Meet The Boss: Kofoworola Oyeleye; Creative Director/CEO, Iyin-Creative

Building a global sustainable brand can start with an epiphany in the middle of chores but not many go the extra mile to do that which is required. Kofoworola Oyeleye, Creative Director/CEO, Iyin-Creative has a degree in History and International Relations from Lagos State University (LASU) and has taken courses in Branding from University of East Anglia and numerous other training programmes that has helped hone her skills. She tells Connect Nigeria how Iyin-Creative was birthed and speaks about the brand’s competitive edge. CN: What is your educational and professional background? KO: I have a B.A in History and International Relations from Lagos State University (LASU), took  a University of East Anglia Branding course, and am now taking course at the Pan-Atlantic University (Enterprise Development Centre). I worked at a management consulting firm, an online magazine and finally a project management firm before setting up my business. CN: How did you come about the name Iyin-Creative? KO: The name Iyin-Creative is a merger between one of my daughter’s names, “Iyin” which means “glory”, and the word “creative”. I wanted the name to speak for itself as per us being a team of creatives, but I also didn’t want it to sound too western because our cultural heritage is very important to us at Iyin-Creative. CN: What does this brand do and how does it solve people’s problems? KO: We do two things: Animated Learning Resources and Online Brand Management. CN: Where was the idea for Iyin-Creative birthed? KO: Haha…in my house…I had an epiphany in the middle of my chores. My daughter was watching Dora the Explorer which she loves, and it occurred to me that she had learnt so many words by watching Dora; why then don’t we have something that will teach her and kids worldwide Nigerian cultures? CN: What are your services and how easy are they to market? KO: We offer creative learning and business solutions. We create animated learning resources to make learning a fun experience for kids. We have a soft-spot for culture, which is why our primary focus is creating fun animated content teaching kids our native Nigerian cultures. For businesses, we help build profitable brands, while ensuring a positive online brand identity. Marketing our services have gotten easier as the months roll by. More businesses are beginning to realise that doing the ordinary doesn’t cut it anymore, so many are more open to innovative concepts to better their businesses. When we organised the first ever Animation Summer Camp in Nigeria back in August this year (2014), we got a lot of interested parents despite the situation at that time (Ebola virus, threat by Boko-Haram to schools). CN: What would you term as your competitive edge? KO: Our competitive edge lies in our doing things differently, our thorough nature, and the fact that we have a team of brilliant dedicated people on board. CN: What are the challenges you face in the business terrain and how do you overcome them? KO: Like every new business, particularly when you’re offering something different; people sometimes need extra convincing and in some cases would rather not be the guinea pig. Thanks to those that give us a chance, our portfolio is growing. Being persistent helps too. CN: How do you handle competition? KO: We handle competition by giving our best on every job. This makes us stand out. A million people may be doing the same thing, but diligence and innovation distinguishes one. CN: What motivates you? KO: The desire for social change. CN: What role does the internet play in your business? KO: The internet plays a major role in my business. First, one of our services is internet based (online brand management) and second it serves as the gateway to our clients; to sell our products and services to any part of the world using various platforms. CN: Who are your target customers? KO: We have two groups, based on our service offerings. Group one consists of individuals, small and big corporations who care about their image and identity, and group two consists of children ages 1- 18. CN: In running your company, how important is it for you to train and develop your staff? KO: VERY! I place a premium on training. I hire based on skills not degree, and I have a particular standard set for the organisation so apart from the training during orientation week, there’s constant on the job training and periodic specific training sessions. There are new methods coming up on the regular, it is important to keep abreast of trends. CN: If you were given capital to further your business, where would you invest it? KO: I would expand my animation studio, so we can turn out more in a shorter period of time. CN: What are the three most important traits/characteristics you think every entrepreneur needs to possess to succeed in business? KO: Resilience, a creative mind and discipline CN: Who is your business role model? KO: Mrs. Omobola Johnson. I always admired her from her days at Accenture, and admire her even more now because she has proven herself as truly competent. Achieving productivity in the private sector is a piece of cake compared to the Nigerian public sector. She’s been able to do both effectively, in a male dominated industry, and I admire her for that. CN: If a genie could grant you three business wishes, what would they be? KO: Ah, more funds, more quality clients, and great hires. CN: What advice will you give a person considering starting a new business? KO: You have to be innovative to have an edge in the creative industry. Ordinary and being a copy-cat won’t cut it. CN: What are your plans for the next few years for this company? KO: The plans are so many, but it all boils down to building a global, sustainable brand.   Kofoworola Oyeleye Creative Director/CEO www.iyincreative.com +2348170532802