Tension532:


u be mod

Your comment read, "EVEN the mod didn't read it". the "even" in your comment included everyone that opened the thread.

MrMcJay:
I don't have to break down everything for you. This economic recession that a lot of Nigerians are experiencing throws up a lot of opportunities.

For instance, since the price of imported rice has risen, a smart investor would go and invest in the local rice chain. Seek out local rice producers and get the price per bag. Contact nearby restaurants and bulk buyers and promise to supply them at wholesale price with the option of payment on delivery. Even if you advertise local rice on NL, you are sure of plenty customers.

Instead of benefitting from the opportuinty above, they prefer to drink N10 garri and use it to insult Buhari on NL.

Let me tell you a true story.

Sometime ago during the telecoms boom in Nigeria, an very smart Nigerian who I respect so much formed a company called Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS). He put the basic corporate structures on ground and ran it as a startup.

Subsequently, he approached some Arab investors to invest in his company. These Arab investors were impressed in his company that they decided to buy a part of it. Today, that company was Etisalat Nigeria and he owned 40% of Etisalat Nigeria.

If you think you are too young, go and read up the story of the guy behind Sujimoto Construction.

Don't make the mistakes your fathers made. Seek out opportunities and take advantage of them.

The entrepreneur who set up Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), is Hakeem Bello-Osagie. That is another man whose biography, I would like to read.

IamaNigerianGuy:


I am all for entrepreneurship but you must come down and face reality.

1. The recession and mangled economic system we operate means that people have no money to buy N50 milk much less go looking for investments. You invest when your basic needs are met. Are you aware that workers are owed salaries and pensions ?

2. EMTS founder (Bello-Osagie) was already a billionaire when he started his company. He used his university contacts to penetrate the arab royal families for investment in his venture, and his relationship with IBB to secure his telecom licence.

Point is, there is no level playing ground. These people are exploiting their unfair advantage gained in the past. Nobody needs to encourage a Nigerian to do business. It is in our genes. Level the playing field and watch them fly.

No one is gonna give you a level playing ground. Even in Heaven, there are Angels and then there are Archangels.

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?

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

IamaNigerianGuy:
I am all for entrepreneurship but you must come down and face reality.

1. The recession and mangled economic system we operate means that people have no money to buy N50 milk much less go looking for investments. You invest when your basic needs are met. Are you aware that workers are owed salaries and pensions ?

2. EMTS founder (Bello-Osagie) was already a billionaire when he started his company. He used his university contacts to penetrate the arab royal families for investment in his venture, and his relationship with IBB to secure his telecom licence.

Point is, there is no level playing ground. These people are exploiting their unfair advantage gained in the past. Nobody needs to encourage a Nigerian to do business. It is in our genes. Level the playing field and watch them fly.

Keem Bello-Osagie was NOT a billionaire when he started EMTS. In fact, he was heavily indebted after buying the old UBA, and so he had to sell it off to Tony Elumelu who owned Standard Trust Bank, at that time. Elumelu bought over UBA, and decided to retain the name because after all, it was still a strong brand.

As for using "his university contacts to penetrate the arab royal families for investment in his venture, and his relationship with IBB to secure his telecom licence", every single international business man at some point in the other in their lives, would use every contact at their disposal, to take their business forward, or to make things work out in their favour. Individuals do it, governments do it.

In fact, part of the job of an ambassador in any country, is to promote the economic, trade and commercial interests of his nation, while serving as its diplomatic representative. They look out for the interests of their business men in order to protect them, and help them secure favourable overseas contracts. That is why you see them always organising trade missions and exchange programmes etc.

My only concern about Hakeem Bello-Osagie, is why his businesses always seem to reach a peak and stop growing, or eventually die out. Why? Does he get tired of them, or has he failed to learn from the lessons of his past?

LaudateII:


The entrepreneur who set up Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services (EMTS), is Hakeem Bello-Osagie. That is another man whose biography, I
would like to read.

