michlins:
I read the whole memoir. Though the dude made use of the parents wealth but he's something many aren't. He's hardworking and resilient

who are the many that you know? What's your definition of hardworking? Enter yaba see youths that are trying to build products that can change the world. Then you ll know what's like not to have connection and what Hardwork is

Lol

Please how do I post lives update here..

YouthsPC0:


Other rich kids also have huge access to Cash and blew it all on Ashawooo

am nt disputing dat he didnt try...but any reasonable person wit rich background can acheive dat

givan:
Bleep him! Bleep his lessons!

The playing ground isn't levelled!!

It's not level for anyone

you have to break the barrier yourself

Every rich kid today once had an ancestor who broke the ice.


You could be just that for your descendants

I admire his passion and ambition but the thing there is that, he comes from a rich home and he has so many option of raising capital to the least. Bank are even ready to lend him that amount knowing fully well that his name is Adenuga.

MrMcJay:


As you stand today, if I'm to invest a million dollars into you, do you have a viable business enterprise to absorb such investment or you'll keep manufacturing excuses as you did above?

Mike has laid a solid foundation for Paddy to build on. Whether you like it or not, he won't operate business at your level, he's passed your pedestal. He's filling the gap between demand and supply and not trying to create a market in itself. Those points you created are for a different business model.

Because you have built a thatched hut, you refuse to learn from someone who tried to build a. duplex anf suffered setback.

If you can't be a skyscraper, be the solid foundation that your children would build skyscrapers on.

you see, lots of you just talk without proper thought. Now will catalan be a Nigeria company? Will it pay tax to Nigerian Government? Trading- buying and selling. That is why many Nigerians see buying and selling as entrepreneurship. You see shops opening every other day. This is part of why Nigeria is a dumping ground because many will invest in importation and selling it than to create one locally. I am talking ingenuity and excellence- that's what entrepreneurship is. Yes, Mike has laid foundations but there are so many rich kids that build products from scratch and use the connection. That's a more interesting story. He wanted to buy chevron netherlands because he bided- i.e had money to buy not because he was ingenious or created something to exchange for chevron's asset. For crying out loud. Chevron, shell are buying other companies. Those are motivating stories- IPO,exits and buy offs. Enter the entrepreneur space, you will understand its a different feeling. @ first bolded, there is a Nigerian canadian company called paystack. Owned by Nigerians, their product was built in Nigeria but no Nigeria could help with capital. It was Ycombinator that saw the ingenuity in them and invested. Today everyone wants to know paystack. Someone like you may have advised they start car importation. My point is, we need stories of technology being built and tranfer. Stories like innosson. Not buying and selling oil.

YouthsPC0:


Other rich kids also have huge access to Cash and blew it all on Ashawooo

Many rich kids remain rich somehow regardless of their recklessness.Their parents build streams of unending sources of wealth and they need do is little work.

HRHQueenPhil:
chronicles of catalan, sweet name though

And there is the Catalan, Barcelona football club

majekdom2:
We will keep seeing different posts from different people claiming they have learnt one or two thing.... simply because it's Adenuga. The typical ass licking character with most Nigerians. What paddy has done is what every other "business man" does everyday. Trying to get deals done.
Whilst I salute his effort, boldness, courage and entrepreneur spirit, I do not find his story motivating. Yes, it's not bad belle. Catalan was just another trading business that may have happened. Typical buying and selling with no tangible technology creation or transfer itself. I mean Paddy is not building a product from scratch, going to test it market, trying to acquire customers and then not making money as one would have projected. Stories like facebook, Google, Amazon, Dropbox, pay stack, microsoft, apple and name it. These are businesses that were built from nothing. Adenuga wanted to purchase an asset. With some connection, you can secure loan from the bank and buy an oil assest. It's something we hear everyday. It would have been a more interesting story if he did something outside his father's business. I mean build a product from scratch. This is my own definition of entrepreneurship!

That is not your definition of entrepreneurship. That is the definition of entrepreneurship.

Everyone calls themselves an entrepreneur these days. But they are businessmen, not entrepreneurs. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a businessman. But there's a difference.

