How Tristan Walker inspired my company- Epiphany II
I was driving towards Washington Ave. in Albany NY, after it had just snowed. The roads were slippery and it was terribly cold. Why am I here? I never wanted to live in NY. My car slid a bit, and my heart skipped. I really don’t like this. You see, since I had my first epiphany 4 months earlier (read here), I got interested in starting a fashion company, but I wasn’t quite sure what to build. I was stuck. So I started listening to podcasts as a medium to learn more about entrepreneurship. I mostly listened during my commute to work.
This time I was about to listen to Stanford’s Entrepreneurship Thought Leader (ETL) series interview with Tristan Walker titled, “Being an Authentic Entrepreneur.” Stanford. Silicon Valley.Tristan Walker. All were foreign to me. But the title was captivating, so I just went with it. My car slid again. “I probably won’t take all these roundabouts again,” I thought. They are nauseating. I increased the heat to 77 deg. Somehow I was still cold. I pushed the play button, and that was it. I can remember how captivated I was. Something was different about this podcast. I just couldn’t tell what. I was all in. All of a sudden, I didn’t worry about the slippery road. The traffic became bearable. Even welcomed. I didn’t want to get to my destination. I wanted to remain here. In this car.
Tristan talked a bit about his journey- Life in Bronx, Boarding School, Wall Street, Twitter, Foursquare, A16Z, and then Walker and Co. What a captivating story. I hadn’t met him, but he felt familiar. Someone I had known for a while.
The most important lessons that changed everything for me:
- Be an authentic leader
- Do something you believe you are the best in the world to do
This brought everything together. Everything. This was what I was waiting for all the while. Just like the movies, everything I had been thinking about regarding a company flashed across my eyes. And these lessons were strings that drew them together. “Yes!,” I said out loud. That’s it.
“Do something you are the best in the world to do/ something that is authentic to you.”
- Something authentic to me- Africa
- Something authentic to me- High Quality/Luxury
- Something authentic to me- Fashion
African Luxury Fashion. That’s what I am going to do.
Now, I have arrived. I wasn’t getting out of the car. I wasn’t going to break up this time. I sat there. Soaking up all I could from the podcast. The car seems hotter now. I turn down the heat to 73 deg. Yes, that feels better. 20 minutes passed, and I was still sitting there. The podcast is over now, but I just sit there. Making all these connections. Repeating it to myself, “Be Authentic. Be an Authentic Leader. Solve what you are the best person in the world to solve.”
I finally snapped out my daze. I floated upstairs as my lunch box weighed me down. I went straight to my laptop and searched “Tristan Walker.”
He’s Black! My excitement doubles!!
Even more reason to look up to him. I learned more about Walker and Co and Bevel. That podcast wasn’t going to be the last I hear from him. I created a Twitter account and followed him. So, if we connect via twitter, you have Tristan to thank.
Two year later, in 2016, I launched ONYCHEK, an ecommerce company for African Luxury Fashion.
I still look up to Tristan as a founder. I still look up to Walker and Co. as a model company.
I still sign handwritten notes to all customers. Just like Tristan.