Belo Osagie was a co-founder of Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie, a top commercial law firm in Nigeria. Also, this firm owns Alsec Nominees. That's excluding UBA and EMTS.

That man knows how to start up big stuff. However, it would be better if he starts up businesses and gives it to others to manage while he leans back to watch it grow.

Lemme give me you a secret though, Etisalat was a huge paycheck for him if you understand how that deal went.

americanson:
you fall into the category of masses who feels their frustration is caused by the Rich or Mega Rich... you have no idea how many people went from grass to mega rich... there is a Nigerian like you, 24 years old, born into poverty but his worth Billions of Naira as of today. How did he do it, especially within 10 years?

What's the name of the 24 years old "billionaire "?

Plus I wonder where you get the impression that I am anti-rich.

I am simply saying that his story does not hold any lessons for the average business person. That's all.

Really inspired it goes 2 say when life give u graphite boil it 2 1000 degrees and u get a diamond hope u wont stop cos d bid failed

Beautiful! Awesome! Those were the first words that crossed my mind, when I read this article. The next was "audacious." Paddy Adenuga has shared his thoughts, in a way that grips the senses and makes it difficult for you to look away. I would like to see this story made into a movie or at worst, a documentary, because there are too many valuable lessons in it.

1). It is not enough to dream, you must also 'do': Vision is what gives rise to action. And action is what gives birth to change. Too many of us dream of how to do something different, or make something great. Very few of us actually take the plunge. Paddy had an idea, and he took steps to make it happen. So many people have a dream, but do not know how to go about actualising it. Paddy had a dream, then he formed a plan, put up a structure, built a financial base, got the right people and executed it.

2). Money answereth most, (not all) things: Yes, one might have money, but if such funds are not deployed in a productive venture or in a fruitful manner, in the right way, at the right place, into the right endeavour, then such funds would never add any benefit to its' owner. It would dwindle, and eventually get frittered away. Too many rich kids live lives of opulence with zero sense of direction. It is critical to know when and how to throw the right sum of money into a good venture, in order to make it profitable.

Money, no matter how much it is, is certainly not a substitute for skill, expertise, hard work or talent. Money in the wrong hands could even become a destructive force, if the owner does not know what to do with it. Money could also prevent a person from thinking clearly, if it is allowed to cloud the senses. It is also critical to know exactly when to stop throwing good money after bad, and when to cut your losses and walk away.

3). A financial war chest is a great asset, but not a substitute for homework: Some dreams won't come true, unless you have the money to bring them to reality. As stated earlier, it is not just the cash that matters, but the work you put in to ensure that money makes things happen for you, or creates opportunities that work in your favour, or help you accomplish your tasks. There is an old saying that goes this way - "Take what you want from life, but make sure to pay for it." Paddy had a war chest of 50 million USD. It made everyone sit up, and take him seriously.

But the most important bit, was that Paddy did his homework thoroughly. He researched the company he wanted to buy inside out, he contacted movers and shakers that could influence the bid outcome, and persuaded his competitors to become his partners. Compare this to the DISCOs who bought over electricity firms in the country, and started crying about how indebted those firms were, the day after they had bought them. They even went back to govt to beg for more money at the end of the day.

4). Prepare, Collaborate - always get the best talent and reward them: In setting up Catalan, Paddy didn't look towards his clique, lineage, colour or ethnic group, but sourced for those with the right skills, the right aptitude, intelligence, talent and experience, who could contribute meaningfully to his endeavour, and brought them on board. He avoided mediocres. Only those who knew their stuff got on his team. One man does not make a forest.

He surrounded himself with valuable sources of experience in the form of his mentor, his advisers etc., and reached across global distances to form alliances, even with those who initially competed against him. In Nigeria, we like to do things alone and this sometimes takes a huge toll on us. In many places here, collaboration is almost like a dirty word...and many of us, don't listen to good advice. Too many folks often think they know it all.

