Hi, I’m Samson Olatunde… And most people know me as:
The Digital Entrepreneur – With a mandate to educate and empower One Million+ Digital Savvy Professionals across Africa on Digital Wealth Creation.
The Brand Builder – Working to repositioning growing and global brands for more reach, revenue and results.
The Global Speaker – Sharing inspirational and practical researched insights with business and thought leaders to make more money, do more business and have more time- off.
The Prolific Author & Amazon Best Seller – One of amazon best sellers, written and published more than 30 books to my credit with thousands of copies sold worldwide.
The TV Host – An awarding winning knowledge celebrity and host of The Digital Entrepreneur Series and Knowledge Digital Africa TV Series, an educated program aimed at telling stories of Real People, Real Places and Real Platforms and exposing more business executives on business profitability, visibility and prosperity
The Seasoned Business & Life Coach – An authority you can count on, having what it takes to help individuals and organizations wade through diverse personal and business challenges, having founded my own company at age 24
The Philanthropist – Time after times, I heeds the inner drive to enhance lives. I hold the belief that I’m here to serve humanity. I believe we all must make the world a better place.
The Founder of Digital CEO Tribe Int’l – Award winning movement of Africa’s community of digital savvy professionals with a goal to help businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond derive for enhanced business performance and profitability leveraging on the 21st Century’s Digital Tools.
The Founder of Knowledge Digest Africa – Privileged to pioneer Africa’s largest one stop Digital Knowledge Bank Platform by African founders for African businesses; creating easily- digestible timeless content for the next wave of business leaders to create transgenerational wealth and lasting relevance.
The Early Years
You see, I’m a firm believer of personal transformation as a tool and system to shapes lives. I’m a Nigerian unrepentant digital entrepreneur, who ventured into entrepreneurship at 22, and became at age 24 undergraduate millionaire.
Renowned as my story confirms G.K Chesterton’s words,
“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.”
My vision and journey in the knowledge industry for over 15 years+ is fueled by my passion to build Nigeria and Africa where the energies and dreams of the young generation to change the world is summed up and channeled towards purposeful endeavour in an atmosphere that encourages the free flow of ideas.
My Love Affair with Personal Transformation
The day was September 5, 2009; the prestigious annual Success Digest Enterprise Award Ceremony was set in its usual grandeur, garnished with the crème de la crème of society. It was another splendid event organized by the Success Development Attitude Centre (SADC) to honour a crop of personalities who are blazing the trail especially in the business sphere.
I had often bumped into grand events like this on television or in newspapers and magazines; but on this very day, the story was different. I was not seeing this in Ovation or Encomium or City People, neither was I viewing the popular Bisi Olatilo Show; I was present at the event.
Moreover, I didn’t attend this occasion as an ordinary invitee; I was one of those
to be honored. I left that ceremony with a beautiful feather attached to my cap—I was named the “2009 Success Digest Young Entrepreneur of the Year”. It was exactly the eve of my 26th birthday.
This experience definitely, is a reference point in my life. I was bombarded with rounds of applause as I stood in amazement to receive my award. Amidst that august audience were personalities such as Late Dr. Sunny Obazu Ojeagbase, (Founder of SADC, Success Digest Magazine and Complete Sport Magazine), Alhaji Mumuni Alao (Managing Director, Complete Communications Ltd), Cosmas Maduka (Chairman, Coscharis Group), and Chris Ubosi of Beat FM, to mention a few.
I was in my early twenties when I ventured into business, and by the age of 24 had hit the million naira mark and gone ahead to start my own company. I actually became a Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of a thriving company before I clocked 30.
Does that sound like a rare feat in this part of the globe? It did happen because “all things are possible to anyone that believes!”
Friends, I am only a young African who has faith in God and dashes after opportunities rather than lying on the couch waiting for them.
My Leap into Business
In September 2004, I matriculated into the Olabisi Onabanjo University to study for a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. I was 21; energetic and poised to absorb all the merits that tertiary education would impart.
It was during my second year I began to see the need to earn income on my own. My father was training four of us and I felt it would be cool if I device means to allay his mounting financial burdens.
An idea popped up. I had good knowledge of computing and realized this could be monetized. The problem of inability at that time to afford a computer system was quickly solved when I shared the idea with Olamide Edun, my childhood friend. He owned one; and was skilled in Microsoft Word too. We agreed on fifty-fifty profit sharing; and days later, a mini computer training institute was born.
I discovered my innate ability to impart knowledge through teaching and this was not only a plus to the budding institute, it also provided a platform to sharpen my public speaking skills. Tuition was free; however, students were required to purchase our manual.
I got in touch with Pastor Paul Oluwabanjo of the Maranatha Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Oru- Ijebu Ogun State and he released the church auditorium free of charge for the classes. His pieces of advice also went a long way in making that dream attain reality. Pastor Paul has never ceased to be a source of inspiration and spiritual support all these years.
As days gave way to weeks and months, attendance at our institute increased; however, my very supportive friend, Olamide procured a job; and could therefore be available only once in a while. In spite of that, he remained a great source of encouragement.
