EP30 Elizabeth Uviebinene: Author &Tech Start-up CEO :creating Storia a unique Journaling App

In this Episode 30 ,  my next guest is Elizabeth Uviebinene , Author  and early -stage founder & Tech Start-up CEO .

Are you ready to journey through the mind of a tech entrepreneur and accomplished author? This episode brings you an intimate conversation with Elizabeth, who's been making waves in the literary world with her influential book 'Slay in Your Lane' and other impactful projects such as 'Offline Diaries' and 'The Reset'. Join us as we explore her remarkable transition from the corporate world to tech entrepreneurship, and how she channeled her experiences into creating Story, a unique journaling app that aims to empower users to navigate their life paths with clarity and purpose.

Elizabeth's creativity knows no bounds; from sparking influential conversations about black women navigating the corporate world to designing Story, a journaling app that provides a community-driven platform for everyone. The journey wasn't a walk in the park. There were fundraising hurdles, and the challenge of executing a successful pilot launch but Elizabeth prevailed. She offers an insider look into Story and how it stands out in the crowded journaling app market, delivering more than just a journaling tool but a community, a sense of belonging and a platform to document life's journey. 

In the last part of our riveting exchange, Elizabeth delves deep into the core values that have shaped her success. Self-awareness, the courage to face fear, and the importance of taking small steps towards achieving dreams. But beyond personal development, she emphasizes the value of understanding people and fostering relationships in a world heavily driven by AI. She shares her leadership philosophy, highlighting the importance of setting the appropriate culture and tone within her team. Wrapping up our conversation, Elizabeth leaves us with profound insights into how curiosity, perseverance, and a commitment to making a positive impact can not only lead to success but create meaningful relationships in your career. Buckle up and tune in for a ride through Elizabeth's incredible journey!

Follow Elizabeth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-uviebinene/
https://www.storia.world/#our-story
Books :https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slay-Your-Lane-Black-Bible/dp/0008235627

Listen : to the audio version Apple Spotify .Amazon Music Google Podcasts
Watch and subscribe to my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Thetrailblazersexperience
Follow Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thetrailblazersexperience/

Transcript

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 0:13

So welcome to another episode of the Trailblazers Experience podcast. Today I have an amazing entrepreneur. Elizabeth is a published author. She's written Slay in your Lane, the Black Girl Bible in 2018, along with writer Yomi Adegogi. She's published several other titles since, and at the moment she has launched a platform called Storia and we're going to talk about that, because I mean, how you came about that and how you decided to embark on this journey.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 0:51

Do you want to talk me through how you got into writing so I kind of like fell into being an author. I never really saw myself as somebody that wanted to write, so it just happened. So I was working in the corporate works in the corporate world after university and I was kind of struggling to navigate my myself around some of the I guess you know some of the things that I was experiencing. And I asked a best friend who is who you know was working in journalism at the time I had to write me a book that kind of spoke to my experiences as a young black woman, navigating a lot of work. And then she said that we should both do it because it's not just going to be, you know, a book's going to be a movement. And I think at that time I was like, oh, actually a movement.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 1:37

Obviously, I worked in marketing and you know that. You know people say they want brands, they want, you know, movements, but it's one thing to say, another thing to for actually to be, to become a reality. So, yeah, so I did. You know politics at university, so I essay based subjects was something that I was, I guess, used to. So that was how it happened. And then she asked me yeah, first to work together, and then we did.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 2:05

And what's inspired you to really write this particular book. So, if we talk about slaying your lane, what was the, what was the inspiration behind it and what impact do you think that this conversation has had around black women's experiences?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 2:22

So the so what led me to want to write them, want to write it? I guess I wanted the book. That resonated with me at the time. There was loads of books, such as, you know, lean In, which is a kind of real cultural landmark around, talking about women in the workplace, and I was like, well, why aren't we talking about black women in a workplace? And so that was that was where the inspiration really came from and the impact the book has had it's been.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 2:50