5). Aim high, stake big: Paddy sought for the best deal for his company. He didn't think small. Another person might have seen the Chevron Netherlands acquisition, as too big a deal, to even touch. But for Paddy, it was the perfect vehicle to launch his vision. He didn't think it was too far-fetched for a young African boy, to make a bid for the Dutch subsidiary of one of the world's most successful oil companies - Chevron. Paddy had what they called 'chutzpah,' the Hebrew word for confidence and audacity.

6). Choose the right strategy, and listen to your instincts: When the power play started, Paddy had to change his strategy. He applied native wisdom to his tactics. First, when someone on the team of his competitors was becoming an obstacle to his plans, he fired off an explosive e-mail to his partners, that upset the apple cart. In the ensuing scramble to unravel the subsequent chain of events, his greatest stumbling block on the opposing team called Alex, played right into his hands.

Sometimes all the best advice in the world, might go against your gut instinct. What do you do? That is the million dollar question. It takes years of practice and sequence of events, to learn how to distinguish between the right gut instinct, and the wrong ones. Paddy made a few right calls when he followed his instincts, initially. But when he failed to go with his instincts, that one time - he lost.

7). Divine intervention has a part to play: Each time he was at a cross road, Paddy prayed. And somehow, answers came. He knew he didn't have all the answers so he trusted the Creator to step into the situation, and make things work out in his favour. Yet, in one instance he actually overlooked one of the answers sent to him by God, when he ignored Remi, an old friend who actually had the right keys to his puzzle. And it cost him big time, at the end of the day.

There are too many lessons to be learnt from this story, and I do hope that one day, Paddy would launch another bid for a global oil firm . I believe his next venture would be successful. Why? He has gone through a difficult baptism, and has learnt too many valuable lessons in how NOT to fail again, in a business deal. They don't teach such things in Harvard Business School.

_{cc: Kn23h, totit, deomelo, mercyville, Jetleee, superstar1, ODVanguard, Rosa Considine, ibkayee, robotix, ishilove, MasterChen, hilroy, Ritchiee, OkutaNla, kaysco, lalasticlala, macof, veraponpo, Konquest, Sanchez01, Jarus, naptu2, Katsumoto, Orikinla, Coptic, ramdeuter}

Well done, Paddy Adenuga! This story is so inspirational to both young and old Nigerians who are pursuing their individual dreams!!!

stephenmorris:
A LION IN THE NORTH SEA: THE BATTLE FOR CHEVRON NETHERLANDS

It was October 2013, two years had passed since I had left the family business in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to London, England to start my own oil trading company. My time in the family business, as a director in the telecoms division and upstream oil & gas company was challenging to say the least but engaging and ultimately rewarding. However, I have never felt comfortable with sitting back and getting a golden pass through life. Whilst the easy thing to do was to be a “good boy and good son” and enjoy all the luxuries of being in a family business – I decided that striking it out on my own once again was the best course of action.

I’ve always loved the oil & gas business, like many other Nigerians. However, what I love about the business, particularly the exploration and production (upstream) side, was the mixture of strategy, operational capability, technical know-how, politics and business acumen which all had to be married with a gambling spirit and sheer luck to be successful. In my decision to move to London, I decided I would only be in the oil & gas business as long as it didn’t pose a direct conflict to the family’s interests. There is striking it out on your own and then there is just being plain foolish. Luckily for me, I had stopped being foolish by then.

The modus operandi of my oil trading business was simple. I kept an office in Lagos with a small team of five to run operations and logistics. I converted one of the bedrooms in my townhouse in London into a study. My team in Lagos under my guidance would get oil trading contracts and I, sitting in London, would either market these contracts to the global oil trading houses to execute in Nigeria on a joint venture (JV) basis or in some instances, I would find the capital to execute the contract from end to end. This formula proved effective and it was good enough to pay my bills and afford me an above modest lifestyle.