Paddy was born into wealth thesame way Alh Aliko Dangote was born into wealth . If he bid and acquired Chevron Netherlands, what's the big deal. Dangote with started too with huge capital and connections just like Paddy.
Well, Paddy has guts and I like that.

some thing wey no consign us

majekdom2:
you see, lots of you just talk without proper thought. Now will catalan be a Nigeria company? Will it pay tax to Nigerian Government? Trading- buying and selling. That is why many Nigerians see buying and selling as entrepreneurship. You see shops opening every other day. This is part of why Nigeria is a dumping ground because many will invest in importation and selling it than to create one locally. I am talking ingenuity and excellence- that's what entrepreneurship is. Yes, Mike has laid foundations but there are so many rich kids that build products from scratch and use the connection. That's a more interesting story. He wanted to buy chevron netherlands because he bided- i.e had money to buy not because he was ingenious or created something to exchange for chevron's asset. For crying out loud. Chevron, shell are buying other companies. Those are motivating stories- IPO,exits and buy offs. Enter the entrepreneur space, you will understand its a different feeling. @ first bolded, there is a Nigerian canadian company called paystack. Owned by Nigerians, their product was built in Nigeria but no Nigeria could help with capital. It was Ycombinator that saw the ingenuity in them and invested. Today everyone wants to know paystack. Someone like you may have advised they start car importation. My point is, we need stories of technology being built and tranfer. Stories like innosson. Not buying and selling oil.

I have been following your rambling snd you contradict yourself.... Without knowing it.

If you can't mention any company in the world who isn't into selling then you have no business talking entrepreneurship... U are just another analysis paralysis. You thinking talking too much makes you sound intelligent...

CooKeed:

That is not your definition of entrepreneurship. That is the definition of entrepreneurship.

Everyone calls themselves an entrepreneur these days. But they are businessmen, not entrepreneurs. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being a businessman. But there's a difference.

lol... Another one.... What is your company into?

the only real lesson is that he is his father's son.
chip off the old block
apple fallen close to the trunk
end of.

What most folks don't get in this story is that his vision and dreams are scalable...

If he had an headstart and could call millions of dollars, and you have just thousands or hundreds follow your instincts...make a good plan and run after it with passion...

Even if I don't break into the billionaires circle, I want to make so much progress that my generations can easily build on and live a better life.

majekdom2:
you see, lots of you just talk without proper thought. Now will catalan be a Nigeria company? Will it pay tax to Nigerian Government? Trading- buying and selling. That is why many Nigerians see buying and selling as entrepreneurship. You see shops opening every other day. This is part of why Nigeria is a dumping ground because many will invest in importation and selling it than to create one locally. I am talking ingenuity and excellence- that's what entrepreneurship is. Yes, Mike has laid foundations but there are so many rich kids that build products from scratch and use the connection. That's a more interesting story. He wanted to buy chevron netherlands because he bided- i.e had money to buy not because he was ingenious or created something to exchange for chevron's asset. For crying out loud. Chevron, shell are buying other companies. Those are motivating stories- IPO,exits and buy offs. Enter the entrepreneur space, you will understand its a different feeling. @ first bolded, there is a Nigerian canadian company called paystack. Owned by Nigerians, their product was built in Nigeria but no Nigeria could help with capital. It was Ycombinator that saw the ingenuity in them and invested. Today everyone wants to know paystack. Someone like you may have advised they start car importation. My point is, we need stories of technology being built and tranfer. Stories like innosson. Not buying and selling oil.

All business around the world SELL.. So what are you talking about again? You sound like someone whose definition of entrepreneurship means reinventing the wheel which to me is the most stupidest thing to think off... I don't know what ingenuity have done without modelling after existing business entity... Facebook didn't do anything new except to add to what is already on ground... Same goes for every company you hail as ingenuity lol... You talk too much and confuse yourself.

Kudos. However on your number 5, that advise is only meant for the insightful. . . Those who hear, know but doesn't understand should take that advice at their own peril.

Then, on your number 4, the law of natural force can never be overemphasized. Too many hands always spoil any cooking - the fact that he failed doesn't nullify this axiom. There must always be cause/reason for any failed deal, therefore, the possibility of him clinching the deal assuming that he confided in his said friend Kemi, remains a probability - playing outside the team (in-house and outsourced) always have more negative result than positive result. Yet, plan doesn't mean absence of spontaneity, so insight remains the key here too.

Meanwhile, grit, valuable aptitude(s) and versatility, prudence, humbleness and meekness, honesty, conscientiousness and altruism (giving it to the rightful people) remains the most potent tools anyone needs to play at the top of the corporate business world.

Realism will always remain superior to idealism. . . Idealists should keep off. By the way, one doesn't necessarily need to be of Paddy's background to play at the level he plays.

ochejoseph:
Chronicles of Catalan : Five Lessons I learnt From Paddy Adenuga's Memoir

One thing that Paddy's memoir thought many ignorant Nigerians like my self was that Paddy Adenuga was not the spoilt, overbearing, and unintelligent fellow that the Nigerian media have painted over the years. As I read through his Chevron Netherlands acquisition dairy, I pictured a young Nigerian that exemplifies the true Nigerian spirit of never giving up, a young Nigerian transforming his education, training, and contacts into an idea that would have revolutionized the way oil and gas business is conducted on the continent.

