DAY IN THE LIFE: Teaching youngsters how to invest

“I grew up at a time when parents never really talked about money with their children,and with my background in technology and passion for finance, I thought it would be good to  change that and teach young people how to invest.

“I plan my days a week in advance. My days are outcome-oriented so the time I get out of bed depends on my goals for the day.

On a normal day, I will be criss-crossing the city, going to different schools and university campuses to touch base with our students or I will be online stirring up money conversations amongst them. Most of my days are hectic and I like it that way.

“Today for instance, I was working hard, putting to bed arrangements for our Value Investment Challenge. For the challenge, a group of students are given cash to invest in any legal venture.

After a year, the student with the highest returns gets a bigger cash prize. This has to be the best part of it for me because I get to learn from them. We teach them about shares and bonds and unit trusts but when you put them out there, they blow your mind.

They go out and start agri-businesses or peer to peer lending ventures that actually work. My most memorable was a young university student who got Sh5, 000.

At the end of the year he had Sh25, 000 and a 16 per cent equity on a printing business on the campus where he is a student. That was when I realised that we aren’t teaching the kids, but rather opening up their minds to the opportunities out there.

“It hasn’t been smooth sailing all through, though. For a business with seasonal revenue, there have been cash flow problems, but I have learnt to think on my feet. When we started out two years ago, we were a vibrant team but there are those whose resolve

weakened when the road got rough. I had hoped I would finish with everyone I started with, so this is usually a bit hard for me to deal with. I have also learnt to be patient so as to let things to grow.

“Today my workday ended at 5pm and I went for my salsa dance class. On other days, I just listen to music or unwind with my family. I believe that friends and family colour life and when it is all said and done,

these remain the most important relationships.

“Later I read a few pages of Ben Horowitz’s The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There are No Easy Answers. It is a must-read for every entrepreneur, especially those who are starting out.

“Before I turned in, I talked to God. In retrospect, it has been a beautiful journey. I am not where I want to be; I live for the day that personal finance management will be part of our high school curriculum; the day

people will understand that money is just a means and not the end. This understanding will weed out greed and corruption.”