One of the traits I took from my parents is that I am highly ambitious and find it hard to sit still. There always has to be a new conquest, a new mountain to climb, or, as is the case most times, a new business to go after. Oil trading was my day job but was never exciting to me except for when I got paid. After days and weeks in London plotting my next move, I came up with an idea and a plan. In the world of upstream oil & gas, especially in Africa, companies that were operators, actively producing oil & gas in commercial quantities that wanted to invest or participate in the oil business were the darlings of the industry. They were like the prettiest girl in high school and every guy wanted her to come to the prom with him.

Most of the oil producing nations in sub-Saharan Africa such as Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea would always require any investor into oil & gas assets in their country to either be an oil & gas operator with production on stream or be partnered with an operator, deemed a “technical partner”. This logic makes sense. If you are going to buy prized national assets, you should have the know how to develop and operate them or at least be partnered with an entity that does. I decided that I was going to use a Trojan Horse strategy. I had read ancient Greek literature when I’d attended military academy in Texas and it served as inspiration. I would acquire an oil & gas operating company in Europe (the Trojan Horse), where the political barriers and costs to entry in comparison to Africa would be significantly lower. I would then use this newly acquired company, which would now be of Afro-European in heritage, to become a technical partner to many local and international investors in the upstream oil & gas business in Africa. This company would be the first of its kind and likely the most sought-after oil & gas company on the African continent because of its unique DNA and ownership. After thinking of this idea, I took myself out to a bar a few blocks from my house and ordered myself a nice strong drink. I felt like a genius.

I registered a new upstream oil & gas investment company offshore and called it, The Catalan Corporation. The name didn’t really have a meaning, it just sounded nice and had a confident, stately demeanour to it. To keep costs at a minimum, I decided to put together an advisory board that consisted of Vance Querio, the COO of Addax Petroleum at the time and an industry professional and my mentor (who will remain nameless for good reason), one of Africa’s biggest business giants. Vance was all too happy to join and signed on quickly. I called my mentor and before signing on, he wanted a face to face meeting for me to explain my plan and ambitions for Catalan. He asked me to meet him in the early spring of 2014 at a health spa in a small Swiss village outside of Zurich. I have to admit the drive from Zurich to this little village tucked within the Swiss mountains still remains one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The spring sun had begun to melt the snow on the mountains and in the distance; you could see the melting snow turn into giant waterfalls pouring off the mountains. It was like an oil painting come to life.

I eventually met with my mentor and after explaining my idea to him and that him being on my advisory board would not only give my burgeoning company credibility but help us raise cash, he agreed in totality and went further to tell me that I should tell anyone and everyone that he was not only on board but was going to give our company his full support. We drank some tea together and the next morning I was off back to London. My little plan for Africa oil & gas was coming together, finally put into action by two African men in a Swiss village. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

On the plane flying back to London from Zurich, even though I had just gotten my mentor on board, I felt that there was someone missing. A few years prior I was the spearhead of my family’s acquisition drive for OML 30 (this is another whole story in itself), one of Shell Nigeria’s most lucrative oil blocks that was up for sale, I met a brilliant English banker named Edgar. Edgar had more than 30 years of oil & gas operations and finance experience. He was respected by the industry on a global basis and having him on board would be the final piece in the puzzle, the icing on the cake. I called Edgar immediately I landed and asked if we could meet for lunch, my treat as always.

I pitched Catalan to Edgar and how if we pulled this off it would be the grandest of coups. Edgar was highly intrigued but stated that he wanted hard cash upfront from the onset. Whilst the others were all too eager to come on board and make their money via sweat equity or cash incentives when we had a target company in our sights, Edgar wanted to be paid money and a substantial amount before putting pen to paper. I was confused by his behaviour. I told him who the others were that were on Catalan’s advisory board but he wasn’t having it, either he would be paid his princely sum to attach his name to Catalan or no deal. I was 29 at the time and was still head-strong and prideful. How could this guy develop such an attitude? I thought we were friends. I suppose Edgar knew his value and wasn’t going to mortgage it on a promise of monies at a later date. As much as he liked my Trojan Horse idea, he just happened to like money more. I balked at his request in annoyance. I paid for lunch, told him no way, and stormed off home. This was a big mistake on my part that would rear its ugly head later.

