Continuing our series featuring some of Tooting’s great young entrepreneurs, today we introduce Obed Yeboah, business coach and the head of Digilab, Tooting’s exciting new tech initiative.

At just 24 years old, Obed knows from personal experience how challenging and lonely starting a new business can be for a young entrepreneur and was therefore inspired to launch obedsHUB, to help other young people in a similar position to succeed and make a difference in the world. obedsHUB specialises in working with those aged 16-30, providing hands-on free business coaching as well as affordable training, online courses and business support to help them get their business off the ground.

Obed’s story is an inspiring one and we’ll let him tell it in his own words…...

---

“I was born in Ghana, before moving to the UK at 8 years old to join my mum in Kings Cross. Aged 15, I had the opportunity to study and play semi-pro basketball at Bristol City Academy College. My mum was initially against the idea for me to go to Bristol but after countless talks with my coach at the time she finally agreed. I lived in Bristol for 2 years and had to mature very quickly. I strongly feel that my time in Bristol with the help of my coach turned me into a man. He taught me discipline both on and off the court. I learnt how to be comfortable in pain and I think any athlete can relate to that. At that time I had no interest in entrepreneurship and didn't even know what an entrepreneur was, however, moving to Bristol was by far the best decision I have ever made as I owe everything to my coach Steve Brocklehurst – my attitude to work now is the same approach I had to playing basketball.

I started my first business in my second year of University in Leeds – this was a mobile app called CVsnip, which enabled students and graduates to showcase their project work to employers at the first phase of recruitment. 8 months after graduating from Uni, I sold CVsnip but went through some really tough struggles before this moment. I had to raise £10,000 for the app development and marketing. I approached 7 or 8 developers to work on the app with me for a 50% return, but all of them said no purely because of my age and the fact that I had never done this before. I also applied for the Princes Trust which I got another rejection from. Networking events were also a nightmare because the moment I said ‘I'm in my second year at university’ I could see people losing interest.

After all the rejections, I remember speaking to my lecturer and expressing my anger with people always using age and experience to define ones capabilities. The conversation felt like an emotional breakdown and after 15 minutes of pure ranting (!) from me, my lecturer pointed me in the right direction to receive full funding for CVsnip. One valuable piece of advice I can give to those in a similar position is to treat the people who you least expect to help you with the same respect as the people you spend most of your time chasing to give you a minute of their time – you never know where your help may come from.

After selling CVsnip I decided to set up another business called obedsHUB to help young entrepreneurs aged 16-30 with their own business goals by offering web design services and free 1-2-1 hands-on business coaching. The reason for starting obedsHUB was simply because of the lack of hands on support available to young people wanting to maximise their full potential. I went through the same hardship of trying to find someone to really give me the support I needed as starting a business for the first time is a daunting prospect. I also feel motivation is a big problem for young people in general. The goal with obedsHUB is to create a hub that's built on creating results, teaching young people the reality of starting a business or being an entrepreneur and the sacrifices that one must make in order to succeed. My ambition is to grow obedsHUB and introduce it to the people in Accra, Ghana as well as other cities in the UK, specifically Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham.

Alongside running obedsHUB, I’m now also working with Business Launchpad to establish their new Digilab Tooting initiative by introducing technology to both young and mature people in Tooting and beyond. I’m not a local - however my auntie once lived in Tooting Broadway so I'm quite familiar with the area. I live in Kings Cross, but once Digilab was pitched to me, I realised this was a movement that I wanted to be a part of as it was in line with obedsHUB objectives. 

Without Business Launchpad's support I wouldn't have been in a position to sell CVsnip. The councillor I had at the time was Kemi, who helped me with my networking skills and gave me the confidence to communicate confidently to people about CVsnip. I remember telling her, “my app developers are taking my money without showing me any results on the development " and she simply replied “Obed, you need to grow a backbone and tell them you’re not paying them until you see something". I really needed to hear that and from that day I became firm with my decisions. Business Launchpad is a great place for young people to go for similar guidance because they make you feel at home which is something I'm always looking for when I meet people.”

---

Keep your eyes peeled for more from Obed and Digilab Tooting as he ramps it up over the coming weeks!

You can find out more about Obed on the obedsHUB website and follow him on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Based in the Trident Business Centre, Business Launchpad offers free business support & counselling to young entrepreneurs aged 16-30 in Wandsworth. To find out more about Business Launchpad, click here.

If you’re a young Tooting entrepreneur who’d like to be featured in future articles, then drop us some details via email – we’d love to hear from you!