.
[00:03:36] Abbey: [00:03:36] Daniel, I grew up in the slums of Lagos, Nigeria, and you know, just, it’s been a, it’s been an incredible experience from Lagos to the United States.
[00:03:46] So help us
[00:03:46] Dan: [00:03:46] understand what does it mean to grow up in the slums? Because I think sometimes people in the United States don’t exactly have a good visceral understanding of what that is. What does it mean to grow up in the slums?
[00:03:57] Abbey: [00:03:57] Yeah, so just the [00:04:00] little history of all my life. I was born in the Southwestern parts of Lagos. Nigeria was born into a good family. I lost my father at the age of two. my mother and I was a postal office worker moved into an uncompleted building, literally nine-six kilometers away from where our house was when my father was alive.
[00:04:22] In a situation where you live in the slums, they cope with things that are apparent in Nigeria. I didn’t have constant electricity for close to 14 years of my life. when we moved into the house, my mother and I, we didn’t have a running toilet, um, a bathroom was a makeshift one and my mother, because she was walking at the postal office.
[00:04:42] Essentially had to make miracles happen and also build a bathroom while we’re living there. So essentially we moved into an uncompleted building with the little money she had, um, working. She built it while we lived there in certain amenities like running toilets, no [00:05:00] electricity. and other basic things were just not prevalent.
[00:05:04] Dan: [00:05:04] Wow. And what’s your memory of that? I mean, it’s, you said your, father passed away when you were two, sounds like it was kind of a sudden disruptive thing. When did you start to acknowledge kind of your surroundings? Did it just feel like this is what life is or did you have some sense of like, this is different from what other people are experiencing?
[00:05:23] Abbey: [00:05:23] No, it was actually interesting. I didn’t understand the destitution of my social position until I went to middle school, which was one of the best middle / high school in the land. But my mother did everything to shield me from not filling in a position of lack number one. And number two, I was only exposed to what I was exposed to.
[00:05:45] So my mother’s love was unwavering, everything I wanted as a kid, I got, for the most part, we really got a good explanation as to why I couldn’t get access to it. So my mother did a fantastic job and a lot of [00:06:00] sacrifices to give me everything I needed at that point in my life. I think the juxtaposition was when I went to middle school West, I go into school with, you know, the Senate, us child, you know, the minister’s child or the ambassador’s child’s.
[00:06:15] And in some cases, the ex-president’s child, they understand the differences and the destitution of my social position. Which prompted a lot of questions, but at that point, I had a solid foundation that my mother would sacrifice and invested
[00:06:32] Dan: [00:06:32] that’s so important. And that she sounds like an amazing woman for sure.
[00:06:36] And I would imagine that it helps you have some confidence and some wind in your sails when you entered that environment with all these sons and daughters, maybe of, these prominent people. Did you feel like you had to constantly prove yourself or anything? Or did you feel like I belong here and just whatever happens outside of school is whatever it is and I belong here?
[00:06:58] Or did you feel that sense of [00:07:00] sort of like having to prove yourself
[00:07:01] Abbey: [00:07:01] at all?
[00:07:02] I never felt like I needed to prove myself because I fundamentally believed, or my mother instilled in me as I am enough. A lot of people don’t say that my mother has always emphasized that, you know, you are created to live the life you were created to live, and you have a special assignment on this earth and you are enough, so that strong grounding and the rhetoric my mother puts in my head always made me go into situations saying you might have all the riches in the world.
[00:07:34] But at the end of the day, you have one head. I have one head. You have two eyes. I have two eyes. We all have the same. You might have a little bit of a leg up from a resource standpoint or whatever you can do in life. I can also achieve that’s the way I was raised not to give any excuses, work hard, and always be better than the status quo.
[00:07:56] Dan: [00:07:56] I love that. that’s a great mantra. And so you have [00:08:00] the ability to go to , these schools that sound like is great educational opportunities. And tell us about how that got you to the United States.
[00:08:09] Abbey: [00:08:09] My story and journey to the United States was like I said, my mother believed education was the power months investments in any child’s life.