I appointed two of my most trusted confidants as directors in Catalan and with that the company was set to go. I designed the logo for Catalan – a coat of arms with a cross in the middle. I am after all a devout Catholic and a strong believer in God, so why not have my faith represented on my company logo? I then called my friend Nicolas Lavrov, a web and graphics designer and over the course of a week we put together a sleek and polished company profile which me, my directors and advisory board began emailing out to interested parties. A few weeks later, I got an email from Richard Kent of Jeffries. Jeffries are an investment bank that work closely with multi-national oil companies (the majors) on the acquisition or divestment of oil & gas assets on a worldwide basis. Richard had gotten a copy of my company profile and wanted to have a meeting. I wore one of my finest suits and hopped into a taxi to his offices in London City.

Richard and I talked extensively about my background and my ambitions for Catalan. I explained to him the type of company we were looking to acquire, ideally an oil & gas company in Europe, preferably operating out of the North Sea with a strong daily production and enough reserves to warrant further investment in development. I also told Richard how much we would be ready to spend for the first acquisition – between USD 50 million and USD 100 million. We would finance our acquisition via reserve based lending and would likely raise cash equity of thirty percent of our purchase price with a Bank raising debt of seventy percent to help the balance of the purchase price. I had described the “goldilocks” company Catalan needed to acquire. With that said, Richard told me to give him some time to find the best deal for Catalan.

A few weeks later Richard called me, “I have the perfect deal for you Paddy!” US oil giant, Chevron, had decided to sell their entire upstream, exploration and production business in the Netherlands and had appointed Jeffries to manage a bid process for the sale of Chevron Netherlands. The sale included their production platforms in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, their office buildings, around a thousand or so native Dutch staff, and their crude and gas pipeline evacuation infrastructure. Even the Chevron coffee and tea mugs were part of the sale. Richard was right, this deal was perfect and the ideal Trojan Horse with which to enter the Africa oil & gas terrain with from Europe. He informed me that this would be a competitive bid against other companies to acquire Chevron but thought that Catalan and I stood a good chance. I told him I was interested and that he should send all the necessary paperwork over. Something within me believed I was going to win this bid and with that in mind I was going to throw everything at it. If I won this bid, I thought, there would be stories written about me for a long time to come.

Chevron are by nature, prudently selective with which companies they invite to bid. So the fact that Catalan was chosen was a big deal to me. I felt like for once in my 29 years, I wasn’t being judged solely by my last name but for my skill, merits and ability. I got the first bits of information from Chevron on their Netherlands assets and I began putting together a team of hired hands to act as my management team for Catalan’s bid. I appointed Dutch law firm DeBrauw as my lawyers, Canadian firm Canaccord Genuity as my finance managers, RPS Energy as my technical managers, and Moore Stephens as my accountants. I informed Chevron of my management team and they asked for a few weeks to open the data room and kick off the bid.

Whilst Catalan and its hired management team waited on Chevron, I decided to be pro-active. From previous my experience with OML 30, not engaging government regulators enough could prove to be unwise. I decided that I needed to meet with the government body in the Netherlands responsible for managing their oil & gas affairs. After all I was a young Nigerian man, trying to buy prized, national Dutch assets. I, more than anyone, needed to be ten steps ahead at any given time. My lawyers put me in touch with Jan-Dirk Bokhoven, the managing director at the time of the Dutch state-owned oil company, EBN. Jan-Dirk and I spoke on the phone and agreed a date to meet at EBN’s head office in Utrecht, a one-hour drive or so outside of Amsterdam.