We wrote the book in 2017, it's now 2023, so it came out 2018 actually. So it's it's had an amazing impact and more than we actually ever would have thought at that point. I think I've spoken at so many workplaces internally and I've spoken at like different you know, being able to kind of spread the message of what you know, what we was talking about in terms of, yeah, workplaces, how black women have to kind of navigate all these different themes of their lives differently to their white counterparts. So I think it brought a lot of awareness to some of the issues and some of the challenges, but I think it also brought a lot of optimism and that was really important for us, just because it's easy to point out the bad, but we also want to kind of balance it with the good and we did that really well with speaking to amazing black women who were essentially slaying, slaying in their lanes in different fields. So, for example, vanessa Kingoury, who was, who was the publisher of British Vogue to to various other, like amazing black women.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 4:02

So profiling them and her and their experiences really injected a real sense of optimism to the book and I think it also serves to say that allies who are out there can also help us because they're able to engage and understand our stories, as you've told them, and opens up the conversation in a really collaborative but in a progressive way.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 4:31

Yeah, absolutely. I think it's really important for it to feel like it's all having this conversation, not just, you know, like black women who already know what the challenges are, and I think that was what really resonated with people who aren't black women. It felt quite inclusive, even though we were very specifically speaking to black women. So, yeah, I think it's as the story goes, all the stories and experience the more universal it is. We've all craved belonging. That's a human, human feeling. So I think that in itself helps spread the message.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 5:08

Indeed, and the main message, like you said, is that we're all human. It doesn't matter what colour, creed, culture. We all have, you know, shared, shared needs. You know, if we look at the Maslow law of needs, we all have shared things that we are aspiring to and it's been a good way, through your books and your literature, to embark on that. You've also written the offline diaries and the reset, and now you've embarked on to Story, which I'm really excited to talk about and you've described as a headspace for journaling. What motivated you to create a journaling app and how does it differ from other journaling tools in the market?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 5:49

I've been journaling for as long as I can remember and it's always been the compass to my chaos and I really turned to it as a way to kind of navigate who I am and what I think of the world around me, and it's a way to connect to myself. So I always struggled with like the journaling tools that were on the market. I just none of it ever resonated with me. So I would always use the Notes app as a way to as a way to, I guess, express myself, what I'm thinking, why, or put in together ideas, and I found the other journaling apps quite restrictive.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 6:32

Story is a journaling app that helps you become your best self, and we do that by organizing your thoughts.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 6:41

If you can't think well, you can, it's really hard to kind of know what you want in life and who you are.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 6:47

And the way we built the app is different chapters, different journals, reflect different journeys in our life.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 6:56

So it really is inspired by the ability to kind of create different journals that can be inspiration for yourself but for other people as well and document you know, a snapshot, document our journey. I felt, like other journaling apps, you were, you were kind of documenting, you were just telling them how you felt and I think with Story it's more so about your journey, who you are and and and those around you, and what makes it really different and really the radical is we are making it much more community driven. So, as they you know, the African Probiob says if you want to go far, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And that really is the kind of the, the genesis of why we built Story. We we genuinely do believe that one of the greatest challenges of our time is the feeling of you know, not belonging and not feeling like you're understood. And Story is a place where you want to build something that people feel like they truly belong.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 8:10

You've touched on important points so belonging you know that community connections and also acknowledging the users of the app that it is their unique voice through journey as well. So I mean amazing that you've actually done that and looked at a problem that was affecting you and decided to create a solution for it. I think that's the main thread I see with lots of founders they look at something that's bothering them and said, right, how can I find a solution so that it helps me and, ultimately, how do you extend that?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 8:46

Yeah, absolutely. I definitely think that everyone, you know everyone has those different ideas, but executing it is, you know, not always easy. I think it's probably very hard and very challenging, and I think that what I've been privileged enough to do over the years is execute on the ideas I've had, even if there's a book in book form, in you know, working with brands in terms of campaigns and now, obviously, with Story. So I really, I think, for me, I like to use and create things that I would want to use and I'm inspired by, like my everyday life sort of thing. So, yeah, like same way you write the book that you want to read, I want to build the journey that I wanted to use, and I'm, you know, I feel incredibly privileged every single day that I get to, you know, wake up and do that so and yeah, so that's essentially if I didn't feel like I remember when the Silicon Valley Bank thing happened a few months ago and and the money just disappeared from the account and it was just all a bit of a, it was very like, very overwhelming.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 10:05

