At the tender age of 27, Winnie has seen it all. The mother of a four-year-old boy has experienced loss untold - and it all started when she became an orphan at the age of three and went to live with her maternal grandmother. Thus started her fight against anxiety and depression while still in high school - and yet, the spirit of entrepreneurship grew strong in her.

She started off pitching various ideas and innovations to potential investors, none of which went through. However, it was while she was at university that she experienced business success selling sweet treats. That business eventually collapsed, but it taught her a lot about sustaining a business in the face of growing competition and market resistance.

Today she is an SEO expert, author and blogger, and she's learned enough to teach all of us how to navigate mental health issues, business failure and success... and the loss of loved one. Listen on the hear the full story.

Actor, comedian, film director and scriptwriter Mugambi Nthiga continues where he left off - after his return to Kenya in the late 2000s, when he walked into what he calls "the most toxic work environment I have ever been in," in the advertising industry.

As that was happening, his romantic relationship was also dying, and he was starting to feel the pressure - until his friends who had formed a musical group called 'Just A Band' approached him to play a part in the video for their song 'Ha-He'. The video ended up going viral all over the world, with a character called 'Makmende' who they created.

However, while the video was becoming a global phenomenon, it didn't quite fill the financial and career expectations that Mugambi had had. And thus started his journey living with mental health issues.

In this often hilarious interview, Mugambi provides important background and context to Kenya's entertainment industry, including his experiences working on some of Kenya's biggest movie projects, and how one of them triggered yet another episode of clinical depression.

Listen in to hear how he navigated his depression, how they inspired him to seek movie projects that explore and explain mental health, and what he now knows about failure, success and happiness.

Mugambi Nthiga doesn't look like he has experienced any 'failures', being that he is a highly awarded actor and director, and comedian of note.

But he has.

And he's here to detail every part of his struggle with mental health issues, and how he got over them.

Listen in to find out more about how he recognised the struggle he was facing, and stay tuned for Part 2 to understand what he did to survive and thrive thereafter.

DJ Shinski - real name Steve Nyaosi, aka Mr Vibes on Vibes - is currently Kenya's most famous deejay. He rakes in the money while touring the world, and lives the sort of life many of us would envy...

But it didn't come easy.

In this interview, he details how his journey to DJ success involved many unsuccessful attempts at being employed. While he did not thrive in those jobs, each of them taught him valuable skills that he eventually brought to his current work as a DJ. They also served as a lesson: When the Universe determines what your future is, no amount of detouring on your own part will stop the Universe from having its way.

Listen to this interview to find out more, or find The Failure Effect on YouTube to watch.

When Violette Nduku Wambua first came up with the idea for Networking In Heels over a decade ago, it was a ground-breaking idea. Kenya had never before seen a forum for women to get together to support each other in business and in life.

So good was her idea that the sponsorship and media support and attention that came her way was literally unprecedented... until entrepreneur fatigue hit her. That, combined with struggles of new motherhood, caused her to make the one mistake many entrepreneurs with great ideas make: Abandon the idea and go back into the job market.

After a decade of pondering how to restart Networking In Heels, she finally hit the jackpot. Almost immediately after she had regained her momentum, Covid happened, causing her to pause her business for two more years.

Today, Networking In Heels is back and bigger than ever! How did she do it? Find out in this latest episode of The Failure Effect.

Happy Women's Month!

👉 *Interview recorded before March 8, 2024*

Carol Ndolo Banks was a high-flying healthcare executive running the East African chapter of the global, American-based health-tech firm IQVIA... when she suddenly quit her job, much to the shock of her colleagues, peers and bosses, who had watched her career rise from bedside nurse to General Manager.

What many didn't know is that while her career was flourishing, things on the home front, in her marriage, were steadily deteriorating, causing her to feel burnt out and unsettled.

So, after hosting the very successful IQVIA Africa Health Summit in November 2022, she handed in her resignation and went home to reflect on things and figure out her next move.

She currently runs her own health consulting business, and is still navigating the effects of her separation on her family. She is also the author of a book called 'Ethical Leadership: Creating A Culture Of Trust And Responsibility', available on Amazon.

Find out how she figured out her path back to business in this very personal, very absorbing story.

#entrepreneurship #successmotivation #overcomechallenges

Event MC Abel Opiyo - actually known as Habel Opiyo - was thriving and living his best life as an ex-Communications student, tutor and host - when life suddenly started to teach him some interesting lessons.

For our first interview this year, we sit down with him as he tells us how he learned to surmount social pressures to become his own man, which then enhanced his entrepreneurial and financial journey - and if you're a creativepreneur, you already know how important it is to find your own voice, and how to insurmountable that one task can often seem.

Listen in to find out more.

Did you know that Nameless experienced music failure when his second song after "Megarider" was badly received? Well, it was.

Thus started his journey into design-thinking, and creating music for his target audience rather than creating music he liked. In the meantime, while his career was tanking... so was his relationship with his wife Wahu. In fact, it was so bad, he literally moved out of his home to reflect on things.

And this is how he learned the art of selfishness - and how beneficial this would be to his relationship going forward.

In the second half of this interview, he shares the lessons he learned from this split and other 'failures' he has experienced.

"Everyone like to have a little fun so, shake your bum like a true African!"

Ma-lines za Nameless! Considering his public performance confidence, do you think Nameless has a social anxiety problem? Doesn't look like it, but when he first burst onto the music scene with his hit song 'Megarider', this is what he was battling,

While it seemed like he was confident and displayed a deep understanding of the craft of making music, deep inside, he was grappling with fear and uncertainty. The pressure of stepping into the limelight for the first time weighed heavily on him all through his first performance, leaving him anxious about whether his debut song would be embraced and enjoyed by the public.

In this captivating interview, the superstar candidly opens up about learning to live with a mental health condition, and the early days of his relationship with his now-wife, the talented singer Wahu, recounting the challenges and stresses they faced together.

Join us as we delve into the story of Nameless, in this, the first half of his two-part interview about the invaluable lessons he has learned along his life journey.

In the final part of the Tazim Elkington interview, she explains how the lessons she has learned over time have made her the person she is now - comfortable in her skin, and aware that there's always more growth to experience.

She's had to put those lessons into practice, finally allowing herself to let people into her life, and to be open to their friendship, support and imperfections. Click 'play' to find out more, and don't forget to subscribe, share and leave a comment!