The College Opt-Out: Journey from the Silicon Valley to Rwanda
My name is Mohammud and I want to share some insights from my non-traditional way of breaking into tech and the transition from working in the Silicon Valley to Rwanda.
How I Broke into Tech
I moved to the Silicon Valley originally for school and eventually went on to start my career in marketing/growth. In lieu of a formal education, I structured my learning in a way where each year I would do a deep dive into topics that were both interesting to me and needed in the workplace. Once I felt comfortable on the theoretical side, I would switch to practical work to practice. For growth, the process was learning how to do customer acquisition then working with small businesses and startups.
After a few years in the agency world I transitioned to managing growth at startups and the accumulation of skills ranging from analytics, sales and product strategy led me to my most recent role as a Product Manager at a talent marketplace startup in San Francisco. After 2 years and being involved in almost every part of the company, I quit and moved to Rwanda.
Why Did I Move to Rwanda?
“You’re Somali! Why don’t you go build back home if you’re going to be in Africa?”
Why Africa?
After gaining a few years of experience in the Bay Area, I yearned for a different type of experience. I spent about a quarter of my life in Africa and consider it home away from home. The continent will also have the biggest workforce in the world in the next couple decades. For now, I’m consulting with some promising startups and firms to identify what the pain points are and I plan to launch products and services that can help companies grow exponentially.
Why Rwanda?
My default answer is that the choice was a process of deduction. I knew I wanted to move to Africa so I spent months researching options such as South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and even back home. I went with Rwanda first because it has the infrastructure and stability needed to build startups. I’ve heard to it referred to as a “proof of concept” country where you can easily build tech companies before expanding to other countries in the region.
This is something I am really passionate about and I know there are many that are interested in the concept that I call the “Great Return”. Feel free to reach out to me if you’re interested.
With that, there are four pieces of advice that have not only helped me in my career but others I’ve helped in the past. The info below is dependent on where you are in your career so I’ll keep it short and potentially dive deeper based on what the community finds most helpful.
Find your interests
I know it sounds cliché but the best thing you can do for your career is to find something you enjoy doing. If you’re early in your career you have a blank canvas and can take your career in any direction. With so many online resources online I think the main thing our generation struggles with is choosing one path and focusing. I still struggle with this but I’ve noticed the more I focus on one topic, the more the skill compounds. Which isn’t an innovative concept but here’s the sign you’re waiting for to focus on that skill that you think you can achieve and forget the others.. for now. One resource that might be helpful is the Permissionless Apprentice course by Jack Butcher. It’s $1USD and will help you navigate the process of taking your new skills and gaining real world experience.
I found my interests by reaching out to a network of people from different backgrounds and picked their brains on what they do for a living on a day-to-day basis. From that I was able to eliminate a few career path options. I finally met a B2B marketer and fell in love with the combination of analytics and creativity. The Breaking into Startups podcast was also invaluable because they did a great job highlighting potential career paths. This PDF they created helped provide context on different tech roles, salary expectations and responsibilities.
Grind
Regardless of all the factors of your journey into tech, the one common variable is how much effort you put in. There will be long days and nights that will morph into seasons and eventually years. Effort compounds regardless of how long it takes for you to figure it out. But remember to grind in an impactful manner. Naval has a great framework to use when thinking about how to approach tech labor: “Work like a lion”.
Once I finally broke into tech with my first big role, I was relentless when it came to execution. I built a brand around doing whatever it took to deliver. This was a critical part of being offered the opportunity to move to the product team.
Pause and Reassess
Ok, now you’re the team’s all star. Hard work met dedication and you should be ecstatic that you figured it out but something feels off. It might be a lack of fulfillment or it could be survivors guilt. Or it could be the Somali urge to say “let me drive the boat” and start something of your own.
With the way the startup system works, you’re bombarded with work and you start to drift away from your goals and ambition. I feel this is the perfect time to revisit your intentions and take a break. This could be in the form of a vacation or sabbatical based on what you’re comfortable with. I took the extreme route and outright quit after giving a 1 month notice but regardless, you have to be your biggest fan, critique and advisor.
My Ask
To the Qurbajoog (Diaspora):
Take a long look at where you are now in your career/school. Are you being intentional with what you want to achieve? In many of our societies, it’s easy to get tied up in the lifestyle but remember you can always break out of any rut if you focus on yourself and not the acknowledgment from others.
Always be intentional.
Be intentional with everything that you do & watch how your life changes exponentially.
Without intention, your NO’s can feel powerless - so you’ll end up saying YES to everything.
But when you add intention to your NO’s, you will never be manipulated.
To my brothers and sisters on the continent:
I know folks from the west do a great job at glamorizing the lifestyle on social media but you have to realize that the tables are turning, quickly. As you all know, people like myself and many others are starting the Great Return. You are already there and have the opportunity to gain experience so by the time major corporations and tech companies make the move to Africa, you’re in a strategic position to leapfrog into opportunities.
That’s all I have for now! I hope you extracted some form of value from this. I plan to expand on a few of these ideas. If you’re interested, subscribe to my new Substack called the Rafiki Labs Report to follow the journey and hear stories from other builders in Africa. My parting piece of advice comes from a philosopher of our time Nipsey Hussle: “Regardless what you’re into, regardless what you been through,
I feel like I got to tell you you got something to contribute”.
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