I I remember thinking, oh wow, I cannot believe story is not going to exist. It should exist. Not, it shouldn't exist just because it's me it should exist, because I genuinely do believe it makes the world a better place. So I think I, so if there's any reason why I felt even more passionate about building this is because I believe it should exist and exist in this way, yeah.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 10:30

So I'm going to ask a question there, because I know that you raised funding for Storia. But what do you say? You said you'd raise the money, it was in your account and then it was gone. What happened there?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 10:42

So there was a bit of a banking issue I can't even explain it in more succinct manner, but it was a Silicon Valley Bank basically were bailed out by the government and HSBC bought them and it happened over a couple of days where those those are an issue. But long story short, it was a bit of a touch and go experience because all my money was like tied up in one bank. So Silicon Valley Bank is a lot of like a lot of entrepreneurs use it. So imagine going to your bank and not not seeing the money that you spent your mental have. So it was, yeah, you know it was very touch and go.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 11:24

Rishi Sunak got involved and the government and it was like it was happening in America as well. So it was a bit of a banking crisis that happened and I guess the average person wouldn't I guess, you know have experienced that, just because it was. It was majority people who bank at Silicon Valley Bank are startups and business owners. So that was what happened and I remember it was like the longest weekend of my life probably, and I was just like wow, like I was, just I was. I remember thinking, oh, wow, I was a CEO for five minutes, sort of thing and yeah, but it was also in the next in yeah afterwards, oh, that's it.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 12:03

Isn't it the challenges, isn't it? It's either you're looking for funding, or you found funding, or you're worried that the funding is being, you know, spent not in the right way. What have you learned from? So you ran a pilot, obviously for Storia, last summer. What have you learned from the pilot and what can users expect from the next upcoming version of the app?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 12:26

Yeah. So one of the things that is, I guess, validates the need for Storia in its current form is the yeah, it's the fact that the majority of the people that use our app have never journaled before. I would say I think it's like 83.3% of the people who sign up to Storia had never journaled before, have never used a journaling app. So that in itself is quite interesting and it speaks to the fact. It validates, you know, our assumptions around. There is a market here of people who aren't being served, who use the Notes app, but the Notes app stops being like, stops being fruit for after a point. So instead there's just like a mammoth of just different notes, not structured, and therefore it becomes like a bit of just like, of just like you know your to-do list, your you know shopping list passwords. It just becomes a whole mess. So Storia, for us, the core experience of Storia, is about capturing your thoughts, so writing different notes and organizing them in different journals, and I thought that was really cute and really nice.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 13:31

Just because, in reality, a lot of us do amazing things at work and in our lives and it can, we're always kind of experiencing imposter syndrome in various forms and one of the ways to come back in post syndrome is to always remind yourself of the achievements that you've done, and not just like achievements, but who you are.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 13:48

When someone says something nice about your character and your values, like, it's just always important to kind of capture that. And I think you know in our fast-paced world it's somewhat, you know, we don't really capture those moments. So when he said to me the other day that he uses Storia, he uses, he's got like five journals, five journals on Storia, but one of them is just literally called imposter syndrome and he adds something nice that someone says about his work and who he is in that journal and when he experiences, like you know, a bit of imposter syndrome, doing a big talk somewhere or whatever it is, he's able to essentially go into that journal to make him feel really empowered. And that in itself is you know exactly how I would have. I wanted people to use Storia for sure.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 14:31

That's amazing. So it's already impacting how people organise their thoughts and they're not, you know, seeing it through chaos, and also they're on a self-discovery, isn't it? Every time they are able to compartmentalise different thoughts in that journal. So already must be heartwarming to see that something that you thought about come to fruition and is helping people in different ways.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 14:58