Going through his write up to me was like attending Harvard Business school through the back door, the whole business concept of Catalan, and the openness with which he described his failures and willingness to accept responsibilities for them makes the chronicles of Catalan a good read for African businessmen and women with interest in becoming big players in the Oil and gas sector on the continent with one of the largest proven oil and gas reserves in the world.

Lessons From Paddy

1. Unlike many rich kids and heir to riches, Paddy had the courage to strike out on his own and build a business that was bigger than anything he has ever attempted.

Lesson: All rich kids are not the same ; the fact that he/ she is from a rich home does not mean he/she is not intelligent, ambitious or hardworking.


2. Although born with a silver spoon, here was a golden boy, uncomfortable with sitting back and getting a golden pass through life. He swapped the largest Indigenous mobile telecommunications operator with a five man start up to pursue his dreams.

Lesson: Riches does not necessarily make you fulfilled


3. He was willing to venture and travel into unfamiliar territories outside his comfort zone in search of new opportunities instead of "feasting" on his fathers empire.

Lesson : There are certain things you will never learn in your comfort zone

4. The Edgar and Remi component of the memoir showed that experience and relationships still matters a lot in business, and that although he has managed companies at the highest levels, he was not immune to making bid wrecking and business crumbling mistakes.

Lesson: You may never get help if you refuse to ask.

5. The Catalan Management advice against his guts is a reminder to business tycoons and entrepreneurs that sometimes its pays to trust your instincts.

Lesson: It takes more than best brains to succeed in business.

As an avid reader and author, I have chosen to share this few but powerful lessons I have learnt from Paddy's chronicles praying that perhaps , Nigerians who hate long reads like me sometime ago will somehow learn from a Nigerian who has chosen to share his memoir with us with the hope that we will learn from the mistakes of his near acquisition of Chevron Netherlands and just like his father we will one day share in his joy and accomplishments.



Oche Joseph Otorkpa
31. 01. 2018
Abuja, Nigeria.


http://www.publichealth.com.ng/catalan-chronicles-5-lesson-i-learnt-from-paddy-adenuga-memoir/

please where can i get the main article ?

americanson:
lol... Another one.... What is your company into?

Don't be silly.

I haven't criticised Paddy.

If you check my post very well you will see that I clearly stated that there is nothing wrong with being a businessman, even though it is different from being an entrepreneur.
Just like there is nothing wrong with being a nurse, but a nurse is not a doctor.

americanson:


I have been following your rambling snd you contradict yourself.... Without knowing it.

If you can't mention any company in the world who isn't into selling then you have no business talking entrepreneurship... U are just another analysis paralysis. You thinking talking too much makes you sound intelligent...

bro its you who should humble and listen jaree.
that man is simply saying there's no innovation or invention in what's been celebrated here.
whereas innovation/invention and building from scratch are the most interesting parts of entrepreneurship.
entrepreneurship is beyond just buying and selling.

Am I the only one who don't find this whole story of this padi a big deal?

He only narrated what an average businessman goes through everyday, we were taught in business studies in JSS class ways of owning businesses and acquiring an already existing one is one of them..

He has money, bid for an already existing big company and he failed, and what else?
Anybody, I Mean anybody can do that, when the resources is available at his disposal, he can even borrow from bank and acquire it, the story would have been more interesting had it been he's buying over a failed company and trying to revive and bringing it back to life..

I mean anybody, any rich man can do this one na, even all this northern market men can find it..

He didn't create anything from scratch, package and trying to get customers, convince them, maintain and keep customers coming back or something...

Abeg, make e Park well. Anybody wey get money, their talk to dey trip Nigerians top much, even inside family...

americanson:


All business around the world SELL.. So what are you talking about again? You sound like someone whose definition of entrepreneurship means reinventing the wheel which to me is the most stupidest thing to think off... I don't know what ingenuity have done without modelling after existing business entity... Facebook didn't do anything new except to add to what is already on ground... Same goes for every company you hail as ingenuity lol... You talk too much and confuse yourself.

Yea, sell to make money. Facebook was built you can build your own type of Facebook.. now that takes a process, going to market and all of that. There is what is called 'building' from scratch and buying already built. Different context, different mental strength. Chevron was built!

megastu:
It thought me to value and pay professionals.

But the professionals he hired advised against make the right choice (following his instinct).

americanson:


I have been following your rambling snd you contradict yourself.... Without knowing it.

