Figuring Out Entrepreneurship | Habib Olawale on Building a Million-Athleisure Brand from ₦16K скачать в хорошем качестве

Figuring Out Entrepreneurship | Habib Olawale on Building a Million-Athleisure Brand from ₦16K

"We didn’t set out to build ‘Nigeria’s top athleisure brand’—we just wanted socks that didn’t cost a fortune but felt premium. Back then, it was just about solving a simple problem: why should quality basics be a luxury?" Wasulu Habib is the founder of Smileys Africa, a homegrown success story that turned smiley-face socks into a movement. What began as a side hustle importing affordable hosiery is now redefining how Nigerians experience everyday fashion—one intentionally designed product at a time. In this episode, Habib pulls back the curtain on the unsexy truth about bootstrapping in Nigeria’s volatile market, how to spot gaps everyone ignores (and turn them into empires), why copycats became his unexpected validation andthe emotional ROI no business book teaches (hint: it’s not revenue) If you’ve ever doubted whether your “small idea” could scale, or wondered how to build customer love beyond transactions, this conversation is your blueprint. Enjoy :) Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:13 How Smileys Started 08:27 Becoming the Top Athleisure Brand in Africa 13:56 Impact of a Founder’s Passion on a Brand 14:40 Dealing with CopyCats 17:54 Going from Bootstrapping to Scaling 19:02 How Smileys Started Making Sneakers 23:01 Understanding Product Market Fit 27:30 The Basics of Starting a Business 28:03 Habib Beyond Smileys 32:23 Life in the UK 37:09 Why SMEs are Important to the Economy 38:43 Raising Capital & Funding 41:35 Managing 9-5 & Running a Business 45:10 Understanding the Power of Leverage in Business 49:10 Quick Fire Questions 55:57 Habib's Favourite Smileys Product 57:51 Future Plans for Smileys 1:00:53 Habib's Advice If You Want to Start a Business 1:02:49 Is Dim Smileys' New Brand Ambassador? 📑 JOIN THE 6 WEEK BUSINESS SERIES - https://diimejii.myflodesk.com/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH HABIB https://smileys.africa/    / @whoishabyb     / whoishabyb     / whoishabyb     / whoishabyb   🔗 CONNECT WITH DIM    / @diimejii     / diimejii     / diimejii     / diimejii   https://www.diimejii.com MUSIC USED Song: Building Wonders v1 Artist: Gramoscope Music Source: https://gramoscopemusic.sourceaudio.c... License: By MINT_BMG, SourceAudio Holdings (music publishing). 🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST Figuring Life Out Podcast explores life's endless possibilities, delving into topics like growing mindsets, building better habits, and navigating the complexities of existence. Through playful yet probing dialogue with founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders, Dim brings you insights that inspire, motivate, and ultimately help you on your journey to figuring life out. Want to start your own business? We use Tide! https://www.tide.co/partners/heptabra... 🎧 LISTEN FOR FREE ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast... ⁠Spotify⁠ https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZT3OTE... ⁠RSS⁠ https://anchor.fm/s/fb0eb914/podcast/rss 🙏🏽 LEAVE A REVIEW If this episode resonated with you, leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it helps others find the show and keeps it going. 👋🏼 LET’S CONNECT Tweet your thoughts @diimejii. I’d love to hear what stood out to you, and thank you for tuning in. PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a kickback from 😜