Roots to Routes with Anand Dattani

Founder of Foodlama: “I Left Nigeria With A Week And A Half’s Notice”

"you can't change the world without being lonely, so get comfortable with it"About the GuestDamilare Ogunleye (pictured on the left) is the co-founder and CEO of FoodLama, a trusted shopping assistant that makes your online grocery shopping easier to find the perfect food products that meet your household’s exact dietary requirements or preferences. Damilare has over 12 years marketing experience in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) sector, most recently as co-founder of an e-commerce platform supporting African creatives to monetise their skills, serving over 50,000 consumers with over $4M revenue in 5 years. Damilare is a fellow of UNCTAD Alibaba eFounders program that annually identifies 25 high-potential entrepreneurs shaping the digital economy. The fellowship program includes an intensive capacity-building program at Alibaba’s HQ in Hangzhou, China covering e-commerce, inventory management and rural commerce, logistics and mobile payment systems, and data analytics."my plan B was my plan A, and my plan C was my plan A; failure was not an option" We discuss:Typical culture of a Nigerian householdThe 3 things Damilare learnt from his parentsHow his parents traits showed through his early yearsLearning integrity from his fatherGetting tuberculosis during UniversityDriven by the fear of povertyLEAVING a respectable job at NestleWhy you need to be comfortable with being lonelyThe influence of role modelsWhy Nigerians are not like any other culture of peopleLeaving Nigeria for the UKWhy Foodlama?WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/yW5swoGC0x8📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastONLINE: https://ananddattani.com/🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlight 10: Overcoming ’Brutal’ Negative Feedback & Imposter Syndrome As A Young Founder

I was told "I can't see anything in these cofounders that make the right people to start this business" [Varun Bhanot]In this highlight, I share the phenomena of 'Tall Poppy Syndrome' and the various negative effects, some more severe than others, that this has on not only Young Founders, but anyone from a certain gender, background or level of experience who have been subject to it.Varun Bhanot, who was recently awarded 'Technology Entrepreneur of the Year 2023' at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, then shares some of the harshly negative comments he received when him and his co-founder first looked to raise funds for their Home AI Gym, MagicAI.WATCH FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/k_HGQfF6YqE📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattaniEMAIL: contact@ananddattani.com🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Technology Entrepreneur of the Year 2023: My Personal Health Transformation, Leaving My Law Career & Becoming My Own Boss

favourite quote "when I first started out, I thought I was building a startup, and I actually realised the startup was building me"Inspired by his own personal experiences, Varun Bhanot co-founded MAGIC – an intelligent home gym that helps users to get fit. He took a Start Up Loan from Virgin StartUp to make his idea a reality. We caught up with Varun to find out more...We discuss:How his grandma studied and raised a child from one fromThe family motif to 'Be Your Own Boss'Growing up in a majority brown community & schoolDeciding to leave a career in Law after 1 yearIs everyone able to leave a career to pursue their passion?Joining a tech. startup for FREEHow his friends and family reactedStarting a tech-focused, sustainable not-for-profit (Unhoused.org) with his wifeCreating a revolutionary tech-based hoody for the homelessSolving personal health issues inspired the start of MagicAIImposter Syndrome & dealing with negative feedbackBeing flexible with disciplineWATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/k_HGQfF6YqE📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattaniEMAIL: contact@ananddattani.com🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Power of Personal History, Impactful Storytelling & How the Media Shapes Us (w/Lucy Fulford)

Award Winning Journalist & Author of 'The Exiled', Lucy Fulford, has seen her work published in the Guardian, Sunday Times, CNN and The Humanitarian to name a few.In this episode, she shares insights into personal history, exploring her mixed identity and the path to embracing her heritage. She also lays bare her experiences as a female from a multi-cultural background in the world of journalism, media and filmmaking.For more about the guest: https://www.lucyfulford.com/We discuss:The inspiration behind writing 'The Exiled'Why Lucy's grandparents left IndiaHow South Asians dealt with the 1972 Ugandan ExplusionFeeling out of place when arriving to the UKDealing with multiple identites as a British AsianExpectations of Immigrant ParentsCovering Impactful stories and the Ukranian warThe rise of Fake NewsHow we are Impacted by Biases in MediaHow can we change diversity issues in Journalism & MediaWATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/yiQtWb22d48📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastONLINE: https://ananddattani.com/🎧LISTEN FOR FREESPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hyQM3omGoqugQFQkPS7cWAPPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/simon-alexander-ong-overcoming-3-major-setbacks-ways/id1548231634?i=1000628365358ELSEWHERE: https://ananddattani.com/podcast-2🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlight 9: Learning from Dragon’s Den & The 1 Key Takeaway For Ocushield Founder, Dhruvin Patel

