Why I Have Failed So Much

Entrepreneurship has always felt like my calling. From a young age, I gravitated towards solving problems, often seeing opportunities where others saw obstacles. My natural inclination toward creativity led me to start businesses rather than follow the traditional engineering path I was academically trained for. But in hindsight, that decision may have cost me financial security, stability, and the peace of mind that a structured career might have provided. This is the story of how my journey in entrepreneurship, though filled with moments of brilliance, has left me and my family struggling.

The Beginning: A Creative Mind at War with Practicality
I have always been a visual thinker. While some people process ideas through numbers and logic, I see solutions in images, movement, and connections. This way of thinking has been both a blessing and a curse. It allowed me to dream big, to spot inefficiencies, and to find innovative ways to solve problems. But it also made me restless, constantly jumping from one idea to another, always searching for the next thing to build.

I was supposed to be an engineer. That was the plan. My parents expected it, my academic record showed I was capable, and engineering promised stability. But I was never content with just following instructions—I wanted to create, not just analyze. Engineering, at least the way it was taught in school, felt rigid. I needed freedom. So I pursued something different. I chose the path of an entrepreneur.

Chasing Dreams: The Many Ventures of an Unsettled Mind

2013: The Photography Business That Sparked a Fire
While still an undergraduate at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), I started a photography business. It was my first real venture, my first taste of running something of my own. I managed to secure a gig covering the prestigious Most Beautiful Girl in Life event. For a moment, I thought I had found my path. But photography was never my true passion—it was just another way to channel my creativity. Soon, I was onto something else.

2014: The Snack Delivery Business That Ended in Betrayal
By the time I was in my second year, I had started a snack delivery business in Osogbo, targeting students at my secondary school alma mater. It took off quickly, and before long, I had an opportunity to sell it. ₦700,000 was the agreed price—a life-changing amount for a student. But I never saw a dime. The buyer cheated me, refusing to pay. I could have fought back, but I didn’t. My grades were already suffering, and my parents would have demanded to know why I wasn’t focusing on school. I swallowed the loss and moved on, but it stung. It was my first real lesson in business—the world is ruthless.

2015: Montemp – A Brilliant Idea That Never Took Off
That same year, I came up with an idea—Montemp, a device designed to monitor body temperature in real time, a potential game-changer for epidemic prevention. The idea got me invited to Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an achievement that validated my ability to think on a global scale. But, like so many other brilliant ideas, Montemp never materialized into a sustainable business.

I remember standing in a hall filled with some of the brightest minds, showcasing Montemp, thinking, This is it. This is my moment. But success isn't always about having a great idea; it's about execution, funding, and timing. Montemp faded, just like many other projects before it.

2016: The Tony Elumelu Award and The Illusion of Success
In 2016, I launched a radio advertising company and won funding from the Tony Elumelu Foundation. It was a proud moment, proof that I was doing something right. But money alone doesn’t make a business work. I soon realized that sustaining a company requires more than just a good idea and seed funding—it requires structure, discipline, and a long-term plan. I had none of those. The company faded into obscurity.

2017/2018: MEST, Ghana – The Best Year That Led to Nothing
MEST in Accra, Ghana, was perfect for me. It was a place where creative minds thrived, where innovation was encouraged. It was there that I co-founded a wedding registry business with two amazing people. It failed, but the idea never left me. Years later, I relaunched it as JoyRibbons.com, helping over 10,000 couples plan their weddings. But like all my previous ventures, it wasn’t financially successful. Impact? Yes. Money? No.

2019: The RibbonsHub Debacle
Determined not to repeat past mistakes, I started RibbonsHub with two co-founders. We had a vision, we had momentum. Then we had co-founder issues. The business collapsed. In 2023, I tried to bring it back as RibbonsXP, but history repeated itself. Another shutdown, another lesson learned.

2021: The UK Move and Quorent’s Short Life
When I moved to the UK, I faced one of the biggest challenges of my life—finding accommodation. The struggle inspired me to launch Quorent, an accommodation search engine designed to simplify the process. It worked, to an extent. We helped 10 clients, but the business model wasn’t strong enough. User feedback revealed fundamental flaws. I had to let it go.

2022: Loughborough University and the Last Attempt at Innovation
During my time at Loughborough University, I worked on multiple projects, including GreyFuel and AVA, as part of my MSc dissertation. Both had potential, but neither found real traction. By this point, I had started to wonder—was I destined to fail?

The Cost of My Choices
Looking back, it’s clear that my obsession with entrepreneurship came at a heavy price. I didn’t just lose money—I lost time, energy, relationships, and stability. My family struggled because I kept choosing to build businesses instead of building a career. There were times I couldn’t afford basic things, times I felt like I had let everyone down.

I often wonder what my life would have been like had I stuck to engineering. Would I be in a high-paying job, financially secure, and living without the stress of failed ventures? Probably. But at what cost? Would I have been miserable, stuck in a life where I wasn’t building, creating, and innovating?

A Story Without an Ending
I don’t know how this story ends. Maybe I’ll find success one day. Maybe I won’t. But if nothing else, I am just documenting why my financial situation has been difficult. I spent it all chasing businesses.

Entrepreneurship shaped me. But it also broke me.

I just hope it was worth it.