[00:08:19] She afforded my school is to one of the finest, middle schools slash high schools and the land, which cost us 60% of her salary. What that led to was all my classmates were going to Europe, the United States, and different parts of the world for their next evolution for college. I got into all your consider the Harvard of colleges in Lagos, Nigeria, the University of Lagos.
[00:08:44] And I elected not to go. Elected to take time and study self study the SAT, because I wanted to latch on to this thing called the American dream. My mother was very annoyed. Almost disowned me for not going to [00:09:00] university. But I saw this bigger picture, which was kind of a problem she created by letting me go to these schools.
[00:09:07] Cause I saw beyond what great was, was one thing I always say is good is the enemy of great. So I, I applied for the University of Minnesota because that’s all I knew at that point. And lo and behold, I got in and did my first semester online because I couldn’t afford the first year of college and then came to the United States from 84 degrees weather on an average in Lagos to negative 22 degrees on a cold winter.
[00:09:38] Dan: [00:09:38] How did you adapt to that?
[00:09:40]Abbey: [00:09:40] It was tough. It was what was a character-building experience? I almost turned back when I landed in Minnesota uh, I was on a three-piece suit. I’ll never forget. I just felt as though this was the coldest place in the world. I couldn’t just fathom how people lived in these conditions.
[00:09:57] Mind you at lived in, on an [00:10:00] average 80 plus degree weather throughout my life. So it was a character-building experience. I was depressed because I just saw sun every time. And in Minnesota, you can go months and months without seeing sun, but I also attribute my experience in Minnesota as a character-building experience.
[00:10:16] So look a little bit inward, study a lot, and to lay the foundation for where I am today.
[00:10:22] Dan: [00:10:22] That’s great. And, yeah, it’s cold there. Very cold there for sure. I lived in Michigan and, and some of the upper Midwest. And like you said, coming from 80 degrees on average is quite a shock to the system.
[00:10:35]so tell us, you, you went through school in Minnesota and you come through, what was next after that?
[00:10:40] Abbey: [00:10:40] When I immigrated to Minnesota, I went to the University of Minnesota for undergrad, and I have always been impressed by this notion of President Obama being elected. And I was in Nigeria when that’s happened the first time.
[00:10:56] And the second time I had an opportunity to help do [00:11:00] community organizing on campus and around the Northwestern region of Minnesota for President Obama’s reelection campaign. So joined, and did community organizing spokes of people that fundamentally different than I am. And that I learned a lot about myself.
[00:11:15] Uh, and then I created a water company that builds affordable water infrastructure in developing countries. And while in college, that company went on to provide access to water for over a quarter-million people. And I finished at the University of Minnesota. with a degree in business and marketing and psychology and my next journey was to go to graduate school in New York, at New York University, to really understand the intricacies of development, finance.
[00:11:44] Dan: [00:11:44] Nice. Wow. that’s like 10 years of accomplishment in a small amount of time, starting companies and helping with the election campaign, reelection campaigns, amazing stuff. I mean, what gave you the confidence? I mean, obviously, you talked a lot about it. Your upbringing, [00:12:00] especially when people come from outside the US into the US it takes a while just to adjust to being here much less to figure out how to thrive or be a leader here as well.
[00:12:11] What, kind of kicked in for you to sort of doing these things? Which frankly, people who live here, who grew up here, don’t take on.
[00:12:18] That’s a good
[00:12:19] Abbey: [00:12:19] question. Um, and I get asked this question a lot. You know, I have always been brought up with the notion of not having anything to lose in life and this concept of falling forward and not having anything to sit back on has helped me throughout my life.
[00:12:35] I walk into every room like I belong because I am enough and I walk into every situation knowing I can see the other side and be successful. So for me, it’s always been. Public service has always been something I have latched onto and doing something greater than myself to make sure others have a fighting chance to make sure we can move forward as a society.
[00:12:58] As always been something [00:13:00] that I, you know, I had a strong inclination to, so everything I have done from working for, President Obama’s reelection campaign in places that were quite different, than, you know, what the status quo before is, um, base or starting clean water for everyone that provided access to water for a quarter-million people.
