This working life – “Ireland is nice and relaxed when you’re older and have money, but it’s expensive for the young”

The job I wanted was basketball player. I won the All Ireland Championships but dislocated my shoulder in year 5; I have two screws there now. I kept playing in college but never got back to where I was.

The downside was that I started thinking about other things. One of my basketball coaches at my club owned a company called Danann Air that made ventilation equipment for places like data centers.

He arranged a summer job at their factory that got me into how things were built.

The following summer I worked in the Danann Air office. As an expatriate I have not yet seen any people owning their own business.

My parents lived in Germany for a few years and then returned to Lagos, Nigeria, where I was born. When I was three years old we moved to Ireland.

I repeated my leaving at Ringsend and in 2016 I started my Trinity studies in management science and business informatics.

I would name David McKay as a mentor. This period was a turning point for me – seeing how running a business works sparked my interest in technology and business.

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solve problems

There were twenty-five students in my class, some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. It was a very well-rounded degree with computer science, business administration, economics, lots of presentations and data analytics.

What we learned was so useful, especially as a sophomore when I ran a design startup, the Luminary Hub, with my two colleagues, Josh McKee and Vahe Sasunt.

One day we were sitting around and Vahe said he made a website and got paid €900 and we thought we could capitalize on that. We found that many small businesses had terrible online presences that agencies were charging eight grand for.

We outsourced the work to students who could design something more up-to-date at a lower cost, and our company was accepted into Trinity’s LaunchBox student acceleration program. We found clients by attending networking events. I was less diligent that year than my peers, but I applied what I had learned in lectures.

We received €15,000 in funding and won a few competitions.

In 2018, the three of us and my classmate Keelin Cassidy competed in a consultant competition – creating solutions to case studies – and in Texas we came second in the global finals of the Deloitte Difference University Challenge.

This was the first time an Irish team had come this far.

We hired Luminary in our senior year as our degrees were a priority. I knew exactly what I wanted to do next.

I applied to Notre Dame University in Indiana to study a Masters in Engineering and Technological Entrepreneurship on the George Moore Scholarship

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remote work

Searching on LinkedIn, I quickly found a job at Checkout.com – a financial technology company that processes payments. I worked with Revenue Operations and their third hire in this department.

I have been working in London but online from Dublin. It was exciting working in a fast paced startup but working so hard from home. I also have two younger sisters so there wasn’t enough space. It was tough working in your bedroom in your first job.

After five months I moved to London where I could also go to the office and it was much easier.

I prefer hybrid – for the socializing, mixing and learning – it’s easier to learn in front of people who will listen.

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expand horizons

My Masters at Notre Dame was amazing. There were 54 in my class, so it was possible to build strong relationships.

Lots of alumni entrepreneurs came to talk to us and the soccer games were amazing.

We had a school trip to Silicon Valley, my first time in California, and I loved it. I could imagine living there. But nothing was set in stone. I didn’t have a job after graduation, but then an opportunity arose with a manager I had worked with.

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Transferable Skills

My master’s degree had a student catalog of projects, and I applied for my last with Claris, an Apple company that offers low-code software that allows businesses and workgroups to build custom apps without heavy lifting.

The low-code industry is growing, a lot is happening. It’s a mature industry.

I work hybrid, three days in the office and commute from San Francisco, which takes an hour and a half, and Apple has a shuttle bus, which is convenient.

I only started a month ago so I spend my days talking to people.

It was a good introduction, I like it a lot. Everyone is super helpful, not breathing down their necks but very supportive.

I connect with customers and my team members by absorbing information about our product. I can’t do my job if I don’t understand everything about it.

A product manager ensures that the product a company releases is successful. They talk to engineering, sales and customers to bring everything together

Entrepreneurial will and supportt

My hope is to one day build a business.

My past experiences have comforted me in not knowing what will happen next and I have listened to many people who have built successful businesses and things never go according to plan.

My parents were so happy to come to America for my degree. It was her first time and she was blown away.

They have always worked so hard so their children can have what they need.

That was her main focus, but in college it wasn’t easy for me when it came to things like finding internships.

People like Dave who had connections really helped me.

That’s why I’m always ready to phone college students who need advice.

A big part of me wants to give something back.

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Time to work, rest and play

Sociability, relaxation and sleep help me with my work and my goals.

A large Irish population has recently moved to SF and my friend Lara is hoping to move away from Ireland.

I’m twenty-five and will be moving back home, but Ireland is nice and chilled when you’re older and have money, but expensive for the young.

The same goes for San Francisco and London, but there are many more options.