By Paddy Adenuga

source-https://www.metrodailies.com/careers/paddy-adenuga-son-globacom-boss-nearly-acquired-chevron-netherlands-29/

bros all i need is a small change from you,paddy to start my agribiz & create employment for others.

MrMcJay:
Just look at the comments on this thread and you'll realise that more Nigerians suffer from intellectual poverty than financial poverty.

The lessons to be learnt from that article are more than what some Nigerians learnt in their entire time spent in school and they don't have the wisdom to read and pick a lesson or two.

10 Years from now, Paddy would be a billionaire under 40, some people who picked lessons from this article might have surpassed Paddy in wealth but our dumb friends would still be shouting "I receive" in Church not knowing that their Pastors are also reading and picking lessons from this post.

I have been around here long enough not to be surprised at the comments. You will find better comments and analysis in Big Brother Nigeria threads.

I practically suspended all activities to read the story till end. How I wish I find business strategy stories like this to read every day free of charge here... I will be happier.

einsteine:
What's the name of the 24 years old "billionaire "?

Plus I wonder where you get the impression that I am anti-rich.

I am simply saying that his story does not hold any lessons for the average business person. That's all.

Ehn? Is that what you truly think? That "his story does not hold any lessons for the average business person?" Guy, this story has all the elements of a best seller and tons of valuable perspectives, for its readers. Try and free your mind. May God open the eyes of your understanding to see the truth.

GOOD DAY NAIRALANDERS.I M STILL HERE...DONT GIVE UP ON ME YET https://www.nairaland.com/4312232/husbanda-good-man-help#64528004

OAM4J:
I have been around here long enough not to be surprised at the comments. You will find better comments and analysis in Big Brother Nigeria threads.

I practically suspended all activities to read the story till end. How I wish I find business strategy stories like this to read every day free of charge here... I will be happier.

Oga, with all due respect, you and the other mods are part of the issues on NL. People post valuable insightful stories like this one every other day, but such stories never make it to the front page! If a celebrity is caught in a scandal or if he undresses in public, it hits NL front page in a matter of a few hours! Why??

I believe this particular thread should be left on the FP for at least 4 weeks so that people can read and learn from it. But will the mods allow it? No!

MrMcJay:
Just look at the comments on this thread and you'll realise that more Nigerians suffer from intellectual poverty than financial poverty.

The lessons to be learnt from that article are more than what some Nigerians learnt in their entire time spent in school and they don't have the wisdom to read and pick a lesson or two.

10 Years from now, Paddy would be a billionaire under 40, some people who picked lessons from this article might have surpassed Paddy in wealth but [s]our dumb friends would still be shouting "I receive" in Church not knowing that their Pastors are also reading and picking lessons from this post. [/s]

You made a good point until you decided to refer to a particular set of people...would your point not be made if you had generalized and not criticise Christians in particular?
Do you think Christians are a set of people who do nothing but pray?
Did you not read in the article that Paddy is a Christian?
I am a Christian and I read through the article and found it very interesting and inspiring.
For your information, most of the successful people in the world are Christians

MrMcJay:
Just look at the comments on this thread and you'll realise that more Nigerians suffer from intellectual poverty than financial poverty.

The lessons to be learnt from that article are more than what some Nigerians learnt in their entire time spent in school and they don't have the wisdom to read and pick a lesson or two.

10 Years from now, Paddy would be a billionaire under 40, some people who picked lessons from this article might have surpassed Paddy in wealth but our dumb friends would still be shouting "I receive" in Church not knowing that their Pastors are also reading and picking lessons from this post.

As in i kept reading beyond page one to convince myself there was a sane person left on nairaland. The story was pure captivating with so many lessons but they were all saying its "too lengthy" and "nearly doesnt kill a bird" while failing to learn the obvious lessons.

