Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

From making over 20,000 cedis in the first 24 hours on Snapchat to losing an Amazon account because demand was too high to fulfill, and why the brutal truth about explosive business growth is that it can destroy you faster than slow growth ever could because when 100 orders flood in on day one and your supplier quits after 24 hours saying it's too stressful and you're scrambling to find packaging bottles and labeling and responding to customers who trusted you with their money while overselling products you don't have in stock because you didn't have a website to track inventory, the young woman who never started as the average business person selling one or two orders a day but instead jumped straight into chaos with hundreds of orders before she even understood how to apologize to customers or handle delivery delays or navigate the pressure of 20 people being disappointed because the delivery service failed, the early skincare business that shut down completely after one customer left African black soap on her face for 15 minutes instead of one minute and said the product burned her skin sending the business owner into panic mode because at that point she knew nothing about business and couldn't live with the thought that somebody used her product and damaged their face, the wisdom that being popular too fast means you don't know what to do with yourself just like when a business booms too quickly you haven't built the structure or understood your flaws or learned how to delegate which is why she spent two years not making any money because she was too busy learning how to survive the explosion, the decision to hire somebody to reply to Instagram messages just one year into the business because the pressure of responding to everyone and worrying if the way she spoke would make them come back again was eating her alive, the realization that she doesn't work well under pressure and would rather delegate the pressure to someone else so she can focus on production and school while getting a report at the end of the week instead of seeing every customer complaint in real time, the Amazon experiment where she listed products at the lowest price without even calculating profit margins and came back on Monday to over 200 dollars in sales but lost the account because she couldn't meet demand and stock wasn't coming in and she didn't have enough money to buy more inventory, the philosophy that no opportunity is too small to make something out of and people make the most out of the smallest opportunities so no matter what you get try your best to put value to it because that's what keeps you going, the critical lesson that you have to kiss your customers and lay down for them as a business person even when delivery services embarrass you in front of 20 people and you're begging and apologizing and finding solutions because one thing about her is she'll be sad but she will find a solution, the blessing that nobody called her out during those chaotic early days which she credits to God's favor and the consideration from customers who knew she wasn't a scammer because she showed her face and built trust with her followers before the chaos started, the decision to stop taking pre orders completely and only sell products that are physically in stock because she learned the hard way that you can't rely on suppliers who might embarrass you especially when products are coming from abroad.

Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder)

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From building Ghana Party in the Park for 20 years without corporate support to losing deals worth millions when artists failed to show up, and why the brutal truth about building a legacy in UK entertainment is that you compete against your own people wasting money you don't have when you could have worked smarter together, the man who ran events that became institutions but never got the corporate backing that Ghanaian promoters in Ghana receive from telcos and banks because the Ghanaian community in the UK is a very small percentage, the 100 percent openness to partnership that brought smiles when Western Union and MoneyGram sponsored events wishing they had done even more because that support validated the work being done, the conversation with his friend David that hit hard about how a lot of us don't like systems thinking we just like to do things and sometimes it looks like ego, the church example where the usher says sit here and you start looking funny because you spotted somewhere you want to sit but for the church and the usher she's thinking this will align with the camera position proving we don't like systems thinking, the fear of change that held him and others back when change is good and change is necessary for growth, the Bissakele show at the Forum in London that sold tickets at incredible speed but could have been twice as big if the venue choice was better, the 696 form system that forced black event promoters to assess every DJ and attendee because of knife culture and fighting at clubs putting everyone in one bracket and making it harder to book certain venues, the Scala venue in King's Cross that said no they don't want to do a black event forcing him to find the next alternative when over 200 people were left outside while inside was jam packed proving they could have filled a space twice that size, the mistakes made that he's learned from because you've got to be able to make mistakes to correct them and life you could always do better, the recounting of what he would have done better including getting more people involved in the work and having better understanding with artists he worked with because some of them were personal friends who don't need to speak to you anymore because things didn't go their way, the money wasted by competing against promotional partners like Aloudia, West Coast, DJ Abramship, and Stuk DJs when there were times they had about three events on the same night and could have done one big event instead, the ego and pride that stopped them from working smarter alongside the reality that competition is healthy but if he thinks about it now they could have done better which they are correcting by working closely together now, the discussion about Ghana Party in the Park becoming like Wireless Festival which he 100 percent agrees with but the business decision of whether to take Ghana out of the title when 80 percent of the niche market was the Ghanaian community, the offer that came in 2020 where he was happy to take away the Ghana from the title and had COVID not come in it would still not be Ghana Party in the Park it would have been a different title, the reality that everything he does is Ghana related and maybe that's wrong of him but that's the foundation he built, the wisdom that Ghana starts a lot of things but doesn't own it and somebody else takes it better and he's part of the system that got it wrong, the experience working with legend Daddy Lumba who was very difficult to work with doing three shows successfully in the UK before the fourth show where Daddy Lumba called just days before to say he's not coming just like that with no fault of the promoter, the heavy loss already made at that time with tickets sold and people ready to attend Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder)