If you can't mention any company in the world who isn't into selling then you have no business talking entrepreneurship... U are just another analysis paralysis. You thinking talking too much makes you sound intelligent...

you should understand what I mean by selling. Yes, every business sells to make money but what are they selling and what value. Is the company building a new product or buying a business that's been building a product before now. Will catalan discover more efficient ways to drill for oil and start exploration. Will catalan be exploring oil. I mean taking risk to go drill for oil in an unconfirmed location.. No! Catalan will only be selling oil being produced from the asset they want to buy from chevron. In oil and gas, these type of companies are called operating/ trading companies. They are different from exploration companies that invest millions in drilling in a location and then not finding oil. Now, there is nothing wrong in being a trader. My point I don't see any motivation in this as he did not loose millions of dollars. Did he go to drill in an unconfirmed location. The hype is too much abeg. It's what every business man does everyday!

ochejoseph:
Chronicles of Catalan : Five Lessons I learnt From Paddy Adenuga's Memoir

4. The Edgar and Remi component of the memoir showed that experience and relationships still matters a lot in business, and that although he has managed companies at the highest levels, he was not immune to making bid wrecking and business crumbling mistakes.

Lesson: You may never get help if you refuse to ask.

5. The Catalan Management advice against his guts is a reminder to business tycoons and entrepreneurs that sometimes its pays to trust your instincts.

Lesson: It takes more than best brains to succeed in business.

As an avid reader and author, I have chosen to share this few but powerful lessons I have learnt from Paddy's chronicles praying that perhaps , Nigerians who hate long reads like me sometime ago will somehow learn from a Nigerian who has chosen to share his memoir with us with the hope that we will learn from the mistakes of his near acquisition of Chevron Netherlands and just like his father we will one day share in his joy and accomplishments.



Oche Joseph Otorkpa
31. 01. 2018
Abuja, Nigeria.

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/catalan-chronicles-5-lesson-i-learnt-from-paddy-adenuga-memoir/

The 4th and 5th lessons are so instructive. Lesson 4 - "You may never get help if you refuse to ask." But it is critical to ensure that you are asking the right people for help, and not the wrong ones who could wreck your dreams.

As for Lesson 5, truer words have never been spoken. It takes more than brains to succeed in business. It also takes guts, skill, talent, expertise, experience, the right team, the right info, enough funds and a huge dose of divine intervention to make things happen for you.

Thank you so much for sharing!!

Olumaeme:
Am I the only one who don't find this whole story of this padi a big deal?

He only narrated what an average businessman goes through everyday, we were taught in business studies in JSS class ways of owning businesses and acquiring an already existing one is one of them..

He has money, bid for an already existing big company and he failed, and what else?
Anybody, I Mean anybody can do that, when the resources is available at his disposal, he can even borrow from bank and acquire it, the story would have been more interesting had it been he's buying over a failed company and trying to revive and bringing it back to life..

I mean anybody, any rich man can do this one na, even all this northern market men can find it..

He didn't create anything from scratch, package and trying to get customers, convince them, maintain and keep customers coming back or something...

Abeg, make e Park well. Anybody wey get money, their talk to dey trip Nigerians top much, even inside family...

God bless you brother. The dude no even loose millions of dollars. A guy lost a bid and it's headline. The guy just packaged story well. Businesses loose bids everyday. Businesses loose millions of dollars after investment, fail and start again. This is a story of a man who lost a contract. Many businessmen loose government contracts every otherday. No mind Nigerians and their ass licking attitude

majekdom2:
who are the many that you know? What's your definition of hardworking? Enter yaba see youths that are trying to build products that can change the world. Then you ll know what's like not to have connection and what Hardwork is

Just because Paddy was born rich doesn't mean he doesn't deserve some credit...

MhizzAJ:
The guy looks rough

fresh roughness. go figure.

anochuko01:

bro its you who should humble and listen jaree.
that man is simply saying there's no innovation or invention in what's been celebrated here.
whereas innovation/invention and building from scratch are the most interesting parts of entrepreneurship.
entrepreneurship is beyond just buying and selling.

and a wise man say you don't reinvent the wheel... Now listen... The innovation is what paddy termed as Trojan Horse... The acquisition was just one side of the whole thing which is why he didn't care much if he lost at first phase, that was why he quickly went to the other company in order to partner and opted to be on the management team because he was planning to use the image and prestige...

Where did he plan to deplore the Trojan horse? Africa. Why? Because he noticed there was a loophole. Something many where not doing... That is innovation/enterprise...

And that is what every other company your friend hailed as being the real deal did--they just added 1 to 1 and got 2... Nobody builds from scratch bros... People are hailing elon musk as being a genius for his electric car... Was he the inventor of car? Did he build from scratch? It is on record that he is not even the first person to build electric cars.

Mark Zuckerberg didnt do anything new either.. Same goes for amazon...

I can't type much cos I am on mobile but I hope u got my point.

bodejohn:
What most folks don't get in this story is that his vision and dreams are scalable...

If he had an headstart and could call millions of dollars, and you have just thousands or hundreds follow your instincts...make a good plan and run after it with passion...

Even if I don't break into the billionaires circle, I want to make so much progress that my generations can easily build on and live a better life.

everybody's dream and visions are scalable. It all depends on the individual and resources.