The founder of Ocushield shares his honest story of the before, during and after of being on Dragon's Den - and the one key lesson he took from the experience.▶️ FOR FULL EPISODE:YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/lPDT6xC63yESPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/12nfoRcbEHJ7QrSNGIZ9ix?si=Tj3V6fFVSL-0XP6Ml4IO-QAPPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get!ABOUT THE GUESTDhruvin Patel is an optometrist and entrepreneur encouraging a healthier relationship with technology in the digital age through his award winning business, Ocushield.He came up with the idea whilst studying Optometry at university and, having received a development grant from City University of London, built Ocushield into an internationally distributed, medically rated product that has transformed thousands of peoples’ eye health and quality of life. From humble roots, getting featured in nearly 50 publications including Forbes, USA Today and The Guradian, to winning over Peter Jones & Tej Lalvani on Dragon's Den, Dhruvin's entrepreneurial journey is experiencing success he'd once only ever dreamed of. Earlier this year, Ocushield won the King's Award, praised by the Prime Minister and King Charles himself, and has now helped over 300,000 eyes in over 70 countries. Get in touch with him: https://www.ocushield.com/pages/contact-us📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALSINSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattani Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Founder of Ocusheild: Avoiding Gangs, Dragon’s Den, Taking QUICK Risks & Building To Improve 10 MILLION Eyes Globally

"I always thought, they workd so hard I just want to be able to give back to them"If you’re someone who’s inspired by the story of a visionary, but someone who was simply just motivated by his own curiosity in a field that he loves and want to understand what the type of mindset that can get you there. Then this is one for you.We discuss:The family backstory and how they ended up in Croydon5:34 Why Indians ended up in East Africa8:10 Dealing with his dad’s OCD10:00 Schooling & influence of his friendship circle12:50 Finding a passion in helping others21:34 The birth of Ocushield24:53 Breaking cultureal norms to turn Ocushield into his full-time entrepreneurial journey27:56 The experience of getting on to Dragon’s Den.. and turning it down38:00 Key character traits that makes change-makers different to others41:18 The power of smart and QUICK risk taking43:09 Imposter Syndrome46:02 The long-term purpose for himself & Ocushield47:02 How he knew his partner was the ‘one’52:42 Closing Tradition: 2 final questions ▶️ WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/lPDT6xC63yEABOUT THE GUESTDhruvin Patel is an optometrist and entrepreneur encouraging a healthier relationship with technology in the digital age through his award winning business, Ocushield.He came up with the idea whilst studying Optometry at university and, having received a development grant from City University of London, built Ocushield into an internationally distributed, medically rated product that has transformed thousands of peoples’ eye health and quality of life. From humble roots, getting featured in nearly 50 publications including Forbes, USA Today and The Guradian, to winning over Peter Jones & Tej Lalvani on Dragon's Den, Dhruvin's entrepreneurial journey is experiencing success he'd once only ever dreamed of. Earlier this year, Ocushield won the King's Award, praised by the Prime Minister and King Charles himself, and has now helped over 300,000 eyes in over 70 countries. Get in touch with him: https://www.ocushield.com/pages/contact-us📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALSINSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattani🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlight 8: How Fitness Will Play A Vital Role In Your Mental Health

Founder of one of the fastest growing online fitness platforms shares his view on the important role of fitness in the future of people's mental health.🎧FULL EPISODESPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0S1ztrLfWDmvEdNEKtJvjB?si=_yWMvcshSf2AaoO84kYXZAAPPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/ee/podcast/how-my-peruvian-roots-and-my-obsession-to-overcome/id1548231634?i=1000630134458YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHhwv_riQ1k&list=PLFwJjyBAJudZXaPPWFFFslFxkJcBQqR2C&index=26&t=12sELSEWHERE: https://shows.acast.com/tjo📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattani🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Highlight 7: How To Deal With Your Inner Critic vs. Your Inner Guide

"...we all have that critic inside us, and it's all about creating a healthier relationship with it" (Simon Alexander Ong)🎧LISTEN FOR FREESPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hyQM3omGoqugQFQkPS7cWAPPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/simon-alexander-ong-overcoming-3-major-setbacks-ways/id1548231634?i=1000628365358 YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OaoTCl2F6o&list=PLFwJjyBAJudZXaPPWFFFslFxkJcBQqR2C&index=21 ELSEWHERE: https://shows.acast.com/tjo📱FOLLOW ON SOCIALS (& GET IN TOUCH)INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/anandsworldTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@ananddattanipodcastLINKEDIN: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/anand-dattani🙏LEAVE A REVIEWIf you listen on Apple Podcasts, it'd be great if you could leave a review - the bigger the show gets, the bigger the guests get! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/roots-to-routes/id1548231634 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.