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From being dismissed at radio stations and turned away from nightclubs to paving the way for African music on mainstream UK platforms and creating the Diaspora Ghana movement that now defines an entire generation's connection to the motherland, and why the brutal truth about building something revolutionary is that the people who come after you and benefit from your groundwork will often refuse to give you credit while calling you lazy when they weren't there getting rejected, getting told African music doesn't belong, getting sent away from venues that now welcome African artists with open arms because of the foundation you laid brick by brick, the man who genuinely believes his contributions to Diaspora Ghana gave birth to what it is today because he was doing this when Ghana had no nightlife scene and year after year since 1999 he brought the confidence and belief that made it fashionable to return home during the holidays, the opportunities given to DJs in Ghana when nobody wanted to be associated with UK Diaspora events but suddenly when Aquavis became cool everyone wanted to be on the bill and follow the movement, the nightlife scene that kept growing with nightclubs like Faisal and Boomerang coming through creating an infrastructure that didn't exist before, the contribution to getting African music played on mainstream radio that broke the camel's back when 80 percent of lyrics had to be in English before songs could be played forcing him to do research and find tracks like Wale's Sweet Dreams that had enough English to slip through the gatekeepers, the Francophone music from Awilo Longomba, Magic System, and Koffi Olomide that wasn't being played on mainstream radio at the time proving the barriers were real and intentional, the cheap shot from a Nigerian promoter who called Ghanaian promoters lazy when he wasn't there during the struggle getting told your African music doesn't belong here, getting turned away from nightclubs, going to record labels and venues and getting rejected over and over until it finally became fashionable, the credit given to Nigerian promoters like Solomon Savage who put on incredible R&B shows with Mary J. Blige and Jodeci and Keith Sweat, DJ Abbas, KC, and Kokobar who played a major role in the scene but doesn't get enough recognition either, the Nigerian corner venues like Black Knight and Club 419 that created space for the culture when nobody else would, the disappointment in a fellow promoter who has been gifted with numbers and brilliant artists and connections but instead of encouraging the next generation chooses to punch down and dismiss the Ghanaian promoters who invested their own private money to build the foundation he's now standing on, the reality that this promoter wasn't there when they were being sent away from radio stations, wasn't there struggling to get African music played from 4am to 2am to midnight and sticking through the rejection until the doors finally opened, the acknowledgment that yes this promoter works with Ghanaian artists and helps them break boundaries which is good for the culture and should be celebrated, the wisdom that taking it to the next level is beautiful but dismissing what's been done before is where the problem lies, the name that's never been in the story even though flights were being booked to Ghana and movements were being created and foundations were being laid, the reality that a lot of people don't want to give credit where it's due and a lot of promoters and DJs came through what he established and contributed towards but refuse to acknowledge the paving of the way.