Yeah, I definitely think it's very humbling and I think as an author, I experienced that for sure, and it not to be whatever, but you start to take it for granted a little bit, you know, and I feel like Storia has really, really a new lease of life for me in terms of like, really, you know, when someone signs up to our newsletter I mean on our website, and I'm because I'm doing everything manually so when I see I get the notification and I put them into our private beta and I send them an email, like I just it's honestly so wonderful and I've never been so appreciative of people's, you know time. And when people give me feedback, like you know an email, it just means a lot because when you're an early stage founder, you're just you're just doing every other one. That's kind of like across everything. So I I'm it's a very humbling experience and I only hope that Storia delivers value in people's lives, like I really, really, really like. If I didn't believe it delivers value, I wouldn't do it. I genuinely just wouldn't, because it's not easy, it's very challenging building a startup. So I think the thing that definitely keeps me going are the people who you know show their appreciation for using the app, or when I go on our data analytics in the morning, you know, first thing, I see that someone's done the daily Storia. Then I'm like, oh, I get really happy because I genuinely do believe that no, and every entry, no matter how small, really like ladders up to, to, to unearth in your voice and getting connected with who you are on a, not on a surface level.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 16:42

So I think at the moment I'm just loving the fact that people have different uses for Storia and it's always interesting. So I asked. So sometimes I'm like, oh, what's he, what's what? How? Let me see, let me see your story. I got so fascinated to see how other people see, use, their use it, which is very nice.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 16:58

And then also the daily, the daily Storia, which is our prompt today, that we really wanted to make it a global habit. So one day there's a new prompt every single day and it starts with an idiom, and, and then you click on it and then it opens up a, a, a prompt, and then you can, you know, write your prompt and, and what we're working on now is to make that prompt available to others if you want to. So you can, you can see other people's prompts if they have shared that on, you know, on our feed. So it just I think for me it's just getting to a point where people are, feel like they belong and there's this little sense of community. I think that's really at the heart of the problem we're solving and how we really want to bring people together.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 17:46

That's brilliant, you know, especially in today's fast-paced world where we know people are struggling to pause and reflect on their experiences. You know loneliness is at an all-time high and we know that there have been some, you know, significant impact. I'm sure research studies will show post COVID of, you know, just people feeling alone or not heard, not seen. So the fact that it's addressing the need and promoting, you know, self-reflection and the idioms every day, you know the words, the phrases or words of expression are really helpful to that let's talk about. So obviously you're a business woman, barely Well, yeah.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 18:30

So you know, let's let's let's pick up that as as well. So the preceding round, I'm assuming, included you know, angel investors from various backgrounds. What role did the do these investors play in the development and how do you see it? You know you must have visions for your brand, for the app. Where do you see this going in the future?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 18:53

So stories is really about creating a space where people feel that they truly belong. So for us, it's really about how do we build features that bring people together. So that's honestly the vision it really comes down to how do we help people feel like they're part of something, in terms of journaling into a global practice that is done wherever you are in the world. It doesn't matter if you're in South London or you're in Nigeria or you're in America.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 19:32

The whole world is answering one question how they feel about one particular thing, and it's a daily practice and I think for me it's just like you know, it's really hard to kind of build relationships and nurture relationships over time, and we all know that. You know well not we all know but the studies are showing that meaningful relationships is really critical to our like. Improved mental health and social connection is essential to our well-being. So I think a lot of the first wave of digital networks kind of brought us apart a little bit the moments where it brought us together, but it also has made us very divisive as a people, and I think with story we really want to bring people together.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 20:18

Oh, that's amazing. And you know, like, like you said, we know that tech is was part of the fifth industrial revolution, and some people are saying AI might be the sixth industrial revolution. But one thing no matter how countries have developed technology, digital, etc. We all want to belong to a tribe.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 20:38

Yeah, in some way, shape or form. You know, culturally, we're all about tribes, no matter which area, where it's Asia, the North American, south America it's all about tribes and culture. No one wants to be manipulated, so creating that digitally, through journaling, I think, is just, you know, a great way to go. No, thank you. What advice would you give, then, to aspiring, you know, authors or entrepreneurs who want to make a meaningful impact in their respective fields, passions, talents?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 21:14

Hmm, a very good question. I think it's. I've got so many. I've got so many different bits of advice that I there's helped me in my life.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 21:25

