(1) Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Toby Egbuna, and I’m one of the Co-Founders of Chezie. I’m also a diversity strategist and management consultant. Outside of work, I love playing basketball and watching the latest romantic comedy movie.
(2) In two sentences or less, describe how you participate in the startup ecosystem.
I regularly attend networking events for people in the startup community in NYC. I hope to become more involved in the startup ecosystem when I switch to working on Chezie full-time.
(3) What are you currently reading right now and would recommend to others?
I’m reading the novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez. I’d recommend it because it gives insight into a different immigrant perspective than my own. It’s also pretty humorous and a quick read.
(4) What makes you stay in the startup ecosystem?
The opportunity to help underserved minorities achieve their career goals.
(5) What drives your passion about the startup ecosystem?
I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship, and I’ve always known that I wanted to start my own business, but I could never figure out what industry/field I wanted to go into. In Chezie, I’ve found a perfect intersection between my passion for social good and my interest in entrepreneurship.
(6) Where do you see the startup ecosystem in 5 years?
I think the biggest change that we’ll see in the startup ecosystem is a switch towards purpose-driven businesses that aren’t necessarily focused on growing as quickly as possible. This theory against the traditional VC model, but as information and news becomes more accessible, people will become more aware of the inequalities around the world, and business leaders will look for ways to solve these inequalities through their startups.
(7) How has failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
I tore my ACL my freshman year of college, and after surgery, a year of rehab, and 2 years on the JV team, I made the Varsity team at UNC-Chapel Hill. I learned a lot about myself and my mental fortitude. Everyone always says “if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it,” but this was the first time that the saying actually came to life for me.
(8) What do you do to refocus yourself when you feel overwhelmed or unfocused?
I try to step away from my work. I love movies and exercise, so I use both of those as outlets whenever I feel stressed out or when I can’t focus.
(9) What’s one piece of advice you would give someone trying to break into the startup ecosystem?
Just start. Don’t overthink your project or blog or business. Find a way to get it going and you’ll learn so much more along the way than you would doing a lot of planning. If you want to start a podcast, maybe start with a blog or even a dedicated twitter page. If you want to start a clothing business, find a drop-shipper that can sell a single kind of t-shirt.
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