We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bayonle Arashi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bayonle below.

Bayonle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I have shared this story a few times but I am always excited whenever I have to do it again because it is my story and I know it is powerful and will make other people want to believe in their dreams and follow it.

So it was the summer of 2014, as a soccer academy administrator and founder of Midas Football Academy, I have always made it necessary to give the kids that put in so much work on their training and development to have a chance and an avenue where they can showcase their talent and give themselves a chance to take their career to the next level, next level could be to secure a college scholarship and get an education as well as play the game they love or a lifetime opportunity of securing a professional contract with a football (soccer) club as we call it in the States. Also, we have previously done it in the past by taking the kids to international tournaments in European countries and won some of them but none of these kids have been lucky to be picked yet I was certain this summer will be different as we have more matured players with a higher level of talent.

I had discussed with the players and their parents and the plan for that year was to go on what we call a trial game in Israel where they will be playing matches against the professional youth side of clubs in Israel, this will enable the club executives to see them playing first hand and assess the level of their talents hence show interest in some of them that showed out. I did not have any contact in Israel but I knew a guy that did, we had met at the Instanbul international airport a few years earlier when I was coming from Germany with some of my players, and this individual who is now late was impressed with what I was doing, giving the young boys an opportunity. so we concluded that he was going to help my team organize these trial games with clubs in Israel. Fees were agreed upon for feeding, flights, visas, and games for a 10-day and 5 matches journey. The players were cooperative and the first payment was made so visas to Israel can be processed a few days later he came up with the visas on the 21 passports for 18 players and 3 officials. There was no direct flight from Lagos to Jerusalem so we will need a transit visa to Turkey so we can fly on Turkish airlines transit visas have to be processed as well. This was also successful or so I thought and my excitement got the better of me that I was not asking the right questions. He requested the flight payment for all the 21 crew and it was paid directly into his bank account. This was the biggest mistake of my entrepreneurial life that I still regret to date.

As a believer, I went to a prayer mountain to pray for the success of the trip in Ekiti state for 3 days and on my way back to Lagos I decided to check on an old friend who is into the business of travel and has visited many nations in the past. We got talking and I told him of my upcoming visit to Israel with my players to see how we can achieve some success, he was happy for me and I showed him the passports with the Israel visas on them. There was a look of horror on his face and called out my name Bayonle, where did you get this visa from? I answered it was processed by my partner who is arranging the whole trip, he said and I quote THIS VISAS ARE ALTERED.

This was the beginning of that long summer for me and my young family, I quickly returned to Lagos and drove directly to the airport so I can check with the airlines and verify the visas if we will be able to fly with it or not. It was confirmed that all the 21 issued visas were altered. Up till today I still could not understand why someone will ever do that to another person but this is my story. I called on my partner to let him know what I have just discovered maybe he was not aware either but to my utmost shock he was not picking up my calls. That was how I lost everything. I lost all the money the players and their parents have entrusted me with, I lost some of my credibility, and I lost the respect of most of the kids because some never believe the story. The individual was arrested by law enforcement officers after a long search for him but the money was never recovered.

I sold my personal possession such as cars and landed property to refund some of the parents that were not going to hear any of my tragic stories so I could have my credibility back. This however was the last straw for me. I made a personal promise to myself and my family that I will never let this mistake repeat itself again and I will do whatever I can to make sure it never happens to anyone else too so started thinking of what next.

After many weeks of recess and thinking, I came up with an idea to create a technology company where it will be possible for anyone, could be an athlete, or a coach or scout to have the opportunity of making genuine contact with direct authority. I thought to call it a marketplace where all the athlete or coach needs to do is go on their phone or computer and make real-life contact. This was how ScoutBallers Sports Recruiting LLC was created. I, however, knew that the current situation of my country Nigeria will not allow me to create the product so I started thinking of relocating anywhere outside of Nigeria and that was how I came to the United States in February 2015 with nothing but dreams and aspirations.

Also unknown to me was that it will never be easy to create the dream I had in my head when I was leaving behind my family and young daughters ages 10 to 1 at the time and 7 years later I am still yet to see them but I am still holding on to that dream and believing that it will all work out good in the end as long as I kept putting in the work.

The mission of my company ScoutBallers is to disrupt the sports industry by bringing greater transparency, access, and value to college coaches, athletes, and professional clubs. The first test version was released in November 2021 with little success but I am currently working on a better version that will add more than one sport of soccer that we are currently focused on at the moment as we continue to validate the idea.

Bayonle, 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?

My name is Bayonle Arashi, born in the ancient city of Ibadan, Oyo state in Nigeria and I immigrated to the United States in February 2015. I have been in football (soccer) since growing up but professionally, I got involved in 2002 after moving from the first television channel I started my career in 1999 to Africa Independent Television. I am very passionate about the media and soccer profession and I am blessed with extensive experience in the areas of communications, TV & Radio production, digital marketing, sports events management, and public speaking. A certified U.S Soccer Referee and member of U.S Soccer Coach.