[00:13:21]that was also about, you know, how can we provide access to people? So that has been my modus operandi that it’s not about me. Right. It’s about the collective and it’s about a greater good. And how do I contribute my own humble quarter, to the change eminent in the world? And that’s what I’ve always followed.
[00:13:42] If it’s practical if I’m able to accomplish something while doing it, that has a positive impact on people’s lives. I usually get on the train and get it done.
[00:13:52] Dan: [00:13:52] That makes sense. A lot of sense. And that’s a great philosophy and approach to life. And it certainly makes sense that it would [00:14:00] set you up for the venture that you’re ultimately working on now Esusu.
[00:14:05] And we’re going to hear a lot more about that, but right now we’re going to take a short break and we’ll be right back with Abbey Wemimo from Esusu.
[00:14:21] So we’re back with Abbey from Esusu. So Abbey, after grad school, you enter the financial world and that must’ve given you some insights that ultimately led to Esusu. Tell us a little bit about your experiences. I know you were at Goldman Sachs and PWC. Tell us a little bit about how you ended up there and what, what sort of insights you develop there?
[00:14:42] You know,
[00:14:42] Abbey: [00:14:42] in grad school, I went to study development, finance. Oh, I can essentially leverage my business acumen from undergrad, so impacts the African continent and do something greater than myself. So that journey starts at, I had a call focus on why I was going to graduate. [00:15:00] School was just walk out the UN or do development work.
[00:15:04] During that time. I met with President Obama’s former chief technology officer when the transitions and Beth Noveck was also a college professor then at NYU. And she was really passionate about this idea of opening governance and how transparency and government spending can better the world. So I joined her class, and then my projects in that class turned into a little company.
[00:15:28] and what we were doing essentially was mapping international development finance on the African continent. So let’s say the world bank invest in Nigeria and Ghana. You know, they invested in two water projects, are people talking to each other and they exchange in lessons learned, and I was spending the capital in a transparent manner.
[00:15:48] So we created a map that documented all that information. And we found out a strategy company at add a lot of funding to create something similar. So that idea was [00:16:00] acquired from us. And I really fell in love with the idea of you can create value on something being acquired, and then you’re still adding a positive impact.
[00:16:08] It increased my yearnings. It goes to the private sector to learn more. So I finished my cops. Don’t walk in for the European Commission. That’s a billion-dollar project. And sequel to that. I went on to walk at Accenture in Lagos, Nigeria, and then Goldman Sachs really focused on risk there and then PricewaterhouseCoopers and mergers and acquisitions.
[00:16:28] So how do you buy, sell separate companies, and following that experience? Um, I thought I had a strong grounding. On exactly what are my business acumen. And then my impact experience in graduate school could have a lot of value in the marketplace. So after that, my co-founder and I got together, we’ve known each other for over seven years, essentially my work husband, one of my friends and confident, and we started at Esusu.
[00:16:55]so my private sector experience, um, doing a second company in [00:17:00] graduate school. Really created the foundation, to start Esusu, not just trying to figure something out, but we knew what success metric look like. And we also knew what it felt like to be in those big institutions to create. Now what is known today as Esusu.
[00:17:18] Dan: [00:17:18] That’s a great foundation.
[00:17:19] That makes a lot of sense. Tell us about what, what was the kind of key Seminole observation or insight that led you and your co-founder to say there’s an opportunity here. And that opportunity is what the Esusu.
[00:17:34] Abbey: [00:17:34] So something happened when my mother and I came to the United States, we came to the United States.
[00:17:40] We didn’t have a credit score. Which is the most important financial identity metric anyone could have. We walked into a bank to borrow money. We’re turned away because the bankers couldn’t quite on the right, the risk that led us to go borrow money from a predatory lender. The payday loan lender had over 400% [00:18:00] interest rates.
[00:18:00] Man. In addition to that, my mother upon my father’s wedding ring and a whole bunch of jewelry. And that’s how we really got our start in Minnesota. So really inspired by that experience on my co-founders personal family experience, we started as Esusu on three main premises. Number one, where you come from the color of your skin, and above all the financial identity, shouldn’t determine where you end up in life.