So I think that if you want, if you're looking to make an impact in your individual career and whatever that looks like you know, writing a book, building a startup or whatever it is I really believe that cultivating the skill of self awareness is really key, and why? That is why I say that is. It's easy to just be buried in the kind of like hustle and bustle and busyness and and swarm of other people's opinions and perspectives, and sometimes it's very difficult and challenging to actually work out what you think like because, like I said, if you can't, if you don't think well, it's really hard to come up with. You know new ways of pushing new ideas forward and whatever it is. So I always say that the greatest connection that you can have is with yourself, and I wouldn't be here, I have done anything in my career, if I didn't cultivate that self awareness, and that's why I journal, because it enables me to link ideas to different ideas. That makes sense. So my first so slaying your lane was born off. You know me looking into the world and asking it questions. So there's a level of curiosity, of like self awareness that I was, I was experiencing and I was like, why has you know what happened there? Why can't we do this? And it was just asking the world questions and I was documenting that. So when I came to a point where I was like, oh, actually, why isn't there a book that's like this? And then you go on the internet and it, and isn't there, isn't a book that is like that, that says I should, that that says okay, cause opportunity. So I think if you're looking to make an impact, you really have to be curious, cultivate self awareness and and yeah, I've, and, and, and yeah, I'll say that that's really important.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 23:29

And then also, like fear is a really like big one, because a lot of people feel like they have ideas or they want to do this, but they kind of they, they are kind of like fearful and that's really normal, it counts what protects us. So kind of like a very human, it's a very human emotion, an instinct, and I still experience that to this day. But I definitely think that it's a muscle when you kind of like confidence or whatever it is, that's kind of stopping you from doing that said thing. It's seeing it as like a muscle. The more you do it, the more it becomes like a habit. So don't let fear stop you, and if you can think about all the sorts of what's the tiniest thing you can do today to push for that dream or for whatever you want to do, then focus on that, because I think the big thing can be very, can be very, overwhelming. So it's really about being curious, cultivating self-awareness and don't let your fear stop you.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 24:31

And another thing I would say as well is advice that I think is really important, regardless of whatever industry you're in, is understanding that people are, you know, most important thing, I think, understanding how to work with people that are different to you, working like really cultivating that people skill, especially in a world of AI and relationships matter way more. So who you are, who you say you are, and making sure that you are treating, you're leaving people better than you found them. It becomes much more of a edge because that's because being able to connect with somebody and that becomes your superpower, so I would say, people as well. So, yeah, so just to just to round up cultivating self-awareness, curiosity, don't let your fear stop you, and understanding that you know being around people and understanding what makes them tick and being a people person really gets you far.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 25:44

That's amazing and you know it all comes from a high level of self-awareness, because if you're self-aware, you are in tune with yourself, but it's from a physical, mental well-being and that spews into your relationships and your decision-making. Who you interact with, who you want to surround yourself, who you want to solve problems with. You know, ultimately all we're doing is problem solvers. Whether it's retail, marketing, apps, writing books, you're trying to solve a problem, isn't it? At the end of the day. So I think really invaluable. And that fear aspect is because they're going to be setbacks. You know there will be some risks. You've talked about, you know, the small blip on the weekend with not having funds in your bank, and that's a minor setback, but you navigated. First there was panic but then you were like, okay, what's the worst that can happen? You know, am I going to be a CEO for a minute or a weekend? There are challenges in life and that's it.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 26:43

That's something we can always count on.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 26:46

Yeah, yeah, story is a significant project. I mean, it's development must have taken time and an effort. And how do you prevent burnout and just balance between you know, your journaling, being self-aware, taking care of you, and the professional side of you know, being an entrepreneur?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 27:08

I think it's all. I think, just understanding that I can't do all of it at once. I was reading a blog post done by the founder of Canva and she was talking about that and it just really resonated. I think in our careers we want to do everything, or whatever it is, and you realize that you can't do everything at once, so you have to be able to prioritize. What is my greatest focus right now? Understand that different chapters in our lives have different seasons.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 27:38

