Eke Eleanya Urum

Quote: “Start up is a Marathon. You want to make sure that the value you're creating, you're not just building for investors because you sold too much too early.”

The Afropolitan Podcast spotlights Afropolitans who aren’t afraid to step into the unknown and walk in purpose. With this podcast we hope to empower Africans in the Diaspora to harness their full potential and contribute to the development of a bold and progressive black community.

Today’s episode features Eke Eleanya Urum, Founder and CEO of Rise Vest - a dollar denominated investment platform.

“I've always been passionate about finance, investments. It's what I studied in school, what I worked in, it’s what I did personally. And as a hobby, I just love it.”

Following the peak of the Shale revolution and the subsequent crash of oil prices, Eke published a blog post in November of 2014 advising people to find ways to move their money to dollar investments.

He went on to co-found BuyCoins with Timi Ajiboye. They later parted ways so that Eke could focus on building core investment products, and this eventually led to the start of Rise Vest.

Having to deal with regulatory challenges from the government taught Eke a thing or two about the rules of engagement when dealing with regulators.

Listen and enjoy as Eke takes us through the rise of Rise Vest

Eke’s reading list

The Bible
https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho-ebook/dp/B00U6SFUSS/ The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
https://www.amazon.com/Zero-One-Notes-Startups-Future-ebook/dp/B00J6YBOFQ/ Zero To One by Peter Thiel
Show Notes:
03:57 How 2021 Rise Vest’s year of ascent.
05:46 The idea that became Rise Vest.

07:09 Starting BuyCoins with Timi Ajiboye.

08:02 Parting ways with Timi and BuyCoins.

08:17 The beginning of Rise Vest.

10:18 Eke talks about recruiting tech talent even if you are a non-tech founder.

11:06 Partnerships that work. How Eke met his co-founder Bosun Olanrewaju.

11:49 Building the first products at Rise Vest

12:35 Building the team at Rise Vest

13:22 How equity works at Rise Vest.

14:24 The process of fundraising according to Eke

17:54 Dealing with regulators. The cases with CBN and EFCC.

23:25 The founders who inspire Eke.

26:24 Eke’s thoughts on running a company in Nigeria versus going abroad.

29:20 The future of Crypto in Africa and why it should be embraced

34:13 Eke’s multiple lens on failure.



The Afropolitan Podcast is hosted by Eche Emole, co-founder of Afropolitan.
Listen and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Jamit, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to learn more about Afropolitan?

Twitter - https://twitter.com/afropolitan
Website - https://www.afropolitan.io/