I went on to rent a building since the training sessions began to clash with church programs. It was a big sacrifice but I had no other choice than to move on despite all odds. At this point in time, I got used to burning the candle at night. I also developed resilience and strong positive mental attitude. In fact, there were times that the computer system went bad during training sessions and I just had to be level-headed as waves of complaints surged from the attendees.
Yet in all these, I knew I had to study my books so I would not lag behind in my academics as well as be on my toes to keep the institute running profitably.
As an undergraduate, I used to receive N4,000 from my parents as allowance on a monthly basis. On starting the computer institute, my dream of attaining financial independence was becoming a reality; however, my parents were becoming worried and suspicious. They wondered about what I was doing to cope financially on campus without demanding the monthly allowance. Their greatest fear was that their beloved son had ventured into cybercrime or cultism. Nonetheless, their mountain of fears vanished when they discovered my strides on campus.
A Daring Trip
I set out on that trip to Lagos fully convinced I’ll come back with big cash; at least enough to defray my bill and set me on a higher financial pedestal. At SADC we were bombarded with stimulating streams of information about how to make money from different internet business models. In addition, attendees were given a compact disc (CD) loaded with electronic books, and trained on how to make money from it. This was indeed far from my expectation. I needed tangible cash. I needed to pay off the N25,000 I borrowed from my friends. Myriads of thoughts raced through my mind. I was in a very tight spot. I almost concluded I was in for serious trouble.
Immediately after the training, I travelled back to school. I had to sneak into my room late that night. I couldn’t afford to set eyes on my three friends.
As I continued to brainstorm on how to raise N25,000, I opened the SADC compact disc on my Pentium One computer. Immediately it occurred to me that I could resell the electronic books which I have the Resale Rights License! Without further ado, I burned some of the e-books on a Compact Disc which I’ve the Authorized Resale Right License and duplicated copies. The next day I began to advertise my product to fellow students.
Before that week expired, I realized N100,000 from my product! You can imagine how I felt. I was completely bowled over.
I settled my debt immediately and began to seek avenues to multiply the proceeds. I kept N5,000 for myself, and used the remaining N70,000 to run a full paged advert in Success Digest Magazine. I decided to take that risk because I’d understood it’s even more risky not to take risks. And to my utmost astonishment, this audacious move triggered immense patronage, and the earnings increased tremendously.
Days later, I got a call from the branch manager of my bank, requesting me to meet him at his office. There in that posh office he asked:
“Young man, what do you engage in that people are paying into your account almost every Five minutes?”—he sounded like an FBI agent questioning a crime suspect.
I couldn’t answer him. I was afraid. I only showed him the advert I placed in the newspaper. He beamed with smile and said:
“If people can be paying into your account because of this product, then I want a copy too.”
He requested for my bank account number and immediately forwarded the money into my account. I was engulfed in awe.
I left his office and decided to check my account balance. The customer service agent informed me that it was N1, 150,000. I couldn’t believe what I heard, so I asked if I could make a withdrawal to confirm if it was true. The lady at the customer desk smiled at me and said: “It’s your money you can do whatever you like with it”. Immediately, I dashed to the counter to make a withdrawal of N50,000.
Clutching those notes, I realized I had launched into a new circle—the circle of millionaires
The Birth of My First Company
Within a space of two weeks, I had made N1.5million. However, I would be doing myself great harm if I rest on my oars. I therefore stepped up the marketing strategy. People kept calling from all over the country to order the compact disc as a result of the newspaper adverts, they saw and in fact, I had a number of friends that joined the business and we kept receiving requests until we got completely exhausted.
As earnings increased, I paid for another N70, 000 advert on Complete Sports Newsprint. After this time, orders worth N2.5million ($6,000) were received. It was less than 3 weeks after my trip to Lagos and I had raked in N4million ($10, 000) selling the authorized Resale Rights Licensed e-books on Compact Disc. This was no doubt the commencement of a new phase for me.
During my final year, I was declared “the most enterprising male and most influential student of the year” by the Redeemed Campus Fellowship (RCF) of Olabisi Onabanjo University, and since then awards have kept coming.
I was still in my final year in the University when I founded my first company. I have undoubtedly grasped that by faith in God and hard work, I could achieve anything I conceive in my mind. The name “Business Impact” is apt because the enterprise isn’t just about money and fame. We are devoted to helping individuals and corporate organizations succeed. After graduation, computers and other equipment were moved to Lagos. BIL, my first company was born.
Certainly, managing business in a rough terrain such as sub-Saharan Africa is not a nap on a bed of roses. We’ve had seasons of great challenges and we almost gave up; but God’s help and firm sense of purpose kept us on.
No doubt, knowledge is indispensable in the quest for excellence. Through these years, my thirst for learning has not weakened. I keep attending seminars, training sessions and conferences.
In actual fact, I only later discovered as months and years went by, that I’ve empowered hundreds of thousands of Nigerian and Africans via our several empowerment initiatives.
Today, this single drive helped me found the platform- Knowledge Digest Africa; Africa’s One Stop Digital Knowledge Bank Platform with a mandate to educate and empower one million Africa Business Leaders and enriches them with substantial and up-to-date career, entrepreneurship and technology know-how for wealth creation. This learning platform will create storytelling interviews, courses, featured articles from African founders for African businesses; creating easily- digestible timeless content for the next wave of business leaders to create transgenerational wealth and lasting relevance