[00:18:26] So based on that premise, that’s when we got the idea to always figure out how do folks get access to more cash flow or they get more cheap debts. And how do we create a win-win solution for everyone involved? And that’s the call fabric and DNA of a company. Is really leveraging the power of data to bridge the racial wealth gap.
[00:18:48] That’s our vision at a Susu and our mission today is keeping walking families in their homes, through the power of rent reports in where they get more leverage. So they’re [00:19:00] not being kicked out. And as a society, we’re not solving evictions backward.
[00:19:05] Dan: [00:19:05] As I said earlier, I think, I think it’s a brilliant innovation and this idea of.
[00:19:09] Removing the mask of risk for folks who can demonstrate financial trustworthiness, for lack of better term or at least consistency, right. And that not being connected necessarily to credit. Right. and I think one of the really powerful aspects of this is that there is a commitment with rent.
[00:19:29] Right. And if you create the savings program on top of it, you have this wonderful set of data, right? That says this person knows how to, or is consistent with their ability to, to repay and to make these consistent intervals happen. So there’s no reason why that can’t be applied to credit.
[00:19:51] Abbey: [00:19:51] You got it.
[00:19:52] That’s exactly what we thought. So practically what we do today is work with large multi-housing [00:20:00] developers, big, big developers to have tens of thousands of units and answer three questions for them. Number one, we can help your resident capture rental data and reports into the credit Bureau is to boost the established, their credit scores, which tends to drive on-time payments.
[00:20:16]data from TransUnion. One of the credit rates and agencies shows seven out of 10 renters will pay their rent on time if the data has been reported. And then number two is we also offer predictive analytics, answering a simple question. What is the probability of residents in this building or across the portfolio to pay their rent on time?
[00:20:37] And then for those that can’t pay their rent, how do we create simple financial products? Like it’s. So we have zero interest loan options. Where the residents can borrow money and then pay us back and then they stay in their homes. So if you think about it, it’s a win-win when residents improve or establish their credit score, which gives them cheap access to finance and unmask the risks you talked [00:21:00] about. Property managers can predict risk because they know what’s going to happen next month. Even more important article, are you doing this dire times? And number three are folks that can afford to pay their rent. We are stepping in and providing affordable interest loans. So as a society, we’re not solving homelessness backwards.
[00:21:20] Dan: [00:21:20] I love that. I love that solving. it backwards. I mean, that’s amazing. Tell us a little bit about, what’s the business model and sort of what’s the progress. You mentioned that you work with 200,000 units or, property managers that oversee 200,000 units. what’s the business model and where, where are you in terms of the growth of the company?
[00:21:40] Great
[00:21:40] Abbey: [00:21:40] question then we’ve actually recently doubled that number. We are now at half a million rental units and 40 States in the country. That’s what our partners cover now. And the business model is simple. We think it’s unfair to put the cost on hardworking Americans and folks. So we pass [00:22:00] that cost to the landlord and charged $2 by unit per month.
[00:22:03] And that takes care of the predictive analytics. The data reporting and then access to an affordable pool of capital. So it’s a very, very simple process. It’s cheaper than a latte every month from Starbucks. That’s the value we drive.
[00:22:19]Dan: [00:22:19] And where do you want Esusu to go? What’s the future vision?
[00:22:23] If you fast forward, you’ve had successful companies in the past. What does success look like for you in the future for Esusu?
[00:22:31] Abbey: [00:22:31] Success for Esusu in the future in my mind is really threefold. Number one, when we extrapolate for the 70 million people in this country that do not have a credit score, and I’ve been thinking advantage by predatory lenders. The average debt in the United States, is around $135,000, including mortgage. And we do know the biggest driver of wealth is homeownership. 76% of [00:23:00] wealth. The scent includes homeownership and we have a big racial divide whereby the average white family has 10 times more wealth than their black counterparts. So the world we see number one is how do we unlock access to more capital?
[00:23:15] Let’s do the math seventy million times 135,000 is over $9 trillion. We can unlock in the American economy. That’s just not only good for people. That’s wonderful for the American economy and a lot of value that can be derived only to include more people. Number two, this concept of capturing alternative data.
