Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adesola Akindele. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Adesola, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The idea for HyGear Technologies came to us ladies because we shared an experiential need for convenient Hygiene tech. My co-founder London, a breast cancer survivor and educator, she cleansed her classroom and surfaces 3 times a day before Covid and wished there was an easier way. For me, I wanted to visit Nigeria and go glamping more often without the worry of water safety for my daughter. For Adebisi, raising 4 kids in Nigeria, she recollected the effort it took to power her home, provide sanitary water and her fears when her kids got admitted to hospitals. Having a casual discussion between close friends led to the start of our big idea to find a way to fix these headaches. What we didn’t know was we were about to embark on journey to help close the global hygiene gap.

Adesola, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been an went repreneur since I was 18 years old. The desire to earn my own money, control my time and work for myself was my constant motivator. As a natural creative with a BA in economics and business, the world was in the palm of my hands as I had learned to see things on a broader scale and the experiences in my 22 years taught me how to build from scratch pooling resources to get to launch. I have worked in the following industries, banking, hospitality, creative, IT, marketing, transportation, agriculture, oil and gas and now life sciences. The creative and IT industry have been my home, the most constant space when I wasn’t building for someone else. In that space, I learned to design brands that were intentional. You will see this from HyGear Technologies, Keeping it Clean Global and Rise Urban Nation. Each of this companies have a global mission and I welcome all to check them out and if possible partner with us.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn not asking for help and toxic grind culture. I has been a solopreneur for almost a decade before I learned the key lesson that no woman was an island. By asking for help and being open to it, I quickly realised the right people gravitated towards me to support my mission because they loved my vision which was to serve a community most of the time. I have now made this a part of my framework to launch a venture. I always start with 3 skilled persons who are in alignment including myself. This is the magic formula for me and it has worked at HyGear, KICG and RUN.

With regards to unlearning toxic grind culture, it was a case of life or death. Founder wellness is on the forefront now and habits that lead us down the rabbit hole at risk of our health because we want to succeed must be addressed. This was the case for me as a suicide and depression survivor with social anxiety. In learning healthier ways to be an entrepreneur, I embraced the maverick I was through therapy, a great support system and unplugging to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. As an advocate for founder well-being, I speak on this topic constantly and because of the need as well as constant requests from the public, I will be launching Maverick, my founder wellness brand this year.

Let’s move on to buying businesses – can you talk to us about your experience with business acquisitions?

My consultancy firm, Equilibrium, acquired a marketing and IT firm in the UK with the goal of securing on of their products Stepping Stones, an enterprise application built to provide centralised resources for startups and small businesses which I had worked on from inception. With experience in mergers and acquisitions, this was a smooth process. Making an offer, the valuation, due diligence and transitioning part of the team were key but this wasn’t challenging as I was deeply involved with the company beforehand. Now Equilibrium is in the process to begin pitching the app to entities around the globe in aid to help founders, startups and small businesses better access resources efficiently and quickly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.AdesolaAkindele.com
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aakindele
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/asakindele
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@RiseUrbanNation
• Other: www.myhygear.com www.kicglobal.org www.riseurbannation.com www.buildwithequilibrium.com