For many quite conversant with the creative industry in Nigeria, the name Steve Babaeko is one name that commands respect because of his exploits in the creative scene. Usually termed a guru, Steve Babaeko who prefers being called a serial entrepreneur has successfully demonstrated that every right dream is worth following. Aside his exploits, Steve Babaeko in actual fact he is humble; his willingness to accept he is late for an appointment and then apologize isn’t a trait that can be found in so many CEOs. Below is the excerpt of TushMagazine’s interview with him in his magnificent office here in Lagos.

How and when did you start X3M Ideas?

I started X3M Ideas August 1ST, 2012 with a pretty small team of about 8 persons. I had studied the business landscape of the advertising world in Nigeria, seeing their strengths and weaknesses and ofcourse with my experience, I felt the business of advertising could be conducted in a different manner and I said to myself, let’s give it a shot and that’s how it all started.

Aside X3M Ideas, do you have other investments?

Yes I do, I am a serial entrepreneur. There is X3M Ideas which is a full fledge advertising company, there is X3M Music where Praiz and Simi are signed unto, there is Zero Degrees – an audio and visual company, there is also Media 100, we also have stakes in another media company and I just acquired 10 hectares of farmland as well. I am always looking for opportunities and for me success is finding a gap, developing ways to bridge the gap and creating values. I ventured into farming because come 2050, statistics have projected that Nigeria would be the third largest populous country in the world after China and India and there may be a food crisis then, so people with farms would be kings by then. There is also something Bill Gates said ‘success is the ability to know where the world would go to and be the first to get there before anyone else’.

There is this famous story of you coming to Lagos with just 500 Naira, can you shed more light on that, what was going through your mind and all that?

Well, 500 Naira was actually the money I had left on getting to Lagos after paying my fare. After school, I always knew I was going to do advertising and I really had to come to Lagos where we had the big leagues of advertising agencies so I packed my bags and came down to Lagos.

What was going on through your mind during your journey knowing well that you had no place to stay?

Whenever I am making an important decision in my life, I always leave my head and mind as blank as possible to avoid distractions or confusions. I knew I was coming to Lagos and all through my journey from Benin to Lagos I left my mind blank. It was until the bus dropped us off at Ojota bus-stop then I knew I had to make my next move. I remembered an uncle of mine whom I worked with in the past used to work at Durban hotel present day Golden Tulip, so I went there and luckily for me the manager there was a Hausa man and I speak Hausa fluently even though I’m Kabba in Kogi State; I told him my story and he allowed me squat in a room with one of the chef which happened to be my home for two years and every day I would stare myself in the mirror and say ‘for me not to be successfully in this town, then the beach must dry up’.

Read full interview here; http://tushmagazine.com.ng/life-changed-turned-40-steve-babaeko/

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