So, yeah, I think it's building a startup is the hardest thing I've ever had to do and it will be always be the hardest thing. I just cannot think of anything harder than this. And some days I wake up and it's like, oh my god, I cannot believe I did this to myself willingly, but ultimately it's growth. So, yeah, I think, to be honest, you just have to know what you're at. There's this line I really love, which is like know the game you're playing, and because you want to make sure that that's the prize you want to win, and I think that when it comes to our careers, it's really important to know what game we're playing and why. So yeah, so I think it makes it much if you don't know your why. When things are hard, you're more likely to give up. So, even when I'm stressed out or whatever, I think having a why that resonates beyond like immediate like discomfort and challenge is really important. So so, yeah, it's a balance and it's been a very long week for sure, it's been a very long year, for sure. But I think that you know, like I, but before we spoke, I went out to the garden with my neighbor and I was with them for like 20 minutes this afternoon and it's just, I need that, because if you're always just at your desk, you just you just kind of lose yourself. You just really need to kind of understand how you operate best. So so, yeah, it's a challenge and I don't think even the best of like I don't think anybody has it all figured out and I'm always in awe of like my parents and the older generation that were not only working, they were raising kids, they were doing in a country that was, you know, at times hostile, and they didn't have jobs that they can work from home, like, oh my gosh, they didn't like they had to wake up really early, do it.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 29:33

So in like, in the grand reality, you know, there's a lot of gratitude that, even when things are difficult, even when you feel emotionally spent, even when you feel really tired or whatever it is, you just if you having a sense of gratitude, just you know, puts things a perspective and I think again takes a plug.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 29:52

You know journaling, but having things you're grateful for and you're able to kind of like note them down, it's scientifically proven to to to help you and make you and make you happier and more content. I think it's easy to open Instagram and or you know whatever app, and and, and feel like you're not enough, you're not doing enough, and then this is sort of this vicious cycle where our brain, which is already wide to negativity bias kind of like, sends those feelings to you that you should be doing more and all of that sort of stuff. So it's just important, whatever to kind of ground yourself but ultimately inject gratitude in your life, even though it's hard. Because when you think about, like I said, we're up, you know the previous generation, what they had to deal with, it's very much like, wow, okay, I actually get to work from home. What a blessing sort of thing.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 30:42

I mean amen to that. It's commitment. If you commit to yourself, it feels like the things that are coming out of the conversation. So commitment to yourself in terms of self-care, self-awareness, you know. Commitment to health and well-being, whether it's your mental, physical well-being, and also commitment to practicing gratitude, you know, every day, just picking out one thing that you're grateful for just plays such a. Your perspective and your way of viewing things is just completely different. Yeah for sure, story is definitely growing and obviously you're gonna expand, you're gonna have larger teams. What kind of principles or culture or values do you want to embed in your business as it expands and grows?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 31:27

oh, I love that question. I remember thinking a few months ago like, oh, wow, culture starts with me, and I didn't realize that. I think that I was probably thinking, oh, when I get, like, what if I, you know, if I have a big team, that's when culture, oh, you know that matters. But you, I remember realizing no culture and one of my advisors helped me kind of like help crystallize that culture starts with me. So how I show up to that meeting sets a particular culture. So, for example, I don't really like I'm not really a camera person, like when it comes to video cameras like it. I think it just doesn't really help to help my productivity. But reality is, if I'm engaged with my team, I really I'm fine. So they're not camera because I'm not, and that's a culture that I've. I've said so so that if I wanted that, then I would have to do be different, do I mean? So there's little things that I I am also aware of. That culture starts with me, like every morning. You know my developer, he measures every morning, he tells me exactly what we're doing and where we are, and I've also been in that thing where, even though he doesn't stand my part of the business. I'm also giving him updates on, okay, what we're doing on this side and stuff like that, and just so I'm bringing everybody along the journey with me. So, yeah, culture starts with me being on time. If I'm late, then I'm setting a culture that time is okay and stuff, and I think it's fine if there's something that's gone wrong or whatever. But it's even little things that I'm also getting better at. So because if I don't have self-awareness about the little things in the culture I'm setting, then when things start to go wrong, then it's like, oh, okay, then well, you set that culture. So I think it's accountability that I didn't realize.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 33:25