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From being 19 years old with no job, no university plans, and no vision beyond renting out sound equipment to becoming a household name in UK entertainment, and why the brutal truth about youth and ambition is that sometimes you're just going with the flow making money as a DJ and loving the popularity without thinking about buying houses or saving for the future when you should have been putting money away instead of spending everything on more records and more equipment, the four young Ghanaian boys who pooled their sound equipment together and created what would become 90% Hair Squad starting with just turntables, mixers, microphones, and producer setups, the transition from renting equipment to Acid House promoters at warehouses in King's Cross to becoming DJs themselves putting on their own events, the 19 year old living at his parents' house with no job while his friends Mr. Trips and Mr. Schuchs worked at John Lewis and Moscom produced music, the parents who never turned against him even though his football dream was shattered at 14 and he chose not to pursue university because it just wasn't meant for him, the four Ghanaians who grew to six when Ash and DJ Branch joined creating a collective that played R&B, Ragga, Jungle, Swing Beat, Miami Bass, and went up against legendary household names like Rampage, Boogie Bunch, Tim Westwood, David Rodigan, and David Pearce, the African community and specifically the Ghanaian community that was super proud of these young boys and embraced them when the Caribbean entertainment scene shut them out at every establishment they tried to enter, the African Caribbean Societies at universities like Brunel, Coventry, and Kingston that played a key role in booking 90% for events, the decision to do their first event together called Ghana Independence in 1992 at Shinola's Night Club where Westfield Stratford now stands, the collaboration with Sambike, DJ Francis, and Big Joe from Nakasi Records who was shipping records from Ghana and distributing them to various shops, the first Ghana Independence event that drew 4,000 Ghanaians filling three massive areas proving these young DJs had tapped into something powerful, the 19 to 20 year old who was so happy just playing music and renting out equipment that he didn't see the future or think about change, the mini celebrity status that came with popularity in the community where they all wore matching 90% jackets and t-shirts and people were calling them everywhere, the money he was making as a DJ that should have been saved or invested in property like other young people his age who were moving out of London to buy homes in Essex and Stevenage, the many mistakes made spending everything on buying more records and more equipment instead of putting money away, the young man whose dream was shot down when he wanted to be a footballer and never recovered another dream after that, the parents who would back him to the grave and never turned against him because he didn't do well in school proving unconditional support even when the path wasn't traditional, the reality that to be a footballer in the UK you had to go through the system young and once you got dropped there was no way back in unless you played non-league football and got spotted like Ian Wright who was discovered by Crystal Palace, the house parties and events that built the foundation for what would become a movement in UK African entertainment, the four young Ghanaian boys who became a household name in UK entertainment by just playing music to Ghanaians and then expanding to the entire African community who gripped onto what they were building.

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From getting a license to play African music on mainstream UK radio in 1997 to creating the December in Ghana movement that transformed the diaspora's relationship with the motherland, and why the brutal truth about building cultural movements is that you don't just wake up and decide to change how an entire generation sees coming home because it takes years of getting rejected at 4am graveyard shifts on radio stations, years of proving African music belongs on mainstream platforms, years of convincing nightclubs to welcome the culture you're fighting to legitimize, years of chartering planes and teaming up with radio stations like VibeFM and nightclub owners like Tiki Bonsing and Duke Bonsing to create a nightlife infrastructure that didn't exist before you arrived, the six young Ghanaian boys from 90% who kept on knocking on doors until they got hold of a license for North London on Choice FM proving persistence breaks down barriers that seem impossible, the demo tape from 90% his core Choice affair that he still has today as proof of the journey from being told African music doesn't belong to becoming the representation of African music on mainstream radio, the call from Wayne Tanning within 24 hours saying you've got the job come start playing music on Choice which meant selecting three members Moscom, Mr Shooks, and DJ Branch to be the face of Choice while the other three supported from behind, the introduction of DJ Branch to Choice FM through 90% which gave birth to the platform he would eventually take to the next level with the Afro Beat Show, the graveyard shift from 4am to 6am when everybody's asleep that slowly moved to 2am to 4am then midnight to 4am then midnight to 2am proving they were gaining attraction and regular time slots, the credit given to DJ Branch for sticking to it and taking the show from where they started to where he elevated it because you have to give people their flowers when they execute and push through, the birth of Aqualva in 2001 after 90% decided to go separate ways with Mr Trips still producing music, Moscom doing legendary work, Mr Shooks being one of the best MCs in the jungle scene, Blackhash on Choice during the Afro Beat Show, and DJ Branch doing his thing, the conversation with close friend and partner Cliff and the Puku deciding to do an event together without even knowing what to call it until two or three days before when they landed on Aqualva because everything about him has always been Ghana and the first sign you see getting off the plane at the old airport is Aqualva, the six Ghanaian guys who set up Aqualva including Emilio from West Coast, right hand man Eben designed to take him to Jump Promotions, DJ Fire, and Eben's brother creating another collective that would shape UK African entertainment, the realization during the Aqualva era that there was a sense of belonging and it became so cool to be African with massive turnouts at any Ghana event proving the Gen Zs of that time were ready for community and representation, the decision to change the narrative and bring it back home after experiencing being flown out to places like Tenerife, Ibiza, and Greece to DJ at events and seeing the nightlife scene over there realizing he could introduce that to Ghana, the punishment narrative in the diaspora where being sent back to Ghana was used as a threat when you did something wrong creating fear in young people who would rather run away from home than face going back.

Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder)

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From 600 cedis & an MTN loan to running TWO bakeries - Samuel’s story will change how you think about opportunity.

Samuel Agyapong (Banana Bread GH) joins Derrick on Konnected Minds to break down why Ghana's youth are losing to social media, how he built an entire business off Instagram without traveling abroad, and the hard truth about hiring staff that most business owners ignore.

🍌 He started selling lunch in primary school. Got banned. Kept going. 💡 Turned diabetic customers into his biggest market - through education, not ads. 📲 Grew a TikTok page to 50K in 6 months by spotting a gap nobody else saw.

Key topics covered:

• Financial management & the social media trap
• Why discipline over motivation (every time)
• How to attract & keep the right staff
• Starting a business with little to nothing
• Why Ghana's broken system is full of opportunity

"Solve a problem and the problem attracts wealth."

🎟️ Konnected MInds Live Kumasi, Sept 9th. https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

Guest: Samuel

Web: https://bananabreadgh.com/

Host: Derrick Abaitey

IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey

Join Konnected Academy: https://www.triibe.io/konnected-academy

🎟️ Konnected MInds Live Kumasi, Sept 9th. https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

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From being a 12 year old boy crying in London who just wanted to go home to becoming the man who made December in Ghana a cultural phenomenon for the diaspora, and why the brutal truth about building a legacy is that your name gets erased from the story even though you were there getting rejected by radio stations when 80 percent of lyrics had to be in English before African music could touch mainstream airwaves, getting turned away from venues that now welcome the culture you fought to legitimize, investing your own money into events that became institutions while watching others take credit for the movement you helped birth, the young boy from Osu whose father was a barrister lawyer and former chairman of Accra Hearts of Oak who moved all 14 siblings to the United Kingdom for political reasons without even telling him he was leaving, the 12 year old playing for youth football teams Habo City and Karakim Faisa who thought he had a real chance to become a professional footballer in Ghana until his sister told him to take a bath because they were going out and the next thing he knew he was landing at Heathrow Airport scared and confused riding the underground for the first time in his life, the child who cried most of the time in those early days because he left his friends behind and didn't know what he was going into when all he wanted was to play football and be back home where life made sense, the father who was calm and supportive even when school reports came back showing his son wasn't attending because he was spending his time elsewhere chasing a dream that didn't fit the traditional path, the man who created Aqualva UK and Miss Ghana UK and helped shift the entire mindset of Ghanaians in the diaspora to see coming home in December not as punishment but as something cool and fashionable, the pioneer who was in rooms with record labels and radio stations and pluggers breaking down barriers so African music could finally get played when the gatekeepers said it didn't belong, the promoter who ran Ghana Party in the Park for 20 years without fail building a brand so big that generations of people who came through his events are now at Sony Music and major positions across the industry, the devastating loss of 40,000 pounds in 2023 when an artist failed to show up even after interventions and phone calls and people who bought tickets were left disappointed, the contributions to Diaspora Ghana that gave birth to what it is today because he was doing this when Ghana had no nightlife scene and year after year since the late 90s he brought the confidence and belief that made it fashionable to return home during the holidays, the name that's never been in the story even though he was there in the struggle getting rejected and told African music doesn't belong here, the 14 siblings who all made it to the United Kingdom not just to survive but to get education and opportunities because their father fought for each and every one of them, the relationship he has with his own children today that reflects wanting to be a better version of the father he looked up to so much, the young boy who never wanted anything but to be a footballer living near the stadium in Osu watching matches daily and playing coos football with local teams chasing him before everything changed with one bath and one trip that took him away from the only life he knew.

Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From dropping out of school at 14 to chase a football dream that ended in rejection to becoming a DJ and sound equipment entrepreneur in London's underground Acid House scene, and why the brutal truth about immigrant life in the UK during the 80s and 90s is that there were no community hangouts, no Ghanaian restaurants, no nightclubs for us because that generation was focused on working morning cleaning jobs and nursing shifts just to send money back home not building the infrastructure we enjoy today, the young boy who moved from chip shop to chip shop and arcade to arcade only showing up to school during lunchtime to play football because everybody wanted him on their side, the father who wrote letters to Arsenal, QPR, and every major London football club to get his son trials even though he had 14 children to care for, the coldest winter of 1986 when his father stood outside from 8am to 6pm in just a jacket watching his son trial at Queensborough proving that even with 14 siblings this father found time for each and every one of them, the devastating moment at 14 years old when Mr. Tom Wally called him into the office and said the journey ends here after two years on a Youth Training Scheme form, the young teenager who wasn't old enough to understand the weight of rejection and still believed another chance would come somewhere else because he was that good of a footballer, the transition from football to working at McDonald's and doing paper runs for seven pounds a week delivering newspapers in freezing cold mornings while still finding money to buy records, the freedom of being 14 to 18 with no responsibilities, no bills to pay, no mobile phones to worry about, no pressure to send money back home just pure freedom to exist without the weight of adulthood, the complete disconnect from friends back in Ghana with no contact until he returned years later because that's just how life was without technology connecting continents, the musical equipment he started buying with his McDonald's money not because he had a plan or vision but because he grew up in Suame surrounded by two nightclubs where music played every single night shaping his love for sound, the realization that there was nothing for young black people to do in London except youth clubs, hanging out on the streets, going to church with parents, or attending funerals because the immigrant generation wasn't building community spaces they were surviving and sending money home, the friend Moscom who changed everything by teaching him to DJ after he saw the technics turntables, the son lab mixer, the microphone, and the full producer setup that made him say teach me I want to be a DJ, the formation of a sound equipment collective that started with four Ghanaian guys and grew to six pooling all their equipment together to rent out for parties and events, the Acid House music scene that was driving the UK crazy with promoters renting empty warehouses in places like Barley Studios in King's Cross needing equipment for the biggest underground movement of that era, the 11th child out of 14 siblings who all somehow made it to the United Kingdom not just to survive but to get education and opportunities that seemed impossible, the father who fought for each and every one of his 14 children making sure they all had a chance even when the odds were stacked against them, the beautiful memories of a time when freedom meant no responsibilities and life was about playing football, delivering newspapers in the cold, working at McDonald's, and dreaming about what could come next without the pressure of knowing what that next step should be.