Someone said and i believe that you have a lot more to learn from failure stories (such as this) than success and El dorado stories.

I personally picked a lot from this story, the highlight which is to be willing to pay for something, even if pricey, as long as the reward would be worth it.
Im ashamed at NL.

Other lessons;

8. Give it all you have got: Paddy didn't approach the deal in a half-hearted manner. He went in with a lot of passion, energy and enthusiasm to make it work. He negotiated with a few influential folks to get the right kind of deals that would help his project. With others, he paid for their time & skill in order to get their support, for his dreams. He was pro-active and even reached out to the management of the largest state-owned oil & gas firm in the Netherlands. There were no short-cuts or half measures. That was why his failure to clinch the deal, hit him hard!

9). Always find out why you failed: In the business world, it is called asking for feedback. Paddy kept reaching out to the Chevron subsidiary to find out the outcome of his bid. The first feedback he received, led him to readjust his strategy and form a joint venture with his competitors. The second feedback he received, made him realise that he should have followed his gut instinct.

He sought feedback and got it. The feedback tells you the reason why you failed. So that you can prevent similar set backs in future. It is the reason why pathologists carry out autopsies, or post-mortems, lawyers conduct inquests, and structural engineers as well as regulators seek to know why a building collapsed.

In Nigeria, instead of seeking feedback, we prefer to attribute failure to bad luck, the enemies in the village or the fact that somebody does not like our face, stature or ethnic group.

Uptown babies don't cry....

Well am a billionaire about to be,my father is not rich but am proud to say am self-made with God's backing.. when your parents are wealthy becoming wealthy is easy and vice versa.. but my parents gave me love and Education which is very very important..

If you haven't taken such ride in life u wouldn't understand a lot of intricacy left out of the good piece... Against his class or affluence he made a good move but his greed cost him from Edgar to Remi. And that's what you don't need in making a big one on massive deal.

CeterisXVII:


Ehn? Is that what you truly think? That "his story does not hold any lessons for the average business person?" Guy, this story has all the elements of a best seller and tons of valuable perspectives, for its readers. Try and free your mind. May God open the eyes of your understanding to see the truth.

You say it has the elements of a best seller.

Yes, it would make for a good start to a Stephen Frey financial thriller. I understand the entertainment value of a write-up like this. A lot of the people claiming they learnt from this are simply talking from an aspirational point of view. They wish to do multi-million dollar deals, bla bla bla but in point of fact, the whole story does not offer any ACTIONABLE insight or advice to the average reader as not only do they lack the resources to engage in such, they are also more likely to be involved in more mundane businesses.

All in all, good on him but I don't give kudos to people who, if they were on the Forbes list, would have a self made score of less than 4.

karniff:
If you haven't taken such ride in life u wouldn't understand a lot of intricacy left out of the good piece... Against his class or affluence he made a good move but his greed cost him from Edgar to Remi. And that's what you don't need in making a big one on massive deal.

Which greed? Didn't see any. With Edgar, he felt that Edgar's initial quoted fee was too high for his input (as he perceived it then), so he declined and walked away . But at the end of the day, when he went back to Edgar, he still paid the man's fees which had now doubled. It was his lack of experience in realising Edgar's value, that made him walk away initially. But I like Edgar. The man knew his own worth, and didn't sell himself short.

With Remi, he was trying to take precautions against being jinxed, by people from back home in Naija. He had nothing against Remi personally. And Remi never asked for a cut of his deal, did he? So where does greed come into it?

einsteine:
You say it has the elements of a best seller.

Yes, it would make for a good start to a Stephen Frey financial thriller. I understand the entertainment value of a write-up like this. A lot of the people claiming they learnt from this are simply talking from an aspirational point of view. They wish to do multi-million dollar deals, bla bla bla but in point of fact, the whole story does not offer any ACTIONABLE insight or advice to the average reader as not only do they lack the resources to engage in such, they are also more likely to be involved in more mundane businesses.

