One of the industries badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic is the events industry. Nigeria is known for lavishly celebrating important moments and occasions and due to the social distancing guidelines with respect to number of people in gatherings, events have been at an all-time low.
Thankfully, Nigeria is coming out this flat period with restrictions relaxed and events have started picking up again.
One of the companies that has survived the lockdown restrictions and come out stronger is WOW!Connect and we are privileged to interview the founder and Chief Experience Officer at WOW!Connect, Tobi Olanihun.
Tobi is the Chief Experience Officer at WOW!Connect (a corporate experiential event agency),Team Lead WOW! Celebrations ( Social events specialists) and Team Lead Grand Gifts Limited, a promotional and gift company. She is is also the co-Founder of Our Social Enterprise and The African Mentoring Company, two organizations that will be at the forefront of growth in Africa in years to come.
Tobi is a pioneer in the virtual experiences space creating innovative and engaging online events with the famed WOW!Connect Game Night and Virtual Gig. She is a Wimbiz Associate of many years; heading the Logistics committee of the prestigious WIMBIZ annual conference for two years.
Tobi is also the current Vice President Education and Programs of the International Live Events Association (ILEA) Nigeria Chapter and has held that position for two years in a row.
She tells us about the company and how the COVID-19 pandemic has helped them to innovate to stay afloat.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
- What does WOW!Connect do?
WOW!Connect is an experiential agency that plans events for physical virtual (on-line) & hybrid interactions. We plan experiences that connect with all your senses. We ensure that your guests/attendees are engaged and that whatever objectives have been set for any event is met.
We explain it further by saying that we make every milestone in your life, career or business an exclamation worthy experience
- What prompted you to start WOW!Connect?
At first the desire to help business connect with their audiences hence we started with business fairs. Then our interest in creating jaw-dropping experiences led to the birth of a deluge of incredible events, which we are very proud of.
I love to see people happy and connect with all their five senses engaged, WOW!Connect is the way I make the world a better place from the event experiential perspective.
- Tell us about the moment you decided to become an entrepreneur? What did you have to do to be where you are today?
My sojourn into entrepreneurship started in the Oil and Gas sector. From that to the different businesses I have started and collaborated on, has been a very interesting journey. I never thought I’d be an entrepreneur, I fell into it because I wanted work those crazy hours I had done in a multinational for myself then later I realized how much value I could bring to so many lives be it client on staff and then the focus changes organically.
Entrepreneurship requires lots of persistence and focus on goals.
I have had to remain dedicated to learning, staying ahead of trends and retaining our unique voice. Learning being the key thing, not just technical knowledge but soft skills in dealing with people.
- How would you say you are different from the other competitors in your space?
In the words of a client, I have the uncanny ability to put myself in the project owner’s shoes. The way we interpret briefs is different because we have retained our authentic voice and we thrive on innovation. That is our Unique Selling Point (USP); our insistence on the attendee experience from the very start is anal.
- How would you compare the event planning industry in Nigeria and the rest of the world?
Very very similar to be honest. The way clients negotiate is similar. The stress and long hours involved is the same (though to be honest we aren’t complaining, we love the thrill!). Work ethic is slightly different but our industry is so young compared to others and it’s getting better. Creativity in this part of the world is on another level I proudly say.
A major difference which I’ll ascribe to the maturity of the industry is the client’s need to fully understand the time and costs that are involved in putting up awesome productions e.g. sometimes set -up requires a week prior to the event and you therefore need to pay for a longer period to the venue, and really the phrase it’s just a small event doesn’t’ really affect resources from the service standpoint. Time and resources are heavily invested regardless of the size. That is one thing other parts of the world understand thoroughly.
- How have you been able to integrate technology in your business to achieve a competitive edge?
Oh my! My favourite topic. We always find the best way to design and implement our events with technology from the invitation and registration stages (social and corporate events respectively), to the actual event management and production. Based on recent developments i.e. the Covid 19 pandemic, we have deployed various digital, AV streaming etcetera tools to achieve the best results. Technology has not only given us a positive edge and kept us ahead of the pack. Tech makes events simpler, more interesting, seamless and adds loads of swag.
- How has your company fared in the COVID-19 pandemic?
Covid 19 helped us innovate. It helped us dust off some ideas we had and gave us a platform to birth them and bring to life. It was tough, but a worthy journey! It also taught us how lovely it is to give especially when people are hurting. We did loads of free virtual parties, free seminars that were pertinent to the mood and the time and it was very fulfilling for the team. We also cut off things we didn’t realize were a waste and has made us more effective.
- What are your post COVID-19 plans for WOW!Connect?
We are designing various tech products for the event industry and event attendees. We shall definitely send you the details and you will be one of first to demo these products, we are so so excited. We are set to revolutionize the way we do things in Africa, our products will be the first from the continent but will be used from anyone anywhere in the world, apologies I cannot say more till we launch! We are going to make life easy for event owners, planners, and more enjoyable for attendees.
- What are the challenges of running your startup? What are your future plans?
One of the major challenges is cash flow! How do you plan cash flow when you can’t plan inflow, how do you retain earnings, when they are no earnings? Coming up with ideas that help one plan cash flow is something that we have deployed.
A past challenge was believing our work will speak for itself, which it does, but marketing is an integral part of developing a business and most never be ignored.
- What advice do you have for budding entrepreneurs?
Treat people well. Be Kind. It sounds basic and a no brainer but these are the tenets to great relationships. Everyone in your network is a potential client, referral, and collaborator. You never know who will bring the next break or the big break. How you treat EVERYONE is so important.
Don’t let your dreams/goals scare you, but take it one day and one step at a time, nothing is insurmountable.
Surround yourself people with going somewhere, with great criticism and loads of positive energy
Last but not list, INTEGRITY is key. Protect it at all costs.
