Despite my parents' best efforts, we didn’t have enough resources to put all of us through school and college. Education back then wasn’t free and going to college was based on performance (and expensive!) —so I was forced to step up and help out.
So I took my entire tuition grant that year and built a coin-operated pool table empire at the ripe age of 19. Picture this: me, crisscrossing Kenya in buses, hauling pool tables, and lugging duffle bags brimming with coins and stuffing them under my dorm room bed(because I didn’t even have a bank account!) It was quite the spectacle, I tell you 😆.
Despite the fact that I had to keep this all quiet —because of the 300K+ under my bed in coins 🫣— this venture turned out to be a smashing success, putting me and my siblings through college and giving my parents a well-deserved boost. I was finally on the cusp of becoming the pool table kingpin of Kenya, but nature had other tricks up its sleeve.
Fast forward a few years later and someone in my town sneakily entered me (alongside others) into the U.S. State Department's green card lottery (the one where you win a green card to come to the United States). By this time I had built yet another impressive business and it was finally on the verge of exploding. So to be fully transparent, I didn't feel like a winner at the time …and yet I'd hit the jackpot in life, quite literally.
My first flight to America was the shortest 24hr flight I ever took. As I sat on that plane, nerves jangling, with a one-year-old son in my arms and a hundred bucks in my pocket, I was dead set on not just improving my family's life but also making a meaningful difference for others. It takes a village to do incredible work, but this time I had to do it alone. Without the support of everyone I know —my village.
Early on my journey involved epic culture shock plus a variety of menial jobs starting with a memorable misstep at a Subway interview (where I shot myself in the foot by asking what I believed was the "ultimate question for an interviewer" - "What's a sub?" - and sadly, the callback never came, LOL).
After migrating to the US in 2003, one of my first jobs was as a social worker for the Department of Mental Health, where I interacted heavily with Therapists on behalf of my clients. What I quickly learned was that Therapists don’t do this for the money. It is a really tough job that requires way more personal sacrifice than the compensation received. Being a Therapist is a true call to serve fellow human beings. During this time I was also aware of the significant shortage of Therapists which persists to date. I quickly found myself drowning in paperwork and spending way more time on typing on a computer rather than positively impacting my clients. In 2007 I pivoted from Mental Health to IT consulting where along with my cofounder Amy, we served healthcare providers in Private Practices.
In early 2020 we launched a tech-enabled IOP Addiction Clinic using our software. We found success fairly quickly because we anticipated lockdowns and had prepared our software to operate fully virtually, payment workflows and all —the seamless transition was a proud moment for all of us as a team.
Within a few months of lockdown we started getting inquiries from other providers about our software. The need in the market was clear and we felt obligated to share what we had built with the rest of the Mental Health tribe. It was time to stop trying to be the hero. We decided to be the best tech WINGMAN we could ever be, for these incredible Therapists.
I currently serve as TiQ’s CEO (aka Chief Experience Officer) where everyday I get to live the NatureCrafted business dream I have sculpted for myself and those around me in 3 ways:
Creating platform that empowers these amazing Therapists to serve more people (with the same resources or less)
Empowering my team to be the best version of themselves as human beings wholistically
Building value for our Shareholders & Investors who continue to provide fuel to our fire
This is how I fulfill the challenge my beloved Guka set for me. I get to serve as many people as I possibly could through others.
For a kid born with a unique hand, in a tiny one bedroom house, in a tiny town, in a 3rd world country —How freakin’ awesome is that!
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Adapt to your environment WHILE optimizing for happiness.
Things don’t get easier, you get better and better 🤸
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No one is better or worse than you, just different.
Looking up to or down on anyone strips you of your own power.
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You are the most fascinating aspect of your own universe. Failing to explore your True Self handicaps you as an entrepreneur
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You are 100% responsible for creating the life you want so stop reacting and learn how to start creating with intent.
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Should is the most dangerous word. It forces conformity and discourages questioning.
Resist it with venom!
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Move beyond just saying "anything is possible" to actively living like anything is possible.
Because it really is!
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Remain rooted in the "sacred silence" during creation.
Without naysayers, your likelihood of success skyrockets
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No one starts a business to become enslaved by it. Sculpt your business strategically avoid ending in shackles.
⚽🏃I’m an absolute soccer nerd, not only have I coached youth soccer, I still play Sunday afternoon pickup soccer with the same group of guys for over 15 years (at one time exceeding 60 participants!). You’ll also catch me shamelessly watching all 10 Premier League games every weekend even though I passionately support just one team.
🧐This is soooo not a “dude thing” to disclose… but gender roles have always seemed odd to me ...so I openly admit that ironing clothes relaxes me ☺️(don’t ask me why… it just does).
I iron my kids' school clothes every Sunday as a sort of "reset" ritual for myself —and they get to go to school in ironed clothes.
🫣 2 weeks into first grade, I stumbled upon a doll's hand 🖐️ during my teacher's bathroom break. I playfully slipped it onto my "special" right hand, stood on my desk, & danced with both my hands up in the air. All 30 kids erupted into laughter, forcing my poor pregnant teacher to haul it 🏃💨 back to the classroom only to find me calmly seated 😇 while the rest of the class laughed uncontrollably on the floor.
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I’m a self-taught deep meditator and can “drop in” for several hours at a time —undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and fundamental activities of my daily life.
My pool table business put me through college in more ways than one 🤭
Despite my hand, I have a really mean pool game and most people find out when it's too late 😉
As evident here ☝️, I've always comfortably and openly joked about my hand from a young age. Feel free to ask me anything, and don't be surprised if our conversation leads to laughter 😆.
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