And I think one of the things that I love about the culture that we have at Storia is I really value people's questions and curiosity. So when people ask questions, that fills me with way more anxiety than anything I prefer. I think that in order to make sure everyone's on the same page and everything, it's really important that we have a culture that's open, that people feel like they can be curious and ask questions, and because it all it does and challenge as well. I think it's like a lot of my design that she just challenges me and I remember like she's been the longest person I've been working with in the team, since pre-funding and everything, and one of the reasons why I loved her when we did the interview was just because she didn't just I think maybe because she's Italian, so she's not British people a bit more.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 34:11

I think we're a bit more amicable, agreeable, but with her she was just like she all kind of pushed back and I do really appreciate that because there's this sort of like you have what's the word? The best interest of the user. You're not trying to please me, you're trying to please the user and think about them, and that's the people. Having a people oriented culture and people oriented products is it balances out what you see in the product, if that makes sense. So if I don't have a culture that means that people can be curious and ask questions and challenge, then we're not going to build a product that people who ultimately love. So I'm still on my journey. You know myself, I've only been a CEO for a bit more than five minutes now.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 35:00

So so I will learn more lessons than most CEOs in 20, 30 years. You know so. Yeah, so culture starts with you. You know, some businesses weren't even talking about culture until most recently, and I feel that the next generation have really prompted that. And just the way that the world is more connected digitally, people are more self aware. You know in tune about why. Why are we, you know, still seeing injustices or why are things happening that? Why can't women have the same? You know rights and what do we need to fight for more? There's so much going on and I think, like you said, if the culture starts with you, how can you develop an app that's meaningful if you don't engage your own team?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 35:49

You know, if they're not curious, if they can't express themselves, if they can't challenge, then it's, it's a false negative there, then, yeah, no for sure, and honestly, with all the business books that are out there, the podcasts and stuff like that, like you learn by doing, I wrote a newsletter a few weeks, maybe last week actually, and it was nature's original. Curriculum is learning by doing, and it really really is so, even just learning that I've had to make mistakes in order to learn that as well. So so yeah, oh, brilliant.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 36:23

So, circling back, you know three trailblazer tips. I know you've given lots of tips, but if you were to summarize to share with the audience, what would they be?

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 36:34

Feel the fear and do it anyway. Not to be, you know, not to be deep, but we don't come out this alive. So we have one life, so make it count. So and that's something I have to I say to myself all the time as well, because I definitely hold myself back in certain aspects so feel the fear and do it anyway. Second, just stay curious, like it's the. You know it's the best thing you can do to your like for your career. Ask and questions lead to really insightful answers, which lead to insightful whatever you want to build, whatever you want to write, whatever you want to, you know where you want to take your career. And then I think the third one is to stay curious for the fear anyway.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 37:30

I think the third one has to be about people. Leave people better than you find them. So I think that is a real value that I try to uphold as much as possible. It doesn't really matter if it's a conversation I'm having or you know and he doesn't. It doesn't matter who it is as well.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 37:48

I think that we have this sort of culture that feels as if like oh, you only try to impress people, or whatever it is, if you want something from them and I think that's always a negative way to kind of see good in relationships with people. So I always just say it doesn't matter if it's your postman or, you know, your local barista is, just trying your best. And I'm not saying something that's always easy to do, because life is full of life can be full of conflict as well. So not saying that that's why I think that leaving people better than you found them if you, is something that I try to do as much as possible and yeah, some days I do it, some days I don't but I think having that at the back of my mind has definitely helped me cultivate really amazing meaningful relationships personally, but also professionally.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 38:34

Elizabeth, this has been really heartwarming. You are wise when you're doing yours and you are going to fire some young woman out there. So thank you so much for your time.

Elizabeth Uviebinene: 38:48

I appreciate you and thank you so much for the platform. I know when we met it was at an event and that was a lot of few months ago now, so I really appreciate you sticking to it. So I really thank you for being really gracious in the perseverance to get this interview done. So, yeah, I really really appreciate you, brilliant.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 39:10

That's what we do with human things happen. This is what happens, as they say. So this has been the Trailblazers Experience podcast audience. You know where to find us when all streaming platforms and thank you, thank you.