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From not owning the stories and contributions that built the UK African music scene to losing millions when COVID forced event cancellations and why the brutal truth about going with the flow without being intentional is that other people end up taking credit for your work while you watch your children learn your legacy from strangers instead of from you, the man who pioneered African music on mainstream UK radio and created events that became institutions but never documented his role in the movement, the cassette tapes he showed his son who had never seen one before using a pen to rewind it teaching lessons about how far they've come and how much has changed, the regret of not owning a lot of the history because when you look at Zemba or the movements happening right now people think it started with someone's return but there was a group of people who started this and they should have documented it but they didn't, the children he feels he let down because they don't really know his story and it takes other people to tell them when he's never been the type to go around talking about himself but life has taught him you've got to speak up, the beautiful family this unplanned path has given him and how his kids are now seeing what he did and his peers are telling him he needs to speak up and own half of what Africans in the UK are enjoying right now because in a few years nobody will know what they went through, the contributions to getting African music played on mainstream radio which broke the camel's back that people don't know about, the mistakes made because he was just going with the flow and the cost of not being intentional because somebody else comes into the story and other people take the credit and other people tell you that you've been lazy, the 90 percent of conversations and rooms he's been in from record label rooms to radio stations to pluggers that never translated to support for his company or his events, the Ghana Party in the Park brand that ran for 20 years without fail even when others fell and the very good offer on the table in January before COVID came in March and destroyed the deal, the generations of people who came through Ghana Party in the Park who are now at Sony Music and big positions in the industry and how he sees ex patrons everywhere in high positions who all came through his events, the disappointment of not getting rich from Ghana Party in the Park because it's a big brand, a very very big brand that deserved more, the business cap he didn't put on early enough because he matured very late and maturity came to him very late but now he's surrounded by good people like his partner DJ Mensa in Ghana bringing brilliant ideas, the Ghanaian businesses at the time who weren't comfortable with the entertainment scene even in Ghana before telcos like MTN and Vodafone had to invest heavily into Ghanaian music, the shout out to Charter House for what they were doing with Ghana Music Awards and how when corporate came in you saw the beauty of what they were doing, the love for what corporate is doing especially in Ghana with Charter House and iGo House doing Tidal Rave and how banks and drinks companies and telco companies are getting involved but in the UK they don't get that because the Ghanaian community is a very small percentage, the 100 percent openness to partnership and the smile that came from sponsorship from Western Union and MoneyGram at the time wishing they had done even more, the friend David who said something that hit him about how a lot of us don't like systems thinking we just like to do things and sometimes it looks like ego, the example of walking into a church and the usher says sit here and you start looking funny because you spotted somewhere you want to sit but for the church and the usher she's thinking this will align with the camera position proving we don't like systems thinking, the fear of change that held him and others back when change is good.

From making 800K on TikTok and not caring what anyone thinks to building an international feminine hygiene brand by teaching instead of just selling, and why the brutal truth about social media success is that you don't just post products and expect people to care because no one needs your camera until you show them the quality difference between phone footage and professional camera footage, the young woman who started with nothing but a Snapchat account and made over 20,000 cedis in the first 24 hours by posting one product and paying influencers proving that when you give value people will pay upfront without even asking for payment on delivery, the explosive first day that brought over 100 orders and overwhelmed her supplier who quit after just 24 hours saying it was too stressful when customers were ready to pay and wait because she wasn't just selling she was teaching ladies about feminine hygiene that Africans are never taught at home, the bold move of ordering 3,000 pieces wholesale when the first supplier couldn't handle the demand and then jumping to 10,000 pieces even though it sold out the same day and angry customers thought she had scammed them, the year spent investing 80,000 Ghanaian cedis in influencer marketing to make sure her products were on the minds and lips of people before she even touched Instagram or TikTok proving that the first year should be about building trust not just making money, the Snapchat accounts that kept getting reported and taken down by competitors forcing her to move to WhatsApp where 600 people texted her in one day to save their contact because they were actively looking for her, the 2024 decision to finally start posting on TikTok which now drives 90 to 95 percent of her business compared to the 20 percent Snapchat brought because she focused on giving value and teaching instead of dancing and fooling around, the wisdom that every business has value and if you're selling clothes you show people how to style them and if you're selling shoes you teach them what to match with their dress because posting products alone means nothing when people don't understand why they need what you're selling, the revolutionary approach of being explicit and confident about feminine hygiene topics when other Ghanaians are scared to mention those things creating a unique space where mothers and pastors' wives and celebrities come to learn from her, the 12 to 15 FDA approved products she now carries with plans to launch her own production line starting with probiotics and custom feminine washes after traveling to China to find manufacturers who understood her specific ingredient requirements and target customer needs, the trip to China where she was very specific about ingredients and who she was trying to serve refusing to rush the process because she wants to go through it properly and get samples approved before committing to large scale production, the constant video creation whether she's traveling or at home because she's always working to put something good out there for her audience, the post about making 800K on TikTok that people didn't believe but she didn't care because the money was in her account not theirs and if you're going to be on the internet promoting your business you cannot care about what people say

Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder)

Host: Derrick Abaitey