In 2020, try to fail more...

It has been a crazy rollercoaster ride of a year! I feel exhilarated and ready for the next.

Whilst I have had a lot of success, I have to call out that this has not come without what many might call "failure". I have had countless rejections, failed projects, failed negotiations, low and dark days, many missed appointments and flights, and the one that makes me feel so bad - missed gym targets.

I consider these "negatives" to be just as important as the successes. Thomas Edison, America's greatest inventor once said "I failed my way to success", and I see this statement as being a complete paradox and such a human phenomenon. In life, I have come to realise you should always expect and be prepared for an underlying baseline of problems, not a complete absence of them. Your success will be defined by how you handle these problems.

It has been important this year to not only change my mindset to see "failure" as alerts, teachings, and systemic deficiencies but most importantly to develop actions to counteract them. These actions take shape as system and process improvements, mindset developments, and knowledge acquisition. By constantly doing this, I have been able to achieve so much in 2019 including a few highlights for me which have been;

• Named in the Top 100 most influential BAME Leaders in Financial Times and Inclusive Boards
• Named in the Yahoo Finance and EMPower Top 50 Future Ethnic Minority Leaders
• Selected as one of 31 high achieving Black Leaders by PWC MBN and appeared in an augmented reality exhibition
• Grown Hiberus client accounts and partnerships across Europe
• Visited No.10 Downing Street twice
• Spoken at many events including Alibaba, J.P. Morgan, PA Consulting, Capita Scaling Partner, Clear Channel
• With Foundervine, organised Founderfest 2019, and multiple Startup 54s (our flagship entrepreneur lab), 
• Launched "Build An App In a Day" with Foundervine in collaboration with Microsoft 
• Launched "Entrepreneur In a Day" challenge in collaboration with PWC
• Ran an "Entrepreneur in a Day" challenge in collaboration with Shell Foundation, Afrika Tikkun, and Renaissance Foundation
• Delivered GradVentures Pitching Workshop
• Delivered a 9-week Accelerator for black businesses, the first of its kind in Europe backed by Cornerstone Partners
• Signed a 2-year initiative to supply immersive entrepreneur learning experiences across 4 boroughs led by Capital Enterprise
• Had a baby boy!!
• Visited the House of Lords 3 times
• Worked with an amazing team and inspirational people at Foundervine
• Achieved amazing work with a brilliant team at Hiberus

In 2020, do not be afraid to fail, because it IS the path to success.

Wishing you a Happy New Year and see you in 2020.