The javelin-throwing CEO propelling diversity into the limelight
LOCATIONS: London and Essex, UK
LANGUAGE SPOKEN: English
CURRENT ROLE: Founder and CEO, BYP Network
PREVIOUS ROLE: Junior Athlete for Great Britain and University of Florida
BOARDWAVE ROLES: Nextwaver, Angel Investor and Mentor
Kike Oniwinde Agoro is the CEO and founder of BYP Network, a multi-million-pound company focused on advancing the careers of Black professionals. Oniwinde Agoro, who grew up in East London and later became a competing athlete, didn’t always have diversity at the top of her agenda. It all changed when she entered the world of investment banking though. “I stepped out of that East London bubble and I saw the wider world – and it was not as diverse as London. I went into the world of work and I didn’t see Black people in it,” Oniwinde Agoro says.
The entrepreneur studied economics at Nottingham University, and got an internship at Deutsche Bank as part of a diversity programme. “At the time, I didn’t know why we needed diversity programmes but, out of 20 people, only two were Black,” she says. “I remember thinking that it was a bit strange. Even in a diversity programme, we were under-represented.”
Internships at Goldman Sachs, Barclays and CitiBank cemented Oniwinde Agoro’s belief that this world wasn’t right for her. “I felt out of place. You think, ‘Should I even be here because no one here is like me’. I remember asking a guy on one internship how he got the opportunity and he said it was his dad who got himin. I remember thinking I’m an international athlete with many internships under my belt and A* grades with no connections. The standard for entry is different. It felt like a place I didn’t belong.”
A moving moment
Oniwinde Agoro founded BYP Network in 2016 after the Black Lives Matter campaign took off. It was a movement that hada profound effect on her. “I thought about my own experience with the lack of diversity in investment banking and I realised that something needed to change. I thought that if I could find others who think the way that I do, we could come up with ideas and a plan of action. The companies, across all industries, that say the talent doesn’t exist would see that we do. I wanted to change the Black narrative.”
BYP Network is a hugely successful enterprise but, when Oniwinde Agoro launched it from her bedroom in 2016, she wasn’t even sure how to fund it. “I never knew you could get funding for your business because there was no one to tell me that. There was no information. It wasn’t on TV and I had never seen an advert for it. You don’t know what you don’t know, right? And even when we do know, the statistics tell us that we can’t raise funds anyway as Black or female founders,” she says.
Oniwinde Agoro doesn’t want to dwell on depressing statistics. She feels there is far too much negativity in the mainstream media (and beyond) when it comes to the Black community, and she doesn’t want to focus on the adversities. Instead, she wants to ensure that other Black founders do know how to get funding, and to open up a pipeline of Black talent.
BYP helps to connect and improve the skillsets of Black professionals. In her role as the Vice-Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce Black Business Association, Oniwinde Agoro helps “ensure that Black business owners get the information and support that they need to fund and scale their businesses”. BYP helps Black professionals meet each other, promotes job and mentorship opportunities, and provides content focused on positive role models and visibility. It hosts weekly events, leadership conferences, and careers fairs while helping organisations attract, retain and engage Black talent.
Today, it has more than 20 chapters across the world, including in Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi, and reaches more than 150,000 people. And it’s looking to the future: BYP is also focusing on bringing Black senior leaders together across industries to collaborate on accelerating positive change in the community.
Getting BYP to where it is today has taken ambition and grit. These characteristics are nothing new to Oniwinde Agoro who, before launching her business, was a junior athlete. The international javelin thrower’s tips for business success could also be applied to sports: vision, resilience and mentors.“I wanted to be a world record holder in javelin. That is true for business too – you have to shoot for the stars.”
Competitive edge
Resilience is something Oniwinde Agoro honed on the athletics circuit. “You train from October to April in the gym, and outdoors in the cold and wet without competing. Then, in April, you start competing. I’d take part in 20 competitions between then and August, with anywhere from three to six throws per competition – 17 of those competitions would be
terrible. I wouldn’t get a personal best, I wouldn’t throw as well as I wanted.I wouldn’t win.” And then she would question herself. “Why can you throw a thousand times and every throw
is different?”
She also learned to revel in her successes, however small they were. “In sports, you fail more than you achieve but it takes one throw or one competition to make the whole year a success. It’s similar in business. One deal can change your outlook.”
Understanding this cycle of success and failure – and the resilience needed to deal with it – came in very useful when she swapped her athletics kits for suits. “Every business, and every business owner, no matter what they are trying to build, will understand that entrepreneurship can be like eating glass every day. It is very difficult because you’re creating something that doesn’t exist,” she says. “You can see it but not everyone can. You are coming across different people with different motivations, you’re coming against fires. It’s a very difficult journey.”
“Entrepreneurs are guilty of glamourising business – we only show the positives and the good times and the rewards. But the reality is that 90% of businesses die by year five. So, even when you think you’re doing well, something can happen. You have to be resilient. You need grit and you need to see failure as a way to succeed,” she says. “Just like in sports, you need to surround yourself with a good team and people who believe in you. Mentors in business are equally crucial.” The athlete’s mentors include a woman who introduced Oniwinde Agoro to the investor community, and another who was able to get
her name out there and advocate for her. A third, meanwhile, pushed her to be more ambitious – even when she was winning pitch competitions and feeling that she was at the current height of her successes.
A sporting chance
Oniwinde Agoro’s ambitions for her javelin career ended in 2018 when an injury coupled with a lack of coaching left her demotivated. “I accepted that I was not going to be the world record holder or make it to the Olympics. Luckily, my business was picking up: I had won £40,000 from pitch competitions and there was a lot of PR around it. I decided to go full time.” In a nod to her sporting career, the business has a career advancement platform called Javelin, which aims to help millions of Black professionals progress. She hopes that it “symbolises the concept of propelling yourself from point A to point B and hitting the targets one desires”.
The decision was taken early on to make BYP Network a business rather than a charity. “Companies should pay for access to this talent. You pay recruiters, so why should it be free to hire Black talent?” Oniwinde Agoro says. “I wanted to change the Black narrative.”
She sees her role at Boardwave as being a continuation of what she has achieved in her business so far – representing her community while also learning from others. “Being part of Boardwave is a great chance to connect with other young CEOs and also to learn from other seasoned leaders to see how I can make a difference to my business,” she says.
Oniwinde Agoro’s latest adventure is parenthood and, again, she is embracing the inevitable challenges it brings. “You need a village to raise a child. My mum passed away sadly and I can only imagine if she was here how much easier it would be.”
Having a daughter has given a new meaning to Oniwinde Agoro’s pursuit of equality. “I’ve always felt that this is about more than me and my family. It’s about your family. It’s about the world,” she says. “But, of course, I want her future to be more diverse and more equitable. That means making sure she is exposed to diverse communities and that she has a wide perspective on the world.”
Tips From The Top
What are your tips for a successful business?
Resilience, mentors and vision.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
Not to argue. That advice came from my mum. My brother and I used to fight all the time and she would always say “just don’t argue”. One day, when I was about 17, I took it on board and I haven’t really argued since.
Can you tell us something surprising about yourself?
I’m terrified of spiders.
If you hadn’t become an entrepreneur, what career would you have pursued?
I would have climbed to a C-level or senior position in a start-up business.
Is there a piece of tech, other than your phone, that you could not live without?Apple CarPlay, which allows me to get directions, make calls and stream my and my daughter’s favourite music while I drive.
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