All in all, good on him but I don't give kudos to people who, if they were on the Forbes list, would have a self made score of less than 4.

Even after all the points made by various people on this thread? Read it again, and pray for divine insight to comprehend the actionable lessons, in it.

To all those business moguls here on nairaland talking down a dogged and determined young black male who had the zeal and know how at 29 to thread where even billions of people will not dream of at same age in a bid to achieve greatness and wealth,with put downs like 'nearly cannot bla, bla,' i just have one afrcan proverb for you, and it says 'let the kittens aim to copy the tiger's feats that they feel is not spectacular'.That's it, you can run along now and do one.It won't kill any one of us on nairaland to be positive for a moment,just.I thanl the almighty who made paddy a lion where many wealthy men's kid like him are junkies and degenerate ganblers.

I have read through and I feel the need to lend my voice.

A lot of the kids on here need to sit down, keep quiet and listen or rather I say read. There is so much to learn from the young man and his conquest, he had tread were only few dared and though it might seem that he failed, to my humble self, he learnt.

I have also known he would go places, from the early days when he and sister were announced as directors in Glo, and I read a piece he wrote on the papers, I fell in love with his intelligence being sapiosexual myself. Paddy has what it takes and has proven same, without the casting shadows of his last name, he tried to play it big and his hand although came short, was a master stroke.

His background played a great deal in shaping him but to be shaped was the choice him alone made. We have had the mutalabs', the Akindeles', the Ukiwes' and the Mbadiwes' to name a few who made southward choices and made their names count for nothing.

Today I salute you Paddy... As with many sane others, you have made us proud and I only smell new conquest in the horizon.

Please keep up the good work!

And to those aspiring, the field is always level, you only by your vision choose the side you play on.

chinnyonwu:

As in i kept reading beyond page one to convince myself there was a sane person left on nairaland. The story was pure captivating with so many lessons but they were all saying its "too lengthy" and "nearly doesnt kill a bird" while failing to learn the obvious lessons.

Someone said and i believe that you have a lot more to learn from failure stories (such as this) than success and El dorado stories.

I personally picked a lot from this story, the highlight which is to be willing to pay for something, even if pricey, as long as the reward would be worth it.
Im ashamed at NL.

That's NL for you...

einsteine:



You say it has the elements of a best seller.

Yes, it would make for a good start to a Stephen Frey financial thriller. I understand the entertainment value of a write-up like this. A lot of the people claiming they learnt from this are simply talking from an aspirational point of view. They wish to do multi-million dollar deals, bla bla bla but in point of fact, the whole story does not offer any ACTIONABLE insight or advice to the average reader as not only do they lack the resources to engage in such, they are also more likely to be involved in more mundane businesses.

All in all, good on him but I don't give kudos to people who, if they were on the Forbes list, would have a self evenmade score of less than 4.

Let them be acting all sanctimonious.

Paddy came from Money and at 29 had contacts and connects of people he knew through his priviledged upbringing. He even made references to people mentioning how they knew his dad.

Brand new S- class vehicles to transport to meetings, flights to Carlifornia, Malibu, Los Angeles.

On this failed attempt of his, judging from the article, he must have burnt at least $200,000

You my friend, are intelligent

nateevs:
Read this on yesterday. Even though he operates in a world most can only dream about, there were several lessons to take from the story. I personally found his journey very inspiring, despite not reaching the goal.

Oh wow! This is amazing.... and interesting at the same time, now I look at Mr P in a different light. I mean, he is definitely an intelligent young man. Learnt from his story too. Looking back, I've lost somethings due to ego and pride. And another thing? It's very healthy to talk to the right people! The Remi part broke my heart! It's crazy painful.

Nice one

at 29 is even late for you being a son of a billionaire who got involve in an oil trading deal....how much was a barrel in 2013?...well, i expect to hear you say more than these...cheers