Microtraction’s New Partner, Dayo Koleowo
I’m thrilled to announce that Dayo Koleowo is now a Partner at Microtraction
On Christmas Day in 2015, I was on TechCabal and came across a post that created an irresistible urge to contact the author. The post “Of Lagos And Startups: A Returning Angel’s Perspective” was written by Dotun Olowoporoku, my close friend, founder of Starta and VC at Novastar Ventures
The rest, as they say, is history…However, this post isn’t about my story.
It’s about Dayo Koleowo.
I remember the sequence of events that led to Dayo, sending me this email. He and his co-founder at ChowHub, a meal delivery startup, had seen a tweet Dotun posted earlier about the launch of Microtraction and they decided to reach out.
What struck me at this moment was that I had sent a similar email to Dotun just 18 months earlier.
“History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes”
- Mark Twain*
They say it takes a village to raise a child, the same can be said about Microtraction. Microtraction is a function of a dedicated and supportive network of individuals, from its core team to our investment committee, mentors, LPs, advisors, and back-office.
However, within the Microtraction family, one person has shown an exemplary form of character and commitment to Microtraction’s vision and mission.
Dayo joined Microtraction as a part-time analyst and over the last 18 months has demonstrated a rare kind of upward mobility and compounding trajectory rarely seen in Venture. He embodies what Microtraction is, founder-friendly, compassionate, ambitious, hungry as well as an appetite for continuous learning and personal development.
His experience as a founder with ChowHub gives him the most important prerequisite we care about which is “Empathy and Humility”. It’s easy to be disrespectful to and dismiss founders when you’ve not been in the shoes of one.
What sets Dayo apart though is his temperament as he’s extremely calm under pressure, very effective regardless of workload and pairs a combination of self-criticism with a deep desire to learn. He picks up new information and knowledge like a sponge and has been an excellent sounding board during the formation months at Microtraction
When Dayo said “No role or responsibility is too small for us to handle” in his email, he really meant it. Dayo has done everything and anything at Microtraction and I’m super excited to continue to watch him grow, firstly as an individual and as an investor.
Our goal in 2019 is to institutionalize Microtraction and turn it into a network that’s greater than the sum of its parts and will outlast us. This announcement is the first step in that journey.
A great friend and mentor once told me that, in business and life, you want to find people who complement your skills and values and can envision working together for decades to come.
That’s why I’m incredibly thrilled to call Dayo a Partner, Friend, and Brother.
To Dayo, thanks for sending that email and this quote is for both you and me
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future” — Steve Jobs
To building the future with you.
Semper Fi.
YB
You can read about Dayo’s journey to becoming a Partner here [Link]
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