[00:23:37] Only 1% of rental data has been captured today. Why don’t we capture more data, which appears to be the largest monthly expense for individuals, and make it more visible so we can underwrite and understand the risk better. And the third step is really a vision of Irene it’s happy stream of data. So next time someone goes out [00:24:00] there to borrow money.
[00:24:01] We’re not only focused on their credit score or looking at things like what’s the person’s cash flow information from a savings standpoint, what’s the person’s rental Eastery from a payment standpoint, are people doing well from a savings perspective, either in a group or individual, we have a tapestry of information that can not only help us understand the risk but accurately predict the potential of that risk. So that’s the future. We see. Number one, unlocking capital, number two, capturing the data. And number three, I mean it’s half the stream of information. Fundamentally. Think that’s not only going to move the frontiers of these people. We care about lives forward, but it’s also profitable for everyone involved.
[00:24:47] Dan: [00:24:47] That’s powerful and I can see why investors have come to your door. And we’re going to talk about that for sure. We’re going to take another short break and we’ll be right back with Abbey from Esusu.
[00:25:04] [00:25:00] So we’re back with Abbey. So Abby, tell us a little bit about the fundraising journey that you’ve been on. I know that you’ve, you’ve raised some money. Um, had a couple of rounds. Tell us a little bit about how the investors and you came to partner. Did you choose them? Did they choose you?
[00:25:20] Abbey: [00:25:20] My co-founder and I had a very tough fundraising journey.
[00:25:24] I remember we spoke to over 300 venture capitalists and no one essentially wanted to give us money. I don’t know if it’s a function of what we looked like, but we had a lot of no’s and it was incredibly painful. Despite our experience in corporate America or being, you know, two times or three times founders, it was hard.
[00:25:44] But we had a breakthrough whereby you know, some great impacts investors like Acumen, the Global Good Fund, Sinai ventures, and just great people decided to take that bet on us. You know, our seed round was around $1.6 million, and then [00:26:00] we raised the follow on capital. So just a couple of months ago, and today we’ve raised over $4 million and funding, and really just taking stock of the journey right now and seeing, you know, what 2021 holds, while fundraising journey was hard, a lot of nos, but we persevered against the odds.
[00:26:19] Dan: [00:26:19] And if you could do it again, are there things that you would change, do you think you had to go through those 300 nos?
[00:26:25] Abbey: [00:26:25] Definitely. Hindsight is always 20-20 when we desperately needed the cash at that point to not only affirm our value proposition but to show the world that we can add a lot of value. If you ask me, is there anything we would change, maybe a more succinct story to see how everything ties together. But, in retrospect, everything takes time and you can’t really predict a lot of things.
[00:26:50] You have a working hypothesis and you need people to take bets on you. So, rather than putting that burden on what I would change, I’d rather put that onus on [00:27:00] society to give more people that look like me, a chance because of our lived experiences. We can unlock a lot of things that the status quo would not otherwise see as opportunities. So my answer to that question is not about what we would do different it’s rather what the owners and folks that control this pool of capital, what they can improve on and give it benefit of the doubt to founders like myself, which includes less than 5% of venture capital that is going out
[00:27:32] Dan: [00:27:32] today.
[00:27:33] That’s a great point, an excellent point. And you’re right. I think there’s a different bar sometimes for, folks that have credentials and validity and credibility. and you obviously have an amazing story and your company has a really great, innovation and vision. And yet it still takes this hard slog to get, funding.
[00:27:58] and so there’s definitely something that needs to change [00:28:00] there for sure. So here’s a question. If you had to say I’m reminded every day, you, you reminded every day, do you feel like you’re reminded more in the business world that you are a non-US immigrant or that you are a black entrepreneur?
[00:28:16] Abbey: [00:28:16] I am reminded every day I’m a black entrepreneur. that’s the way I see things. I think that’s the way the world perceives me. If I’m walking on the streets of New York City and a police officer stops me. They’re not trying to understand if I’m from Lagos, Nigeria, all they see is me, me being black. So I identify strongly as being black and that’s the way I’m viewing it.
[00:28:39] That’s the way I go about my life. And that’s the perception, the world, ascribes.