I founded Midas Football Academy in Nigeria and also now in the United States, the academy is set up to discover, educate and develop young football players and there is a plan to build a football facility where the players can combine vocational education and soccer to reach their full potential in the nearest future. The Academy has participated in and won International youth tournaments as well as some local tournaments in Nigeria.

I founded ScoutBallers LLC, A marketplace that connects players, video creators, and recruiters to hasten the process of club and college recruitment. we launched a newer version last year 2021 after many struggles finding someone to build the platform, I now have a partner based in India that we are both working on the company. We are continuously developing the existing product to provide a proper solution to one of the biggest problems athletes are having while also helping college coaches, scouts, and professional clubs to find talent for their clubs and program without having the need to travel cross country but by just sitting behind their desk and watch videos of talents across the world.

Our platform will also be creating jobs for freelancers across the world as they will use our platform to provide their service to players looking to take their career to the next level by creating a winning recruiting video for them or helping them to edit the one they have on our platform. There is a big dream for this platform.

I have over 20 years of experience in broadcasting, having worked with Murhi International Group, owners of (MiTV and Star FM) & Daar Communications Plc. Owners of Africa Independent Television (AIT and Raypower FM) in Nigeria and Millenium Broadcasting Channel in Houston, Texas.

I produced LIMITLESS SOCCER a weekly magazine show that features highlights of top leagues in Europe and the U.S Major League Soccer, as well as RUSSIA ROUNDUP, a show that profiled all the 32 nations that participated at the 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP in Russia. The shows air on African Broadcasting Network and Afrocentric Television in Houston, Texas.

I was fortunate to cover the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 2004, Egypt in 2006, Ghana in 2008, the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006, and South Africa in 2010 as a volunteer. I also author a guidebook titled Roadmap To A Successful Football Career (A step by step guide) listed on Amazon and selling worldwide.

I have worked many odd jobs to keep the dream alive and to also care for my family back home in Nigeria. I have worked with Amazon and FedEx, and since 2017 I have worked full-time with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice honing my leadership skills. I love sharing my life experience and inspiring other people with my social media content. I love speaking to young teenagers and adults about the importance of finding purpose early in life.

I also love coaching soccer for kids and I have a personal cause I titled Crossing Bridges aimed at giving underprivileged children who haven’t had the ordinary opportunities to be part of something that gives hope and allows dreams to come into their lives. Giving them a chance to focus on something outside their regular lives regardless of race, age, and sex. This is done by developing their life skills and social skills which can be interconnected with sports skills to succeed in life. Just as in life you have to have dedication determination and adaptability.

Kids interested in developing their soccer skills will be given the chance to learn the game and use their youthful energy towards something meaningful and productive, like the great Mohammed Ali who rose from almost nothing to cement his place as a hero for millions of other people across the world using his skill as a boxer and his voice as a messenger of hope and believe. Crossing Bridges hopes to help every child looking for a chance opportunity to find their life purpose.

My personal mantra is Be Ashamed to Die Unless you Score some Victory for Humanity, and for me, the best way to do something of magnitude for humanity is to share my knowledge, experience, and failures with the younger generation through my work as a soccer administrator and criminal justice advocacy.

I believe this social cause will help to raise and shape the next generation of leaders in sports, politics, entertainment as well as other important spheres of life and reduce the rate of youth crime, drug abuse, and depression among our youths.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

It was from one of the great shark tank investor Daymond John that I learned this trick, he said for him to start his FUBU brand back then that he had to work for 5 straight years and save some money and that was what gave him the start. I also practised this exact system. As hard as it is in the country to have any form of savings after paying your monthly bill, I made sure I do my best to work overtime at work and put some of it in an account I rarely go to and this was how I saved the first $4,000 I gave to my developer to create the first version of the ScoutBallers idea. Though the design did not come out as planned due to the fund not being enough but I still practise this saving method till date with a high expectation of saving enough to build the next phase of the platform.

A lot of entrepreneurs including myself use to say that the lack of investor is the reason they are not starting their business but after learning what I know now and practising, I have change this way of thought. The most successful humans on earth have no resources. They are resourceful.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have had to pivot in my business a few times and still doing that at the moment, especially regarding the recruiting platform ScoutBallers. After we introduced the first version of the platform in 2019 which had only one landing page and was simple enough for anyone to understand. The rate of success was low as I primarily was focusing on the local market the Nigeria market at that time and I was not seeing the bigger picture. We released another beta version last year and it had a better view and design but now we made it a product that focused on the entire continent of Africa so athletes from any of the 54 countries in Africa to have a place they can call their own and showcase their talents to attract coaches, scouts, and clubs that will be interested in handing them a chance.

The last year has further thought me and the team a bigger lesson on what problem we are trying to solve and if this problem does exist. Are there more problems this platform can solve that are beyond just soccer? do we focus on more markets outside of Africa? These are some of the questions we have been asking ourselves as we measure the level of sufficient progress to believe our original strategic hypothesis is correct.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bayonlearashi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayonlearashi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bayonleaarashi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bayonlearashi/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bayonlearashi
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/BayonleArashi
• Other: I love speaking.

Image Credits
All images are mine.