CYLS 199: Africa X Podcasting - The Blueprint to Female Leadership in New Media with Molly A. Jensen

Episode Summary

This week Kevin Y. Brown has a discussion with Molly Jensen, his colleague and CEO of the growing pan-African podcast hosting company, Afripods. They talk about how Afripods helps creators take up as much space as possible while getting paid for their genius, and the ways that they uniquely serve African creators and consumers. Molly shares how a New Yorker ended up in Nairobi, what she’s learned about leading and motivating a team, how she’s working to overcome challenges and get comfortable with discomfort and uncertainty, and the ways that her experience as an athlete have translated into her success as a CEO. Kevin and Molly discuss the personal habits that fuel their days, the idea of legacy, and the difference between the juice and the sauce–you’ll want to listen in to find out!

Kevin Y. Brown

Kevin is a seasoned multi-media executive who is passionate about Africa’s digital future. As an award winning entrepreneur, podcast producer (over 1,000 episodes across different genres with over 30 million downloads across clients) and tech veteran, Kevin is the Chief Content officer and Head of Strategy at Afripods leading their multi-country strategy and product vision.

Kevin is the host of the Create Your Life Series podcast and has been featured or spoken in Forbes, Black Enterprise, Essence, Podcast Movement, Podcast Sessions, Ted X, Sirius XM, Inc. magazine and many more…

Molly Jensen

Molly Jensen is the Chief Executive Officer of Afripods, a free pan-African podcast hosting platform building the largest library of African audio stories on the planet, based in Nairobi, Kenya. With the ability to categorize in over 50 languages and with content from over 30 countries including that from individual podcasters, radio stations and media houses, Afripods is the home for African podcasting across the continent and within the Diaspora. As a Ghanaian-American born in New York, Molly is extremely excited to help digitize African stories and wants to see African creators take up as much space as possible while creating avenues to help them get paid for their work. She has over ten years of experience across people management, sales, marketing and technology. Molly has spoken at Podcast Movement, Africa Podcast Day, Africa Media Festival, BBC Media Leaders conferences, and Advertising Week Africa as well as most recently featured in Forbes, The Guardian, Reuters, JamLab Africa, Podcast Sessions and Apple Podcasts.

Insights From the Episode

Advice on how you can fill your cup and show up for yourself so you can better support others

Tips for aspiring business leaders and women, in particular, wanting to build their own companies

Strategies for identifying distinguishing qualities in people and assembling a powerful team

What makes Afripods different from other podcast-hosting companies

Strategies for being a good leader and managing relationships with team members in the workplace

Discussion on the differences between doing business in Africa vs. in New York

Tips for problem-solving when your perspective is different from your team members

Thoughts on the future of podcasting in Kenya and Africa as a whole

Quotes from the Show

“With Afripods we’re able to speak to these creators, we’re able to create a technical solution for them, we’re able to advocate for them. When I look at my role it’s not just a privilege to be in a position as an executive, there’s a real responsibility to do right by the people on the ground. My job isn’t just enforcing my opinion; my job is listening to what creators want and then advocating for it and making sure that it happens alongside our incredible team. That’s what we do, and that’s why I think it’s important.” - Molly Jensen, Create Your Life Series, #199

“I think a lot of times you want everything to go right, and you’ll miss your opportunity to catch the wave by waiting for perfection. A lot of times it’s not you that’s causing the delay–it’s your team, it’s anot