[00:28:43]Dan: [00:28:43] You’re right. There’s no labels. There are no tattoos on your shoulder that says I’m from this place or that place. All they see is his skin. So tell me, as a black founder, have there been organizations or mentors, or even your [00:29:00] investors that have been particularly helpful to you as a black founder?
[00:29:04] Abbey: [00:29:04] Yeah, there’ve been a plethora. I stand on the shoulders of many giants that paved the way for me to get the success and the outcome is to get the success. We’ve had to-date, you know, from different races, creed, gender walks of life. It’s a lot of people, you know, for mentors. to investors to friends, to family members.
[00:29:29] It’s been, it’s been incredible. So yeah, I think I stand on the shoulders of so many people. That’s great.
[00:29:35] Dan: [00:29:35] And I know you were with the Clinton Foundation and the Obama campaign. So you, your network must be incredible at this point of people that, you know, and can call on and have had collaborations with.
[00:29:47] So that think that is probably been foundational for you as well.
[00:29:51] Abbey: [00:29:51] Yeah, it’s been, it’s been incredibly pivotal in my growth, as an entrepreneur, but we live in a world whereby relationships is everything and your reputation is [00:30:00] everything. and that’s the way I view life. It’s I don’t get opportunities is just because of, you know, what I’m going to get in the future.
[00:30:06] All I focused on is how do we create value for each other and how can I be of help? That’s the way I see. My life. I’ve been very fortunate to work alongside a lot of incredible people. I have the utmost respect for, but I always encourage this network to see life from a collective standpoint rather than an individualistic perspective.
[00:30:28] Dan: [00:30:28] I like it. So as we get ready to wrap up here, one of the questions we ask people is looking for those areas of growth. If you could go back to say maybe your NYU version of yourself and give you. Advice about what to expect or what to look for or what to prioritize so that you could become the best version of the current Abbey, what advice would you give yourself?
[00:30:55] Abbey: [00:30:55] The advice I would give myself, just looking back is number [00:31:00] one, you will fail, understand that and embrace that, but there’s a lot of lessons to be learned. I’ve always believed there’s a rainbow after I stung. Well, just always, I always understand that and embrace the reality that for you to do something that you’ve never done before, you need to fail, accessing things that will prepare you to get that number two would be relationships matter, invest in them.
[00:31:28] We are all at a tapestry of the human race and fundamentally, and this is what Isuzu means. If you want to go fast, you go alone. Well, if you want to go far, you’re fundamentally good together. So understand the power of community and relationships and above all for forward. Never have anything where you’re going to fall back on.
[00:31:50] Don’t take things overtly serious but be read prudence in your ways and just fall forward. Once you start thinking about things that are day [00:32:00] shares, that people continue to question that’s when you know you’re onto something interesting. So those are some of the things I would offer as advice.
[00:32:08] Dan: [00:32:08] Great wisdom. Great wisdom, indeed. So as we finish up here, Abbey can you tell folks, how can they find out more about what you’re working on? Is there something that we can do to help you as a community or to help Esusu at this point? Do you have websites or emails or social media handles? You want us to know?
[00:32:26] Abbey: [00:32:26] Absolutely. You can learn more about what we are doing at E-S-U-S-U, esusurent.com. Or you can go to Esusurentrelief.com, to help folks that cannot afford rents. Right now you can chip in a couple of dollars. So as a society, we’re not solving homelessness backward.
[00:32:47] Dan: [00:32:47] Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Abbey. We really appreciate the time. I know you’re super busy, so thanks a lot.
[00:32:53] Abbey: [00:32:53] Dan. Thank you so much for having me such a pleasure, and keep up the good work brother.
[00:32:58] Dan: [00:32:59] We’d like to thank our [00:33:00] guests, Abby Wemimo, and our sponsor Founders Live. Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts or simply go to foundersunfound.com/listento. That’s: listen, T-O. And follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, @foundersunfound.
[00:33:15] This podcast was produced by Dan Kihanya.
[00:33:18] Our music was composed by
[00:33:20] Bobby Cole, Kirt Debique, Jason Donnelley, and Enrique Molano Jimenez.
[00:33:25] Social media, and other promotion by Omama Marzuq.
[00:33:29]I am Dan Kihanya and you’ve been listening to Founders Unfound.
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