A SELF taught entrepreneur who oversees the company of some of the best minds in business and tech, Jabesi is passionate about fostering creativity and innovation among some of Africa’s brightest young minds. Although he’s worked within the technology space for the better part of his young life, for the last few years his focus has shifted to blockchain and cryptocurrencies spaces, “because they have potential to liberate Africans,” he tells us.
MEET THE BOSS
Q: Blockchain has been causing disruption in many industries – from banking to health care and politics – in recent years. But what actually it is and how is going to revolutionize how we do business?
A: It’s a way in which records are stored or maintained by several computers that are linked but in a distributed way that each one of them is an independent participant of the network. We use databases today to store data which is efficient but flawed because they are prone to manipulation. An entry on one computer can edit data within the entire network and change things. That would be very difficult to do with Blockchain.
Q: How do you come in as a service provider?
A: I’m an entrepreneur, so I build or invest in blockchain based products. I also educate and consult.
Q: How did you personally get to learn about cryptocurrency, and what kind of skill and background are you bringing in the business?
A: My curiosity on how money works, complex systems and frustrations with most of the current processes drove me into cryptocurrency. It’s more like I brought myself instead of bringing skills. However, my experience in computer graphics, web development, filmmaking, and ability to learn things fast made it easier for me to navigate the business faster.
Q: What inspired you to start the Grey Ave Podcast?
A: I figured out that the best way to learn anything is by directly engaging with the smartest people who have done or are actually doing it so starting a podcast was viable.
Please share some of the lessons you personally took away from the list of business personalities you’ve interviewed?
Some lessons that I will always carry with are: (a) Even in the most simpler things, successful people have their own way of living, they are rarely doing the same things as the average person. When you observe their life and how they think, it becomes obvious why they are successful. (b) Some traits are natural and some are acquired. (c) Busy is the best state of being. You avoid a lot of unnecessary things just by being busy, it’s cost effective too. You start to lose money on dumb things when you’re not busy enough.
Q: What does your job as the new director of marketing for the Blockchain Association of Africa entails?
A: This role is about bringing blockchain awareness to the African continent. The role is also about bridging gaps between the decentralized startups that are building the technologies and government or private institutions to see how they can be implemented.
Q: As someone passionate about job creation, how do see yourself making a difference given the urgency of the matter?
A: Job creation shouldn’t always be direct. In the knowledge economy, having employees is bad for business so as a business person I’m trying go get fewer people involved as possible. However leverage is a great multiplier, on my YouTube Channel, Hardcore Crypto, I share so many ways of generating income. So many people learn from it and become self employed. I will never know or meet them personally but I know they’re there.
Q: Despite numerous cases that crypto is the future, why is there still so much skepticism around the future of cryptocurrencies, specially the belief that it’s some get-rich-quick scheme?
A: Financial markets have existed for sometime but only made money for the rich. Now even your neighbor can buy into some cryptocurrency, get luck and make some money that’s why it looks like a get-rich-quick scheme. Same things happen in stocks, venture capital etc, but we never hear it because it’s a few that participate.
Q: Your advice to those looking to consider it as a means of investment?
A: For the beginner, don’t be fooled or worry about the other coins. Just start with Bitcoin and learn about the others as you go. Bitcoin is the real deal.
Fact File
- Born in Malawi and raised by a poor family, Grey Jabesi is a seasoned podcast and producer of The Grey Ave Podcast.
- He has interviewed prominent business personalities including American entrepreneur and peak performance expert, Ed Mylett, blockchain billionaire, Brock Pierce, NBA greatest all-time player and Forbes Billionaire Club’s Michael Jordan and Ghanaian-American computer scientist Joy Bualamwini.
- Together with a friend in Malawi, Jabesi launched his first business, a video production company, at 16. Soon after they’d fix other people computers for extra income.
- He moved to South Africa at the age of 17, and worked at a laundry for a few months to afford his first computer.
- He started freelancing as graphic designer and taught himself how to code.
- He worked in the film industry as an animator and colorist.
- Grey stumbled upon Bitcoin on Bill Gates’s Reddit AMA. Bought a little and didn’t pay it that much attention.
- He was reintroduced to Bitcoin again when he interviewed American entrepreneur Paul Dinin.
- With an extensive background in IT and visual communications, he has also been involved with several start-ups, which he has since quit to pursue bitcoin trading full time.
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